(NEW YORK) — The United States is facing a COVID-19 surge this summer as the more contagious delta variant spreads.
More than 663,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 while over 4.6 million people have died from the disease worldwide, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.
Just 63% of Americans ages 12 and up are 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:
Sep 15, 3:22 am
Alaska’s largest hospital begins rationing care amid COVID-19 surge
The largest hospital in Alaska is beginning to ration care as COVID-19 patients flood the facility.
“While we are doing our utmost, we are no longer able to provide the standard of care to each and every patient who needs our help,” Dr. Kristen Solana Walkinshaw, chief of staff at Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage, wrote in an op-ed published Tuesday by The Anchorage Daily News. “The acuity and number of patients now exceeds our resources and our ability to staff beds with skilled caregivers, like nurses and respiratory therapists. We have been forced within our hospital to implement crisis standards of care.”
“What does this mean? In short, we are faced with a situation in which we must prioritize scarce resources and treatments to those patients who have the potential to benefit most,” she continued. “We have been required to develop and enact policies and procedures to ration medical care and treatments, including dialysis and specialized ventilatory support.”
Walkinshaw explained how what happens at Providence Alaska Medical Center and other hospitals in Alaska’s biggest city “impacts our entire state” because “many specialty cares can only be provided in Anchorage.”
“People from all around Alaska depend on Providence to provide medical care for people statewide. Unfortunately, we are unable to continue to meet this need; we no longer have the staff, the space or the beds,” she wrote. “Due to this scarcity, we are unable to provide lifesaving care to everyone who needs it. Our emergency room is overflowing; patients wait in their cars for hours to see a physician for emergency care. On a daily basis, our transfer center is unable to accept patients who sit in emergency rooms and hospitals across the state, people who need care their current facility is unable to provide. If you or your loved one need specialty care at Providence, such as a cardiologist, trauma surgeon or a neurosurgeon, we sadly may not have room now. There are no more staffed beds left.”
Walkinshaw urged people to wear face masks, even if they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and to get the vaccine if they are eligible and have not done so yet.
“We ask that you help us to open our beds again so that we may continue to care for all Alaskans,” she wrote.
Sep 14, 7:07 pm
Regeneron lands $2.94B deal with US government for more monoclonal antibodies
Regeneron has reached a $2.94 billion agreement with the federal government to supply more doses of its monoclonal antibody cocktail to treat COVID-19.
Under the new agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Defense, Regeneron will furnish another 1.4 million doses of the treatment by the end of January 2022.
The one-dose therapy will be made available to any member of the American public who is eligible to receive it. It currently is authorized to treat COVID-19 patients ages 12 and up who have mild to moderate symptoms and are at high risk of severe illness.
The deal comes as orders of monoclonal antibodies from states have gone up 1,200% in recent weeks during the delta surge, ABC News reported last month.
Last week, the White House outlined plans to boost the average pace of weekly shipments of the treatment by 50%, as part of a new six-part strategy to combat the delta variant.
(NEW YORK) — The arrests of more than a dozen purported mobsters Tuesday in New York and New Jersey show “the underbelly of the crime families in New York City is alive and well,” according to the FBI.
Colombo crime family boss Andrew “Mush” Russo, underboss Benji Castellazzo and consigliere Ralph DiMatteo were among 14 purported mobsters charged Tuesday with labor racketeering, extortion and money laundering. Ten members of the Colombo crime family and one member of the Bonanno crime family were arrested, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Most of the alleged mobsters were arrested in New York and New Jersey on Tuesday, while Colombo captain Vincent Ricciardo was arrested in North Carolina. DiMatteo, 66, remains at large.
Russo and Castellazzo are allegedly long-time members of the family, at 87 and 83 years old, respectively.
The charges describe what federal prosecutors in Brooklyn called “a long-standing, ruthless pattern” of exerting control over a labor union by threatening to harm its leaders unless they selected vendors for contracts who were on the take.
The defendants also tried to force the union and its affiliated health care fund to divert more than $10,000 per month to the Colombo family, prosecutors said.
The indictment quoted Ricciardo threatening to kill someone labeled John Doe #1 if he did not comply.
