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(NEW YORK) — The United States has been facing a COVID-19 surge as the more contagious delta variant continues to spread.

More than 719,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 while over 4.8 million people have died from the disease worldwide, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

Just 66.2% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the CDC.

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:

Oct 14, 11:54 am
FDA’s independent committee hours away from vote on Moderna booster

The FDA’s independent committee is meeting on Thursday and will vote in hours on whether to greenlight the Moderna booster for: people 65 and older; people 18 and older who are at high risk of severe illness because of an underlying health condition; and people 18 and older whose job may put them at greater risk for exposure to the virus.

In introductory remarks Thursday, the FDA’s Peter Marks urged the independent panel to “harmonize” its decision with what has already been decided for Pfizer in order to avoid unnecessary confusion for the public.

Pfizer boosters have been authorized for people over 65, all adults with underlying medical conditions and adults whose job puts them at high risk.

The vote is scheduled for about 4:45 p.m.

Oct 13, 6:49 pm
Pending vaccine distribution for kids will be based on population: CDC

Initial distribution of the Pfizer vaccine for children ages 5 to 11 years old will be based on a state’s population of eligible children, according to a new planning document distributed to state immunization managers by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The document, obtained by ABC News, was sent to state officials in advance of the vaccine being authorized by federal regulators. The authorization could happen as soon as early November.

The pediatric vaccine will be shipped in 100-dose packs, each with 10 vials, the document said.

A person familiar with the planned rollout told ABC News that while the government purchased 65 million doses total, the initial shipment may be closer to the 10 million to 20 million range.

After an initial distribution, a “weekly supply will be made available to help sustain the network,” according to the document.

Oct 13, 2:00 pm
COVID No. 1 cause of death for 35- to 54-year-olds in September

COVID-19 was the leading of death among people ages 35 to 54 — and the second-leading cause overall — in September, according to an analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Peterson Center on Healthcare.

The research also estimates that since June more than 90,000 U.S. deaths from COVID-19 could have been prevented with vaccines, and more than half of those occurred last month.

In January, COVID-19 was the nation’s No. 1 cause of death, the analysis found. In July, before the delta surge, COVID-19 briefly dropped to eighth.

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(NEW YORK) — Former President Donald Trump must sit for a videotaped deposition next week as part of a lawsuit involving his anti-immigrant rhetoric, a judge in the Bronx ordered.

A group of Mexican protesters said they were assaulted during a rally outside Trump Tower in September 2015 over the then-candidate’s comments that Mexican immigrants were criminals and rapists.

The lawsuit named Trump, his campaign, his former head of security Keith Schiller, and others.

“Donald J. Trump shall appear for a deposition October 18, 2021 at 10 a.m. … or, in the event of illness or emergency, on another mutually agreed to date on or before October 31, 2021,” Judge Doris Gonzalez’s order said.

Trump faces the prospect of another deposition by the end of the year as part of a defamation lawsuit filed by former “Apprentice” contestant Summer Zervos, who alleges that Trump sexually assaulted her at the Beverly Hills Hotel in 2007, which Trump denies. Zervos claims that Trump defamed her during his campaign when he said she lied about the alleged assault.

Trump has also denied the allegations by former Elle columnist E. Jean Carroll, who is suing him for defamation after he accused her of lying about an alleged 1990s rape in a dressing room at Bergdorf Goodman.

Trump’s tax filings and business practices are also under criminal investigation by the district attorneys in Manhattan and New York State.

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(COOPER CITY, Fla.) — Hundreds of mourners gathered for an emotional Celebration of Life ceremony for Miya Marcano, the Florida college student who was found dead eight days after her family reported her missing.

Her funeral will take place Thursday afternoon.

Family and friends embraced each other in front of Marcano’s casket, which was painted her favorite color royal blue, during Wednesday’s ceremony at Cooper City Church of God.

Loved ones shared their favorite memories of Marcano and talked about how she enjoyed dancing and celebrating her Caribbean culture.

“It was totally amazing just to be there and to experience the lives that Miya touched in such a short period of time,” family attorney Daryl K. Washington told ABC News.

“Hearing the stories from her friends, strangers and family members talking about how she was such a princess and how she brightened up the room every time she entered. It makes it so hard to accept the fact that this young lady lost her life in such a brutal fashion,” he added.

Marcano’s mother, Yma Scarbriel, is asking that donations be made to the Miya Marcano Memorial Fund, which is supporting and providing resources to families of missing persons while advocating for the protection of students and vulnerable populations, in lieu of flowers.

“Miya always said she would change the world and we want to ensure her legacy lives on,” Scarbriel told local ABC affiliate in Miami, Florida, WPLG.

