National

(WASHINGTON) — As climate change increases the severity of natural disasters, low-income school districts face disproportionately greater obstacles when attempting to recover from them, according to a Government Accountability Office report (GAO) obtained exclusively by ABC News.

Districts in high-poverty areas are already plagued with challenges — like outdated building infrastructure or a lack of resources — and when hit with the havoc wrought by a major disaster, the recovery process can be a tedious, uphill battle, according to the report released Tuesday. At the same time, natural disasters pose a disproportionate threat to students in already vulnerable educational settings, the report states.

There have been more than 300 “presidentially-declared major disasters” in every state and territory since 2017, and more than half of the nation’s public school districts are located in counties that were subject to major disasters from 2017-2019 and make up more than two-thirds of the nation’s students, according to the report.

But most districts that received certain federal recovery grants after major disasters that occurred during those years “had elevated proportions of students from certain socially vulnerable groups,” according to GAO’s analysis of federal data.

“Many natural disasters have had devastating effects on K-12 schools and the communities in which they are located — especially socially vulnerable communities for whom disaster recovery is more challenging,” the report reads. “We have found that school districts affected by natural disasters have faced a range of recovery challenges, including trauma and mental health issues among students and staff, lost instructional time, staff burnout, and financial strain.”

GAO spoke to officials from five school districts in socially vulnerable communities that detailed challenges their schools faced when recovering from a major disaster, and in most instances, physical recovery was one of them, according to the report.

A previous GAO report from 2020 showed that thousands of school buildings across the country could need critical repairs due to natural disasters, and revealed that “about half (an estimated 54%) of public school districts need to update or replace multiple building systems or features in their schools.”

The report, released on Tuesday, cites a “subject matter expert,” who reportedly told GAO that “socially vulnerable groups are more likely to attend under-resourced and poorly maintained schools, which in turn are more likely to suffer extensive damage due to disasters, causing extended school closures and student displacements.”

And in some instances, “low-income school districts can be denied funding or receive less funding than needed” from one of FEMA’s programs, because these are designed to provide funding to return a property to its previous condition.

“Officials from one state explained that districts must adequately document the condition of the building to prove that damage was caused by the disaster rather than neglecting to make an earlier needed repair, such as fixing a leaking roof,” the report states. “Poorer districts and those with fewer resources often do not have sufficient staffing or expertise to maintain the necessary maintenance records, according to these officials.”

Additionally, four out of the five districts that spoke with GAO said their district was still in the process of its physical recovery, “in some cases, years after the natural disasters.” Some of these districts told GAO they were forced to use temporary facilities, which also disrupted students’ learning.

“For example, in one district multiple classes had to share one classroom space, while in another district, a temporary facility lacked adequate Wi-Fi, requiring students and staff to rely on physical materials, according to district officials,” the report says.

House Education and Labor Committee Chair Bobby Scott, D-Va., said in a statement: “This GAO report confirms what we have long known: Schools in vulnerable communities do not have the support they need to keep their facilities safe for students and staff.”

“The COVID-19 pandemic and recent natural disasters nationwide have been powerful reminders that our public school buildings are in urgent need of repair; however, we cannot expect schools to prepare for our changing climate or recover from future disasters without dedicated federal funding for school infrastructure,” he added.

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(COLLEYVILLE, Texas) — The Texas rabbi who threw a chair at a gunman to help himself and two others survive a hostage situation held a prayer service in the wake of the deadly ordeal.

Just two days after a gun-wielding suspect took Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker and two other congregants hostage at the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue in Colleyville, Texas, the rabbi lead a service aimed to “put this terrible event behind us and be thankful for a good result,” according to a post on the synagogue’s Facebook page.

Cytron-Walker, greeted with applause at the outset of the service, spoke briefly, thanking law enforcement, first responders, clergy, political leaders and people around the world who have reached out with support. He then continued the service by describing both the beauty and cruelty that exist on Earth.

“God, I long to feel your presence — not just this day but every day,” the rabbi said. “I do not pretend to know your ways.”

He thanked the “three amazing individuals” who were with him at the synagogue Saturday, saying that they managed to make it through the traumatic ordeal.

“Very few of us are doing okay right, now,” he said. “We’ll get through this.”

