(DALLAS) — A hostage situation is underway at a synagogue in the Dallas-Fort Worth area Saturday, a source on the scene told ABC News.
An armed suspect claiming to have bombs in unknown locations took a rabbi and three others hostage at the Congregation Beth Israel, the source said. It is unclear to what extent the hostage-taker is armed.
The suspect’s sister is a known terrorist who is incarcerated at Carswell Air Force Base near Fort Worth and he is demanding to have the sister freed, according to the source.
There is believed to be one suspect at this time, and the FBI is en route, the source said.
The Colleyville Police Department’s SWAT team responded to the area midday Saturday and evacuated residents in the immediate area.
As of 1:20 p.m. local time, the situation “remains ongoing,” the department said on social media. “We ask that you continue to avoid the area.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(NEW YORK) — Some 75 million Americans in 33 states, from the Dakotas to Georgia to Maine, are under alert Saturday through Monday for a massive winter storm and chilling temperatures.
At least 11 winter weather alerts and advisories are in effect, including a wind chill advisory for much of the Northeast, where wind chills — what temperature it feels like — were as low as minus 40 degrees F early Saturday.
A winter storm watch also is in effect from Arkansas to Pennsylvania for a much-anticipated winter storm that’s already dumped more than a foot of snow across North Dakota and Iowa.
As the storm heads southeast toward the mid-Mississippi states Saturday into Sunday, and then toward the Northeast Sunday into Monday, more snow, ice and rain is expected.
Three to 6 inches of snow is possible in parts of the South, with Atlanta having the potential to see its first measurable snowfall in four years. Six to 18 inches of snow is possible in the mountains of Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia.
The interior Northeast up through New England is expected to get hit with 6 to 18 inches of snow. Coastal areas of the Northeast, including Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, New York City and Boston, could see up to 3 inches of snow, though that will likely get washed away as the snow changes to rain by early Monday.
Dangerous road conditions, as well as power outages, are expected throughout the holiday weekend. The Interstate 95 corridor will likely see a wintry mix of rain, snow and ice Sunday into Monday.
Four states — Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia — declared states of emergency Friday ahead of the storm, while West Virginia declared a statewide “state of preparedness.”
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper urged residents to gather essentials Saturday and stay off the roads Sunday and Monday as “significant impacts” are expected statewide.
“This storm’s a menace,” the governor said during a press briefing Saturday. “As much as a foot of snow’s expected to fall in the mountains and foothills. And in central North Carolina, freezing rain and sleet on top of some snow will fall. The eastern part of our state expects heavy rain and flash flooding, plus high winds and gust.”
In preparation, 10,000 workers from Duke Energy are being activated to help restore power. The state has also activated 200 National Guard members to assist with the transportation needs in western and central counties.
More than 1,200 state Department of Transportation employees and contractors have spread 2.5 million gallons of brine on roads since Thursday and prepared over 400 trucks ready to respond after the storm hits, North Carolina Department of Transportation Secretary Eric Boyette said.
Boyette warned of likely delays in response times due to the widespread impact of the storm across the state, as well as labor shortages due to COVID-19.
“Travel could be greatly impacted for several days after the storm,” he said, urging people to stay off the roads. “We will do everything we can to reopen roads as quickly as possible.”
In Georgia, Gov. Brian Kemp said agencies are preparing to mobilize and deploy resources as needed in the state, as well as to aid neighboring states if needed.
Atlanta also is preparing for snow, with Mayor Andre Dickens telling Ellen Lopez of “Good Morning America”: “We have 40 pieces of equipment that’s ready to go. We have 300 employees. Gallons and gallons of brine. So we’re trying to stay ahead of it.”
ABC News’ Hilda Estevez and Melissa Griffin contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — In an effort to cut emissions, the Federal Aviation Administration announced it’s changing the way some planes land at U.S. airports.
Currently, most planes that land at airports descend in a stair-step method, where aircraft repeatedly level off and power up the engines during the descent. Under the agency’s new 42 Optimized Profile Descents, or OPDs, planes will instead descend from cruising altitude to the runway in a smoother, continuous path with engines set at near idle.
“If you just think about what takes more energy, walking down the stairs or sliding down a slide, that’s basically what the plane is doing,” FAA spokesperson Matthew Lehner said in an interview with ABC News.