Marcano, who turned 19 in April and was a student at Valencia College, was last seen at the Arden Villas apartments complex in Orlando on Sept. 24. Her family reported her missing after she missed a flight home to South Florida that day.

Her body was found Oct. 2 near the Tymber Skan apartment complex in Orlando with her hands, feet and mouth taped over.

Orange County Sheriff John Mina said last week that Armando Caballero, 27, “is the person responsible for her death.” He was a maintenance worker at Arden Villas and was found dead Sept. 27, three days after Marcano disappeared, from an apparent suicide, authorities said.

Authorities previously said Caballero had expressed a romantic interest in Marcano but she rebuffed his advances. Caballero possessed a key fob to access apartments and his was used at Marcano’s unit just before her disappearance, authorities said.

Washington said the family is working to establish policies that will assure maintenance and other apartment complex employees do not have free access to people’s apartments without their permission. He said the family is also in talks with state politicians to potentially pass legislation on the issue.

“There’s really no laws to protect people from this type of invasion of privacy,” he said. “Right now we’re working on it on the state level, but hopefully that’s going to be something that can really go on the national level.”

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(NEW YORK) — James Anthony “Tony” Sisk was a lifelong law enforcement officer.

He had reached the rank of captain with the Culpeper County, Virginia, Sheriff’s Department.

Before that, he had worked in several different local departments starting in 1994, according to a department Facebook post

Sisk was a native of the area, graduating from Culpeper High School and a lifelong friend of current Culpeper County Sheriff Scott Jenkins, who Sisk went to work for after Jenkins was elected sheriff.

The father of two was respected by his co-workers, and in 2019 he was honored with a lifetime achievement award from the Culpeper Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Task Force for his work in support of crime victims.

On Oct. 1, Sisk died of COVID-19 after being admitted to the hospital, the Facebook post said.

He was 50 years old.

“Tony’s death leaves a hole in our hearts and in our community that cannot be filled,” Sheriff Jenkins said. “His ready smile and warm embrace were well known to all. Knowing that Tony is resting with God helps a little to ease the tremendous pain of losing this outstanding human being. Rest In Peace, brother.”

COVID-19 has claimed the lives of almost 500 law enforcement officers, between 2020 and 2021, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page, a database that tracks line of duty officer deaths.

That represents 62% of all law enforcement line of duty deaths in 2020 alone, according to the statistics.

“It’s taken a definite toll,” Fayette County, Ohio, Sheriff Vernon P. Stanforth told ABC News. “Anytime there’s a line of duty death there, it impacts the entire agency and the entire law enforcement community.”

Standforth is president of the National Sheriffs’ Association.

Those fallen officers will be honored by Attorney General Merrick Garland during a candlelight vigil on Thursday night, according to the National Law Enforcement Museum.

Patrick Yoes, president of the National Fraternal Order of Police, one of the biggest police unions in the country called COVID-19 not only a public health crisis, but a public safety crisis.

“The National Fraternal Order of Police knew at the beginning of the pandemic that law enforcement officers on the front lines combating this pandemic would be increasingly vulnerable to contracting the virus,” Yoes said. “As we had feared, the virus has claimed the lives of many, and now includes a growing number of law enforcement officers.”

It is not known if Sisk ever got vaccinated.

The Fraternal Order of Police maintains that getting vaccinated for COVID-19 is a personal decision, as does Sheriff Standforth.

He said he believes the vaccine will become like wearing a bulletproof vest. At first, Standforth said, officers were apprehensive about wearing a vest, but as time went on, more and more started wearing them.

“We will eventually, just like the past, we will eventually get to the place, where we will say, OK, I can’t make the argument any longer I’ve got it, I’m going to take the vaccine to protect myself and my family,” the sheriff said. “I think that’s just cyclical and it’ll happen in due time.”

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(NEW YORK) — The American Automobile Association (AAA) is warning drivers nationwide not to over-rely on advanced safety systems in cars, like automatic braking and lane assist systems, during inclement weather.

New research from the organization found that heavy rain affects safety features from functioning properly, which can result in performance issues.

During AAA experiments, vehicles equipped with automatic emergency braking, that traveled at 35 mph, collided with a stopped vehicle one third of the time.

“Often these systems are tested in somewhat perfect conditions,” Greg Brannon, AAA’s director of automotive engineering and industry relations, told ABC News. “But the reality is drivers don’t drive in perfect conditions.”

In the experiment, AAA simulated rain and other environmental conditions, such as bugs and dirt, to measure impact on the performance of various advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS).