In a June 21 recording, Ricciardo allegedly explained that John Doe #1 knows, “I’ll put him in the ground right in front of his wife and kids, right in front of his f—— house, you laugh all you want pal, I’m not afraid to go to jail, let me tell you something, to prove a point? I would f—— shoot him right in front of his wife and kids, call the police, f— it, let me go, how long you think I’m gonna last anyway?”
Ricciardo and his cousin had allegedly been collecting part of John Doe’s salary since 2001 before broadening extortion efforts in 2019, according to the DOJ.
The 75-year-old Ricciardo, known as Vinny Unions, is already a convicted felon and was shot in the back in November 1992 when masked men ambushed a car he was riding in on the way to a wake, according to The New York Times. One of the other people in the car was killed, and another survived after being shot eight times.
“Everything we allege in this investigation proves history does indeed repeat itself. The underbelly of the crime families in New York City is alive and well. These soldiers, consiglieres, under bosses, and bosses are obviously not students of history, and don’t seem to comprehend that we’re going to catch them,” FBI Assistant Director Michael Driscoll said in a statement.
One of those arrested, Teddy Persico Jr., was on federal supervised release from a previous racketeering conviction, authorities said.
Also arrested was purported Bonanno organized crime family soldier John Ragano, who allegedly falsified paperwork at safety training schools saying workers had completed Occupational Safety and Health Administration classes when they had not. Ragano’s schools were actually fronts for meetings of the La Cosa Nostra crime family and used to store illegal drugs and fireworks, according to the indictment.
Ragano, 59, was allegedly known by the nickname “Maniac.”
The defendants could each face up to 20 years in jail, according to the DOJ.
(NEW YORK) — A family is desperate for answers after their 22-year-old daughter disappeared while on a cross-country road trip with her boyfriend this summer.
Florida residents Gabby Petito and her boyfriend, Brian Laundrie, embarked on the journey in July in their white Ford Transit van from New York — where Petito is originally from, her family told ABC News.
The couple had made stops in Colorado and Utah, with Instagram posts showing them at the Mystic Hot Springs in Utah on July 26 and on a large rock structure at Arches National Park in Grand County, Utah, on Aug. 12.
Petito had planned to document the trip on her YouTube channel “Nomadic Statik.” The sole video, posted on Aug. 19, featured an eight-minute compilation of the couple’s adventures so far.
Petito was last seen on Aug. 24 checking out of a hotel with Laundrie in Salt Lake City, her family said. She last spoke to her mother, Nichole Schmidt, on Aug. 24, when she informed her that she and Laundrie were on their way to Grand Teton, Wyoming, and Yellowstone National Park, Schmidt told ABC News.
“She sounded good and excited to continue her trip and excited to start her YouTube channel,” Schmidt said in tears. “She seemed OK.”
Schmidt said she did not think much for the first few days when she had not heard from her daughter. But after those passed, she began to worry.
“A few days is one thing when you’re out camping, but when it starts to become seven, eight, nine, 10 days, that’s a problem,” Schmidt said.
Petito’s last Instagram post on Aug. 25 showed her holding a miniature pumpkin, captioned “Happy Halloween.” The post was not geotagged. Schmidt said she has received two text messages from Petito’s phone since they last spoke, but they did not include any photos or details of the trip, so it is not clear whether Petito actually sent those texts.
Petito’s family is continuing to plead for help in locating their daughter.
“We don’t know where she is,” her father, Joseph Petito, told ABC News.
Laundrie has since returned to the couple’s home in North Port, Florida, with their van, according to authorities. Petito was reported missing by her family to the Suffolk County Police Department in New York on Saturday.
The North Port Police Department in Florida wrote in a statement on Facebook that while there is “no definitive information that a crime took place here in North Port … the circumstances are odd.” Investigators in Florida are actively gathering evidence and details “to assist in finding needed answers,” the police department said. The FBI is also assisting in the investigation.
Laundrie’s family said in a statement that the family hopes Petito is found but did not provide any further comment.
“This is understandably an extremely difficult time for both the Petito family and the Laundrie family,” the statement, released by Steven P. Bertolino, an attorney for the family, read. “It is our understanding that a search has been organized for Miss Petito in or near Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. On behalf of the Laundrie family, it is our hope that the search for Miss Petito is successful and that Miss Petito is re-united with her family. On the advice of counsel, the Laundrie family is remaining in the background at this juncture and will have no further comment.”