The move is part of the agency’s work to achieve a net-zero greenhouse gas emissions aviation sector by 2050 — part of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s U.S. Aviation Climate Action Plan announced at the United Nations Climate Change Conference last November.
“There’s less fuel burn as you’re sliding down toward the approach to the airport,” Lehner said. “It also means with less fuel burning you get less emissions in the air.”
In 2013, researchers with the FAA and the Georgia Institute of Technology found OPDs cut about 41 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions and 2 million gallons of jet fuel at Los Angeles International Airport in one year, which is equivalent to cutting 1,300 flights from Atlanta to Dallas, the FAA said.
The FAA implemented OPDs at various airports across the country in 2021, including Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, Miami International Airport and Florida’s Orlando International Airport. This year, it plans to implement the descents at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, Missouri’s Kansas City International Airport and Omaha, Nebraska’s Eppley Airfield. It is also adding additional routes at Orlando International Airport.
In addition to cutting emissions, the agency said passengers might notice a smoother, quieter approach with the engine not revving throughout its descent. The continuous landing technique is also quieter for areas surrounding airports.
(EUGENE, Ore.) — Six people were transported to hospitals after a shooting at a concert hall in Eugene, Oregon, police said.
At 9:29 p.m. Friday, there were reports of multiple shots fired outside WOW Hall, where Lil Bean and Zay Bang were performing.
The Eugene Police Department and multiple law enforcement agencies responded, along with Eugene Springfield Fire.
Of the six victims that were shot, one is in critical condition, Eugene Police Department Chief Chris Skinner said during a press conference early Saturday.
Police don’t yet know if the shooting was random or targeted, but Skinner said it was “one of the highest profile shootings we’ve had in the city of Eugene.”
There are no reported fatalities at this time.
Police are looking for a single suspect, thought to be a male in a hoodie who was last seen running westbound away from the scene, Skinner said. The police chief added that he does not believe there is a broader safety risk to the community, but emphasized the suspect is still likely armed and dangerous.
“You may have heard that there was a shooting outside the WOW Hall tonight at the ‘Lil Bean + Zay Bang’* concert,” WOW Hall’s Board Chair Jaci Guerena and Interim Executive Director Deb Maher said in a statement on the venue’s website. “There is not much information currently available however we heard gunshots in the back parking lot. The motives are not yet known. We do know that some people were injured, but we do not know the extent of the injuries, and we do not want to speculate.”
All classes held at the WOW Hall are canceled until further notice, they said.
“We at the WOW Hall want to thank all first responders who came so quickly to ensure everyone’s safety and administer first aid. We believe all staff and volunteers are safe and accounted for. This is unprecedented at the WOW Hall. The police are investigating. If we receive additional information, we will try to make it available,” Guerena and Maher added.
The shooting is under active investigation.
Police are asking that anyone with information regarding the incident (case 22-00850) call 541-682-5111.
(NEW YORK) — The National Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami advisory for the entire West Coast and Alaska in the wake of an undersea volcanic eruption near Tonga.
Nearly all coastal areas in California, Oregon, Washington, Southeast Alaska, South Alaska, the Alaskan Peninsula and the Aleutian Islands are under a tsunami advisory. British Columbia is also under advisory.
Japan’s Meteorological Agency issued a tsunami warning for the southern Amami island and Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecture and a tsunami advisory for all coastal areas facing the Pacific Ocean. Tsunami waves as high as 1.2 meters were reported near those islands around 11:30 a.m. eastern time.
A tsunami advisory means that a tsunami could produce strong currents or waves near the coastline. However, a tsunami advisory does not indicate a major tsunami event where water is actively entering coastal communities. In this circumstance, the tsunami is only dangerous to those in the water, or on the immediate beach — like swimmers and boaters.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
ABC News’ Daniel Manzo contributed to this report.
Editor’s note: This story’s headline has been updated to report that a tsunami advisory, not a warning, was issued.
(NEW YORK) — Southern states have declared states of emergency as snow targets the East Coast this weekend.
The storm first hits the Midwest Friday night into Saturday. Roads will be dangerous in southern Minnesota and Iowa, where up to 10 inches of snow and gusty winds could cause whiteout conditions. The Midwest could see 6 to 12 inches of snow in some areas.
Saturday night into Sunday, the snow turns to Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and the Carolinas.
A wintry mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain could make roads extremely dangerous.
