(WASHINGTON) — Justice Clarence Thomas has been hospitalized with an infection, the Supreme Court announced in a statement.
Thomas was admitted to Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, D.C., on Friday evening after experiencing flu-like symptoms, Supreme Court spokesperson Patricia McCabe said in a statement.
He was diagnosed with an infection after undergoing tests and is being treated with intravenous antibiotics, McCabe said. She did not provide more details on the nature of the infection.
“His symptoms are abating, he is resting comfortably, and he expects to be released from the hospital in a day or two,” McCabe said. “Justice Thomas will participate in the consideration and discussion of any cases for which he is not present on the basis of the briefs, transcripts and audio of the oral arguments.”
After Justice Stephen Breyer, Thomas is the second-oldest justice on the Supreme Court at 73 years old. He is the most senior conservative.
Thomas does not have a known history of health issues and has been a vibrant participant in Court arguments over the past two years. He, along with the other eight justices, has been vaccinated and boosted for COVID-19, according to the Court.
The Court is reconvening Monday at 10 a.m. for two weeks of oral arguments. According to McCabe’s statement, it appears Thomas will not be participating in the arguments remotely but will still vote in the cases.
On Monday, the Senate Judiciary Committee will begin a week of high-profile confirmation hearings for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court in its 233-year history.
(DUMAS, Ark.) — At least 28 people were shot, including six children, at a car show in rural Arkansas on Saturday night. At least one person has died, according to police.
The shooting took place in Dumas, about 90 miles southeast of Little Rock, at about 7:30 p.m. local time, according to Arkansas State Police.
Keith Finch, Dumas’ chief of police, told ABC News that children were among those injured in the shooting and were taken to a Children’s hospital for treatment. Organizers for the event told ABC News that the children were injured but are “doing OK.”
Preliminary information suggests the shooting was the result of a gang-related fight that spilled into a public area and not a random act. Detectives are continuing their investigation, a law enforcement official briefed on the investigation told ABC News.
Finch said police have a person of interest in custody but continue to investigate whether more people may have been involved.
It’s unclear what caused the shooting or the conditions of many of those injured.
The deceased victim has been identified as Cameron Shaffer, 23, of Jacksonville, Arkansas, according to ABC News Arkansas affiliate KATV.
“The shooting spree in Dumas last night at a community family event represents a total disregard of the value of life,” Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said in a statement Sunday.
(DALLAS) — “Multiple” people were shot and one was killed Saturday night in Dallas, officials said.
“At this time, I can confirm one individual was shot and transported to a local hospital where they died from their injuries,” the Dallas Police Department told ABC News. “Multiple individuals were also shot and injured during this incident. This is an active investigation and information is limited.”
Police said they responded at about midnight to the 5200 block of Botham Jean Boulevard.
(NEW YORK) — At least 24 people were shot, including children, at a car show in rural Arkansas on Saturday night. At least one person has died, according to police.
The shooting took place in Dumas, about 90 miles southeast of Little Rock, at about 7:30 p.m. local time, according to Arkansas State Police.
Keith Finch, Dumas’ chief of police, told ABC News that children were among those injured in the shooting, but did not have a specific number. Organizers for the event told ABC News that six children were injured but are “doing OK.”
Preliminary information suggests the shooting was the result of a gang-related fight that spilled into a public area and not a random act. Detectives are continuing their investigation, a law enforcement official briefed on the investigation told ABC News.
Finch said police have a person of interest in custody but continue to investigate whether more people may have been involved.
It’s unclear what caused the shooting or the conditions of many of those injured.
(NEW YORK) — Twenty million people are on alert along the East Coast for a sweeping storm system that is expected to bring the threat of severe thunderstorms and possible tornadoes to parts of the region Saturday.
Strong, scattered thunderstorms are forecast to develop in the coming afternoon and evening hours across parts of the Northeast and along portions of the Southeast coast.
Any severe thunderstorms that develop could bring damaging wind gusts, large hail and potentially tornadoes.
The severe weather threat is expected to end later Saturday evening, with the system forecast to exit the East Coast overnight and into early Sunday.