Cytron-Walker was greeted with applause at the outset of the service. He spoke briefly, thanking law enforcement, first responders, clergy, political leaders and people around the world who have reached out with support.

Congregants gathered at the healing service, many in masks and spaced several seats apart. Several took to the stage to sing prayer songs in Hebrew.

Cytron-Walker also evoked Martin Luther King Jr., quoting the civil rights activists on the holiday dedicated to him.

“Without love, there’s no reason to know anyone,” Cytron-Walker said. “For love will in the end connect us to our neighbors, our children and our hearts.”

The rabbi was preparing for Shabbat services on Saturday when the suspect, identified by the FBI as 44-year-old British citizen Malik Faisal Akram, knocked on a window of the temple. The Rabbi invited Akram in for tea, and heard the click of a gun during the Shabbat service, which was attended by only a handful of congregants. He and three other male congregants were initially taken hostage, but Akram freed one of them.

Cytron-Walker told the others to run before throwing the chair at Akram after the suspect grew visibly frustrated and belligerent that his demands were not being met, the rabbi said. Cytron-Walker and other members of the congregation had previously taken active shooter drills from the Colleyville Police Department, the FBI, the Anti-Defamation League and a local group called the Secure Community Network.

Akram was shot and killed by an elite FBI hostage rescue team who breached the synagogue.

At the end of the service, he gave an emotional talk, noting that the incident could’ve been much worse and that he was grateful that the traditional prayer of mourning was not being said.

Cytron-Walker said in an interview with CBS News Monday morning that he was looking forward to returning to his house of worship, describing it as a crucial step in the healing process.

“It won’t necessarily be an easy thing,” he said, “but it’s a really important thing.”

ABC News’ Marilyn Heck and Bill Hutchinson contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) — It’s been nearly three months since 18-year-old Brendan Santo vanished while visiting friends in East Lansing, Michigan, the weekend of the Michigan-Michigan State football game.

There have been no clues yet as to what happened to the Grand Valley University student who disappeared on Halloween weekend, but the search for him continues, and his family is not giving up hope. “We just want Brendan back,” they told ABC News.

“It is unfathomable to believe in this day and age someone can just disappear,” Brendan’s aunt, Dawn Brewer, said. “Our family is desperately begging anyone with information to come forward even anonymously.”

Santo was last seen around midnight on Oct. 29 on MSU’s campus, near Yakeley Hall, authorities said. He was wearing grey sweatpants, a black T-shirt, a Detroit Red Wings cap and Converse high tops, police said. He’s about 5-foot-10 and 160 pounds.

FBI to assist in search for 18-year-old who went missing weekend of Michigan State-Michigan game

Santo’s friends believed he was heading toward the Brody neighborhood, where he was staying with other friends, but he never arrived. His phone was at 0% battery when he went missing, the last message he sent was around 11:45 p.m.

The surveillance cameras in Yakeley Hall were not working the night Brendan went missing, MSUPD confirmed, and there were no other cameras in the area.

“Finding out what happened after Brendan left Yakeley Hall is the key to finding Brendan, or at the least adding another piece to this horrible puzzle,” Brewer said.

Santo’s friends reported him missing the next morning. Brendan’s vehicle remained in the last location it was parked, and there is no indication he left the East Lansing area, according to MSUPD.

Family searches for missing 26-year-old daughter Mercedes Clement

Soon after Santo’s disappearance, the FBI joined state and local agencies in the search, which included efforts by foot, drone, helicopter and boat. Authorities utilized multiple K9 teams early in the investigation, including cadaver dogs.

According to MSUPD, multiple cadaver dog indications on the Red Cedar River near Santo’s last known location along with his digital footprint led investigators to focus on the Red Cedar River, though they are exploring other possibilities.

“As a parent, family member or friend, you want to turn over every boulder as fast as you can to get the information you need to find your loved one. We understand an investigation like this can take time, but it has been very difficult,” Santo’s aunt said.

There have been no sightings of Santo to date, and none of his belongings have been found, but interest in his disappearance has only grown. Volunteer searches, charity events and various fundraisers have helped raise awareness, as has social media.

