(KENTUCKY) — A tornado watch has been issued for parts of Kentucky and Tennessee on Saturday, effective until 6 p.m. CT.
The tornado watch warning includes areas devestated by an outreak of tornadoes that left 93 dead across five states last month.
The severe weather system brought heavy rain, thunderstorms, tornadoes, hail and strong straight-line winds impacting much of Western, Eastern and South Central Kentucky, according to a press release issued by the governor’s office.
“The severe weather caused flash flooding, loss of power and damage of public infrastructure and private properties,” the governor’s office said in the release.
A total of between 2 to 5 inches of rain is expected to fall on Saturday, with a cold front arriving in the evening, which could complicate the response, according to the governor’s office.
At least one tornado has already been reported in Hopkinsville, Kentucky.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency Saturday due to severe weather across most of the state.
“A tornado touchdown was reported in Hopkinsville, causing severe damage to downtown businesses, and a possible tornado touchdown was reported in Taylor County, where numerous households have been damaged,” the governor’s office said.
Strong thunderstorms have been hitting parts of Kentucky Saturday morning, bringing a high risk of torrential rain and flash flooding.
“It is devastating that we are once again experiencing severe weather just weeks after the deadly tornadoes hit Western Kentucky. Sadly, some counties have been affected by both of these events,” Gov. Beshear said. “We will continue to monitor the weather and provide needed updates. Everyone be aware, stay safe and seek shelter when advised.”
Major flash flooding is ongoing in Pike County and surrounding areas of Kentucky as numerous flash flood warnings remain in place across southern parts of the state.
Flash flooding was also reported in Green, Barren, Taylor, Adair, Owsley, Breathitt and Casey counties resulting in road closures and water rescues, according to the governor’s office.
The threat of severe thunderstorms and possible tornadoes will increase in the next few hours, with possible damaging wind gusts and tornadoes in the watch area Saturday evening.
Kentucky Emergency Management activated the State Emergency Operations Center. Personnel from the Kentucky National Guard, Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, Kentucky State Police and Kentucky Department of Public Health are monitoring the situation, according to the governor’s office.
“Please give way to emergency responders operating in numerous counties and stay off of transportation routes today if at all possible,” Michael Dossett, director of Kentucky Emergency Management, said in the press release.
GETTY/Helen H. Richardson/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post
(DENVER) — Prosecutors who charged Rogel Aguilera-Mederos following a deadly crash vowed to release previously undisclosed information from the case to the public after Colorado Gov. Jared Polis granted the truck driver clemency on Thursday, commuting his 110-year sentence to 10 years.
“We look forward to sharing more information with our community that we were ethically prohibited from releasing while the case was pending,” Jefferson County District Attorney Alexis King, the prosecutor in the case, said in a statement on Thursday.
It is unclear when the DA will release the new information or what it would include. ABC News has reached out to King’s office, but a request for comment was not immediately returned.
Mederos was sentenced on Dec. 13 to 110 years in prison for a 2019 fatal crash on Interstate 70, outside Denver, that killed four people and injured several others — a sentence the judge said he wouldn’t have chosen if he had the discretion.
Aguilera-Mederos’ attorneys, Leonard Martinez and James Colgan said they were “surprised” by how fast Polis acted, adding that it is “unusual” for a governor to act on clemency before the appellate process takes place.
But now that Polis has acted, Colgan said they believe that the case is no longer in the jurisdiction of the courts or the DA’s office and King’s promise to release new information is a case of “sour grapes” and based on “political motivations.”
“It wouldn’t matter what she disclosed now,” Colgan told ABC News.
“I’m not aware of any law that allows [the DA’s office] to have jurisdiction over the case,” he added.
Asked what the new information may be, “I have no idea,” the attorneys both said.
Polis commuted Mederos’ sentence two weeks after his legal team applied for clemency and ahead of a scheduled hearing next month requested by King for the court to reconsider the sentence.
“After learning about the highly atypical and unjust sentence in your case, I am commuting your sentence to 10 years and granting you parole eligibility on December 30, 2026,” Polis wrote in a statement on Thursday.
Martinez said he was on the phone when Polis’ office called Mederos to inform him that his sentence was commuted.