Another major storm system is currently moving into the West, bringing heavy rain and mountain snow. Winter weather advisories are in effect from the Cascades in western Washington and Oregon into the northern Sierra Nevada in Northern California. Travel through some mountain passes could be impacted this weekend.
Strong, gusty winds potentially reaching over 60 mph in some spots are another concern this weekend. Wind alerts have been issued for Sunday stretching from Los Angeles and Ventura counties in Southern California over to Las Vegas and up into Idaho.
That storm system is expected to bring a significant, severe weather threat to parts of the South early next week.
The widespread storm is forecast to unfold early next week in parts of the South, primarily in parts of Texas and Louisiana on Monday and then shifting east into Mississippi and Alabama on Tuesday.
Tornadoes, large hail and damaging gusts could all occur. Numerous severe thunderstorms also could bring significant impacts to parts of the region.
Elsewhere, widespread fire weather alerts have been issued for Sunday stretching from Texas up to South Dakota. Strong, gusty winds and persistent dry conditions make it favorable for new fires to spark and difficult to battle existing ones.
Among several active wildfires in Texas is the massive Eastland Complex, consisting of four separate fires in central Texas. The deadly, destructive complex has burned 45,383 acres and was 15% contained as of Saturday morning.
Firefighters had been impeded by windy conditions. They will see improved weather conditions on Saturday, before another round of strong winds and critical fire weather conditions return Sunday.
(ALTADENA, Calif.) — The daughter of a man who died in California Highway Patrol custody as officers tried to take a blood sample is speaking out about the incident and calling for justice for her father.
Edward Bronstein died on March 31, 2020, after the California Highway Patrol pulled him over for a traffic stop. He was taken into custody and brought to CHP’s Altadena Station, where officers attempted to take a blood sample. According to reports, he had passed a Breathalyzer test but police wanted a blood sample because they believed he was under the influence of drugs.
Bronstein initially did not comply with a request to have his blood taken, which Bronstein’s daughter, Brianna Palomino, said she believes is because he had a fear of needles. In the video, officers can be seen holding him down as he shouts, “I can’t breathe.”
CHP officers do not wear body cameras so the video appears to have been taken by a handheld camera or cellphone.
Bronstein lost consciousness and was pronounced dead later that morning.
“I felt for him in that moment,” Palomino said. “He begged everyone, all the officers, to stop and do something. He couldn’t breathe. I wished that I was there to say something or do something to stop this. It was very difficult to watch as his daughter. It’s very heartbreaking.”
In an autopsy provided by the family’s lawyer, the LA coroner’s office ascribed the death to acute methamphetamine intoxication during restraint by law enforcement but wrote the manner of death was undetermined.
The video from his death was released Tuesday as part of the family’s lawsuit against the CHP filed in November 2020.
“I am definitely happy that it’s out there now so that people can see the truth and so that this story is out there and we’re getting lots of support from it,” Palomino said.
The family has sued the CHP for wrongful death, alleging the use of force was “excessive and objectively unreasonable under the circumstances” and saying Bronstein was “unarmed, restrained, and surrounded by uniformed peace officers.” They are seeking unspecified damages and a jury trial.
In the footage, Bronstein is initially resistant to the blood test before saying multiple times, “I’ll do it willingly, I’ll do it willingly. I promise.”
“Mr. Bronstein did say on the video before they smothered him — all those officers — that he would willingly [do a] blood draw. He said it two or three times,” Michael Carrillo, the family’s lawyer, told ABC News. “They ignored that and they still brutalized him, even though he was willing to have the blood drawn. And so the next step now is to depose these officers.”
Officers are seen in the footage continuing to hold him down while one can be heard saying, “It’s too late.”
“Before I saw the video, and I saw that there was lack of compliance, it was very difficult for me to process in my head because my dad is not one to fight,” Palomino told ABC News. “So when I did see the video, he looks scared in the beginning. He actually began to cry. That was hesitation from his fear of needles. So that was difficult to watch. He was at a vulnerable state. And the world got to see that.”
Bronstein’s death came two months before George Floyd’s killing at the hands of Minneapolis police sparked a racial awakening in America.
Bronstein, like Floyd, was heard repeating “I can’t breathe” in the video.
In the video, officers can be seen shaking Bronstein and trying to find a pulse, shouting “wake up” after he is unresponsive. A second video shows officers trying to “get some air in him,” as one officer says in the footage.