There have been two extensive civilian searches with over 800 volunteers scouring the area looking for Santo’s black red wings hat, blue iPhone, car key or gold necklace. Several MSU students and local citizens have continued to search every day, according to the family.

“Many of these people do not know Brendan or our family, but have taken the time and energy to help us every day … our family continues to be overwhelmed by their support and dedication,” Brewer told ABC News.

The family-run Facebook page called “Bring Brendan Santo Home” has reached over 43,000 members, donned BBH Warriors. Many are participating in a #bringbrendanhome flyer challenge, which encourages people to print Brendan’s flyer and post a photo with the hashtag “#bringbrendanhome.” Flyers have been posted across the country and beyond, according to the family. An Instagram account created to getting the word out continues to grow, as more join the search for the missing teen.

The reward for any credible information about Brendan’s whereabouts has grown to over $20,000. The tip line can be reached at 844-99-MSUPD (844-996-7873), tips@police.msu.edu or Crime Stoppers of Mid-Michigan 517-483-STOP (7867) https://www.crimestoppersofmidmichigan.com/.

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(NEW YORK) — The British national who allegedly took a rabbi and three other people as hostages inside a Texas synagogue on Saturday arrived in the United States last month and gave customs agents a hotel in New York as his local address, multiple law enforcement sources told ABC News on Monday.

The suspect, Malik Faisal Akram, 44, reportedly took a flight from London to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York on Dec. 29 and listed a hotel in Queens, New York, as his local address on a customs form, the sources said.

The FBI is investigating whether Akram actually stayed at the hotel prior to traveling by air to the Dallas-Fort Worth area possibly on Dec. 31.

As investigators piece together Akram’s movements in the United States, they’ve determined he bought the handgun used in the hostage-taking on the street from someone he met at a local homeless shelter in Texas, according to the law enforcement sources. The last time the gun was legally sold through a federally licensed dealer was in September 2019, they said.

While in New York, Akram — who was shot dead by an FBI hostage rescue team, ending a nearly 11-hour standoff with authorities in Texas — also obtained a cellphone, which he apparently used up until his death, the sources told ABC News.

Suspect was not on any watch lists

Akram’s name did not appear on any U.S. watch lists.

Investigators are now working to develop a complete timeline of his movements since his arrival in New York. According to the sources, Akram stayed at homeless shelters for about a week and may have portrayed himself as experiencing homelessness to gain access to the Texas synagogue during Shabbat services.

As part of the investigation, authorities are looking into Akram’s mental health history and are working to determine whether any potential history should have come up during the vetting process for his travel to the United States.

Sources told ABC News that American and British authorities have made contact with Akram’s brother, who told them Akram has mental health issues.

A friend of Akram’s family, told the Associated Press on Monday that it was known in their community of Blackburn, England, that Akram had “mental health issues.”

Mahmud, a community organizer in Blackburn, also said that Akram had previously served a custodial sentence in England and questioned how he got past U.S. immigration checks.

“Well, I do know he obviously served a custodial sentence, so it must have been serious enough for him to serve a custodial sentence. So, he was known to the authorities for that reason,” Mahmud said without elaborating on what offense Akram had been sentenced for. “But for all intents and purposes, other than that, he lived what one would describe a normal kind of existence. He was part of the community.”

Two teenagers have been arrested in England as part of an ongoing investigation into the hostage-taking incident, British authorities said. The pair were detained in southern Manchester on Sunday evening and “remain in custody for questioning,” according to a statement from the Greater Manchester Police. Multiple law enforcement sources in the U.S. told ABC News that the teens are Akram’s children.

Suspect called New York rabbi during standoff

At 10:45 a.m. CST on Saturday, police in Colleyville, Texas, received a 911 call reporting that an intruder, later identified as Akram, was aggressively confronting Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker at Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville.

Cytron-Walker said in an interview with CBS News on Monday that Akram knocked at the synagogue’s window and that he invited Akram in for a cup of tea prior to Shabbat services. The rabbi said that during the services, while his back was turned to Akram in prayer, the suspect pulled a gun.

After taking Cytron-Walker and three other members of the synagogue hostage, Akram was heard on a livestreamed video of the service saying he was holding four hostages, claiming to be armed with a gun and explosives, and stating that he was willing to die at the hands of police and that he was not acting on behalf of a foreign terrorist organization.

