(NEW YORK) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.4 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 832,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
About 62.3% 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 06, 4:05 am
American Medical Association criticizes CDC’s new guidance
The American Medical Association, the nation’s largest association of physicians, has criticized the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s new quarantine and isolation guidance for COVID-19, saying the recommendations “are risking further spread of the virus.”
The CDC updated its guidelines on Dec. 27, saying asymptomatic people who test positive for COVID-19 should self-isolate for five days rather than 10.
“The American people should be able to count on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for timely, accurate, clear guidance to protect themselves, their loved ones, and their communities. Instead, the new recommendations on quarantine and isolation are not only confusing, but are risking further spread of the virus,” the American Medical Association’s president, Dr. Gerald E. Harmon, said in a statement Wednesday night.
Harmon referenced data cited by the CDC in its rationale for shortening the isolation period, which estimates 31% of people remain infectious five days after a positive COVID-19 test, suggesting that data proves thousands of Americans could return to their lives while still infected.
“With hundreds of thousands of new cases daily and more than a million positive reported cases on January 3, tens of thousands — potentially hundreds of thousands of people — could return to work and school infectious if they follow the CDC’s new guidance on ending isolation after five days without a negative test,” Harmon said. “Physicians are concerned that these recommendations put our patients at risk and could further overwhelm our health care system.”
Harmon said a negative COVID-19 test should be required for ending isolation after a positive test, as reentering society without knowing whether an individual is still positive ultimately risks further transmission of the virus.
Although test availability remains an issue nationwide, Harmon also called on the Biden administration to ramp up production and distribution of tests, adding that “a dearth of tests at the moment does not justify omitting a testing requirement to exit a now shortened isolation.”
-ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos
Jan 06, 3:16 am
Chicago cancels school for 2nd day
Officials in Chicago canceled all public school classes on Thursday amid discussions about classroom safety with the city’s teachers.
Classes had been canceled on Wednesday after a majority of the Chicago Teachers Union’s membership voted in favor of remote learning during a surge in COVID-19 cases. School officials called their action an illegal strike.
“In a time of crisis related to this pandemic, the worst possible thing we can do is abandon the science and data,” Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot said on Twitter. “If you care about our students and families as we do, we will not relent. We are standing firm and fighting to get our kids back to in-person learning.”
Teachers were locked out of their remote classrooms on Wednesday, according to the union. Union leaders asked members to again try to log in on Thursday, urging them post photos on social media.
The union on Wednesday filed an unfair labor practice charge against the Chicago Board of Education.
“We have rights to safety and we’ve been at the bargaining table for 20 months to secure those rights,” Jesse Sharkey, the union’s president, said in a statement.
Chicago Public Schools are among the largest in the country, with about 340,000 students in 636 schools.
Jan 06, 2:43 am
TSA reports more than 3,000 employee cases
The Transportation Security Administration reported 3,037 current COVID-19 infections on Wednesday.
The agency’s infections have increased by about 16% in two days, according to TSA data.
The agency, which employs about 60,000, said it’s had a cumulative 15,191 COVID-19 cases. The agency said 12,154 employees have recovered and 33 have died.
-ABC News’ Sam Sweeney
Jan 05, 9:02 pm
CDC signs off on Pfizer boosters for 12- to 15-year-olds
The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has given the final go-ahead for children ages 12 to 15 to get Pfizer’s COVID-19 booster.
“It is critical that we protect our children and teens from COVID-19 infection and the complications of severe disease,” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said in a statement endorsing the CDC advisory panel’s recommendation to expand booster eligibility.
The CDC recommends that adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17 get a Pfizer booster five months after their second dose.
(NEW YORK) — As schools returned from winter break this week amid skyrocketing COVID-19 cases, more did so virtually than at any point so far this school year.
The third school year during the pandemic had largely seen limited disruptions to in-person learning.
But this week, there have been over 4,500 temporary school closures across the country, according to Burbio, a company that monitors COVID-19 policies in over 80,000 K-12 schools. That’s the highest number it has tracked so far this school year; most weeks, there have been hundreds, not thousands, of closures.
The prospect of a return to virtual learning, on a short- or long-term basis has some parents around the country concerned about the challenges of remote education and unpredictable childcare after great lengths were taken to keep kids in the classroom. For many, the move was abrupt, and issues faced in previous iterations of remote learning have not been solved.
By the same token, advocates say some parents feel the opposite, applauding the move temporarily to keep schools open in the long run. Others say they would like to return to virtual learning for safety reasons, but simply don’t have the option. And of course, there are the teachers and staff in the middle of the process, with their safety and education concerns as well.
‘One of the last things we do’
Some parents who have found their schools temporarily closed have voiced frustration and disappointment in returning to virtual learning.
“Closing schools I think should be one of the last things we do, not the first thing we do when COVID cases go up,” Amanda, a mother of two in Maryland who asked that her last name not be printed to protect her family’s privacy, told ABC News.