“He was shocked … and he said he was very grateful,” Martinez said.
“Rogel is very grateful for all the support he’s gotten not only locally, but nationally. He’s humbled by it,” Martinez said.
His mother, Oslaida Mederos, who spoke exclusively with “Nightline” earlier this week, is also “grateful” and “celebrating” the decision but would like her son home “even sooner,” Martinez added.
Amid mounting public backlash over the sentence, King filed a motion earlier this month asking the court to reconsider the 110 years and suggested a sentencing range of 20-30 years instead.
King said that the range was determined after conversations with the victims and their families.
“We are disappointed in the Governor’s decision to act prematurely,” King said on Thursday.
“We are meeting with the victims and their loved ones this evening to support them in navigating this unprecedented action and to ensure they are treated with fairness, dignity, and respect during this difficult time,” she added.
Martinez said he believes that the clemency from the governor takes any other legal avenues, including an appeal, off the table.
But because it is so “unusual” that Polis acted before the appellate process took place, the legal team needs to “review” all options, he added.
The court has not officially vacated the hearing to reconsider the original sentence, which is set for Jan. 13, but Mederos’ attorney said they expect the judge to do so next week.
Mederos was charged with 42 counts and found guilty by a Jefferson County jury of 27 counts — the most serious was first-degree assault, a class-three felony.
The number of the charges, mandatory minimum laws and a classification that mandates some sentences be served consecutively resulted in the lengthy sentence.
Mederos testified that his brakes failed – a point not contested by prosecutors, but some points of contention in the case appear to be decisions Mederos allegedly made before the crash took place and once he found out that he was having brake problems.
ABC News’ Jeffrey Cook and Mark Osborne contributed to this report.
(ILLINOIS) — Police have arrested a suspect wanted in connection with the shooting of two Illinois police officers that left one of them dead, while a second suspect remains at large, authorities said.
Darius Sullivan, 25, was taken into custody Friday morning without incident after authorities conducted a search warrant on a home in North Manchester, Indiana, police said. Narcotics and multiple weapons were found inside the home, according to Indiana State Police Sgt. Glen Fifield.
Sullivan had warrants out of Illinois for his arrest on first-degree murder, attempted murder and aggravated battery with a firearm charges, Fifield said, in connection with Wednesday’s fatal shooting at a hotel in Kankakee County, Illinois.
Bradley Police Department Sgt. Marlene Rittmanic, 49, was killed after responding to a noise complaint at a Comfort Inn, authorities said. Her partner, Officer Tyler Bailey, 27, was wounded in the shooting and remains hospitalized in critical condition, Illinois State Police said in an update Thursday night.
Sullivan, of Bourbonnais, Illinois, will be transferred to the Kankakee County Sheriff’s Department, Fifield said. Police are still determining his connection to the North Manchester residence. It is unclear if he has an attorney.
An arrest warrant has also been issued for a second suspect in connection with the shooting, Xandria Harris, 26, of Bradley, Illinois, state police said. She was not present at the North Manchester home when Sullivan was taken into custody, according to Fifield.
“We are actively looking for her,” Fifield said.
The Kankakee County Sheriff’s Office was offering a $25,000 reward for information that led to the arrest of Sullivan. Fifield said the reward still stands for information leading to the arrest of Harris.
(FLORIDA) — An official at the Naples Zoo, where a tiger attacked a man who allegedly stuck his hand in the cage, said on Friday that it supports that deputy’s decision to shoot the animal.
The man had called 911 after the tiger attacked him at the Florida zoo. Initial reports suggest that the tiger grabbed the man’s arm and pulled it into the enclosure after the man jumped over the initial fence barrier and put his arm through the fencing, authorities said on Thursday.
The tiger, named Eko, died after being shot in the neck by a responding deputy. Eko was a Malayan tiger, a species that is critically endangered due to poaching and habitat loss, according to the Naples Zoo.
President and CEO of Naples Zoo, Jack Mulvena, said the zoo hasn’t considered pressing charges against the man, identified as a 26-year-old River Rosenquist.
“It was a bad mistake, a bad decision, but we only wish him well in the recovery,” he said during a press conference Friday.