To simulate rainfall, AAA engineers designed a system using a reservoir to hold water atop the cargo area of the test vehicle. The system was connected to a nozzle positioned above the windshield, so the spray pattern covered the entire windshield.

“We created a device that allowed the windshield to experience basically what it would in a rainstorm,” Brannon said.

AAA also found that cars with lane keeping assistance departed their lanes 69% of the time.

“It’s pretty, pretty substantial and surprising findings for something that is on a lot of cars today,” Brannon said.

The tests were conducted with five different vehicles, including the 2020 Buick Enclave Avenir with automatic emergency braking and lane keep assist, a 2020 Hyundai Santa Fe with forward collision avoidance assist and lane keeping assist, a 2020 Toyota RAV4 with pre-collision system and lane tracing assist, and a 2020 Volkswagen Tiguan3 with front assist and lane assist.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), “Driver assistance technologies hold the potential to reduce traffic crashes and save thousands of lives each year.”

The agency said more than 36,000 people died in motor vehicle crashes in 2019 — many of which were tied to human error.

Brannon said consumers should use advanced safety systems, but not in the place of engaged driving. “The most dangerous thing that a consumer can do is to over-rely on the systems.”

“AAA’s advice to consumers that have advanced safety systems in their car really is the same regardless of what that system is, and that’s to drive the car like the system is not there,” Brannon said. “Select a car that has the most advanced safety systems available, because they all hold a lot of potential to reduce injury and save lives, and that’s a good thing.”

Brannon said drivers should never use cruise control during inclement weather, and he advised motorists to slow down.

“Really understand the environment that you’re operating in and then make sure that you are fully engaged in that task of driving,” Brannon said.

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(NEW YORK) — A New York City police officer is in custody after she allegedly shot two women, killing one, at a home in Brooklyn.

The officer, who was off-duty at the time, is believed to have shot both women — one of whom she was dating — when they returned to the home where the officer’s girlfriend lived.

Police said the off-duty officer shot a 24-year-old woman in her chest, “possibly more than one time,” at the Bensonhurt home. The victim, identified as Jamie Liang, was taken to Maimonides Medical Center and was pronounced dead, police said.

The other woman, a 23-year-old, who was in the romantic relationship with the officer, was shot in the torso and is expected to survive, police said.

The suspect, 31, is a police officer in the 72nd District, which encompasses the Park Slope and Sunset Park areas of Brooklyn.

The officer had worked for the NYPD for 5 1/2 years. Police said she was at a local hospital for evaluation.

“We believe it is domestic in nature. We believe all three parties knew each other,” Assistant Chief Michael Kemper, commanding officer of Patrol Borough Brooklyn South, said at a press conference Wednesday evening.

“We believe they had an intimate relationship,” he said of the officer and the 23-year-old woman.

The officer remained at the scene and told police she had shot the two women, according to police.

Police said they were still investigating, but recovered a gun on the scene and “there’s a very good chance it is her service weapon,” Kemper said.

“The whole incident is horrible, but these cops performed great, just heroically, and this is what NYPD cops come upon every single day,” Kemper said. “Is this an incident they would want to come upon? No. But unfortunately throughout their careers they come upon this.”

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(PLAISTOW, N.H.) — A driver experiencing a medical emergency crashed a school bus carrying six children into the woods in New Hampshire Tuesday, according to the Plaistow Police Department.

The accident took place at 3:43 p.m. local time. None of the children were hospitalized and the driver, who was taken to the hospital, was stable Tuesday evening, police said.

Two mothers — Stephanie Geary and Gina Lynch — were present at the scene of the crash and were able to help the children off the bus.

In an interview on Wednesday, Geary told ABC News that she and Lynch were driving toward Timberlane Regional School when she noticed the bus coming in the opposite direction in her lane.

“I noticed something right away was off because I’m like why would a bus be in my lane coming at me very fast,” Geary said.

Geary swerved her car to the left, allowing the bas to pass on her right, before it hit a guardrail and crashed down an embankment. Geary and Lynch rushed to the scene to help the children.

Geary and Lynch pried open the back door of the bus in order to evacuate the children, according to Boston ABC affiliate WCVB.

“We were scared. We didn’t know what we were going to see. All we heard were screaming kids and my heart went into my throat,” Lynch said.

The area surrounding the crash site was closed off by the police for approximately an hour.

“You got to do what you got to do. When Mama Bear kicks in, Mama Bear kicks in,” Lynch told WCVB.

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(STOCKTON, Calif.) — The family of a Black man who was shot seven times in Stockton, California, last week is pushing for justice in what is now being investigated as a potential hate crime.