Amanda’s elementary school-aged sons attend Prince George’s County Public Schools, where officials announced on Dec. 17 that the district would be going virtual for several days before the winter break and for another two weeks upon their return after a “stark rise” in school COVID-19 cases “significantly challenged” its ability to deliver in-person instruction safely.
Her sons, who had hoped being vaccinated would mean fewer disruptions, are “devastated” at going virtual, she said. She and her husband work full-time and find it challenging to help their kindergartener navigate Zoom. Their third-grader manages better independently with virtual learning but is “miserable” online, she said.
“My oldest hated virtual school last year. Every morning, it’s just a fight,” she said. “He’s lost so much of the joy of school having to be remote for so long.”
The temporary closures have left some parents wondering if remote learning may be extended or returned to in the future, and what metric that would be based on.
Without pandemic financial protections
Without the same flexibility and expanded financial assistance as offered earlier in the pandemic, they’re also not sure how they can manage childcare while still working.
After losing her job due to the pandemic, Erin Wisniewski told ABC News she was able to stay afloat thanks to enhanced unemployment benefits while also being home for remote schooling. She’s been back at work while her fourth-grader and kindergartner have also been back in person at the Bayonne School District in Hudson County, New Jersey, this school year.
When the district went remote this week due to high community transmission, she was able to have a friend watch her daughters. But she is worried about scrambling to make arrangements should the need arise again.
“If this is going to be for the next couple of months, it’s going to be like, what bill am I not going to be able to pay this month so I can pay the babysitter to keep my kids in school,” Wisniewski said.
The district told families Wednesday that it plans to return to in-person instruction this Monday, with the new option for continued remote learning “due to the current COVID-19 pandemic.”
When he got a call that his daughter would be remote this week, John, who has a fifth-grader in the Union City School District in Hudson County, “I was beside myself,” he told ABC News. To him, it seemed schools would do whatever it took to remain open safely this year.
“That was the attitude in September and all of a sudden now we’re virtual again?” the father, who asked that his last name not be printed to protect his privacy, told ABC News. “That’s what really upset me.”
He said his daughter, who has ADHD, gets distracted and it’s difficult for him to arrange time to work remotely himself. After a few days remote she was having “flashbacks” to remote learning last year.
“Remote schooling does not work for her,” he said. “It’s not as engaging as being surrounded by other kids who are also learning.”
‘Smartest thing to do’
Most school districts in Hudson County have gone virtual this week amid record COVID-19 cases in the state, fueled in part by the highly transmissible omicron variant. Lisa Milan, who has a seventh-grader in the Bayonne school district, thinks the move will help keep schools open in the long term.
“If they really don’t want to be forced to shut down schools completely because of sick teachers, sick staff, sick kids, I think going remote is the smartest thing to do to keep the majority of people safer,” she said. “If you limit the interactions, obviously, you’re quelling this incredible spread that this variant seems to have.”
As daily COVID-19 cases in the state have exploded in the past month, regularly surpassing 20,000 daily, her own family has been impacted during the surge. Milan said her son tested positive for COVID-19 a few days before Christmas, and her husband a few days after him. Both breakthrough cases were very mild.
“I’m grateful for that,” she said. “We still have to worry about people who are older or immunocompromised, or teachers or staff and certainly kids who are immunocompromised.”
As founder of the Chicago-based community Hustle Mommies, Ariel DeNey Rainey has lately been hearing from mothers worried about their children bringing COVID home to those with pre-existing health conditions that make them more vulnerable to the virus.
“People are catching it left and right,” she said. “Moms are worried about their kids’ health, but also are faced with, if my kids are home, where can they go?”
One of the latest districts to close is among the largest in the country. Chicago Public Schools canceled classes for hundreds of thousands of students Wednesday after reaching an impasse Tuesday night with the city’s teachers union over whether in-person learning was safe.
COVID-19 case rates in Chicago have reached record levels. The seven-day daily case average in the city jumped from just over 800 at the beginning of December to over 5,000 by the end of the month, according to city data. City officials have said transmission has been low in schools, though cases started to tick up in recent weeks.
As school districts have had to contend with a rapidly evolving situation, considering health concerns and staffing shortages, decisions to go virtual in some cases were made days before the return from winter break, leaving parents in “limbo,” Bernita Bradley, the Midwest delegate for the National Parents Union, an education advocacy group, told ABC News. Parents who want to go virtual may not have the option to, leaving them in a difficult spot too, she said.
“Right now parents are really scrambling and they’re upset,” she said. “They’re confused because the schools are not really providing what their kids need when it comes down to both options.”
(MANCHESTER, N.H.) — The father of a missing New Hampshire girl who was last seen over two years ago has been arrested in connection to the case, police said.
The Manchester Police Department first reached out to the public for tips on the whereabouts of 7-year-old Harmony Montgomery last week, after it learned she had not been seen since late 2019.