Facebook eventually interrupted the livestream, but law enforcement officials were able to access the synagogue’s closed-circuit TV system, allowing the FBI to continue to view the unfolding events in real-time, the sources said.

Just after 12 p.m., Akram instructed Cytron-Walker to call New York-based Rabbi Angela Buchdahl of the Central Synagogue in Manhattan. In a series of subsequent calls with Buchdahl, Akram reportedly threatened to kill the four hostages if convicted terrorist and al-Qaida supporter Aafia Siddiqui was not released from prison at Carswell Air Force Base near Fort Worth.

“I can confirm that the gunman reached out to me twice (on Saturday) by phone,” Buchdahl wrote in an email to the New York-based Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “We are about to share a note with the congregation just confirming that. Other than that for security reasons I cannot share more.”

Investigators are working to determine why Akram chose Buchdahl to speak to, sources told ABC News. Authorities suspect it was because she is the leader of a prominent synagogue in the city where Siddiqui, a Pakistani neuroscientist, was convicted in 2010 of assault and attempted murder of a U.S. soldier and members of a U.S. team sent to interrogate her in 2008. She was sentenced to 86 years in prison.

Siddiqui’s attorney, Marwa Elbially, released a statement over the weekend saying Siddiqui did not know Akram and that she condemned his actions.

Elite FBI team flown in to help

As the hostage standoff was unfolding on Saturday, authorities reached out about 12:30 p.m. to the FBI’s hostage rescue team at the bureau’s headquarters in Quantico, Virginia. The team was immediately dispatched to Colleyville, officials said.

Around 5:30 p.m., Akram released one of the hostages unharmed.

About four hours later, the FBI hostage rescue team entered the synagogue after Cytron-Walker and the two other hostages escaped when they bolted for an exit door as the rabbi threw a chair at the suspect.

Akram was shot as the team entered the synagogue and later died from his wounds. A handgun, believed to belong to Akram, was recovered inside the synagogue, sources said.

ABC News’ Luke Barr contributed to this report

 

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(NEW YORK) — As voting rights legislation remains stalled in Congress, Martin Luther King Jr.’s eldest son, Martin Luther King III, and his 13-year-old granddaughter, Yolanda Renee King, were among a coalition of civil rights activists who led the annual Peace Walk in Washington on Monday to honor the legacy of the civil rights icon and demand action on voting rights.

“What we want is for Americans to be engaged,” King III told ABC News anchor Linsey Davis, adding that the need for federal safety guards is more urgent than ever. “This year, we are laser focused on getting the right to vote sustained and getting the right to vote empowered.”

The march comes as lawmakers are expected to take up a vote to change the Senate rules as early as Tuesday that encompasses both the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. Some would say it’s about time the Congress takes up a debate on voting rights in the Senate.

Without the support of 10 Republicans needed to overcome a GOP filibuster to block the legislation, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is expected to raise a rules change vote as early as Tuesday, according to a Democratic aide familiar. But with conservative Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema making clear they will not vote to end the Senate’s filibuster — even though both support the underlying legislation — the fate of the reforms that activists are demanding action on is unclear.

“Let the Senate hear you! Let the White House hear you all! Spread the word!” said King’s granddaughter before her family led hundreds of marchers across a snow-capped Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge.

Yolanda Renee King had sharp words for lawmakers, calling out Senators Manchin and Sinema by name.

“Sen. Sinema, Sen. Manchin, our future hinges on your decision and history will remember what choice you make. So join me in demanding action for today, tomorrow and generations to come,” Yoland Renee King said.

She added, “For all the elected leaders out there who are tweeting, posting and celebrating my grandfather, Dr. King, today, my message to you is simple do not celebrate, legislate!”

Manchin released a statement Monday celebrating the life and legacy of King, but made no mention of voting rights.

“We celebrate and honor the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., one of the most inspiring and important figures in American history. Dr. King taught us to stand up for what we believe in through civil, peaceful means to unite our nation instead of divide it,” the statement read.

When asked if Manchin’s words are enough, King III told ABC News, “First of all, I would say that, you know, it’s kind of frustrating for people to be releasing statements and you really have not totally adhered to my father’s ideals. My father not only gave his life, but he fought for the right to vote, and he and others gave their lives. And again, Sen. Manchin says he supports a bill but he won’t move or is not so far moved on a pathway to say that there’s a pathway for it.”

