Maj. W. Chris Clyne/Oregon National Guard Public Affairs via U.S. National Guard
(SALEM, Ore.) — Hundreds of National Guard members are on the ground in Oregon to help with a COVID-19 surge that’s overwhelming hospitals across the state.
Oregon has 1,000 COVID-19 patients in hospitals, according to state data, the highest ever in the pandemic. Gov. Kate Brown called the news a “terrifying milestone.”
The state seen cases skyrocket over the past six weeks, with nearly 3,000 reported Tuesday, according to the Oregon Health Authority’s COVID-19 dashboard. The state has 45 available adult ICU beds out of 667, roughly 7%, as of Tuesday.
The Oregon National Guard members — 500 initially were deployed on Aug. 20 — said they’re helping with nonclinical work and COVID-19 testing in 20 hospitals.
The state also has requested doctors, nurses, paramedics and respiratory therapists from out of state. At least 24 FEMA-deployed emergency medical technicians also have been sent out to assist at six Oregon hospitals, Brown said earlier this week.
Three Asante network hospitals in Jackson and Josephine counties in southern Oregon are reeling from a critical surge in COVID-19 cases. In those two counties, just four of 56 staffed adult ICU beds were available, according to the latest Oregon Health Authority data.
The Asante hospital network told ABC News that 80 National Guard members arrived on Aug. 19 and have been assigned to nonclinical support functions, including manning the COVID-19 hotline and assisting with drive-thru testing.
The hospital network reported 181 COVID-19 inpatients on Wednesday, a new record, and at least 9 in 10 hadn’t been vaccinated.
“All three of our hospitals are over capacity. Our ICUs are full. We’re putting two patients in ICU rooms at our Grants Pass hospital. These rooms are built to only house one patient,” Asante spokesperson Lauren Van Sickle told ABC News.
The hospital said capacity has not gone below 90% in the past six months and more than 400 surgeries have been canceled to deal with the surge, Van Sickle said.
In Jackson County, COVID-19 hospitalizations surged sevenfold from the beginning of July to the beginning of August.
Our hospital is actually in a really dire state right now,” Jackie DeSilva, the emergency preparedness manager with Asante, told ABC Portland, Oregon, affiliate KATU. “We are overflowing with patients.”
“We are actually extending our ICU beds into non-conventional areas that would not normally be considered ICU units so we can care for the patients,” she added.
State health officer Dr. Dean Sidelinger said in a statement Tuesday that current hospitalizations “far exceed” pre-vaccination surges last fall and winter, and a majority of those in hospitals aren’t vaccinated. So far 71.4% of those 18 and older are fully vaccinated in Oregon, according to state data.
“This is putting an unprecedented strain on our local hospitals. Already, we have seen some hospitals suspend much-needed medical procedures because of the overflowing capacity. This affects every Oregonian family and it is not sustainable,” he said.
Brown has been buckling down on public safety measures to cope with the surge in cases announcing a mask mandate for public outdoor settings on Tuesday, regardless of vaccination status, starting Friday. She also announced last week that health care workers and K-12 educators, staff and volunteers must be fully vaccinated.
(NEW YORK) — A limited-time Ferris wheel is opening in New York City’s Times Square Wednesday offering tourists and residents a new view of the city.
The 110-foot-tall ride is in operation from Aug. 25 to Sept. 12.
Times Square Alliance President Tom Harris called it “an incredible new way to enjoy Times Square from a completely new vantage point as we navigate these times and reflect on all we have been through this past year.”
Six people can ride in each gondola.
The Ferris wheel runs from noon to midnight seven days a week. General admission tickets are $20.
(NEW YORK) — The United States is facing a COVID-19 surge this summer as the more contagious delta variant spreads.
More than 630,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 while over 4.4 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 60.2% of Americans ages 12 and up are 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:
Aug 25, 4:25 pm
Gov. Abbott issues executive order maintaining ban on vaccine mandates
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order on Wednesday maintaining a ban on vaccine mandates.