Adam Montgomery, 31, was arrested Tuesday on charges including felony second-degree assault “arising from 2019 conduct against Harmony Montgomery,” police said.
Montgomery also was charged with interference with custody and two charges of endangering the welfare of a child, both misdemeanors. Montgomery has legal custody of Harmony but has not had her in his physical custody since approximately November 2019, according to the complaint.
Montgomery waived his right to an arraignment hearing at the Hillsborough Superior Court Wednesday and agreed to be placed in preventive detention, according to court records. ABC News reached out to his attorney for comment.
According to an affidavit released Wednesday, family members told police they were concerned Montgomery was putting Harmony in physical harm. Montgomery allegedly told his brother that he gave Harmony a black eye and “bashed her around his house,” the affidavit stated. The brother notified the state’s Division of Children, Youth and Families about the injury after he saw Harmony with a black eye in July 2019, according to the affidavit.
Harmony’s mother told authorities she believes she last saw her daughter around Easter 2019 in a FaceTime video call, during which the girl “seemed frightened,” according to the affidavit.
Her mother lost custody of Harmony in July 2018 in part due to a substance abuse issue and has since regained sobriety, according to the affidavit. She contacted Manchester police in November after she was repeatedly unable to find Harmony or her father, the affidavit said. The department launched an investigation after the state’s Division of Children, Youth and Families notified police on Dec. 27 that the agency had been unable to find Harmony, according to the affidavit.
Police interviewed several family members to try to determine the last time Harmony was last seen. Montgomery’s current wife told police she last saw the girl in November or December 2019 with her father, who allegedly told her he was driving Harmony to her mother’s in Massachusetts, according to the affidavit. His wife “never saw, or heard about [Harmony] after that day,” and last saw Montgomery in October, the affidavit stated.
Police located Montgomery sleeping in a car in Manchester on Dec. 31, at which point he “made some contradictory comments during our interaction which raised our suspicion and concern for [Harmony’s] well-being,” the affidavit stated. Montgomery allegedly told police he had seen Harmony “somewhat recently,” then said he hadn’t seen her since her mother picked her up in Manchester in November 2019, according to the affidavit.
His girlfriend, who was with him at the time, told police she did not know where Harmony was, according to the affidavit.
The search for Harmony continues, as police are urging anyone with information to contact its dedicated tip line. Manchester Chief Allen Aldenberg told reporters Monday police are assuming she is “alive and well somewhere,” and that he hasn’t seen anything to suggest otherwise yet.
“This is not a recovery,” Aldenberg said during a press briefing. “All efforts are focused on that Harmony is alive, and we are going to do everything we can to find her in that condition.”
Part of the investigation will involve determining why it took over two years for Harmony to be reported missing, he said.
“I want to focus on locating her now and dedicating all of our efforts to that,” the chief said. “If there was some flaw in the system, I’m not saying there was, but if there was, where was it and how’s it going to be addressed?”
Harmony was reunited with her father after spending time in foster care in Massachusetts, ABC Manchester affiliate WMUR reported, citing a source close to the child. New Hampshire Division of Children, Youth and Families officials told WMUR that contact with the family is gradually reduced after reunification.
“It’s difficult to account for what happened when we are not engaged with the family,” Joe Ribsam, the agency’s director, told WMUR. “What’s important to figure out right now is what has been happening with this young girl for the past few years.”
A reward for information leading to Harmony has reached $43,000.
“More than two years have passed since Harmony was last seen,” Aldenberg said. “That puts us at a disadvantage, and the public’s help is greatly needed.”
Pete Bannan/MediaNews Group/Daily Times via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.4 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 827,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
About 62% 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 05, 9:02 pm
CDC signs off on Pfizer boosters for 12- to 15-year-olds
The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has given the final go-ahead for children ages 12 to 15 to get Pfizer’s COVID-19 booster.
“It is critical that we protect our children and teens from COVID-19 infection and the complications of severe disease,” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said in a statement endorsing the CDC advisory panel’s recommendation to expand booster eligibility.
The CDC recommends that adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17 get a Pfizer booster five months after their second dose.
-ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett
Jan 05, 8:03 pm
Every cruise ship operating in US with passengers has COVID-19 cases: CDC
COVID-19 cases have been reported on every cruise ship operating or planning to operate in U.S. waters with passengers, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
More than 90 ships are currently being investigated by the CDC or have been investigated and are still being observed by the agency.
In order to meet the threshold for a CDC investigation, a ship must report COVID-19 cases in more than 0.10% of passengers or have a single crew member test positive in the previous seven days.
The only ships in U.S. waters that have not met this criteria, according to the CDC, only have crew members on board.
-ABC News’ Mina Kaji
Jan 05, 7:48 pm
LA County requires businesses to provide N95, KN95 masks to indoor employees
The Los Angeles County Department of Health updated its COVID-19 safety measures Wednesday and mandated that all of the county’s businesses must provide N95 or KN95 masks to employees who work indoors.
