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

More than 730,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 while over 4.9 million people have died from the disease worldwide, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

Just 66.8% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the CDC.

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

Oct 21, 1:01 am
US delivers 200M vaccine doses globally: White House

The U.S. has now donated and delivered 200 million COVID-19 vaccines globally, according to a White House official.

The figure is part of 1.1 billion doses President Joe Biden has pledged to more than 100 countries around the world.

“These 200 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have helped bring health and hope to millions of people, but our work is far from over,” Samantha Power, administrator for the U.S. Agency for International Development, which is assisting in the global vaccine effort, said in a statement. “To end the pandemic, and prevent the emergence of new variants, as well as future outbreaks within our nation’s borders, we must continue to do our part to help vaccinate the world.”

The Biden administration has received criticism for getting Americans booster shots while many around the world have yet to get one. Though the White House has insisted the U.S. can provide boosters to its citizens while funneling doses overseas — and working to increase vaccine production abroad.

Oct 20, 10:09 pm
US deaths estimated to continue to fall in weeks ahead, though thousands more lost

Forecast models used by the CDC are predicting that weekly COVID-19 death totals in the U.S. will likely continue to drop in the weeks to come, though thousands of Americans are still expected to lose their lives to the virus.

The model expects approximately 18,000 deaths to occur in the next two weeks, with a total of around 757,000 deaths recorded in the U.S. by Nov. 13.

The ensemble model estimates that 19 states and territories of the U.S. have a greater than 50% chance of having more deaths in the next two weeks compared to the past two weeks, and that four states and territories (Alaska, Nebraska, Ohio and American Samoa) have a greater than 75% chance of an increase over the next two weeks.

Oct 20, 5:21 pm
FDA authorizes booster shots for Moderna, J&J vaccines

The FDA authorized booster shots for the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines for some populations Wednesday.

Moderna’s vaccine can be administered at least six months after the second dose for people ages 65 and up and those ages 18 through 64 who either are at high risk of severe COVID-19 infection or have occupational exposure to the virus, the FDA said.

The J&J booster can be administered at least two months after the single-dose shot to those ages 18 and up, the agency said.

The FDA, which authorized Pfizer’s booster dose last month, also said it will allow people to mix booster doses.

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(NEW YORK) — A massive search is continuing in Florida for Brian Laundrie, the boyfriend of Gabby Petito, the 22-year-old woman who went missing on a cross-country trip and who authorities confirmed as the body discovered strangled to death in Wyoming last month.

The search for the 23-year-old Laundrie is centered around North Port, Florida, where investigators said Laundrie returned to his home on Sept. 1 without Petito but driving her 2012 Ford Transit.

Laundrie has been named by police as a “person of interest” in Petito’s disappearance. Laundrie has refused to speak to the police and has not been seen since Sept. 14, according to law enforcement officials.

The search for Laundrie is the latest twist in the case that has grabbed national attention as he and Petito had been traveling across the country since June, documenting the trip on social media. Petito’s parents reported her missing on Sept. 11 after not hearing from her for two weeks.

Here are the latest developments. All times Eastern:

Oct 20, 6:06 pm
Laundrie family attorney reacts to discovery of apparent human remains

Steven Bertolino, the family attorney for the Laundrie family, spoke with New York ABC station WABC Wednesday evening after law enforcement found human remains and items belonging to the fugitive at a Florida park.

The attorney said the area where investigators found Brian’s belongings was shown to police two weeks ago when Laundrie’s father, Chris, aided in the search.

“I can’t say for certain that Chris showed this particular area to police at that point in time, but I can say that this is an area that we initially notified the FBI that Brian liked hiking,” Bertolino said.

The attorney said the family is waiting for a proper identification before making any comments.

“As you can imagine, the parents are very distraught. … At this moment in time they’re grieving,” he said.

Oct 20, 4:42 pm
Police find apparent human remains, personal items belonging to Laundrie

Police have recovered apparent human remains that have not been identified in the search for Brian Laundrie, the FBI said Wednesday.

Authorities also found items belonging to Laundrie, like a backpack and notebook, officials said.

FBI Special Agent in Charge Michael McPherson said the area where the items were found had previously been underwater. McPherson said a team would be on site for several days processing the scene.

Oct 20, 2:55 pm
Remains found at park, not clear if human

A law enforcement source told ABC News remains were found at a Florida environmental park. The source said investigators are working to determine whether the remains are human and whether the remains and other discovered articles are linked to Laundrie.