Mulvena said he spoke with the zoo’s weapon’s team and they said if they were in the officer’s position, under the same circumstances, they would have made the same decision.
“The deputy faced a very difficult decision and we support that decision,” Mulvena said.
Rosenquist, who worked for a third-party cleaning company, had entered an unauthorized area of the Florida zoo. Authorities said on Thursday that he could face criminal charges.
Mulvena said that third parties hired to work for the zoo, including HMI Commercial Cleaners, where Rosenquist worked, were aware they should not be in certain areas.
“Their responsibilities were very specific; cleaning of our new hospital and commissary, our gift shop, admissions and our two public bathrooms,” Mulvena said.
The zoo’s security team never saw Rosenquist or any cleaning crew members depart from what they were supposed to be doing, Mulvena said Friday.
“In this instance, unfortunately, River made the decision to breach a visitor barrier and get close to the exhibit itself. We don’t know what happened and why he did that. We suspect it was to pet or to feed, but we don’t know that for certain. Only River knows that,” Mulvena said.
The zoo is in the process of conducting an internal investigation and review of all its policies and protocols, he said.
“[We] don’t believe our policies and protocols were in any way responsible for this,” Mulvena said.
The zoo will also consider whether it should install security cameras.
“I think the lesson learned here is you can’t 100% prevent people from making really, really horrible decisions,” Mulvena said.
The zoo established the Eko Tiger Conservation Fund in memory of the tiger. All the proceeds from the fund will be going to the Wildlife Conservation Society, which Mulvena said has been doing some of the best work in the world on Malayan tiger conservation.
“We want his memory to live on and we want it to live on in terms of saving Malayan tigers in the wild,” Mulvena said.
Eko’s body is currently in the zoo’s hospital and a necropsy is scheduled for Monday.
(NEW YORK) — Federal prosecutors in New York officially dropped charges against Tova Noel and Michael Thomas – the two correctional officers on duty when Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide in a federal lockup there.
In August 2019, Epstein was found dead in his cell in the early hours of the morning at the now-closed Metropolitan Correctional Center, where he was awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
Noel and Thomas allegedly falsified government records and fell asleep on the job according to a November 2019 indictment. Leaders from the federal correctional officers union argued this case was unprecedented and typically would be handled administratively.
In May, the two officers entered into a deferred prosecution agreement – contingent on Thomas and Noel completing community service and having good behavior.
In a Thursday court filing, prosecutors said they were dropping the case, formally ending the prosecution of the two officers.
The Justice Department has yet to release any report regarding the timeframe leading up to Epstein’s suicide or days after.
Documents obtained by ABC News through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request in early December from the Bureau of Prisons do shed a little light on what occurred.
“I have no interest in killing myself,” Epstein told a BOP psychologist two weeks before he died by suicide, according to the documents.
Epstein also previously attempted suicide on July 23, according to the records, which were first obtained by the New York Times.
Included in the records was an e-mail from an unnamed inmate who worked in the kitchen at MCC.
“Jeffrey Epstein definitely killed himself. Any conspiracy theories to the contrary are ridiculous,” this inmate wrote to the BOP. “He wanted to kill himself and seized the opportunity when it was available.”
This inmate told BOP officials he heard Epstein ripping up the bed sheet he used to hang himself.
Former Attorney General William Barr told The Associated Press shortly after the suicide that it was the “perfect storm of screw ups” that lead to his death.
Earlier this week, Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime associate of Epstein, was convicted on five of six counts related to the abuse and trafficking of underage girls.
Maxwell faced a six-count indictment for allegedly conspiring with and aiding Epstein in his sexual abuse of underage girls between 1994 and 2004.
Prosecutors alleged that Maxwell played a “key role” in a multi-state sex trafficking scheme in which she allegedly “befriended” and later “enticed and groomed multiple minor girls to engage in sex acts with Epstein” and was also, at times, “present for and involved” in the abuse herself.
GETTY/Helen H. Richardson/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post
(COLORADO) — The wildfires that tore through Boulder County, Colorado Thursday afternoon are an unfortunate example of how climate and weather can combine to disastrous effect.