“Well-fitting medical grade masks, and surgical masks,” are also acceptable under the order.
“Everyone needs to be sensible about how to protect themselves and those they love by layering on protections whenever around non-household members,” LA County’s health director, Dr. Barbara Ferrer, said in a statement. “At work, this means upgrading your mask if you work indoors and you are in contact with other workers or members of the public.”
Jan 05, 5:41 pm
CDC panel votes yes on boosters for 12- to 15-year-olds
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory panel voted Wednesday to approve COVID-19 boosters for 12- to 15-year-olds.
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky will likely to sign off on the move later Wednesday night.
Shots could go into arms as soon as Thursday morning. The Food and Drug Administration authorized the Pfizer boosters on Monday, paving the way for the CDC’s final green light.
-ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett
Jan 05, 5:14 pm
2022 Grammy Awards postponed due to omicron variant
The 2022 Grammy Awards have been postponed due to the surge in COVID-19 cases linked to the omicron variant.
“After careful consideration and analysis with city and state officials, health and safety experts, the artist community and our many partners, thx have postponed the 64th Annual GRAMMY Awards Show,” CBS and the Recording Academy said in a joint statement.
The statement continued, “The health and safety of those in our music community, the live audience, and the hundreds of people who work tirelessly to produce our show remains our top priority. Given the uncertainty surrounding the Omicron variant, holding the show on January 31 simply contains too many risks.”
A future date for the Grammys has yet to be announced.
The awards show was scheduled to be held at the Arena in Los Angeles and hosted by “The Daily Show’s” Trevor Noah.
This is the second year in a row that the Grammys has been postponed. Last year, the show was held in March after its original date was canceled in January.
Jan 05, 4:05 pm
COVID vaccinations in US drop 42% over last three weeks
The number of COVID-19 vaccinations in the U.S. has declined over the last three weeks despite the surging number of cases due to the omicron variant.
In the past, surges have driven Americans to get vaccinated. However, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows the average number of total doses administered has fallen 42% since Dec. 14.
An average of 304,000 Americans are currently receiving their first dose every day and 165,000 are reaching “full vaccination” status.
This is a drop from three weeks prior, when 455,000 were getting their first dose every day and 402,000 were reaching “full vaccination” status.
Additionally, the average number of people receiving booster shots every day has declined to 623,000 from more than one million.
A total of 67.4 million eligible Americans — aged five and older — remain completely unvaccinated.
-ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos
Jan 05, 3:17 pm
Testing company detects 1st case of ‘flurona’ in California
A testing company confirmed Wednesday the first known case in Southern California of “flurona,” in which someone is infected with COVID-19 and the flu at the same time.
911 COVID Testing told KABC the case was detected at the Getty Center in Brentwood — a suburban neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles — in a teenage boy.
The minor was returning from vacation with his family in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
Steve Farzam, the testing company’s chief operating officer, said the patient has symptoms but was not hospitalized. Since his test, one of his parents has also tested positive for COVID-19, but not the flu.
Jan 05, 1:32 pm
White House confident it can deliver 500 million COVID tests this month
The White House said Wednesday it is confident it can deliver millions of rapid COVID-19 tests to Americans in January.
Last month, the administration announced it was planning to distribute 500 million free at-home rapid tests across the country to combat the surging omicron variant.
However, a website has yet to be launched where people can order the tests and the U.S. is currently producing less than half of the tests needed — 200 million a month.
During a virtual briefing, Jeff Zients, the White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator, said the government not only has the capacity to deliver 500 million tests, but it also won’t dip into the current supply on pharmacy shelves.
“With all the companies that now have been authorized, there’s the capacity for the U.S. government to purchase the 500 million now and not disrupt, or in any way cannibalize, the tests that are on pharmacy shelves and on websites and used and other settings,” he said.
-ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett
Jan 05, 12:31 pm
CDC says it’s not changing definition of ‘fully vaccinated’
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Wednesday the definition of being fully vaccinated against COVID-19 is not changing to include booster shots.
“Individuals are considered fully vaccinated against COVID-19 if they’ve received their primary series. That definition is not changing,” she said during a virtual briefing of the White House COVID-19 Response Team.
This means Americans are considered fully vaccinated if they have gotten two shots of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or the Moderna vaccine or one shot of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
However, Walensky did urge those who have been fully vaccinated to stay “up to date” on additional doses they may be eligible for based on their age and which vaccine they received.
Jan 05, 12:30 pm
NY COVID hospitalizations surpass 10,000 for 1st time in 20 months
COVID-19-related hospitalizations in New York surpassed 10,000 for the first time since the early days of the pandemic.
As of Tuesday, there are 10,411 people hospitalized statewide with the virus, which is the highest figure seen since May 2020.
About 1,300 patients are currently in intensive care units.