He added, “So my hope and my message to him would be senator, you got to go further. You can’t say, ‘I’m for something’ but don’t have a pathway to [it], and that’s anybody who’s talking about dad today, because I’m sure [there are also] many senators also on the Republican side, who ought to be ashamed of themselves, who have shut down the process for voter expansion, voter protections.”

At least 19 states have passed new restrictive voting laws since the 2020 election. There have been 34 such new laws in total across the country, according to the nonpartisan Brennan Center for Justice, and most of them in states controlled by Republicans.

Many of the new laws, fueled by false claims of widespread election fraud by former President Donald Trump, take aim at mail-in voting, implement stricter voter ID requirements, allow fewer early voting days and limit ballot drop boxes.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi joined the King family Monday for a voting rights rally at Washington’s Union Station outside Capitol Hill, where she spoke in support of expanding voter access, alongside other members of Congress and activists, including Congressional Black Caucus Chair Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, and Rev. Al Sharpton.

“The Congress and I give great credit to the Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer for his relentless and persistence and trying to get this done, and to the president for his leadership, but we have to get this done,” Pelosi said, before launching into an argument for changing Senate rules to make way for election reform legislation.

“While it may be true to them that the filibuster is an important custom, it is not the Constitution of the United States, the truth is,” Pelosi said. “If you really truly want to honor Dr. King, don’t dishonor him by using compression of custom as an excuse for our democracy.”

Beatty, following Pelosi, told the crowd of supporters, “Silence is not an option.”

“We will not yield our efforts to enshrine voting rights legislation into law, nor will we allow a filibuster to filibuster away our democracy and our voting rights,” she said.

ABC News’ Libby Cathey contributed to this report.

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(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 851,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.

About 62.9% of the population in the United States is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Latest headlines:
-Growing evidence suggests COVID surge may be receding in parts of US
-Beijing records 1st omicron case, tightens restrictions ahead of Olympics
-Italian police arrest nurse accused of faking shots for anti-vaxxers

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

Jan 17, 2:31 pm
Moderna working on combined COVID, flu booster

Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel told the Davos Agenda Monday that the company is working on a combined COVID-19 and flu booster shot, which could, in a “best case scenario,” be made available by fall 2023.

Bancel said the company’s goal is to be able to provide a single annual booster.

ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos

Jan 17, 2:16 pm
Fauci: Unclear whether omicron will lead world into an ‘endemic’ phase

Dr. Anthony Fauci said Monday it’s an “open question” as to whether the omicron variant will lead the globe into a new endemic phase of the pandemic.

“We were fortunate that omicron, although it is highly transmissible, nonetheless, is not as pathogenic but the sheer volume of people who are getting infected overrides that rather less level of pathogenicity,” Fauci said at the Davos Agenda, a virtual event held by the World Economic Forum.

But Fauci said it’s still unclear if omicron’s reduced severity will translate to the virus gradually becoming less prevalent.

“I would hope that that’s the case. But that would only be the case if you don’t get another variant that alludes to the immune response to the prior variant,” Fauci said, adding that it is “very difficult” to calculate how the globe could reach herd immunity.

When the globe does enter an endemic phase, Fauci said there will be a “new normal.”

“It’s not going to be that you’re going to eliminate this disease completely. We’re not going to do that. But hopefully it will be at such a low level that it doesn’t disrupt our normal, social, economic and other interactions with each other,” Fauci said. “To me, that’s what the new normal is. I hope the new normal also includes a real strong corporate memory of what pandemics can do.”

ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos

Jan 17, 11:40 am
Growing evidence suggests COVID surge may be receding in parts of US

Growing evidence suggests the omicron surge may be beginning to recede in the parts of the U.S. that were first hit by the variant.

Although new case rates remain high across much of the Northeast, daily totals are slowly beginning to fall. New York City reported a 17% drop and New Jersey reported a 17.6% drop in new cases over the last week. Washington, D.C., reported a nearly 25% decline and Vermont saw a nearly 22% decline in cases in the last week.