As with many climate change-amplified disasters, the conditions that set the stage for the explosive and fast-moving fires had been developing and intensifying in the months prior.
It has been very dry and very warm across Colorado for several months with various temperature and precipitation records broken in both Boulder and Colorado as a whole. The period of July 1 to Dec. 15, 2021, was the warmest and driest on record for the city of Denver. The city is also on track to have one of their warmest Decembers on record.
Earlier in the month, Denver set a record for its longest stretch without snow, 232 days. When it finally snowed on Dec. 10, it was the latest measurable amount on record, and was two months later than the average first measurable snowfall. Through the end of December, Denver typically sees around 20 inches of snow. On the evening of the fires on Dec. 30, it had only seen 0.3 inches.
The drought monitor released just hours before the fires showed all of Colorado in drought, with over 22% of the state, including eastern Boulder County, in extreme drought.
While strong wind events are common in Colorado, a wind event with gusts over 100 mph, combined with very dry conditions became a recipe for disaster. Strong wind events in Colorado can also be extremely localized due to several microclimates caused by rapid elevation and terrain changes within the state.
Unfortunately, these conditions were the key player for the rapid and erratic spread of the Marshall fire in Boulder County, which has become the most destructive fire ever in Colorado based on the number of structures destroyed. This makes back-to-back years Colorado has seen its most destructive fire ever. Prior to Marshall fire, Colorado’s most destructive fire was the East Troublesome Fire in 2020.
While it is challenging to link climate change to any single event, or a even a couple events over the years, as the parts of the western U.S. become drier and deal with more extreme temperatures, that events like erratic and rapid fire spread will likely become more common.
(NEW YORK) — The brother of Ghislaine Maxwell says that he denies any possibility that his sister is guilty of the sex trafficking crimes she was convicted of on Wednesday.
Kevin Maxwell, in an American television exclusive, spoke to ABC News a day after a jury convicted his sister of conspiring with and aiding serial sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in his sexual abuse of underage girls.
Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s longtime associate, was convicted Wednesday on five of six counts related to the abuse and trafficking of underage girls between 1994 and 2004.
Kevin Maxwell told ABC News’ James Hill that his sister had been unfairly portrayed as Epstein’s “demon queen” accomplice, and that while accusers’ testimony might have been moving, she should not be pilloried for her longtime associate’s crimes.
“I think that anybody who sat in and listened to the accusers’ testimony — I’m a dad, I’m a brother, anybody, just any normal guy listening to their testimony — is going to have been moved. And I can also understand anger. But that doesn’t mean that I believe for a single second that my sister is guilty of the crimes of which she was convicted,” Kevin Maxwell said.
Epstein, the one-time millionaire financier, died by suicide in jail in 2019.
Ghislaine and Kevin Maxwell are two of the children of controversial British publishing mogul Robert Maxwell, who drowned in the Atlantic Ocean after falling off his yacht in 1991.
Kevin Maxwell sat through his sister’s trial for a substantial portion of the proceedings, often accompanied by her other siblings, Isabel, Christine and Ian. Less than 24 hours after his sister was convicted, he told ABC News that he was “still shocked” at the verdict in what he described as a “tremendous injustice.”
His sister will appeal the verdict, Maxwell said, and he was certain that it would be overturned and that she would be vindicated.
“The reality is that there are myriad jury cases, miscarriages of justice involving juries, where the verdicts have been overturned on appeal. This will just be yet another one,” Maxwell said.
“Because of the, we think, very strong legal grounds and evidential grounds for the appeal, obviously that has to wait for sentencing, so it’s some way off, but the work is already in hand and we’re very confident,” he said.
Though multiple accusers testified that Ghislaine Maxwell had groomed them for Epstein’s abuse — and had at times participated in it herself — Kevin Maxwell pushed back on her role.
“There’s no, simply no, question that there are many victims of Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes,” Maxwell said. “They’re simply not crimes that were committed by my sister.”
Kevin Maxwell would not say if he had anything to tell Epstein’s accusers and those who say Ghislaine Maxwell played a role in abetting Epstein’s crimes.