Unvaccinated New Yorkers are more likely to be hospitalized than those who are fully vaccinated. During the week ending Dec. 20, unvaccinated people were hospitalized at a rate of 30.01 per 100,000 compared to a rate of 2.08 per 100,000 for fully vaccinated people, according to state data.
Jan 05, 11:29 am
1 in 15 people in England tested positive for COVID last week
About 1 in 15 people in England tested positive for COVID-19 in the week ending Dec. 31, 2021, according to new data published Wednesday by the UK’s Office of National Statistics — a jump from 1 in 25 the week before.
This means that an estimated 3,270,800 people in the country caught the virus last week, with the most infections occurring among those between ages 17 and 24, the ONS said.
Additionally, 1 in 20 people contracted COVID last week in Scotland and Wales as did 1 in 25 people in Northern Ireland.
The ONS noted that these estimates do not include people who tested positive in “hospitals, care homes and/or other communal establishments.”
Jan 05, 10:37 am
NY COVID hospitalizations surpass 10,000 for 1st time in 20 months
COVID-19-related hospitalizations in New York surpassed 10,000 for the first time since the early days of the pandemic.
As of Tuesday, there are 10,411 people hospitalized statewide with the virus, which is the highest figure seen since May 2020.
About 1,300 patients are currently in intensive care units.
Unvaccinated New Yorkers are more likely to be hospitalized than those who are fully vaccinated. During the week ending Dec. 20, unvaccinated people were hospitalized at a rate of 30.01 per 100,000 compared to a rate of 2.08 per 100,000 for fully vaccinated people, according to state data.
Jan 05, 9:41 am
Poland’s president tests positive for COVID for 2nd time
Polish President Andrzej Duda tested positive for COVID-19 Wednesday.
This is the second time Duda has contracted the virus. He previously tested positive in October 2020.
“The president is fine, has no severe symptoms and is under constant medical care,” Pawel Szrot, Head of the Cabinet, tweeted Wednesday.
Szrot said Duda is fully vaccinated and received a booster shot last month.
Jan 05, 6:55 am
Michigan governor isolating after husband’s positive test
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was isolating after her husband, Dr. Marc Mallory, tested positive for COVID-19, her office said in a statement.
Whitmer’s office said the governor tested negative on Tuesday using a rapid test. She was awaiting the results of a PCR test.
“Thankfully, the entire family is fully vaccinated and boosted, so the governor has not tested positive and is not experiencing symptoms,” Whitmer’s office said in a statement. “Until the PCR test comes back, the governor is isolating in a separate area of the house and has taken steps to complete contact tracing to keep others safe.”
Jan 05, 2:43 am
Chicago cancels classes after teachers vote for remote learning
Chicago Public Schools canceled its Wednesday classes after the Chicago Teachers Union voted against in-person learning amid a wave of COVID-19 cases.
All classes, both in-person and virtual, and all after-school activities have been cancelled.
“I understand your frustration and deeply regret this interruption to your child’s learning,” said Pedro Martinez, chief executive of the schools. “We want out children back in their classrooms as soon as possible and will continue working with the CTU to reach an agreement that addressed their concerns and that is in the best interest of all in our CPS community, especially our children.”
About 88% of the union’s leadership and 73% of members voted on Tuesday to return to remote education, the union said in a statement.
“To the parents and guardians of this city, we want you to know that when you put your children in our care we put their well-being and safety first,” the union said in a statement. “We fight for your children like they are our own, because they are. As this pandemic continues, we will do everything in our power to ensure that our classrooms are the safest and healthiest places for your children to learn, thrive and grow.”
Teachers were being locked out of their Google Classrooms, the union said on Twitter.
Jan 05, 1:49 am
Mayo Clinic lays off 1% of staff for vaccine noncompliance
Mayo Clinic said it will lay off about 1% of its staff for failing to get at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by a company deadline.
“While Mayo Clinic is saddened to lose valuable employees, we need to take all steps necessary to keep our patients, workforce, visitors and communities safe. If individuals released from employment choose to get vaccinated at a later date, the opportunity exists for them to apply and return to Mayo Clinic for future job openings,” Mayo Clinic said in a statement to ABC.
Last October, Mayo Clinic had set a Jan. 3 deadline for all employees to get at least their first vaccine dose or face dismissal.
The health care organization said the number of staffers being let go was “comparable to what other health care organizations have experienced in implementing similar vaccine requirement programs.”
Mayo Clinic employs about 73,000 people, according to its website.
Jan 04, 7:53 pm
FDA: Do not swab your throat with at-home COVID-19 tests
The FDA is warning people not to swab their throats as part of an at-home COVID-19 test.
In a statement obtained by ABC News, the FDA said that is not how the tests were designed and it could pose a safety concern.
“The FDA advises that COVID-19 tests should be used as authorized, including following their instructions for use regarding obtaining the sample for testing,” the statement said.