Oct 20, 2:19 pm
FBI confirms ‘items of interest’ found

The FBI said “items of interest” in connection to the search for Laundrie were found at the Carlton Reserve Wednesday morning and an evidence response team is processing the scene.

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(GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colo.) — The parents of a 6-year-old girl who died on a ride at a Colorado amusement park last month have filed a wrongful death suit against the operator after a state investigation found she wasn’t strapped into her seat before the ride plunged 110 feet.

Wongel Estifanos was visiting Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park, located atop Iron Mountain in Glenwood Springs, with her family on Sept. 5 when she went on the Haunted Mine Drop ride, a free-fall drop down a pitch-black shaft.

Her uncle took Wongel, two of his children, his wife and another relative onto the ride, according to a complaint filed Wednesday in Denver County District Court.

“Wongel’s uncle specifically observed the ride operators interacting with Wongel, and he trusted that they were properly securing Wongel on the ride,” the complaint stated.

After they dropped 110 feet down the shaft, her uncle “checked to see whether Wongel had enjoyed the ride” and was “stricken with terror to see that Wongel was not in her seat” but at the bottom of the shaft, according to the complaint.

The family “screamed in horror” as they were pulled back to the top of the shaft, the complaint stated.

“Wongel had fallen to her death, suffering numerous fractures, brain injuries and internal and external lacerations,” according to the complaint.

In a report released last month, the Colorado Division of Oil and Public Safety determined that the two ride operators failed to buckle her seatbelts, as required, even after a monitor alerted them to a seatbelt safety issue. “Multiple operator errors” and “inadequate training” contributed to the fatal accident, the report stated.

The complaint from Wongel’s family extensively cited the findings of the report, charging that Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park “breached its duty by recklessly failing to properly supervise and train its operators on safety procedures of the Haunted Mine Drop ride.”

The complaint also alleged that the amusement park was aware of at least two prior incidents in 2018 and 2019 in which ” angry and terrified customers” on the Haunted Mine Drop weren’t strapped into their seatbelts until repeatedly telling the ride operators.

The family is seeking unspecified monetary damages as well as a jury trial and “post-trial finding that the acts causing the death of Wongel Estifanos constitute a felonious killing.”

“Their mission is to protect other families by holding all who are responsible for the killing of their daughter fully accountable, and by sending a loud and clear message to the entire amusement park industry,” attorney Dan Caplis said in a statement on behalf of the Estifanos family.

Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park declined to comment to ABC News on the lawsuit. “Our hearts go out to the Estifanos family and those impacted by their loss,” it said in a statement.

Following the release of the state’s investigation, the amusement park’s founder, Steve Beckley, said in a statement, “Safety is, and always has been, our top priority.”

“We have been working closely with the Colorado Division of Oil and Public Safety and independent safety experts to review this incident,” he said, noting that the amusement park will review the report “carefully for recommendations.”

“More than anything, we want the Estifanos family to know how deeply sorry we are for their loss and how committed we are to making sure it never happens again,” he added.
 

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(NEW YORK) — Isiah Brown, who was shot eight times by police earlier this year in Virginia, is filing a lawsuit for $26.35 million against two officers involved in the shooting.

On April 21, Brown was on the street near his mother’s home, speaking to a 911 dispatcher on the phone when Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Deputy David Turbyfill drove up, exited his car and shot Brown several times, according to the lawsuit.

Earlier that night, at the home, a disagreement ensued, 911 was called and Turbyfill was dispatched to address the dispute, the lawsuit states.

In a portion of the 911 call released by police, Turbyfill seems to have thought that Brown had a gun. The officer is heard yelling at Brown to drop a gun on the recording. Brown was unarmed, according to the Virginia State Police, which investigated the incident.

Brown’s attorney states that his client was holding a phone at the time of the shooting and obeyed all police and dispatcher commands. In a statement, Sheriff Roger Harris said that he then ordered the deputy to begin providing first aid, and later contacted the Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal to investigate the incident.

“Today we filed a lawsuit in federal court on behalf of Isiah Brown against Spotsylvania County Police Chief Roger Harris and Deputy David Turbyfill for their roles in the totally unnecessary shooting incident involving Mr. Brown that occurred April 21,” said Brown’s attorney David Haynes of The Cochran Firm in a statement to ABC News.

The lawsuit states that Turbyfill was negligent, committed battery and used excessive force during the incident. Turbyfill’s lawyer, Mark Bong, declined ABC News’ request for comment on the lawsuit.