Bronstein’s death is currently under investigation and the LA County District Attorney’s Office said the conduct of the officers is “under review.”
The CHP has not commented on the case, citing the pending lawsuit.
Palomino said she hopes the officers will be held accountable.
“I would like to see the officers be prosecuted,” she said. “I don’t feel like they deserve a position in law enforcement for their carelessness and lack of training. … That’s what I would like to see.”
“You can’t let a human being die in front of your eyes caused by your own actions,” Palomino added. “He was amazing. … What I miss about him [is] just hearing his voice, feeling his hugs, you know, the comfort of a dad is something you just can’t replace.”
(EASTLAND COUNTY, Texas) — A sheriff’s deputy has died trying to help people flee devastating wildfires in Texas, officials said.
Firefighters have been working to contain a sprawling complex in central West Texas that has grown to more than 45,000 acres in Eastland County and several neighboring counties.
Eastland County Deputy Barbara Fenley lost her life while helping to save people as the Eastland Complex swept through the area Thursday night, authorities said.
Fenley was going door to door to evacuate people when the fires spread into Carbon on Thursday, according to a statement from the Eastland County Sheriff’s Office shared by Eastland County Today.
“With the extreme deteriorating conditions and low visibility from smoke, Sgt. Fenley ran off the roadway and was engulfed in the fire,” the statement said. “She will be deeply missed.”
Fenley, 51, had been a deputy with the sheriff’s office since 2013, having previously served as the chief of police in Gorman, Texas. She is survived by her husband and three children.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott commemorated the loss at the top of a press briefing on the wildfires Friday evening at the Eastland Fire Department.
“We are sorrowful for her loss of life, but as a state, we have great appreciation for her service, for stepping up, for doing what Texas law enforcement officials do every single day,” Abbott said. “They put their lives on the line to preserve and to protect their communities. And that’s exactly what she did.”
Flags were lowered to half-staff in Eastland in honor of Fenley, who will be officially honored at a later date, Abbott said.
“She paid the ultimate sacrifice just to help people out, and I think that’s the biggest thing that’d I like people to know,” her son, Jon Fenley, told Dallas ABC affiliate WFAA in an emotional interview.
The deputy was fondly remembered by her law enforcement colleagues.
JUST IN: #Eastland County Deputy Barbara Fenley was killed while trying to rescue residents from the fires burning through that area last night—multiple law enforcement agencies report.
Below is a photo being shared by those agencies as they salute her service.
“It is with very heavy hearts that today we learned of the death of one [of] our Eastland County Deputies who put it all on the line last night trying to save people from the horrible fires,” the Cisco Police Department said in a statement Friday. “Our sister Barbara Fenley will be deeply missed. She was a special servant and an attribute to our profession. We will kneel in prayer for her family, friends and colleagues as they mourn.”
The Lubbock Police Department offered its “deepest condolences” to the Eastland County Sheriff’s Office.
“Fenley gave her life trying to evacuate citizens from the Eastland Complex fires, which first-responders in the area are still battling,” the department said in a statement. “Thank you for your service, Deputy Fenley, we’ll take it from here.”
Fenley was found Friday morning in the town of Carbon, which has been devastated by the fires, officials said.
“It looks like some kind of lunar landscape,” Eastland County Judge Rex Fields told reporters Friday. “It’s just an amazing amount of devastation.”
Fields said they haven’t found anyone else who is missing, and that first responders will do a “more intensive sweep” with canines in the town.
Four wildfires that ignited Wednesday and Thursday combined into the Eastland Complex, which as of Friday night was estimated to have burned 45,383 acres and was 15% contained.
“One message that I would like to exaggerate and express is that we are not out of danger yet for our high hazard fire risk,” Eastland County Fire Chief Joe Williamson said during Friday’s briefing.
Dry, windy conditions helped fuel the complex and hinder the air response to fight the complex, which was 13,000 acres by Thursday evening.
At least 48 fire departments from 22 different counties across the state have responded to help fight the wildfires, Abbott said.
“When you have a fire this large in this many different areas, you need all the help that you can get,” the governor said.