Three to 6 inches of snow is possible in parts of the South, with 6 to 18 inches possible in the mountains of Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia. This storm has the potential to give Atlanta its first measurable snow in four years.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam have issued states of emergency as the storm approaches.
“This storm will bring significant impacts from snow, sleet and freezing rain in different parts of the state, with likely power outages and travel disruptions,” Cooper warned.
Northam said, “I urge Virginians to take this storm seriously and make preparations now.”
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice has also declared a statewide “state of preparedness.”
The storm will reach the mid-Atlantic later in the day on Sunday and may bring snow and a wintry mix to Washington, D.C., by Sunday evening. The Virginia, Delaware and New Jersey coastline will see rain and possibly strong winds.
For Monday morning, forecast models are showing heavy snow for the interior Northeast and light snow followed by rain for the major cities along the coast, like Boston, New York City and Philadelphia. But it is possible the storm shifts east, dropping heavy snow on the Interstate 95 corridor.
One to 3 inches of snow is possible for D.C., Philadelphia, New York City and Boston before it’s quickly washed away by Monday’s rain. Six to 18 inches of snow is forecast for the interior Northeast and New England.
For those in the Northeast, make sure to bundle up as you await the snow: temperatures in the Northeast are plunging to their lowest levels in three years this weekend.
Saturday morning the wind chill — what temperature it feels like — will be 2 degrees in New York, minus 12 in Boston and minus 28 in Burlington, Vermont.
ABC News’ Hilda Estevez contributed to this report.
(CHICAGO) — Students are walking out of their classes in Boston, Chicago and other cities across the country in protest of in-person learning conditions as COVID-19 rages on.
Public school students in Boston left their classrooms at 10:30 a.m. Friday to demand that local leaders take more initiative in reducing the spread of COVID-19 in schools and implement a two-week period for remote learning.
“We will then stand there for exactly 10 minutes, one minute for every hundred thousand new COVID-19 cases found on the 2nd of January,” according to a post from the student-run Massachusetts COVID Walkout Instagram page.
Following the walk-out, students held a webinar to discuss their fears about the handling of the pandemic in schools. Students at the virtual event recounted their urge to take action and keep their fellow students, teachers and staff safe.
They are demanding a two-week remote learning period, proper Personal Protective Equipment for teachers, adequate technology for remote learning and the cancellation of some standardized testing.
In a statement to ABC News, Boston Public Schools said it “believes deeply in students advocating for what they believe in.”
“We further believe it is critically important that we encourage and support them in expressing their concerns, beliefs and positions to their leaders,” the statement said. “We will continue to listen to our students and families as we navigate this latest surge and the impacts it has on our ability to remain in person and deliver a quality education.”
In spring 2021, Massachusetts officials said remote learning would no longer count toward required learning hours. Any school-wide remote learning days must be made up by students and teachers at the end of the year.
Boston Public Schools has reported 3,483 COVID cases as of Jan. 5, according to the district website.
Students in Chicago also walked out of their classes Friday and chanted demands that schools address COVID-19 safety concerns.
As they walked en masse on the streets and toward the administrative offices of the Chicago Public School district, students yelled, “Si se puede,” or “Yes, we can,” as well as “No more oppression, change is now in session!”
Chicago Public Schools’ Radical Youth Alliance, a student-run advocacy group, also sent a letter of demands to Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, CEO of Chicago Public Schools Pedro Martinez, Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Allison Arwady.
The students asked for transparency and accuracy in the school’s COVID-19 data, youth participation in decision-making and accountability for “mistakes.”
“As you consistently prove yourself and your leadership to be incompetent, we as Black and Brown young people are the common denominator of being the most harmed and impacted,” the letter read. “We are tired, exhausted, and frustrated.”
The group also backed the Chicago Teachers Union, which narrowly accepted a new agreement on COVID-19 safety precautions.
Chicago Public Schools had 10,928 cases among its students and staff since the start of the 2021-2022 school year, according to the district website.
In a statement, Chicago Public Schools said it “remains committed to fostering learning environments that allow students to respectfully deliberate issues with evidence and an open mind – and safely participate in civic action.”
According to the CPS website, students are required to wear masks in schools and answer a self-screener symptom questionnaire before school. Testing is optional.
Protests in New York, California and other states have highlighted the growing concerns that school leaders are failing to address COVID-19 and its impact on education and health in schools.