I issued an Executive Order maintaining the prohibition of vaccine mandates.
Abbott also said he added the vaccine mandate issue to Texas’ Special Session agenda.
Abbott tested positive for COVID-19 last week and has since tested negative.
Aug 25, 2:35 pm
Pfizer asks FDA for full booster dose approval
Pfizer on Wednesday asked the Food and Drug Administration for full approval for a booster dose. The company said its Phase 3 data showed that people who received a third dose between five to eight months after the second shot had antibody levels three times higher than levels seen after the second dose.
Because the Pfizer shots were approved by the FDA on Monday, Pfizer is now asking the agency to consider a “supplemental” application for boosters for people ages 16 and over. This is a “rolling submission,” with Pfizer intending to complete the submission by the end of the week.
The Biden administration said its goal is to have boosters available beginning Sept. 20, with the recommendation of getting one eight months after the second shot of Pfizer or Moderna.
-ABC News’ Sony Salzman
Aug 25, 1:35 pm
Baby dies in Louisiana marking state’s 1st pediatric death in 6 months
A baby under the age of 1 died in connection to COVID-19 in the last 24 hours in Louisiana, the state’s Department of Health said Wednesday.
This marked Louisiana’s first pediatric COVID-19 death in six months, the department said. The baby was one of 110 people in Louisiana to die of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours.
Eleven children in Louisiana have died from COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, the department said.
Aug 25, 1:07 pm
Hospitalizations at highest point in 7 months
There are now over 100,000 COVID-19 patients in U.S. hospitals, the most in seven months, according to federal data.
The rate of hospital admissions per capita among Americans 29 and younger is at the highest point of the pandemic, according to federal data.
Compared with July 4, six times as many children are being admitted to hospitals, and daily deaths are up 281% over the last six weeks to 775, according to federal data.
Eight states have ICUs over 90% full: Alabama (100%), Arkansas (89.58%), Florida (93.52%), Georgia (92.74%), Kentucky (89.33%), Mississippi (92.93%), Oklahoma (88.93%) and Texas (93.12%).
-ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos
Aug 25, 10:56 am
Pentagon announces mandatory Pfizer vaccinations
The Pentagon on Wednesday announced mandatory Pfizer vaccinations, calling it “necessary to protect the safety of our service members and force.”
Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine was granted full approval by the FDA on Monday.
Aug 25, 10:37 am
Delta Air Lines raising health insurance premiums for unvaccinated employees
Delta is raising health insurance premiums for unvaccinated employees by $200 a month to cover COVID-19 costs like potential hospitalization, which the airline says has cost it $40,000 per person on average.
In recent weeks, all Delta employees hospitalized with COVID-19 were not fully vaccinated, Delta CEO Ed Bastian wrote in a memo to employees.
Currently 75% of Delta employees are vaccinated, according to the airline.
The health insurance premium begins Nov. 1.
Unvaccinated employees will also have to wear masks indoors and be required to take a weekly COVID test beginning Sept. 12.
Aug 25, 10:00 am
Moderna finalizes submission to FDA for full approval
Moderna has finalized submission of its application to the Food and Drug Administration for full approval of its COVID-19 vaccine, the company announced Monday.
It’s not yet clear how long the FDA will take to review Moderna’s application.
Pfizer completed its vaccine application in May and was granted full approval on Monday.
Aug 25, 7:00 am
J&J says its vaccine booster shot raises antibody levels 9-fold
In the midst of a delta variant surge, a new study finds that giving a booster dose of the Johnson & Johnson shot six months after primary vaccination results in a nine-fold increase of a crucial antibody response, according to a company press release.
Meanwhile, a prior study found that people vaccinated with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine still had a durable immune response at least eight months later, even without a booster.
Collectively, the findings could help inform the U.S. government’s recommendations about booster shots for the 14 million people who received the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Boosting after six months “appears to be safe, and boosts immune responses substantially,” Dr. Dan Barouch, Ph.D., director of the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, told ABC News.