Petito’s stepmother, Tara Petito, described her as an “amazing artist” who “loved natural beauty.”
“She always tried to smile and make people smile, you know, always enjoying every moment,” Joseph Petito said.
Petito’s last Instagram post on Aug. 25 showed her holding a miniature pumpkin, captioned “Happy Halloween.” The post was not geotagged. Schmidt said she has received two text messages from Petito’s phone since they last spoke, but they did not include any photos or details of the trip, so it is not clear whether Petito actually sent those texts.
Petito’s family is continuing to plead for help in locating their daughter.
“We don’t know where she is,” her father, Joseph Petito, told ABC News.
Laundrie has since returned to the couple’s home in North Port, Florida, with their van, according to authorities. Petito was reported missing by her family to the Suffolk County Police Department in New York on Saturday.
The North Port Police Department in Florida wrote in a statement on Facebook that while there is “no definitive information that a crime took place here in North Port … the circumstances are odd.” Investigators in Florida are actively gathering evidence and details “to assist in finding needed answers,” the police department said. The FBI is also assisting in the investigation.
Laundrie’s family said in a statement that the family hopes Petito is found but did not provide any further comment.
“This is understandably an extremely difficult time for both the Petito family and the Laundrie family,” the statement, released by Steven P. Bertolino, an attorney for the family, read. “It is our understanding that a search has been organized for Miss Petito in or near Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. On behalf of the Laundrie family, it is our hope that the search for Miss Petito is successful and that Miss Petito is re-united with her family. On the advice of counsel, the Laundrie family is remaining in the background at this juncture and will have no further comment.”
Petito’s stepmother, Tara Petito, described her as an “amazing artist” who “loved natural beauty.”
“She always tried to smile and make people smile, you know, always enjoying every moment,” Joseph Petito said.
(MINNEAPOLIS) — Four former Minneapolis police officers involved in the death of George Floyd pleaded not guilty to charges in federal court Tuesday.
Derek Chauvin, Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao have been charged with violating Floyd’s constitutional rights in ways that “resulted in bodily injury to, and the death of, George Floyd,” according to the federal grand jury indictment.
The hearing may address some of the pretrial motions, including requests from Lane, Kueng and Thao asking to separate their cases from Chauvin’s. Chauvin was convicted in Floyd’s murder in April 2021 and his fellow ex-officers argue that they would not get a fair trial if connected to Chauvin.
Floyd was killed in May 2020 when he was placed under arrest on the suspicion that he was using a counterfeit $20 bill to buy cigarettes at a convenience store.
Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter for pressing his knee against Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes. He was sentenced to 22 and-a-half-years in prison.
Judge Peter Cahill rejected Chauvin’s request for a new trial in June.
The federal indictment accuses Chauvin, Thao, Kueng and Lane of depriving Floyd of his rights when they witnessed him “in clear need” of medical care but instead “willfully failed to aid Floyd.”
Thao and Kueng are charged with violating Floyd’s right to be free from unreasonable seizure. All four officers are also charged with depriving Floyd of his rights when they failed to provide him with medical care. The officers acted “with deliberate indifference to a substantial risk of harm,” the indictment said.
Lane, Kueng and Thao also face a state trial on charges of aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter and have entered not guilty pleas on those charges as well.
While Chauvin kneeled on Floyd’s neck at times during the arrest, Kueng kneeled on his back and Lane held down Floyd’s legs, according to evidence presented in state court. Thao blocked bystanders from getting involved.
The indictment also accuses Chauvin of violating Floyd’s right to be free from unreasonable seizure or force by a law enforcement officer.
Following Chauvin’s murder conviction, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced that the Justice Department has opened a pattern or practice investigation into the City of Minneapolis. The Minneapolis Police Department said it would investigate unconstitutional or unlawful policing in the city.
(NEW YORK) — Nicholas made landfall in Texas early Tuesday as a Category 1 hurricane before weakening to a tropical storm.