(NEW YORK) – The first big viral trend of 2022 is here, and it’s a colorful word game called Wordle.
Players who visit Wordle’s website have six chances to guess a five-letter word, which has been randomly selected from a database. With each try, the game tells you how close your letters are to the “word of the day.” If the letters you pick are in the word but in the wrong order, Wordle highlights them in yellow. If the letters are in the word and placed correctly, they get highlighted in green. Gray-highlighted letters means they don’t appear in the word of the day.
“It’s a good, fun game,” says Gizmodo Executive Editor Andrew Couts. “It only takes a couple of minutes, and it’s something to talk about with your friends.”
“It seemed after the holidays, everybody seemed to be playing this game and sharing it on Twitter, sharing it all over social media,” says Couts, adding that Wordle’s distinct visual style is key to its success.
“It creates kind of a cool little pattern that the game makes it really easy to share on social media…so you can show people how well you did on the word of the day. And I think that’s one of the big things that has made this game take off.”
While the game’s rules are simple, Couts says there are a few strategies to maximize your chances of Wordle glory.
“Picking words with a bunch of vowels, and picking words with common consonants like S’s or T’s or K’s is a good way to kind of get the word of the day quickly.”
That simplicity cuts both ways – which could open up the game to people who are willing to increase their odds through shadier means.
“It’s also a very simple website and it’s very easy to cheat if you really wanted to,” says Couts. “You can look at the source code of the website, for example, and see the entire list of the words of the day. So you can know them in advance. But that kind of takes all the fun out of it.”
And after all, Couts says, now is just the right time for some innocent, online fun.
“It’s actually a nice thing on the internet for once, so that’s very welcome.”
Hear ABC News Radio’s Michelle Franzen report on the latest viral craze:
(NEW YORK) — Bundle up: temperatures in the Northeast are plunging to their lowest levels in three years this weekend as snow blasts the South and the East Coast.
Wind chill warnings and advisories are in effect across New England, where it may feel like 35 to 40 degrees below zero Friday night into Saturday morning. In Boston and New York City wind chills could drop to 15 to 20 degrees below zero Friday night.
The snow will first hit the Midwest. By Sunday morning, the icy rain and snow will rip through the South from Atlanta to Raleigh.
This storm has the potential to give Atlanta its first measurable snow in four years on Sunday.
The Southeast could then see heavy rain and thunderstorms Sunday night, causing power outages, coastal flooding and travel disruptions for the Interstate 95 corridor.
The storm then takes aim on the Northeast, where it’ll hit Sunday night and Monday morning.
As of now, the storm tracks more inland in New England and New York state, leaving more of a rain event for the I-95 corridor and the New York City area. But that could still cause travel disruptions for New York City commuters.
ABC News’ Hilda Estevez contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.5 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 843,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
About 62.6% 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:
Jan 13, 8:39 pm
Report shows omicron’s rapid spread in NYC
Omicron became the dominant variant in New York City within five weeks after it was first detected, according to a new report released Thursday by the city’s health department.
By comparison, it took 20 weeks for the delta variant to become dominant.
The report, which details preliminary findings on the city’s omicron wave, found that there have been lower hospitalization rates but more total hospitalizations compared to the delta wave due to “significantly greater case numbers.”
Unvaccinated New Yorkers were more than eight times more likely to be hospitalized than those who were fully vaccinated early in the omicron wave, the report found. Black New Yorkers and people ages 75 and older also were more likely to be hospitalized.
Jan 13, 7:56 pm
Study finds higher risk of COVID-19 complications for unvaccinated pregnant women
Unvaccinated pregnant women with COVID-19 and their newborn babies have a higher risk of complications from the disease compared with those who are vaccinated, a new study found.
In the study, published Thursday in Nature Medicine, researchers from Public Health Scotland looked at vaccination rates and COVID-19 outcomes in 131,875 pregnant women in Scotland between Dec. 8, 2020, and Oct. 31, 2021, when the delta variant was dominant.
They found that 90.9% of COVID-19 hospital admissions, 98% of intensive care admissions and all 450 newborn deaths were in unvaccinated pregnant women.
The study reiterates the importance of pregnant women getting vaccinated against the virus due to a greater risk of dangerous health complications from COVID-19. A growing body of research has shown the vaccines to be safe and effective for pregnant women.