Aug 25, 3:53 am
COVID-19 cases rise among athletes at Tokyo Paralympics
Several Paralympic athletes have tested positive for COVID-19 in Tokyo in recent days.
According to daily figures released by the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee, at least eight positive cases have been confirmed among unnamed Paralympic athletes so far, with two new cases reported on Wednesday following the opening ceremony.
The 2020 Summer Paralympics officially opened in the Japanese capital on Tuesday, after a yearlong delay due to the coronavirus pandemic. Like the 2020 Olympics, which ended on Aug. 8, this year’s Paralympics is taking place under a state of emergency as Japan struggles with a growing COVID-19 crisis.
Aug 24, 9:01 pm
Another Florida school district issues mask mandate
Leaders of the Orange County public school system voted Tuesday to require a mask mandate for all students and staff.
The rule goes into effect on Aug. 30 and will last for at least two months. There will be exemptions for medical reasons.
School board members cited the growing COVID-19 rates and hospitalizations in the area as the reason for their decision.
Aug 24, 5:54 pm
NYC School chancellor discusses teacher vaccine mandate
New York City Schools Chancellor Meisha Porter spoke with ABC News about the vaccine mandate for public school staff that goes into effect Sept. 27.
Porter said she was confident that teachers and other staff members would comply to ensure that classrooms are safe for everyone.
“This is the additional extra layer of protection that we didn’t have a year ago,” she said.
Porter said she has been in discussions with the United Federation of Teachers over what the penalties will be if a teacher doesn’t comply, and she was told that “many of their members are already vaccinated.”
The chancellor said those who still have concerns should know that the Food and Drug Administration has fully approved the Pfizer vaccine and it has shown to prevent severe illness.
Aug 24, 5:38 pm
Kentucky reports record hospitalizations, ICU patients
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear tweeted a dire update on the state’s COVID-19 cases.
The state health department reported that 2,014 people are currently hospitalized with the virus, 589 of whom are in intensive care units and 338 are on ventilators. Beshear said these are record numbers.
“Folks, this is dangerous. Please, get vaccinated and mask up indoors,” the governor tweeted.
(NEW YORK) — The United States is facing a COVID-19 surge this summer as the more contagious delta variant spreads.
More than 630,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 while over 4.4 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 60.2% of Americans ages 12 and up are 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:
Aug 25, 7:00 am
J&J says its vaccine booster shot raises antibody levels 9-fold
In the midst of a delta variant surge, a new study finds that giving a booster dose of the Johnson & Johnson shot six months after primary vaccination results in a nine-fold increase of a crucial antibody response, according to a company press release.
Meanwhile, a prior study found that people vaccinated with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine still had a durable immune response at least eight months later, even without a booster.
Collectively, the findings could help inform the U.S. government’s recommendations about booster shots for the 14 million people who received the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Boosting after six months “appears to be safe, and boosts immune responses substantially,” Dr. Dan Barouch, Ph.D., director of the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, told ABC News.
Aug 25, 3:53 am
COVID-19 cases rise among athletes at Tokyo Paralympics
Several Paralympic athletes have tested positive for COVID-19 in Tokyo in recent days.
According to daily figures released by the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee, at least eight positive cases have been confirmed among unnamed Paralympic athletes so far, with two new cases reported on Wednesday following the opening ceremony.
The 2020 Summer Paralympics officially opened in the Japanese capital on Tuesday, after a yearlong delay due to the coronavirus pandemic. Like the 2020 Olympics, which ended on Aug. 8, this year’s Paralympics is taking place under a state of emergency as Japan struggles with a growing COVID-19 crisis.
Aug 24, 9:01 pm
Another Florida school district issues mask mandate
Leaders of the Orange County public school system voted Tuesday to require a mask mandate for all students and staff.
The rule goes into effect on Aug. 30 and will last for at least two months. There will be exemptions for medical reasons.
School board members cited the growing COVID-19 rates and hospitalizations in the area as the reason for their decision.