But health officials caution the latest surge has yet to peak for much of the U.S. The nation is still reporting nearly 800,000 new cases a day — a record high and a more than eight-fold increase compared to six weeks ago.

Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy told CNN on Sunday that Americans should not expect a decline in the days to come.

“This is a very difficult time during this surge. We are seeing high case numbers and hospitalization rates… we’re also seeing strain in many of our hospitals around the country,” Murthy said. “The next few weeks will be tough.”

Nearly 1,800 Americans are dying from COVID-19 each day – an approximately 52.6% jump since Jan. 1.

ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos

Jan 17, 11:02 am
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff tests positive

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday, according to a statement from Joint Staff spokesman Col. Dave Butler.

Milley has “very minor” symptoms and is working remotely, the statement said.

Milley was last in contact with President Joe Biden on Wednesday.

“He tested negative several days prior to and every day following contact with the President until yesterday,” the statement said.

All other Joint Chiefs of Staff tested negative except for Marine Commandant Gen. David Berger, a spokesperson said.

ABC News’ Matthew Seyler

 

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(NEW YORK) — Newly inaugurated Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, signed several executive orders over the weekend, including one removing masking requirements in schools across the state. However, a growing number of school districts have said that their masking policies will remain in place.

“There is no greater priority than the health and welfare of Virginia’s children. Under Virginia law, parents, not the government, have the fundamental right to make decisions concerning the care of their children,” Youngkin’s second executive order read.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki, from her personal Twitter account, weighed in on the issue as a parent in Arlington County, Virginia. Psaki applauded the county where her kids go to school for keeping the mask requirement in place and swiped at the new Republican governor’s order.

“Hi there. Arlington county parent here (don’t believe you are @GlennYoungkin but correct me if I am wrong). Thank you to @APSVirginia for standing up for our kids, teachers and administrators and their safety in the midst of a transmissible variant,” Psaki wrote.

Since Youngkin signed the order Saturday, at least three school districts in Northern Virginia have reminded families that masking policies remain in place, including Arlington Public Schools, Alexandria City Public Schools and Fairfax County Public Schools.

“As we return to school after the holiday weekend, we want to let you know that FCPS will continue universal masking for all students and staff,” FCPS superintendent Scott Brabrand said in a statement Sunday.

The statement also said that FCPS is currently reviewing Youngkin’s executive order and will remain aligned with CDC guidelines for now.

Along with the executive order on masks, Youngkin also signed an executive order ending the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for state employees, one banning Critical Race Theory in public education and another that terminated the Virginia Parole Board, among others, on the same day.

 

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(WASHINGTON) — The Supreme Court’s decision to block the Biden administration’s vaccine-or-test requirement for large private businesses is a “setback for public health,” United States Surgeon General Vivek Murthy told This Week co-anchor Martha Raddatz on Sunday.

“The news about the workplace requirement being blocked was very disappointing, Martha. It was a setback for public health. Because what these requirements ultimately are helpful for is not just protecting the community at large but making our workplaces safer for workers as well as for customers,” Murthy said.

Raddatz reminded Murthy that before the omicron surge, he had said on This Week that the mandate “was necessary and appropriate.”

“So, what is plan B?” Raddatz pressed.

Murthy did not outline an explicit alternate plan but noted, “there is nothing that stops workplaces from voluntarily putting reasonable requirements in place.”

“Many have done so already,” he said. “A third of the Fortune 100 companies have put these in place and many more outside have, so we are certainly encouraging companies to put these requirements in place voluntarily.”

Some large companies, however, are changing their plans based on the decision. General Electric confirmed to ABC News last week that it would stop implementing a planned vaccine mandate after the Supreme Court ruling.

But Columbia Sportswear said in a statement that it is “disappointed in [Thursday’s] Supreme Court ruling” because it would mean the company would have to deal “with a thicket of conflicting state and local regulations.”

Murthy’s comments come as President Joe Biden’s administration continues to ramp up efforts to stop the spread of the highly transmissible omicron variant of the coronavirus.

Senior White House officials said on Friday the administration will launch a new website Wednesday for requesting free at-home rapid COVID tests.

Raddatz pressed the surgeon general on the time it has taken to ramp up the availability of testing in the United States.