-ABC News’ Dr. Siobhan Deshauer, Sony Salzman and Dr. Alexis Carrington
Jan 13, 6:58 pm
Over 200 scientists, doctors sign letter in support of Fauci
Following heated exchanges between Dr. Anthony Fauci and several Republican senators at a Congressional hearing Tuesday, more than 200 prominent science and public health leaders have now penned an open letter voicing their support of the White House chief medical adviser’s service and leadership — and condemning attacks against him.
“We deplore the personal attacks on Dr. Fauci,” the letter says. “The criticism is inaccurate, unscientific, ill-founded in the facts and, increasingly, motivated by partisan politics. It is a distraction from what should be the national focus — working together to finally overcome a pandemic that is killing about 500,000 people a year.”
Signatories include former Senate majority leader Bill Frist, a Republican; Rich Besser, former acting director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; members of President Joe Biden’s transition COVID-19 task force; and several Nobel laureates.
The letter comes two days after a Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee hearing, during which Fauci publicly accused Republican Sen. Rand Paul of fomenting the violent threats and harassment that he and his family have had to contend with during the pandemic’s politicized climate.
-ABC News’ Sasha Pezenik
Jan 13, 4:23 pm
Inside an Ohio children’s hospital facing a COVID surge
More than 300 children with COVID-19 are in Ohio hospitals, including Dayton Children’s Hospital, where workers are seeing a significant increase in pediatric COVID-19-related hospitalizations.
Dr. Vipul Patel, chief of pediatric intensive care at Dayton Children’s, told ABC News the ICU is now busier than at any other point in the pandemic.
COVID-19 is only exacerbating previously existing health issues for many children, Patel explained, adding that many parents are shocked to see their children become so sick, and some families have even expressed regret for not vaccinating their kids. Nationwide, about 35% of eligible children (ages 5 to 17) are fully vaccinated, according to federal data.
Dayton Children’s respiratory therapist Hillary O’Neil said it’s been particularly difficult to see children who are too young to understand what is happening sick and scared.
“You can see it in the faces of kids that can’t talk — their eyes get really big and they, we watch them struggle to breathe,” O’Neil said. “Then on top of that we watch their parents struggle to watch their child, and that is sometimes just as hard as watching the kids.”
Jackie Kerby, whose baby, Enaeshya, is hospitalized with COVID-19, told ABC News, “She’s getting these fevers in the night, and they’re not coming down. … I am terribly scared.”
Across the U.S. more than 5,000 children are currently hospitalized with a confirmed or suspected case of COVID-19, according to federal data. On average, hospital admissions among children have quadrupled over the last month.
-ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos, Kayna Whitworth
Jan 13, 3:20 pm
New York COVID-19 cases falling
New York state’s COVID-19 cases are falling after experiencing a major surge over the holidays, according to state data.
New York recorded 60,374 new cases in the last 24 hours — an improvement from New Year’s Day when 85,476 daily cases were reporting during a spike in testing demands.
Jan 13, 3:00 pm
Supreme Court issues stay of vaccine-or-test requirement on private businesses
The Supreme Court has issued a stay of the vaccine-or-test requirement imposed on private businesses with at least 100 employees by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
In a 6-3 ruling, with the three liberal justices dissenting, the court finds likelihood the challengers will prevail and that OSHA exceeds its authority.
At the same time, the justices voted 5-4 to allow the Biden administration to require health care workers at facilities that treat Medicare and Medicaid patients to be vaccinated, subject to religious or medical exemptions.
-ABC News’ Devin Dwyer
Jan 13, 11:22 am
8,000 Delta employees test positive within 4 weeks
About 8,000 of Delta Air Lines’ 75,000 employees had COVID-19 over the last four weeks, Delta CEO Ed Bastian told CNBC.
“Good news is that they were all fine. There’s been no significant issues,” he said.
“But it’s knocked them out of the operation” amid the busiest travel season in two years, he said.
United CEO Scott Kirby said Tuesday that around 3,000 of United workers have COVID-19 right now.
Across the U.S., 3,783 TSA employees are currently at home with COVID-19, the agency said.
-ABC News’ Mina Kaji, Sam Sweeney
Jan 13, 10:53 am
Biden: White House now trying to acquire 1 billion tests
President Joe Biden said he’s directing his team to procure 500 million additional tests to meet future demand — bringing the total to 1 billion.
Biden said the White House is on track to roll out a website next week allowing Americans to order tests shipped to their homes.