The storm had been riding on the water, parallel to the Texas coast, causing it to strengthen from a tropical storm into a hurricane late Monday prior to hitting land early Tuesday. Nearly 200,000 customers were without power in the Lone Star State when Nicholas made landfall after midnight, and that figure soared to nearly 350,000 before dawn as the storm moved inland.
Hurricanes have 74 miles per hour or higher winds, and on Monday night, Nicholas reached sustained winds of 76 mph with higher gusts, according to the National Weather Service. The hurricane roared ashore Tuesday at around 12:30 a.m. CT on the eastern part of Texas’ Matagorda Peninsula, about 10 miles southwest of Sargent Beach. Maximum sustained winds at that time were 75 mph with higher gusts at landfall, according to the National Weather Service.
But by 4 a.m. CT, the National Weather Service said Nicholas had already been downgraded to a tropical storm with maximum sustained winds of 70 mph. Hurricane watches and warnings in the region were discontinued, while tropical storm warnings were in effect from Sabine Pass to Cameron, Louisiana, from Matagorda to Freeport, Texas, and from Matagorda to Cameron, Louisiana.
Although Nicholas is forecast to weaken further over the next couple of days as the storm moves over land, the National Weather Service warned that it could still cause life-threatening flash floods across the Deep South.
Heavy rain, flash flooding, dangerous storm surge, isolated tornadoes and strong gusty winds were expected in Texas and Louisiana. A high-risk alert for “life-threatening” flash flooding was in effect for portions of southeast Texas overnight.
The high-risk areas stretch from Matagorda to Galveston to Port Arthur. Rain totals are predicted to be between 6 and 12 inches to isolated maximum amounts of up to 18 inches, according to the latest forecast from the National Weather Service.
Some spots across southeast Texas, southern-central Louisiana and southern Mississippi could see near 10 inches of rainfall through Thursday. President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration for Louisiana on Monday night ahead of Nicholas’ arrival.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration for 17 counties and has prepped resources, including boat teams and rescue aircrafts, to assist any affected areas.
In Houston, the heaviest rain will come Monday night, and flash flooding is possible.
In Harris County, which encompasses Houston, Judge Lina Hidalgo warned Monday afternoon: “We could get 10 to 15 inches of rain over the next 24 hours or so — and that would be very, very concerning.”
All public health testing and vaccination sites will stop operations in Harris County. Schools in Houston will be closed on Tuesday.
“What I need each resident of this county to do today is to get to where you are going to be by 6 p.m. tonight and stay there,” Hidalgo said.
Nicholas is slow-moving and will likely remain in Texas from Monday to Wednesday, according to the latest forecast.
Rainfall totals will be the highest around Galveston, which could see more than 10 inches.
Storm surge could be as high as 5 feet south of Galveston.
On Tuesday, Nicholas is forecast to bring heavy rain to eastern Texas and into Louisiana. By Wednesday, some of the heavy rain will begin to reach New Orleans.
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards declared a state of emergency in anticipation of Nicholas. Residents are still recovering from devastating hurricanes Laura and Ida.
During a news conference on Monday, Bel Edwards warned residents to take the storm seriously, even though it hadn’t reached hurricane status. More than 119,000 customers are currently without power in Louisiana and 1,425 people are still living in shelters there due to Ida, according to the governor.
“I know that bracing for another storm while we’re still responding to and trying to recover from Hurricane Ida is not the position that we wanted to be in, but it is a situation that we are prepared for,” Bel Edwards said.
The rainfall could be as intense as 2 inches per hour.
“The most severe threat to Louisiana is in the Southwest portion of the state, where recovery from Hurricane Laura and the May flooding is ongoing. In this area heavy rain and flash flooding are possible,” the governor said in a statement. “However, it is also likely that all of South Louisiana will see heavy rain this week, including areas recently affected by Hurricane Ida. This tropical storm has the potential to disrupt some power restoration and recovery work currently underway.”
(NEW YORK) — Tropical Storm Nicholas is pounding the South with rain after roaring ashore in Texas early Tuesday as a Category 1 hurricane.
In the Houston area, 410,000 customers were without power Tuesday morning. In Harris County, all public health testing and vaccination sites have stopped operations and Houston schools are closed.
Rain totals reached 8 to 9 inches south of Galveston, where flash flooding was reported. Storm surge in Port O’Connor, Texas, was at nearly 4 feet.