“Dr. Murthy, I know what you’re doing now, but the question is, why wasn’t it done sooner?” she asked. “You say you always hold out hope, but you plan for the worst. It doesn’t sound like that happened.”

“Well, there was planning, Martha, and there was execution on increasing the supply of tests,” Murthy responded, and the omicron variant of the virus created “an extraordinary increase in demand, Martha, even beyond the incredible increase in supply that we had procured and secured during 2021. And so we have to close that gap.”

Noting the high number of breakthrough infections amid the omicron surge, Raddatz asked Murthy what percent positive U.S. COVID cases, which are at record levels, are among the vaccinated or boosted.

While he didn’t have a percentage breakdown for the current caseload, Murthy said being vaccinated and boosted vastly increases protection from symptomatic infection.

“What we’ve seen from our data, from the United States and from other countries, is that if you are vaccinated and boosted, your level of protection against symptomatic infection is in the around 75 to 80% range,” he said. “So that’s not 100%; it still means that they’re about, is about 20% of possibility there in terms of positive cases, despite being, despite being vaccinated, compared to an unvaccinated population… that still shows a very strong efficacy overall against preventing symptomatic disease.”

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(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 850,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.

About 62.9% 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 17, 4:58 am
Italian police arrest nurse accused of faking shots for anti-vaxxers

Italian police have arrested a nurse accused of pretending to inject COVID-19 vaccines into the arms of anti-vaxxers so they could benefit from vaccination certificates.

Investigators used a hidden camera to capture the nurse working at a vaccination center in Palmero. A clip from the footage, released Saturday by Italy’s State Police, purportedly shows the woman preparing a booster dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and then emptying the syringe into a piece of gauze before pretending to inject it into an individual’s arm. She faces charges of forgery and embezzlement, according to police.

Police said the woman also faked her own booster shot so she could continue working at the vaccination center, in coordination with another nurse who was arrested last December on similar charges. The other nurse is accused of faking COVID-19 vaccinations for 11 people, including a well-known leader of an anti-vaccine movement, according to police.

New restrictions came into force in Italy on Jan. 10, barring people who aren’t fully vaccinated against COVID-19 from accessing restaurants, gyms, swimming pools, theaters, cinemas, sport events and public transport. Unvaccinated individuals who recently recovered from COVID-19 are exempt from the new rule, which will be in force until March 31. The measures were imposed amid a sharp rise in COVID-19 infections across the European country.

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(NEW YORK) — A woman died after she was pushed onto the New York City subway tracks and struck by an oncoming train, police said.

The incident occurred around 9:30 a.m. Saturday at the Times Square-42nd Street subway station while she was standing on the southbound R-Q train platform.

A man “suddenly pushed” the victim while she was waiting — an unprovoked attack — New York Police Department Commissioner Keechant Sewell said during a press briefing Saturday, calling the attack an “absolute senseless act of violence.”

Police found the woman under the train with “severe trauma” to her body and she was pronounced dead at the scene, Sewell added.

Authorities identified the victim as a 40-year-old Asian woman and New York City resident. Her name is being withheld pending family notification.

The suspect, who is believed to be homeless and known to authorities, fled the scene but turned himself in a short while later, police said.

NYPD Assistant Chief Jason Wilcox said detectives are working with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office to determine the charges.

Sewell said they are “investigating all avenues” when asked if hate crime charges were being considered amid increased violence against Asians and Pacific Islanders during the pandemic. Police believe the suspect may have approached another person on the platform who is not Asian right before attacking the victim, she noted.

John “Janno” Lieber, acting chairman of the Metropolitan Transit Authority, called the incident “unacceptable.”

“This is a sad day,” he said at the briefing, held in the train station where the woman died. “A New Yorker was going about her business right in the heart of our city, in the heart of our subway system in Times Square, and she lost her life. This is unconscionable.”

“New Yorkers need a safe system,” he added.

Mayor Eric Adams said the attack highlights the importance of those in crisis receiving mental health services to ensure that the city’s streets “above ground and below ground” are safe.

“We’re going to continue to do everything that’s possible to make our subway system safe,” he said at the briefing, “but again, we’re calling on all of our partners, from lawmakers to law enforcement, VAs to judges, to ensure those who need mental health assistance receive that.”

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