Turbyfill was also charged with felony reckless handling of a firearm, according to a special grand jury indictment in July. Turbyfill had been placed on administrative duties since the shooting, according to a past statement from the Spotsylvania Sheriff’s office.

The county sheriff is also listed as a defendant in the lawsuit, and is stated to have responsibility for the actions by directing and supervising Turbyfill’s deputies.

Haynes said that the shooting caused life-altering injuries for Brown, which will “leave him with permanent damage for the rest of his life.”

“Isiah Brown’s life will never be the same after his tragic encounter with David Turbyfill,” Haynes said. “Our hope is that this lawsuit will provide a measure of justice for Mr. Brown and force the Spotsylvania Police Department to enhance their training and update their policies and procedures so that this never happens to another person.”

The Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

ABC News’ Sabina Ghebremedhin contributed to this report.

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(BENTON HARBOR, Mich.) — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer visited Benton Harbor as a crisis of toxic lead poisoning the city’s drinking water has stoked mounting frustration and fury.

The governor issued a new call for the state legislature to provide an additional $11.4 million investment to help expedite the replacement of lead pipes and service lines in the predominately Black community within the next 18 months.

The estimated cost to replace all of the lead service lines in Benton Harbor is $30 million, and the state has so far earmarked some $18.6 million, according to a statement from the governor’s office. Whitmer called on the legislature to secure the additional $11.4 million by tapping into federal money made available to Michigan through the pandemic-era American Rescue Plan.

Her visit to the western Michigan community to meet with residents and local leaders on Tuesday came days after she signed an executive directive that aimed to coordinate all available state resources to deliver safe drinking water to residents.

“Every Michigander deserves safe drinking water,” Whitmer said in a statement, saying she visited Benton Harbor “to hear from community leaders doing the work on the ground and residents living through water challenges every day.”

“I cannot imagine the stress that moms and dads in Benton Harbor are under as they emerge from a pandemic, work hard to put food on the table, pay the bills, and face a threat to the health of their children,” she added. “That’s why we will not rest until every parent feels confident to give their kid a glass of water knowing that it is safe.”

For some Benton Harbor residents, the government attention and action comes too late. Elevated levels of lead have been detected in the city’s water system since at least 2018, according to a Natural Resources Defense Council petition filed last month to the Environmental Protection Agency on behalf of local advocacy groups and residents.

Residents continue to live with “significant and dangerous levels of lead contamination three years after the contamination was first discovered with no immediate solution in sight,” the petition states, calling it an “environmental justice” issue.

Some 85% of Benton Harbor’s approximately 9,700 resident are Black and 5% are Hispanic, according to the most-recent Census data. More than 45% of the population lives in poverty, the Census data states, and the median household income is $21,916.

Moreover, nearly 28% of the population is children under 18 years old. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns on its website that lead generally affects children more than it does adults, and children tend to show signs of severe lead toxicity at lower levels than adults.

Lead poisoning can bring a slew of detrimental health impacts, the CDC warns, including: abdominal pain, constipation, headaches, irritability, loss of appetite, pain or tingling in the hands and/or feet and weakness.

The petition from the Natural Resources Defense Council notes that Benton Harbor’s residents “are not only subjected to a disproportionately high level of lead exposure from a variety of sources beyond their drinking water, but also often lack access to high quality health care and are exposed to a wide array of other threats that can exacerbate the negative health effects associated with lead exposure.”

Earlier this month, Michigan’s Department of Health and Human Services announced it was increasing the availability of free bottled water for Benton Harbor residents. The agency said in a statement that residents are being encouraged to use bottled water for cooking, drinking, brushing teeth, rinsing foods and mixing powdered infant formula.

The distribution of water bottles has faced hurdles, and the overall handling of the crisis has created mounting frustration among residents.

“Three years of this is ridiculous,” Rev. Edward Pinkney, a local faith leader told the local news outlet MLive, after a water handout organized by the state’s department of health ran out of water bottles 30 minutes after it was supposed to start.

Pinkney said he and his grassroots organization have been passing out 2,000 cases of water per month on their own dime since 2019.

Willie Mae Jones, a resident who said she and her four children have been drinking city water their entire lives, told the outlet they didn’t even know about the issue.

“We didn’t know we had lead in our water until probably a month ago,” Jones told MLive earlier this month. “We still have to pay for that water, and we can’t even use it. Now that’s ridiculous.”

The crisis in Benton Harbor also puts a harsh spotlight on real-world impacts of the nation’s dilapidated infrastructure, at a time when lawmakers on Capitol Hill are mulling over President Joe Biden’s massive infrastructure spending proposal.