Aug 24, 5:54 pm
NYC School chancellor discusses teacher vaccine mandate
New York City Schools Chancellor Meisha Porter spoke with ABC News about the vaccine mandate for public school staff that goes into effect Sept. 27.
Porter said she was confident that teachers and other staff members would comply to ensure that classrooms are safe for everyone.
“This is the additional extra layer of protection that we didn’t have a year ago,” she said.
Porter said she has been in discussions with the United Federation of Teachers over what the penalties will be if a teacher doesn’t comply, and she was told that “many of their members are already vaccinated.”
The chancellor said those who still have concerns should know that the Food and Drug Administration has fully approved the Pfizer vaccine and it has shown to prevent severe illness.
Aug 24, 5:38 pm
Kentucky reports record hospitalizations, ICU patients
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear tweeted a dire update on the state’s COVID-19 cases.
The state health department reported that 2,014 people are currently hospitalized with the virus, 589 of whom are in intensive care units and 338 are on ventilators. Beshear said these are record numbers.
“Folks, this is dangerous. Please, get vaccinated and mask up indoors,” the governor tweeted.
(Reno, Nev.) — Smoke from the raging wildfires in the West Coast was so severe that it created an air quality alert as far as Reno, Nevada, on Tuesday.
Several Nevada counties reported their worst recorded air quality index numbers in the two decades they’ve been monitoring air quality.
Washoe County, which includes Reno, recorded a high of 291 AQI Tuesday, according to the Washoe County Air Quality Management Division.
To get an idea of what Reno/Sparks looks like right now compared to one of the cleaner days in the last month.
Left is the current view from @NWSReno‘s webcam (AirNow NowCast AQI of 289) w/ #CaldorFire smoke
The agency noted that the levels of fine particle matter, PM, was dangerously high.
“With a new record set, the top 10 worst PM2.5 daily average AQIs have now all occurred within the last 11 months. We also set a record for the worst PM10 day as well with an AQI of 183,” the agency tweeted.
The poor air quality resulted in the closure of schools in several Nevada counties and Lake Tahoe Community College Tuesday. Clark County, Nevada, issued an air health advisory and urged people to stay indoors and close their windows.
The smoke has been an ongoing problem for the West Coast as several wildfires are burning in California. The Caldor Fire, which Washoe County AQMD said is the cause of its poor air quality, has burned 117,704 acres and was only 9% contained as of Tuesday, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
(HONOLULU) — Many local Hawaiians have been asking tourists to stop visiting the islands during the pandemic, and the governor is now echoing their calls.
“It is a risky time to be traveling right now,” Gov. David Ige said at a press conference on Monday. “We know that the visitors who choose to come to the islands will not have the typical kind of holiday that they expect to get when they visit Hawaii.”
The delta variant is ravaging Hawaii, with the state having more confirmed cases than at any point in the pandemic. Averaging more than 700 cases a day, according to Johns Hopkins University & Medicine, roughly 72% of the state’s hospital beds are full.
Despite the growing number of cases across the country, particularly in areas with low vaccination rates, tourism is quickly matching pre-pandemic levels. In June 2019, there were 277,930 daily visitors on average, according to the Hawaii Tourism Authority. In June 2021, that figure was back up to 255,936.
Only about 62% of Hawaiians are fully vaccinated, according to Johns Hopkins, creating a growing risk for those who remain unvaccinated as tourism ramps back up.
Hawaii Tourism Authority President and CEO John De Fries told ABC News that the visitor experience to the state will not be the same. Restrictions are in place that reduce restaurant capacity, and many events or venues are simply closed.
However, De Fries added, although tourism in Hawaii tends to slow toward the end of the summer anyway, residents have said for quite some time that wide-reaching tourism has been a danger to locals.
“During our lockdown in 2020, we were able to see what Hawaii was like without tourists and we realized the adverse impacts that tourism is having on our islands,” said Healani Sonoda-Pale, a spokesperson for the local advocacy group Ka Lahui Hawaii. “When tourism came back, it came back with a vengeance.”