Social media posts promoting at-home COVID-19 rapid test swabbing techniques claim that throat swabs collect a better sample. However, this hasn’t been proven for currently authorized tests.
(WASHINGTON) — At least seven historically Black colleges and universities received bomb threats Tuesday afternoon and evening, according to school officials. The threats forced campuses to lockdown or evacuate and local law enforcement was alerted.
All of the schools have since sent out all-clear alerts to their students, staff and community.
NSU Police Dept. completed investigation of a bomb threat received Tuesday evening and issued an “All Clear.” Students have been secured in a hotel and dorms remain closed until 8 AM Wednesday. NSU Police and authorities secured campus. For emergencies, call NSU at 757-823-9000. pic.twitter.com/Przq4fOzA0
No bombs were found on the campuses of Florida Memorial University, North Carolina Central University, Prairie View A&M University, The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, Florida Memorial University, Norfolk State University and Xavier University of Louisiana.
All clear. Howard’s Department of Public Safety (DPS) and MPD responded to a potential bomb threat on campus this afternoon. The perimeter was secured and searched. No active devices were found and the area has been cleared.
Students were transported to hotels but on-campus classes had not yet resumed for several of the schools following the holiday break. Several said they will continue to work with law enforcement to investigate the threats.
“Florida Memorial University takes matters of this nature seriously,” the university said in a statement to ABC News. “The safety of our students, faculty, staff, and visitors is the university’s main priority. Campus security will continue to work with all involved agencies as the investigation remains ongoing.”
(HOUSTON) — Houston police are investigating a New Year’s Day shooting that wounded a 4-year-old girl, identified by her family as Arianna Delane, a niece of George Floyd, the unarmed Black killed by a Minneapolis police officer in May 2020.
Derrick Delane, the child’s father, told ABC Houston station KTRK that the family’s apartment was hit several times by gunfire, some which entered the second story where she was sleeping.
“My daughter jumped up and said, ‘Daddy, I’ve been hit,’ and I was shocked until I seen the blood and I realized my 4-year-old daughter was really hit,” he said.
Houston police said “a suspect or suspects fired several shots” into the apartment on Yellowstone Boulevard around 2:55 a.m. but didn’t identify any victims by name. Four adults and two children were inside.
Detectives A. Carroll and J. Roberts said in a statement on Tuesday that a juvenile female was “struck in the torso” and she was “transported in a private vehicle to an area hospital where she underwent surgery and is currently in stable condition.”
The family said Arianna, who was driven to the hospital by her mother, was hit in the lung and in the liver, with the shots breaking three of her ribs.
Delane said he immediately called 911 after the shooting, but officers didn’t show up until nearly 7 a.m.
Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said in a statement on Tuesday that HPD has launched an internal investigation into the delayed response time.
“I am aware and have concerns regarding the delayed response time in this incident and have initiated an Internal Affairs investigation,” Finner said. “I ask the city continue to pray for the child’s full recovery and assist in providing information that would lead to the arrest of the suspect or suspects responsible.”
Police said on Tuesday that they didn’t have a motive for the shooting or descriptions of potential suspects.
Delane told KTRK that he believes that the family’s home was targeted.
“Why would my house get shot up?” he said. “My daughter don’t know. I can’t explain that to her. As the father, you’re supposed to protect the kids.”
The apartment that was sprayed with gunfire is where the Floyd family gathered in April 2021 to watch the verdict in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who was convicted of murdering Floyd and sentenced to more than 22 years in prison in June.
The HPD didn’t immediately respond to ABC News when asked whether the home could have been targeted.
Authorities are urging anyone with information regarding the shooting to contact the HPD Major Assaults & Family Violence Division at 713-308-8800 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.
ABC News’ Gina Sunseri, Marilyn Heck and Izzy Alvarez contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — Almost 80 million people across the United States are on alert this week for heavy snow, brutally cold temperatures, gusty winds and icy conditions.
As of Wednesday morning, the National Weather Service has issued various advisories, alerts, watches and warnings for 32 states — from Oregon to New York — related to two winter storm systems.
The first is currently in the Upper Midwest region, bringing snow and wind across the Northern Plains and Great Lakes. The second is in the Pacific Northwest and Northern Rocky Mountains, bringing rain and wind to the West Coast and heavy snow to the nearby mountain ranges, from the Cascades to the Rockies. This storm could reach the East Coast by Friday morning, bringing more snow to the areas along Interstate 95, one of the busiest travel corridors in the country.
On Wednesday, the first storm will continue to sweep the Great Lakes region, with the heaviest snowfall in parts of Wisconsin, Michigan and western New York. A frigid arctic blast with wind chill temperatures well below zero degrees Fahrenheit will move in behind it, according to the latest forecast. As the cold front swings through the East, temperatures will be mild enough to keep most precipitation in the form of rain showers across the Northeastern states.