The heavy rain is moving from the Houston area into Louisiana and Alabama where flash flood watches have been issued, including in New Orleans. Southern Mississippi could also see heavy rain and flooding.
Slow-moving Nicholas does not bode well for Louisiana, which has already been hard hit by hurricanes this year. The storm is expected to stall in the state early Wednesday, sitting there for days with heavy rain.
Six to 10 inches of rain is expected in Louisiana, including in New Orleans, with isolated totals reaching 15 to 20 inches.
The heaviest rain will arrive in New Orleans Tuesday night into Wednesday when life-threatening flash flooding is expected.
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards requested a federal declaration of emergency ahead of landfall, which was granted by President Joe Biden. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration for 17 counties.
(NEW YORK) — The United States is facing a COVID-19 surge this summer as the more contagious delta variant spreads.
More than 660,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 while over 4.6 million people have died from the disease worldwide, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.
Just 63% of Americans ages 12 and up are 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:
Sep 14, 8:15 am
Putin goes into self-isolation due to COVID-19 among inner circle
Russian President Vladimir Putin said he will self-isolate “for a certain period,” after a member of his entourage tested positive for COVID-19.
Putin made the comment during a telephone call with Tajikistan’s president, while excusing himself from attending a regional summit there this week, the Kremlin said Tuesday in a readout of the call.
Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said the Russian leader is “completely healthy” and that the self-isolation will not affect his work. Putin will continue to participate in meetings via video but will not meet with people in person while he self-isolates.
Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, Putin has effectively been in a form of isolation, with most people being required to quarantine in a hotel for 10 days before meeting with him.
Putin hinted at the issue of COVID-19 among his inner circle on Monday but still went to several public events, including a meeting with Russian Paralympians, attending military exercises conducted in coordination with Belarus and a meeting with Syria’s president.
“Even in my entourage, problems are arising with this COVID. We need to sort out what is happening there really,” Putin said while meeting with the Paralympians. “I think I, myself, will soon have to go into quarantine. A lot of people are sick around [me].”
Putin’s self-isolation has prompted speculation that he may be using it as a convenient excuse to not attend the summit in ex-Soviet Tajikistan in person. Chinese President Xi Jingping has also dropped out of the summit.
Sep 13, 9:42 pm
Lee County schools superintendent reverses mask mandate
The superintendent of schools in Lee County, Florida, informed parents and staff Monday night that he is reversing the mask mandate he imposed for students and will now let parents opt their children out of wearing face coverings.
In a letter, the superintendent, Ken Savage, said that last week’s ruling by an appeals court allowing the state to continue sanctioning mask-requiring districts, led him to reverse course.
“Last Friday, the 1st District Court of Appeal instituted a stay, which means the Florida Department of Education can continue to enforce its interpretation of the parental opt out until this matter is ultimately resolved. Therefore, starting on Tuesday, September 14, the School District of Lee County will require face coverings, while allowing parents to opt-out without a medical exemption,” Savage said in statement.
Lee County was one of at least 13 districts in Florida defying Gov. Ron DeSantis and requiring masks for students unless they provided a doctor’s note exempting them from wearing one.
Savage implemented a mandate on Sept. 1, effective for 30 days, while the district tracked coronavirus-related numbers.
Sep 13, 6:22 pm
DeSantis threatens Florida cities that issue vaccine mandate with $5k fine
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is threatening to sue cities in the state that have issued vaccine mandates, for up to $5,000 per infraction.
The governor, who early Monday repeated falsehoods about the COVID-19 vaccines, said hours later, at a press conference, that he’s willing to sue the cities because he does not want vaccine mandates to threaten Floridians’ jobs.
“We are not gonna let people be fired because of a vaccine mandate,” he said.
Meanwhile, over 11,215 patients remain hospitalized in Florida with COVID-19, according to the Florida Hospital Association.
As of Monday, 75% of the state’s eligible population has had one vaccine dose, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Sep 13, 9:01 pm
Judge issues temporary order to allow mask mandates in Iowa schools
A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order that ordered Iowa officials to stop enforcing a law passed in May that prevents school boards from enforcing mask mandates.