During the lockdown, Sonoda-Pale and other Hawaiians enjoyed empty beaches, emptier streets, short lines at grocery stores and the comfort of knowing that delicate ecosystems were safer. Tourism was taking a toll on the natural environment and the well-being of locals and native Hawaiians, according to the HTA.
But when the islands began to loosen restrictions during the summer, coronavirus cases began to climb, and endangered animals quickly became playthings for tourists.
The island has had to increase the patrolling of Turtle Beach, where sea turtles were being harassed by hundreds of tourists, and one visitor was fined $500 for touching endangered monk seals, as more videos of tourists posing with the Hawaiian animals has gone.
“They don’t come here with any kind of respect or idea of some of the things that they’re doing are actually hurting our environment, or hurting our communities and hurting the residents and the Kanaka Maoli people here,” Sonoda-Pale said.
However, tourism doesn’t seem to be going away any time soon — it’s the largest source of private capital for the Hawaiian economy, according to the HTA. But Sonoda-Pale said the pandemic is a perfect time to reimagine the community’s relationship to tourism.
Before the pandemic, which highlighted the island’s alarming reliance on tourism, De Fries said the HTA has been attempting to make moves toward educating visitors on the culture and the treatment of the land and people.
“Malama means ‘to care for, to protect, to nurture,'” said De Fries. “If you care about Hawaii, when you travel here, you must understand the ways in which we Malama. There’s a heightened level of visitor awareness and appreciation and sensitivity that we are committed to sharing with the visitor.”
(NEW YORK) — Det. Brittney Hilton had no idea she had just been shot. All she said she felt at first was an incredible amount of pain, and a “very sick feeling.”
“I was cold at some points, shaking. The fear kind of takes over, the adrenaline takes over,” Hilton told ABC News. “I just said, ‘Am I going to die?’”
“I said, ‘Please just tell my kids that I love them and don’t let them find out on social media that I’ve been shot,’” she continued. “I didn’t know if I was going to make it to the hospital.”
Hilton, a mom of three who has been with the Bridge City, Texas, Police Department for 11 years, said the bullet came within one millimeter — the edge of a penny — from killing her.
But what Hilton said she also didn’t realize at first was that the bullet had come from her own service gun, a semi-automatic pistol called the P320. It was still holstered inside her purse, according to the police report.
Hilton is now suing gunmaker Sig Sauer over the December 2020 incident.
“Never, in my wildest dreams, would I have believed that my gun would just have shot me,” she said. “Gun owners don’t want to think that their gun can just go off without the trigger being pulled.”
Sig Sauer’s P320 is widely used by police departments across the country, and is a big seller in the civilian market, with about half a million sold nationwide.
But now, P320 is the subject of multiple lawsuits in connection with incidents like Hilton’s, where owners claim the weapon fired without the trigger being pulled.
Hilton said she was inside the Bridge City Police station when her gun went off. She still has the purse with the bullet hole in the bottom.
“I picked up my bag, my keys were on top,” she said. “As I walked around my desk, my purse swings out and it shoots out the bottom of my bag.”
It happened so fast, Hilton said, that she didn’t process what was going on at first, but she smelled the gunpowder.
“And then I took one step, and I felt this pain. It felt like a hot rod of metal had just been placed not only in my private, but through my leg,” she said. “and it [the bullet] exits out [of] my lower buttocks.”
Hilton said she still has pain from her injury.
“There’s never a point that I’m really not in pain unless I’m laying down,” she said.
Attorney Jeffrey Bagnell represents Hilton and several other police officers who have filed individual lawsuits against Sig Sauer over the P320.
“I think it’s a very, very serious safety problem for law enforcement and for the public at large,” Bagnell said. “I’m not aware of any other semi-automatic pistol today that has this problem.”
Hilton’s $15 million lawsuit said, “there have been 54 reported uncommanded discharges of the P320,” meaning the gun went off by itself, over the last five years in 22 states and Washington, D.C.