“I don’t want to use this opportunity to denigrate in any way the evidence that’s been given by those accusers; that’s their evidence,” he said. “As I say, I remain absolutely persuaded of Epstein’s crimes. I’m equally persuaded that my sister will be exonerated on appeal, and these guilty verdicts will be overturned.”
(NEW YORK) — If you were planning to ring in 2022 with a couple dozen of your friends this New Year’s Eve, many officials and health experts are warning against it.
“Omicron and delta are coming to your party,” Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker warned at a press conference Monday. “You need to think twice about how many people will be gathered together.”
From London to Tokyo to Paris and Athens, the latest coronavirus surge has already spoiled many annual festivities across the globe.
This week, San Francisco officials canceled their annual celebration, citing concerns over the nation’s latest COVID-19 surge.
“This rise in cases will impact us in a number of ways—including with staffing levels, which led us to make the tough but right decision to cancel New Year’s Eve fireworks. Despite these challenges, we are focused on providing the necessary services to take care of our City,” Mayor London Breed tweeted.
And in Atlanta, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced the decision to cancel the city’s Peach Drop on Tuesday, following advice from public health professionals.
Nationwide, the U.S. is facing its worst surge on record, with more Americans testing positive for the virus every day than at any other point in the pandemic.
Federal data shows that as of Tuesday, the U.S. is reporting an average of 277,000 new cases a day, shattering the nation’s previous record average of 250,000 cases reported a day, set last January. In the last week, the U.S. has reported nearly 1.9 million new cases.
Coronavirus-related hospitalizations are also steadily rising. More than 90,000 Americans are hospitalized with the virus — a total that has doubled since early November.
Health experts like Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to the White House, have been vocal about their concerns over the nation’s New Year’s Eve celebrations, fearing such events will accelerate viral spread.
“Should you change or cancel your plans? If your plans are to go to a 40 to 50 person New Year’s Eve party with all the bells and whistles and everybody hugging and kissing, and wishing each other a Happy New Year, I would strongly recommend that this year, we do not do that,” Fauci said during a press briefing on Thursday.
Many cities move forward with celebrations, despite ongoing surge
Despite the nation’s record-breaking surge, many cities are still opting to move forward with plans.
Even as New York reported its highest coronavirus cases on record Thursday, with more than 74,000 residents testing positive, thousands of revelers in New York City’s Times Square will welcome the new year with the famous ball drop.
“We want to show that we are moving forward, and we want to show the world that New York City is fighting our way through this,” New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio told NBC Thursday. “It’s really important to not give up in the face of this.”
According to city officials, on average, 58,000 people flock to the annual celebration. However, this year, the festivities will be limited to 15,000 people. The city said it will also require proof of vaccination and attendees will be required to wear masks.
Despite these precautions, Mike Levine, chairman of the New York City Council’s Health Committee, has called for the event to be canceled, tweeting on Wednesday that he “100%” agreed that the city shouldn’t hold its celebration.
However, de Blasio said that there are no plans to cancel the event.
In Nevada, which is now reporting its highest number of new COVID-19 cases in a year, an estimated 300,000 people are expected to attend a New Year’s Eve fireworks show on the Las Vegas Strip.
“We encourage everyone to look out for one another, take personal responsibility and proactively take actions to limit the spread of COVID-19,” said Clark County Commissioner Michael Naft.
Although Chicago will move forward with its annual New Year’s Eve bash, officials are urging prudence, asking residents to stay home if they feel unwell.
“If you think it’s the cold, if you think it’s the flu, it’s probably COVID,” said Dr. Allison Arwady, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health. “We need you to stay home.”
With more than 5,300 people hospitalized across the state, Illinois is now averaging more cases than at any other point in the pandemic.
“I’m not going to be the mom and tell people what they should and shouldn’t do, but I know what I’m going to do,” said Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot. “I’m going to be home watching on my television set and I encourage other people to take advantage of that.”
Officials use New Year’s Eve celebrations to mitigate spread, vaccinate residents
Some cities, like Boston, have announced plans to mitigate the spread of infection at their annual celebrations.
As part of Boston’s First Night event, city workers will distribute 1,000 rapid test kits, and provide a COVID-19 vaccination and booster shots clinic to all people ages 5 and older.