The administration will also announce next week how it’s making high-quality masks available for free, Biden said.
Biden also made a plea to social media companies and media outlets.
“Please deal with the misinformation and disinformation that’s on your shows — it has to stop,” he said. “COVID-19 is one of the most formidable enemies America has ever faced. We’ve got to work together.”
Jan 13, 10:27 am
US death toll up 50% since Christmas
The U.S. is now reporting an average of 1,650 new COVID-19-related deaths each day — up by about 50% since Christmas, according to federal data.
Indiana currently has the highest death rate, followed by Delaware and New York City.
Twenty-six states are now averaging more daily cases than at any point in the pandemic, according to federal data.
Surging national case numbers, however, may not be indicative of what is happening in every region of the country. Some areas could see a decline or a plateau in cases, according to some experts.
-ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos
Jan 13, 5:02 am
Biden sending medical teams to hospitals overwhelmed by COVID-19
President Joe Biden will deploy military medical teams to hospitals in six states where COVID-19 infections are surging.
Teams of doctors, nurses and clinical personnel will be sent as early as next week to New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Rhode Island, Michigan and New Mexico, Biden is expected to announce on Thursday alongside Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell.
Biden in December directed the defense secretary to ready 1,000 military medical personnel to deploy to hospitals across the country as needed in January and February. The teams now being readied will be the first to start arriving at hospitals.
They’ll be sent to Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, Coney Island Hospital in Brooklyn, Rhode Island Hospital in Providence, Henry Ford Hospital near Detroit, University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque and University Hospital in Newark, New Jersey.
Biden, Austin and Criswell on Thursday will also “be briefed on the administration’s efforts to send resources and personnel to hard-hit communities across the country that are experiencing a surge in hospitalizations due to the Omicron variant,” according to a White House official.
-ABC News’ Ben Gittleson
Jan 12, 7:24 pm
Testing labs now struggling with their own staffing shortages due to virus
The labs shouldering much of the nation’s PCR COVID-19 testing are getting slammed with demand again during omicron’s surge, and now they’re grappling with a new challenge: their workforces are getting hit by the virus they’ve been tasked with tracking.
The American Clinical Laboratory Association, the national trade association representing some of the leading clinical labs responsible for COVID diagnostics, is warning that their members’ workforce is strained as more workers call out sick.
“Labs are now facing a wave of new issues brought on by a fast-spreading variant that has not spared the laboratory care work force,” an ACLA spokesperson told ABC News.
COVID-19 infections have increased laboratory staff sick leave — a “significant factor in determining overall capacity” at an industry-wide level, the spokesperson said.
“We have been pressured to get our capacity where we believe it can be because of the labor problems we see,” Quest Diagnostics CEO Steve Rusckowski said Wednesday at the JPM Healthcare Conference. “Some of this is just getting the labor to do our work, but secondly, is because of callouts because of the virus have been considerable over the last two weeks.”
-ABC News’ Sasha Pezenik
Jan 12, 7:00 pm
Chicago teachers accept deal to reopen classes
Chicago teachers voted Wednesday to accept the deal made by the union and city to re start in-person classes.
The deal ended the five-day standoff after the union voted to switch to remote learning due to the omicron surge.
Union leaders made a tentative agreement on Monday and urged teachers to back the deal despite frustration that the district wouldn’t grant demands for widespread coronavirus testing or commit to districtwide remote learning during a COVID-19 surge.
The final agreement will expand COVID-19 testing and create standards to switch schools to remote learning.
The deal also resulted in the purchase of KN95 masks for students and teachers and bigger incentives to attract substitute teachers. The city also agreed to give teachers unpaid leave related to the pandemic.
Jan 12, 6:07 pm
96% of Army members fully vaccinated
The U.S. Army released an update on the vaccine status of its members.
As of Jan. 11, 96% of members are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and 97% have at least one dose, according to the Army.
All armed service members are mandated to be vaccinated against the coronavirus.
Around 18,000 members remain unvaccinated, the data showed.
The Army has chosen not to discharge unvaccinated soldiers but instead “flag” them so they’re not promoted and are not allowed to re-enlist.
“To date, Army commanders have relieved a total of six active-duty leaders, including two battalion commanders, and issued 2,994 general officer written reprimands to soldiers for refusing the vaccination order,” the Army said in a news release.