Sig Sauer did not respond to ABC News’ request for comment. The gunmaker has previously denied liability for these incidents and, in some cases, blamed the plaintiffs for negligence. The gunmaker said in an August 2017 press release that “the P320 meets and exceeds all U.S. standards for safety.”
After Hilton’s incident, the Bridge City Police Department had Sig Sauer examine the gun. In Sig Sauer’s response to the Bridge City Police Department after Hilton’s incident, the company contends that “a foreign object entered the trigger guard (causing) the pistol to discharge.”
Hilton disputes that, saying the gun was holstered in her purse and that it would be near impossible for something to wedge inside the holster and be enough to pull the trigger.
“I’m very pro-gun,” Hilton said. “But this gun is so dangerous, and it just scares me that there are so many out there that don’t know the potential it has to go off.”
There are currently 10 pending lawsuits against Sig Sauer for this particular firearm, all alleging the gun went off on its own. A number of those suing the gunmaker said they are in law enforcement with extensive firearms experience.
“It’s not credible to claim that people with this amount of training, this amount of skill are all shooting themselves,” Bagnell said. “These are experts. It’s happening all over the country. … you would have to conclude there’s a problem with the product, not with the people.”
Virginia Sheriff’s Deputy Marcie Vadnais was injured in 2018 when she said her P320 handgun went off on its own as she was removing the weapon from her belt, still in its holster. She said the bullet hit her in the thigh and shattered her femur.
Sig Sauer settled her lawsuit, without admitting wrongdoing, for an undisclosed amount of money the day after the jury heard Vadnais testify at the start of the trial.
Vadnais said she wants the gun off the market.
“I saw what it did to me. I saw what it did to my family. And I don’t want that to happen to anybody else,” she said.
Bagnell said he’s been pressing Sig Sauer to recall the P320 for years, noting that firearms are not subject to any federal safety regulations.
“If this were a car, a phone, a refrigerator, it would’ve been recalled long, long ago,” Bagnell said. “So I think it is unconscionable, given the number of incidents of this gun defectively discharging without a trigger pull would necessitate that someone order it to be recalled, and only Sig can do that.”
While Sig Sauer has continued to dispute that there is anything wrong with the P320, the company offered what it called a “voluntary upgrade” in 2017, saying, “the upgraded P320 has lighter internal components, including a new thinner-profile trigger and a lighter sear and striker. These upgrades will enhance the protection against unintended discharges if the pistol is dropped.”
Then the gunmaker began manufacturing all P320s with the upgrade.
Vadnais’ P320 handgun was not the upgraded version, however, Hilton’s P320 was the upgraded version and her lawyer is convinced the modifications have not fixed the problem.
“The defect has not been addressed,” said Bagnell.
Peter Villani is a veteran police officer with 35 years of experience, including as a firearms instructor and a Sig Sauer-certified armorer — someone who is certified to repair and inspect a firearm — of the P320. He said he believes there are design flaws and manufacturing issues with the firearm.
“I carry Sig. I own Sig. I just don’t own a [P]320, nor would I ever,” he told ABC News, referring to all models of the P320 pistol, including the upgraded version.
Villani, who is an expert witness for Hilton in her lawsuit, said he began investigating the P320 after an officer in his police department was injured by an upgraded version of the gun.
He also referred to body camera footage captured in 2016 that shows an officer’s P320 firing as he was getting out of his cruiser during a traffic stop.
“Something hit my leg,” the officer can be heard saying on the video. “I don’t know if I’m shot or what… I just for the life of me can’t figure out how that went off.”
A second officer whose body camera captured the incident responded: “Yeah, because there’s no– your seat belt wouldn’t have–“
“No, the trigger was completely covered,” the first officer said. “I don’t know. I honestly don’t know… I’m glad you’re my witness.”
“When I see videos of police officers getting out of their car and their weapon discharges in their holsters … There’s a problem with the gun,” Villani said.
Firearms expert and ABC News consultant Joshua Harrison agrees there was a problem with the P320, but he believes it’s been fixed.