“Welcoming 2022 and gathering to make plans for the new year is an important, healing, joyful ritual and tradition that happens in Boston, and this year, we are making sure that public health leads the way,” Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said at a press conference Thursday.
In Raleigh, North Carolina, officials will offer on-site COVID-19 testing, and require all guests in attendance to show proof of vaccination or a recent negative COVID-19 test.
Fauci stressed on Wednesday that ultimately, small-scale gatherings at home, such as those with close family members and friends, who have all been vaccinated and boosted, are still the safest type of event to hold.
“If you were in a situation with a family setting, in your home, with family, parents, children, grandparents, and everyone is vaccinated and boosted, although the risk is never zero in anything, the risk is low enough that we feel you should continue to go through with those plans,” Fauci said.
Helen H. Richardson/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images
(SUPERIOR, Colo.) — The mayor of a Colorado town decimated by sudden and fast-moving wildfires called the situation “very grave” in an interview with Good Morning America.
Hundreds of homes were destroyed and thousands were forced to evacuate in Boulder County on Thursday when wind-fueled grass fires exploded into infernos.
“I spent a couple of hours yesterday driving around in the afternoon with the sheriff’s office and town manager just making an assessment of the situation there on the ground and it’s grave,” Clint Folsom, the mayor of Superior, told GMA. “It’s nothing like I would have ever imagined would have happened.”
Folsom said he was fearful of what emergency responders might find in the coming days after hundreds of homes burned “in a matter of minutes.”
“I hope we don’t have fatalities,” Folsom told GMA.
The mayor said that strong winds were not uncommon in the area, but “this was a wind like I’ve never seen.” Combined with an extraordinarily dry summer and fall, the conditions were ripe for a devastating blaze.
Of the two fires burning, one, the Marshall fire, had “ballooned” into a 1,600-acre behemoth as of Thursday night. Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle, said the blazes were “consuming football-field lengths of land in seconds.”
Superior, a town of 13,000 and Louisville, a town of 20,000 were both asked to evacuate as the fires tore through the area.
Pelle said he believes the fires were likely sparked by downed power lines.
(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 824,000 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:
Dec 30, 11:04 pm
FDA to authorize boosters for 12- to 15-year-olds
The Food and Drug Administration is likely to authorize Pfizer COVID-19 booster shots for 12- to 15-year-olds next week, a source with direct knowledge of the plan told ABC News.
An authorization may come as early as Monday.
-ABC News’ Eric Strauss
Dec 30, 10:08 pm
US pediatric COVID-19 hospital admissions hit all-time high
More COVID-19-positive children in the United States are being hospitalized each day than at any other point in the pandemic, according to newly updated federal data.
On average, just under 380 children with COVID-19 were admitted into the hospital daily between Dec. 22 and Dec. 28, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The country’s pediatric COVID-19 hospital admission rate has nearly tripled in the past month, CDC data shows.
Nationwide, nearly 2,900 children are currently hospitalized with confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 — approximately 1,300 more patients than a month ago — according to data from the Department of Health and Human Services.
Less than a third of eligible children — ages 5 to 17 — in the U.S. are currently fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Three new studies released Thursday by the CDC found COVID-19 vaccines to be safe and effective for children.
-ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos
Dec 30, 6:23 pm
US marks 3rd day of record new COVID-19 cases
The U.S. recorded more than 486,000 new COVID-19 cases in a day, marking the third straight day of record numbers, according to data released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The new data comes as states are going through their huge backlogs of tests taken during the Christmas weekend.
In the last week, the U.S. has reported more than 2.2 million new cases, which averages out to about 220 Americans testing positive for COVID-19 every minute.
The CDC will not be providing new data updates until Jan. 3, due to the New Year’s holiday.
-ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos
Dec 30, 4:28 pm
Michigan health officials urge schools to delay sports
Officials from Michigan’s Department of Health and Human Services sent a letter to schools across the state urging them to either postpone large gatherings or make them virtual.
“Large gatherings (involving 100 or more people) should be held using remote technology or postponed, if not essential. Large gatherings would include events with large numbers of people from multiple households such as conferences or meetings, sporting events, and concerts,” the letter read.
The state also urged schools to require masks for everyone who enters school buildings and to test students regularly.