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(NEW YORK) — Two attorneys pleaded guilty Wednesday to throwing a lit Molotov cocktail into an unoccupied vehicle belonging to the New York Police Department in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, during May 2020 demonstrations to protest the murder of George Floyd.

Colinford Mattis, an associate at Pryor Cashman, and Urooj Rahman, a public interest lawyer, exchanged text messages the night of May 30, 2020, that prosecutors quoted during the plea hearing.

“I hope they burn everything down. Need to burn all the police stations down,” assistant U.S. Attorney Ian Richardson quoted one message saying.

“Set a police car on fire after a lot of fights and check my story to see the trajectory of burning,” Richardson said in quoting another message from Rahman.

The reply text from Mattis said, “Go burn down 1PP,” an apparent reference to NYPD headquarters at One Police Plaza.

“What is your plea to count seven?” U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan asked.

“Guilty,” Rahman replied.

“I plead guilty your honor,” Mattis said.

“Are you aware you are all but certain to be disbarred as a result of this plea?” the judge asked.

“Yes, Your Honor,” both attorneys said.

Rahman and Mattis will be sentenced on Feb. 8, 2022, and would each face up to 10 years in prison if the judge applies a terrorism enhancement, Richardson said.

“On May 30, 2020, I knowingly possessed a destructive device, a Molotov cocktail,” Rahman said. “My actions occurred on a night of civil protest in Brooklyn following the murder of George Floyd. I deeply regret my actions.”

Mattis expressed similar regret.

“On the night of May 30, 2020, I knowingly possessed a destructive device,” Mattis told Judge Cogan. “I deeply regret my conduct and wish I had made better choices on that night.”

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(CINCINNATI) — A settlement in the death of a teenager who died while trapped in his car after calling 911 has included recommendations to improve the call center that failed to help him.

Kyle Plush, 16, died in April 2018 of asphyxia due to chest compression after he became stuck while trying to retrieve his tennis equipment from the third-row bench of his 2004 Honda Odyssey. He had called 911 twice to plea for help but was not located by officers who arrived on the scene, in a parking lot across the street from Seven Hills School, minutes later.

“I’m trapped inside my gold Honda Odyssey van in the … parking lot of Seven Hills,” a distressed Plush told 911 in the second call. “This is not a joke.”

A family member found Plush in the van hours later, and he was declared dead.

The two 911 dispatchers who took Plush’s calls and the two officers who were sent to search for him were named in the 2019 wrongful lawsuit against the city. The lawsuit also alleged that the former city manager was aware that the call center struggled with inadequate staffing and training at the time of Plush’s death.

As part of the settlement, the city of Cincinnati must pay Plush’s family $6 million, and long-term recommendations were made for changes to the Cincinnati Emergency Communications Center, according to a 47-page report released by the family’s attorney Tuesday.

Staffing, morale and improvements to technology were among the recommendations. The report found that employees continue to leave due to low morale, which it said results in problems the call center cannot “hire its way out of.”

Overall, the report concluded that as a whole, the call center has “extremely passionate, dedicated employees.”

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(CHICAGO) — A battle pitting the mayor of Chicago and the superintendent of the police department against some officers defying a vaccine mandate for all city employees heads to a courtroom on Wednesday where the police union is asking a judge for a temporary restraining order.

The courtroom showdown comes even as police Superintendent David Brown said compliance with the COVID-19 shot mandate by officers and civilian employees of his agency went up to 67% on Tuesday from 64% a day earlier.

“I will say and do anything to save an officer’s life,” Brown said during a news conference on Tuesday. “If it takes going through a counseling session, going to a no-pay status, going to internal affairs or a direct order, if that’s what it takes, I’m willing to do it.”

As of Tuesday, about 2,000 officers had yet to upload their vaccine or testing status on a city online portal and, so far, 21 officers have been stripped of their police powers and sent home without pay, Brown said.

Brown said “several hundred” hold-out officers were summoned to police headquarters this week and given a chance to change their minds and hear of the consequences they face for refusing.

“I don’t know if we’ve changed their minds or if they’ve made the decision themselves to get in the portal,” Brown said.

City officials released an update on the vaccine mandate on Monday showing that 79% of all city employees had complied and registered their vaccine status on the online portal. Officials said 84% are fully vaccinated.

The police department has the lowest level of compliance, officials said.

The mandate set a deadline of last Friday for employees to comply.