“There were a lot of changes. It was expensive, and they would not have done that for no reason at all,” Harrison told ABC News. “In my opinion, the only reason Sig would have done that is if they knew there was a safety problem with the original gun, otherwise they would not have done it.”
Harrison said if indeed there are cases of the upgraded versions of the gun firing on their own, it is unclear what would be causing them to do so.
“I have not seen enough to convince me that the upgraded version’s dangerous,” Harrison said. “I do not have an explanation for why the updated version should have these complaints from trained individuals. If it’s not legal momentum, then it would have to be some other mechanism of failure.”
Still, there are at least two police departments that had safety concerns about the P320 and replaced it with a different gun.
In Philadelphia, the transit police SEPTA swapped out its P320s for Glocks after one of its officers had a P320 go off unexpectedly in 2019. The bullet in that case narrowly missed the officer and a woman nearby.
In Stamford, Connecticut, an officer sued Sig Sauer after he says he dropped his P320 and it shot him in the knee. That department replaced all P320s in 2017.
Hilton said her department in Bridge City is ordering new guns, but in the meantime, many of its officers still carry the modified version of the P320 pistol.
“I have a lot of anxiety every day [over this],” Hilton said. “The fact that I carried my purse into my house every single day and my children were at home … Sig put their life at risk. Sig knows they put their life at risk.”
She said she continues to live with the physical and emotional scars from her incident.
“I think that this gun needs to be removed from the shelf,” Hilton said. “I hope it doesn’t take something fatal, and I’m hoping by bringing awareness to the public that maybe it’ll bring attention to Sig to say, ‘Hey, this gun’s an issue, and before it gets someone killed, take it off the shelf. Stop manufacturing this gun. Find a different solution.’”
(NEW YORK) — Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts has died at the age of 80.
A spokesperson for the musician confirmed the news of his death on Tuesday.
‘’It is with immense sadness that we announce the death of our beloved Charlie Watts,” the statement read. “He passed away peacefully in a London hospital earlier today surrounded by his family.”
“Charlie was a cherished husband, father and grandfather and also as a member of The Rolling Stones one of the greatest drummers of his generation,” the statement continued. “We kindly request that the privacy of his family, band members and close friends is respected at this difficult time.’’
The Stones announced earlier this month that Watts likely wouldn’t be able to join the band when it kicked off its 2021 “No Filter Tour” of North America.
Fans were told he was recovering from an unspecified medical procedure.
Watts released a statement at the time about his absence from the tour: “For once my timing has been a little off. I am working hard to get fully fit but I have today accepted on the advice of the experts that this will take a while. After all the fans’ suffering caused by Covid I really do not want the many RS fans who have been holding tickets for this Tour to be disappointed by another postponement or cancellation. I have therefore asked my great friend Steve Jordan to stand in for me.”
A longtime jazz aficionado, Watts developed a rock-steady style and swing that was the perfect complement to The Stones’ blues and R&B-influenced rock.
Other than frontman Mick Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards, Charlie was the only member of the band to appear on every Rolling Stones album.
Here’s just a small sampling of the classic Stones hits featuring Watts: “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” “Paint It, Black,” “Ruby Tuesday,” “Honky Tonk Women,” “Brown Sugar,” “Angie,” “Miss You” and “Start Me Up.”
Watts was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The Rolling Stones in 1989.
Outside of the band, Watts has released albums with various jazz, blues and boogie woogie groups, including Rocket 88, The Charlie Watts Orchestra, The Charlie Watts Quintet, The Charlie Watts Tentet and The ABC&D of Boogie Woogie.
In addition to his drumming skills, Watts was known for being a stylish dresser who enjoyed wearing tasteful suits. In 2006, he was chosen for Vanity Fair’s International Best Dressed Hall of Fame List.
Contrary to The Rolling Stones’ bad boy image, Watts was a devoted husband who was married to his wife, Shirley, for over 56 years. The couple have one daughter, Seraphina, born in 1968.