However, drizzles of freezing rain are possible Wednesday morning from eastern Virginia to Connecticut before likely changing to rain showers by mid-morning due to warmer temperatures. This could create icy road conditions for morning commuters.
Meanwhile, the second storm will continue to move from West to East across the Rockies, with heavy snow in the mountains and gusty winds hitting Wyoming and Colorado. The system may redevelop in the Southern central states on Thursday, according to the latest forecast. Both long-term storm models, European and American, are predicting snow across the Northeast region on Thursday night into Friday morning.
Hundreds of people were stranded in a massive traffic jam across a 48-mile stretch of I-95 in Virginia, following a multi-vehicle accident that occurred Monday afternoon amid a heavy snowstorm. Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine told ABC News it took him almost 27 hours to drive from his Richmond home to the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C. I-95 in Virginia reopened Tuesday night at about 9 p.m. local time, after being closed for emergency response for most of the day.
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(NEW YORK) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.4 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 827,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
About 62% 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 05, 6:55 am
Michigan governor isolating after husband’s positive test
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was isolating after her husband, Dr. Marc Mallory, tested positive for COVID-19, her office said in a statement.
Whitmer’s office said the governor tested negative on Tuesday using a rapid test. She was awaiting the results of a PCR test.
“Thankfully, the entire family is fully vaccinated and boosted, so the governor has not tested positive and is not experiencing symptoms,” Whitmer’s office said in a statement. “Until the PCR test comes back, the governor is isolating in a separate area of the house and has taken steps to complete contact tracing to keep others safe.”
Jan 05, 2:43 am
Chicago cancels classes after teachers vote for remote learning
Chicago Public Schools canceled its Wednesday classes after the Chicago Teachers Union voted against in-person learning amid a wave of COVID-19 cases.
All classes, both in-person and virtual, and all after-school activities have been cancelled.
“I understand your frustration and deeply regret this interruption to your child’s learning,” said Pedro Martinez, chief executive of the schools. “We want out children back in their classrooms as soon as possible and will continue working with the CTU to reach an agreement that addressed their concerns and that is in the best interest of all in our CPS community, especially our children.”
About 88% of the union’s leadership and 73% of members voted on Tuesday to return to remote education, the union said in a statement.
“To the parents and guardians of this city, we want you to know that when you put your children in our care we put their well-being and safety first,” the union said in a statement. “We fight for your children like they are our own, because they are. As this pandemic continues, we will do everything in our power to ensure that our classrooms are the safest and healthiest places for your children to learn, thrive and grow.”
Teachers were being locked out of their Google Classrooms, the union said on Twitter.
Jan 05, 1:49 am
Mayo Clinic lays off 1% of staff for vaccine noncompliance
Mayo Clinic said it will lay off about 1% of its staff for failing to get at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by a company deadline.
“While Mayo Clinic is saddened to lose valuable employees, we need to take all steps necessary to keep our patients, workforce, visitors and communities safe. If individuals released from employment choose to get vaccinated at a later date, the opportunity exists for them to apply and return to Mayo Clinic for future job openings,” Mayo Clinic said in a statement to ABC.
Last October, Mayo Clinic had set a Jan. 3 deadline for all employees to get at least their first vaccine dose or face dismissal.
The health care organization said the number of staffers being let go was “comparable to what other health care organizations have experienced in implementing similar vaccine requirement programs.”
Mayo Clinic employs about 73,000 people, according to its website.
Jan 04, 7:53 pm
FDA: Do not swab your throat with at-home COVID-19 tests
The FDA is warning people not to swab their throats as part of an at-home COVID-19 test.
In a statement obtained by ABC News, the FDA said that is not how the tests were designed and it could pose a safety concern.
“The FDA advises that COVID-19 tests should be used as authorized, including following their instructions for use regarding obtaining the sample for testing,” the statement said.
Social media posts promoting at-home COVID-19 rapid test swabbing techniques claim that throat swabs collect a better sample. However, this hasn’t been proven for currently authorized tests.
(SAN ANTONIO, Texas) — An FBI dive team is assisting in the search for missing 3-year-old Lina Sardar Khil, authorities said.
The investigation has led the FBI’s underwater search and evidence response team to an area not previously searched, according to San Antonio Police Chief William McManus.
“We don’t want to leave anything to chance,” McManus told reporters during a press briefing Tuesday evening at the scene of the search. “Everything that we get that has any kind of potential at all, we follow it up. And that’s what we’re doing here today.”
The area is located near the family’s apartment complex, according to ABC San Antonio affiliate KSAT.
The chief said he couldn’t provide any additional information on what led detectives to the area, but noted the search will continue Tuesday until it gets dark, and pick up again Wednesday.
“I wish there was more uplifting information I could give you to at least provide some hope, but I don’t have any of that information, unfortunately,” he said.
Lina Sardar Khil was last seen on Dec. 20 between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. at a park on the 9400 block of Fredericksburg Road in San Antonio, according to police. The park is located near the family’s home at the Villa Del Cabo apartment complex.