The Fraternal Order of Police, the union that represents officers, has asked Cook County Circuit Court Judge Cecilia Horan to issue a temporary restraining order against the mandate. A hearing on the issue is scheduled for Wednesday.

At the same time, the union is asking Horan to recuse herself from the case after she granted the city a temporary restraining order on Friday barring FOP President John Catanzara from publicly telling union members to defy the mandate.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Catanzara’s statements are allegedly putting the public in danger.

“By doing so, and by predicting that 50% or more officers will violate their oaths and not report for duty, Catanzara is encouraging an unlawful strike and work stoppage which carries the potential to undermine public safety and expose our residents to irreparable harm, particularly during an ongoing pandemic,” Lightfoot wrote in a court filing.

Following the ruling, Catanzara posted a video on the union’s YouTube channel informing members that he has been silenced.

“Everybody has to do what’s in their hearts and minds, whatever that is,” Catanzara said in the video. “But I will just leave you with this: policy starts at the top in this city and it has proven time and time again that the top of this city’s policy needs to change.”

Holding up a sign bearing a so-called “Thin Blue Line” flag with the words “John Catanzara for Mayor 2023,” he said “enough is enough.”

With Chicago in the midst of a surge in violent crime with shootings up 9% this year over 2020, some city leaders said they fear Lightfoot and Brown are playing with fire by taking officers who don’t comply with the vaccine mandate off the streets.

“We are simply not in a position to fire 2,000 police officers right now,” Second Ward Alderman Brian Hopkins told ABC station WLS in Chicago. “We can’t do that. That is not in our best interest.”

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(NEW YORK) — The Westchester, New York, district attorney’s office has had an ongoing criminal investigation into the Trump Organization’s Westchester golf course, sources with direct knowledge of the matter tell ABC News.

The probe, which is separate from a similar, and broader, investigation by the Manhattan district attorney’s office, has included records subpoenaed from Trump National Golf Club Westchester, as well as the town about 30 miles north of New York City where the course in located, sources said.

News of the Westchester DA’s probe was first reported by the New York Times.

A spokesperson for the Trump Organization said the probe was the continuation of a “witch hunt” against former President Donald Trump.

“The Club’s request for a review of its tax assessments was amicably resolved earlier this year and signed off by the Town Board, the Town Assessor, Special Counsel for the Town … the Briarcliff Manor School District, the Office of the Westchester County Attorney and the Westchester County Supreme Court judge presiding over the matter,” the spokesperson said. “Accordingly, the suggestion that anything was inappropriate is completely false and incredibly irresponsible. The witch hunt continues.”

A spokesperson for Westchester District Attorney Mimi Rocah declined to comment.

The investigation marks the third probe by a prosecutorial office in Trump’s home state of New York looking into the former president’s business dealings.

In July, following a nearly two-year investigation, Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance charged the Trump Organization and its longtime CFO, Allen Weisselberg, with tax fraud. Weisselberg and the company have pleaded not guilty to all charges.

New York Attorney General Letitia James has been conducting a parallel probe into Trump’s business dealings.

Among the issues being probed by investigators is how the Trump Organization has valued its holdings for tax purposes.

The Trump Organization owns or operates more than a dozen golf course worldwide. Earlier this year, following the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S, Capitol, the PGA of America, the proprietors of one of golf’s four major championship tournaments, announced it would move its 2022 PGA Championship away from Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J.

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(PARKLAND, Fla.) — Nikolas Cruz pleaded guilty Wednesday to 17 counts of first-degree murder and 17 counts of attempted first-degree murder for killing 17 and injuring 17 others in the Parkland, Florida, school shooting.

Cruz replied “guilty” when Judge Elizabeth Scherer asked how he wanted to plea to the slaying or wounding of each victim. Parents of the slain students watched from the courtroom and wiped tears from their eyes.

Cruz said in court, “I am very sorry for what I did and I have to live with it every day. … It brings me nightmares and I can’t live with myself sometimes.”

Cruz said he believes the victims should be the ones to decide whether he gets the death penalty.

A jury will decide if Cruz, 23, will get the death penalty or life in prison.

On Feb. 14, 2018, Cruz, then 19, gunned down 14 students and three staff members at his former school, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. He was taken into custody that day.

Manuel Oliver, father of 17-year-old victim Joaquin Oliver, told ABC News Live Friday, “I can’t wait for this to be over so I can move on, at least without the weight of not knowing what’s going to happen to this person.”

Last week Cruz pleaded guilty to charges in connection to his attack on a jail guard in 2018.

Jury selection for the penalty phase will begin on Jan. 4.

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