In 2004, Watts was diagnosed with throat cancer, but after receiving radiotherapy treatment, the disease went into remission.
In a 2008 video interview posted on The Stones’ YouTube channel, Charlie reflected on his drumming style, noting, “My thing, whenever I play, is to make it a dance sound. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a blues or whatever, it should swing and bounce.”
Richards was one of the most passionate and vocal fans of Watts’ drumming. In a 2019 interview with U.K. newspaper The Sun, Richards gushed, “He’s absolutely amazing. It’s indescribable to find a drummer like Charlie Watts, exceptionally brilliant.”
(NEW YORK) — Two grandparents with one great love story celebrated 59 years of marriage by recreating their wedding day — complete with the bride’s original dress.
When Karen and Gary Ryan, both 79, got married in July of 1962 in Pocatello, Idaho, they said their wedding day looked very different to the ones we’re used to seeing today.
“It was so simple,” Karen told Good Morning America. “We went down the aisle, said our vows and went to the basement of our church for the reception.”
“I think we had punch and cookies. It was all over within an hour,” added Gary, who now has two sons and five grandchildren with Karen.
The couple’s daughter-in-law, Nikki, and granddaughter, McCall, each have their own wedding photography business and came up with the idea to stage a wedding photo shoot after the family found Karen’s wedding dress in storage at their current home in Handford, California.
The family was shocked when the wedding dress still fit her perfectly.
“I was really excited, but I just I couldn’t believe what was happening,” Karen said.
And after recent heart trouble for Gary, including a surgery this year to put in another stent, Nikki admitted they “didn’t think he was going to make it.” But after nursing him back to health, the family was determined to make every moment together count.
They still kiss every day, they still hug every day, they still tell each other ‘I love you’ every day, so it’s just really special.
“He’s on oxygen now, so he was really not doing very well the last few months, so we’re like, ‘If we could do this for their anniversary, and he can walk outside, then it’s going to be awesome.'”
The Ryans rented Gary a white tux to match the one he wore in 1962 and spent an hour one afternoon snapping photos of the couple and recreating special details from their original wedding day — and adding some modern traditions.
The couple did a “first look” during the shoot where Karen surprised Gary in her dress for the first time in nearly six decades.
“It was really emotional,” Gary said, adding: “She still looks pretty hot.”
The pair popped champagne and fed each other cake, true to their original reception all those years ago. Karen even wore the veil garter that came with her wedding dress.
“Just looking at the two photos, like that was them 60 years ago, and this is them now and they’re still just as in love. They just have so much fun together, always laughing, and they are such a solid team,” granddaughter McCall said.
The Ryans said one difference between weddings then and now is the price tag. The couple estimated their 1962 nuptials cost $500, a far cry from The Knot’s average 2019 wedding cost of $23,000.
“They spent $500 and they are still happy and in love,” said McCall.
“They still kiss every day, they still hug every day, they still tell each other ‘I love you’ every day so it’s just really special,” Nikki added.
Their biggest advice to other couples is to “just don’t take anything too seriously, unless it is serious. Just have fun in life.
(NEW YORK) — Laverne Cox is opening up to fans about her decision not to have children.
Taking to Instagram on Monday, the Emmy nominated actress made it clear that she isn’t interested in raising children because she is still working on herself.
“I see so many friends and colleagues becoming parents. I’m happy for all of you,” said Cox, 49, in a black and white text post. “I’m even happier for me, ecstatic even that I am NOT becoming a parent ever, never ever.”
She declared, “The thought brings me so much joy!”
“Enjoy the most important job on the planet, raising children. I’m enjoying watching you from a distance,” the “Promising Young Woman” star explained.
She said she is “doing the work of reparenting” her “inner child,” which she said is “more than enough work.”
Cox captioned the announcement, “It’s never too late to have a happy childhood.”
Many of the actress’ fans and followers took to the comments to praise her honesty. Many also said they related to not wanting children and commended her for publicly stating it.