The wildfires have destroyed at least 50 homes in Eastland, Brown and Comanche counties, Abbott said.
“Probably as we are able to better surveil damages here in the coming days, we will find more than that,” he said, warning that there is ongoing danger due to the dry and windy conditions.
Abbott said Friday he will sign a disaster proclamation to assist 11 counties that are either currently affected or that may be impacted by wildfires.
In addition to the Eastland Complex, first responders are working to contain three other active fires in Reagan, Sterling and Runnels counties.
(FERNLEY, Nev.) — Nearly a week after authorities believe a Nevada teenager was possibly kidnapped from a parking lot in her own car, the search for the missing person and a vehicle of interest continue.
Naomi Irion, 18, was last seen inside her car on March 12 around 5 a.m. in the parking lot of a Walmart in Fernley, Nevada, outside Reno, according to the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office.
Surveillance video captured a man getting into the driver’s seat of her car and leaving in an unknown direction with Irion in the passenger seat, said the sheriff’s office, which has characterized her disappearance as “suspicious in nature.”
Irion was sitting in the driver’s seat, but the suspect “did say or do something to Naomi to make her move over,” her brother, Casey Valley, who said he has seen the video, told reporters at a press briefing Thursday.
Irion was waiting for a shuttle bus Saturday morning to take her to her job at Panasonic Energy of North America in the Reno area, according to the Missing Persons Advocacy Network.
Valley, who lives with Irion, reported her missing on Sunday when she never came home from work. “I knew something was wrong,” he said.
Irion’s cellphone was last pinged in the area of the Walmart, the sheriff’s office said. Deputies found her car, a 1992 Mercury Sable, on Tuesday in an industrial park about a mile from the Walmart without her in it, the sheriff’s office said.
“Evidence suggesting Naomi’s disappearance is criminal in nature was located in the vehicle,” the sheriff’s office said, but did not provide any further details.
Investigators have identified a Chevrolet pickup truck whose driver they believe may have a “direct connection” to her current whereabouts, the sheriff’s office said.
“We’re making a plea to the public right now to locate our person of interest vehicle,” Lyon County Sheriff Frank Hunewill said Thursday.
The sheriff’s office released a photo of the vehicle — described as a dark 2020 or newer Chevrolet 2500 High Country 4-door pickup truck — on social media. It has also released the last known images of Irion, taken from surveillance footage the morning she went missing, as well as images from video surveillance that showed the suspect from the back with a hood pulled up over his head.
The surveillance video captured the suspect walking from a nearby homeless encampment, though it’s unclear if he is a person experiencing homelessness, Hunewill said.
The sheriff’s office said Thursday it is working with the Pyramid Lake Police Department and the FBI to search an area in neighboring Wadsworth “for any possible evidence linking to Naomi’s disappearance.”
“We’re doing all that we can do, with the resources that we’ve got — not just that we have, but Churchill County, Washoe County, everybody, FBI — to pull this together and try to get as much information as quick as we can because time is of the essence,” Hudewill said.
A community search is scheduled for Saturday morning. Sheriff’s deputies will be on hand to assist in the search.
Irion moved to Fernley in August 2021, a little over a year after her brother moved to the city from Wyoming.
The family emotionally expressed gratitude for the community’s support in the search for their sister, including posting missing person flyers.
“To the people of Fernley, the people of this area, the amount of support you have given us, it’s amazing,” Valley said. “Thank you.”
Irion’s sister, Tamara Cartwright, urged anyone who sees anything on social media that looks like Irion or the truck to contact the sheriff’s office.
“We have to stay optimistic,” she said through tears. “There’s no choice.”
Irion is 5’11” with black hair and a septum piercing. She was last seen wearing a blue Panasonic T-shirt, a gray cardigan sweater, gray pants and brown boots and carrying a black purse.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office at 775-557-5206 ext. 2, call or text Secret Witness at 775-322-4900 or go online at www.secretwitness.com.
(NEW YORK) — Over the next few weeks, the U.S. should expect an increase in cases from the BA.2 variant, Dr. Anthony Fauci told ABC News, but it may not lead to as severe a surge in hospitalizations or deaths.
“I would not be surprised if in the next few weeks we see somewhat of either a flattening of our diminution or maybe even an increase,” Fauci told ABC News’ Brad Mielke on the podcast “Start Here.”