Bobby Gayle, 45, a cement mason and father of five was seriously injured in the unprovoked attack last Friday, according to his family. His brother, Marlon Gayle, said Bobby had just finished a construction job at a restaurant when the shooting occurred.

“This big truck came by and almost hit them. So my brother says, ‘Hey, slow down,'” Marlon Gayle told ABC News. “According to my brother and the guy who was with him, his friend, the guy gets out of the truck, the white guy, and he has a gun, and he starts saying the n-word over and over again and started shooting my brother.”

Bobby Gayle was shot seven times, including in the face. His family said that he is in stable condition and that no major arteries were hit.

Right after the shooting, he left his brother a voicemail saying that he had been shot and asking him to pray.

“It was a miracle. God answers prayer and we’re just so thankful,” Marlon Gayle said. “He’s just so happy to be alive, and blessed to be with his family and his children.”

The Stockton Police Department described the shooter as a white male in his 30s, wearing a dark-colored jacket and jeans. Police have described his vehicle as a late-model Chevrolet Silverado extended cab truck with after-model, chrome-colored wheels. There’s a $10,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.

While detectives are in the early stages of the investigation, they said the shooting is being probed as a potential hate crime. The Stockton Police Department said it has had an average of eight hate crime cases a year over the last five years.

“His heart is not right, the hatred that’s inside of him,” Marlon Gayle said. “Yes, it was a hate crime and that person needs Jesus, that person needs prayer, that person needs to be brought to justice.”

“Our family, we never expected something like this to happen. We love people. We’re people that serve in the community, and we love people from all backgrounds,” he added. “We believe in forgiveness, but that person, he definitely needs to be taken off the streets. He’s dangerous.”

Gayle said that the police department has been very helpful.

“I really believe that they’re doing everything that they can to try to find this guy,” he said.

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(NEW YORK) — Actor William Shatner was overcome with emotion after his “unbelievable” 10-minute trip to space on Blue Origin’s New Shepard.

“Everybody in the world needs to do this,” Shatner told Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos after he touched down in Texas Wednesday.

“To see the blue color rip by — now you’re staring into blackness,” Shatner said, who, at the age of 90, is now the oldest person ever to go to space. “It was so moving. This experience has been something unbelievable.”

“What you have given me is the most profound experience,” the “Star Trek” star said to Bezos.

“I am so filled with emotion. It was extraordinary,” he said. “I hope I never recover from this. I hope that I can maintain what I feel now. I don’t want to lose it. It’s so — so much larger than me and life.”

Shatner also told Bezos, “It would be so important for everybody to have that experience through one means or another. I mean maybe you can put it on 3D and wear the goggles.”

Shatner joined Audrey Powers, Blue Origin’s vice president of mission and flight operations and a former NASA flight controller and engineer; Chris Boshuizen, the co-founder of satellite company Planet Labs and a former space mission architect for NASA; and Glen de Vries, the co-founder of Medidata Solutions, a life science company.

This was Blue Origin’s second crewed mission to space.

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(FORT HOOD, Texas) — A Fort Hood soldier assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division was found dead Saturday behind his barracks over the weekend, according to military officials.

Officials have not released the victim’s ID or the cause of death.

“More details will be released once all next of kin have been notified. The incident is under investigation,” Fort Hood officials said in a press release.

Fort Hood officials did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.

There have been multiple incidents at the Texas base this year.

Last week, there were concerns for Pfc. Jennifer Sewell, who was believed to be missing after she failed to report for duty on Oct. 7. Fort Hood officials said in an update Sunday that “Sewell’s family confirmed she is safe and with extended family.” She returned to the base Monday.

Fort Hood is the same Army base where Vanessa Guillen was murdered in April 2020, in a case that engrossed the nation.

Guillen, 20, was bludgeoned to death with a hammer in an arms room on April 22, 2020, authorities said. She was missing for months until some of her remains were found buried along the Leon River in June 2020.

Her suspected killer was fellow soldier Spc. Aaron Robinson, who took his own life when confronted by police after her remains were discovered, authorities said at the time.

Her death cast a harsh spotlight on the base and its culture, particularly for its handling of sexual assault and harassment, as she told her family that she had been harassed at the base. A long-awaited U.S. Army investigation released in April determined she had been sexually harassed by a supervisor, but the incidents of harassment were not related to her murder.

In December 2020, the Army announced 14 senior leaders and enlisted personnel at Fort Hood were fired or suspended following an independent panel’s review of the command climate and culture at the base.

Last week, the base unveiled the People First Center, a training center for support and resources for victims of sexual assault or those experiencing suicidal thoughts.

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