Lina has brown eyes and brown hair and was last seen wearing a black jacket, red dress and black shoes. Police issued multiple Amber Alerts and said she could be in “grave danger.”
Lina’s family is part of the Afghan refugee community in San Antonio and speaks Pashto. Police have issued alerts in multiple languages to the community, urging anyone with information to come forward.
FBI joins ‘aggressive’ search
McManus said Tuesday Lina is still considered a missing person.
“Our Missing Person’s Unit is working tirelessly at receiving leads and tips on little Lina’s case,” a spokesperson for SAPD told ABC News. “We will continue to follow every lead, no matter how small, until Lina is located.”
The FBI said it is accepting any tips, video footage or insight on Lina’s whereabouts.
Agent Justin Garris of the FBI’s Justin San Antonio field office told reporters on Dec. 28 the investigation into Lina’s disappearance is “aggressive,” adding that the FBI has utilized its child abduction rapid deployment team, behavioral analysis unit, intelligence response teams and forensic examiners.
Authorities are asking anyone who has information on the case to call SAPD Missing Person’s Unit at 210-207-7660.
Community rallies behind the family
As the search continues, the community is rallying around the family by joining search crews and raising money to help find the child.
The Eagles Flight Advocacy & Outreach organization, a nonprofit in San Antonio, joined the search over the weekend with about 150 people from the Afghan community showing up.
“We can’t sit still. We have to do something,” Pamela Allen, CEO of Eagles Flight Advocacy and Outreach, told ABC News.
Allen said the group has been in touch with police and was actively searching surrounding areas that are points of interest in the case.
“Yesterday we had about 150 Afghani men and children come out and look for this baby,” Allen said, adding that seeing the community come together has been “the most amazing thing.”
The Islamic Center of San Antonio is also supporting the family by offering a $100,000 reward for anyone who can help police find Lina.
The Crime Stoppers of San Antonio has offered an additional $50,000 for information resulting in the arrest or indictment of a suspect accused of any involvement in the disappearance.
Lina’s family moved to the U.S. in 2019, her father, Riaz Sardar Khil, told KENS5 through a translator.
Khil said at first they believed that their daughter could be with another Afghan family in the community but now they believe she may have been abducted.
“During our entire lives we have not been as saddened as we were yesterday and today,” he said.
Culturingua, a San Antonio nonprofit that has been helping with the search for Lina, is a leader of the Afghan refugee response collaboration, a citywide effort to support the large influx of Afghan refugees in San Antonio.
Culturingua CEO Nadia Mavrakis told ABC News on Tuesday the organization’s programs include community development in low income and moderate income areas with a high percentage of refugees, including Lina’s family.
“There is tremendous pressure placed on the refugee resettlement agencies as this high influx of Afghans are coming into the community,” Mavrakis said, adding that the coalition seeks to support the integration of Afghan families in the community through services that go “beyond the scope and capabilities of the case workers.”
Nader Mehdawi, COO of Culturingua, told ABC News one of the “biggest challenges” that families like Lina’s face is the language barrier.
“A lot of the Afghan refugees coming here, they only speak Pashto or Dari,” he said, adding that this is one of the reasons many refugees “struggle to find work.”
Mavrakis, who visited the family on Friday along with other staff members, said that Culturingua is one of the organizations that has offered translation support to the family as they communicate with police and navigate the legal system.
The Afghan community started a GoFundMe account for the Khils so they can focus on the search for Lina and Culturingua has been working to get the word out to the Afghan community and the organizations within their network, she added.
(AURORA, Colo.) — Taniya Freeman, 14, was found on Tuesday in Aurora, Colorado, after being reported missing over the weekend. A spokesperson for the Aurora Police Department said that she’s now home safe with her mother.
Freeman’s father, Nigel Freeman, said the family had no additional comment but that they appreciated everyone who shared the posts about their missing daughter on social media.
Taniya left her father’s home between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. on Jan. 2, her mother, Tiana Wilder, told ABC News earlier on Tuesday.
Wilder urged her daughter to come home.
“We miss her. We love her, of course, and the safest place for her to be is here with us,” she said.
The Aurora Police Department said Taniya has long hair with pink streaks and may have a backpack with her. Wilder said that she believed her daughter was wearing a black hoodie and red pants.
Wilder previously said her daughter didn’t have a history of running away and that there wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, as far as arguments or yelling, that night.
“I have no idea who she is with; where she is at and that’s my concern,” Wilder said prior to her daughter being found. “So as far as any harm coming, yeah, I am worried.”
Agent Matthew Longshore, a spokesperson for the Aurora Police Department, had told ABC News that the department was working with limited information. “Our investigators are still following up on different leads and we’re trying to find her,” he said.
“If her friends know something, tell us. And [don’t] think that they are snitching on her or getting her trouble,” Wilder had said. “Whatever they know that could be helpful is what we need to know.”