His prediction is based on conversations with colleagues in the U.K., which is currently seeing a “blip” in cases, Fauci said. The pandemic trajectory in the U.S. has often followed the U.K. by about three weeks.
However, he added, “Their intensive care bed usage is not going up, which means they’re not seeing a blip up of severe disease.”
The BA.2 variant, a more transmissible strain of omicron, now represents around 23% of all cases in the U.S., according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
And while Fauci predicted that the BA.2 variant will eventually overtake omicron as the most dominant variant, it’s not yet clear how much of a problem that will be.
“Whether or not that is going to lead to another surge, a mini surge or maybe even a moderate surge, is very unclear because there are a lot of other things that are going on right now,” Fauci said.
Similar to the U.K., much of the U.S. has recently relaxed mitigation efforts like mask mandates and requirements for proof of vaccination. At the same time, people who were vaccinated over six months ago and still haven’t gotten a booster shot, which is about half of vaccinated Americans, according to the CDC, are facing continuously waning immunity.
It’s also not yet clear how long immunity from prior infection will last, Fauci said.
Taken together, it’s why Fauci and other experts, including CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, have increasingly predicted that elderly people will need a second booster shot soon. The Food and Drug Administration began reviewing data from Pfizer on the safety and efficacy this week, and its advisory panel will debate if and when the additional booster shot is necessary in the coming weeks.
At the same time, Fauci urged Americans who haven’t yet gotten their first booster, which would be their third shot in a Pfizer or Moderna series, to do so.
A resurgence of cases could also mean Americans are asked to wear masks again, which Fauci predicted would be an uphill battle.
“From what I know about human nature, which I think is pretty much a lot, people are kind of done with COVID,” Fauci said.
Still, he defended the CDC decision to loosen its mask recommendations earlier this month by shifting to a strategy that focused more on severe outcomes, like hospitalizations and deaths, rather than on daily case spread.
“You can go ahead and continue to tiptoe towards normality, which is what we’re doing, but at the same time, be aware that you may have to reverse,” Fauci said.
And if the U.S. does continue to make its way back toward normal times, Fauci himself has a personal choice to consider. At 81 years old, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases is “certainly” thinking about retirement.
“I have said that I would stay in what I’m doing until we get out of the pandemic phase and I think we might be there already, if we can stay in this,” Fauci said, referring to the falling cases and hospitalizations in the U.S.
“I can’t stay at this job forever. Unless my staff is gonna find me slumped over my desk one day. I’d rather not do that,” he said, laughing.
While he doesn’t currently have retirement plans, the recent hire of Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, to be White House coronavirus coordinator, could alleviate some of his pandemic response duties and give him a window.
But Fauci, who has dedicated his career to public health, primarily studying HIV and AIDS, and worked under seven U.S. presidents, said he doesn’t have any particular hobbies waiting for him in retirement.
“I, unfortunately, am somewhat of a unidimensional physician, scientist, public health person. When I do decide I’m going to step down, whenever that is, I’m going to have to figure out what it is I’m going to do,” he said.
“I’d love to spend more time with my wife and family. That would really be good.”
(New York) — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued its spring 2022 outlook for the U.S. on Thursday, forecasting prolonged, persistent drought in the West and likely below-average precipitation for the second year in a row.
The NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center’s forecast predicts above average temperatures for most of the U.S. from April to June, from the Desert Southwest to the East Coast and north through the Midwest to the Canadian border.
The agency also foresees continuing or worsening drought April through June west of the Mississippi River, from Mississippi to California and north to Montana and Washington.
In the West and South, it will be drier than normal, worsening and expanding the drought. But in the East, drought that has been seen in the Southeast and parts of the Great Lakes will likely improve and end over the next few months.
“Severe to exceptional drought has persisted in some areas of the West since the summer of 2020, and drought has expanded to the southern Plains and Lower Mississippi Valley,” Jon Gottschalck, chief of the operational prediction branch of the NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, said in a press release.
“With nearly 60% of the continental U.S. experiencing minor to exceptional drought conditions, this is the largest drought coverage we’ve seen in the U.S. since 2013,” Gottschalck added.