Judge Robert Pratt said the parents who are suing Gov. Kim Reynolds and state and local education offices, have demonstrated that an “irreparable harm exists” if masks aren’t used and required.
The judge said he looked at data on the effectiveness of masks to reduce the spread of the coronavirus and agrees with recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics on mask wearing in schools.
The order will stay in effect until the court issues an order for a preliminary injunction.
Thomas Ahart, the superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools, called the judge’s decision “welcome news.”
“I will reinstate a mask mandate – as we had in place for most of last school year — for all students, staff and visitors to Des Moines Public Schools,” he said in a statement.
(NEW YORK) — This 93-year-old grandmother is dancing her way into the heart of millions online.
Marie Francis O’Brien, affectionately known as “Fran” or Fran the Hip Gram on TikTok, began dancing at the age of 15 when she would perform in shows for WWII servicemen and said she has been dancing ever since.
In July, O’Brien began making videos dancing with her granddaughter, 33-year-old Allison Krause, to help cheer up O’Brien’s daughter, Colleen Krause, who was battling lymphoma. The two wanted to make her smile while she was going through chemotherapy.
“Allison came over and said, ‘Mom is so sad, and she looks really ill … Let’s make a funny video to make mom laugh,'” O’Brien said. “We made a video, we danced and everything, and it did make her laugh, which I was so happy. That’s all we wanted to do.”
The next day, her granddaughter told her she put the video on TikTok. In a few short months, her dancing videos are now getting millions of views on the social media platform, and her account has over 100,000 followers.
“This is very new to me, because I never knew about TikTok,” O’Brien said. “It’s just fantastic. And if it can bring joy and laughter, and these silly videos can make people laugh. That’s all I want.”
“The thing that makes my grandma even more happy is that she’s able to respond and comment and talk to people who are dealing with the loss of their grandmother or not being able to see their grandparents during COVID,” Allison Krause said. “She gets comments saying how much those videos have meant to them through some tough times. She lights up when she hears that.”
The TikTok account has since become a family affair, with all of O’Brien’s grandchildren pitching in. Her 27-year-old granddaughter, Kerry Krause, recently starred alongside her in a TikTok of the two dancing together that has 6 million views. Her other grandchildren, 38-year-old twins Caitlin and Nicholas, help with the content also.
“This lady has been ready for the limelight for a very long time,” Caitlin Krause joked. “She’s been our little star for as long as I’ve been alive for sure and spreading joy to us for many, many years.”
O’Brien’s grandchildren are thankful they are able to spread joy to others through their silly videos and are happy that they can share their grandmother and the lessons she has taught them with all of their new followers.
“She just has the most positive outlook on everything,” Kerry Krause said. “She’s our inspiration, a bright spot in all of our lives.”
“She doesn’t let anything slow her down,” Allison Krause said. “She wants to enjoy every, every minute that she can and live life to the fullest. … It puts things in perspective for us to take a step back and try and be positive when we’re all dealing with difficult times.”
(NEW YORK) — Kenneth and Adi Martinez have an extra bedroom in the home they share outside of Seattle with their 6-month-old son and 3-year-old daughter.
So when the Martinezes watched the coverage of tens of thousands of people fleeing Afghanistan last month as the Taliban took over, they stepped up to help.
The Martinezes opened their extra bedroom to a family of four who left Afghanistan with all of their belongings packed in a few bags. The mother is pregnant with her third child.
“They [told us] they were in the airplane when one of their friends contacted them and said the Taliban came,” said Adi Martinez. “I’m pretty sure their flight was one of the last to leave before the chaos began.”
For the past month, the two families from different parts of the world have assimilated, living and cooking together and watching their young children play together even as they speak different languages. The Martinezes have helped the family adjust to life in Seattle, including buying them coats and shoes to adjust to the cold.
“Even though we may think we don’t have a lot, we have an extra bedroom, we have the means and the resources and the ability to help,” said Kenneth Martinez. “We are happy that we can help.”
The Biden administration said as many as 95,000 refugees are expected to resettle in the United States from Afghanistan over the next year. U.S. military and diplomatic personnel withdrew from Afghanistan on Aug. 31, ending America’s 20 years of war in the country.
To be able to respond to the demand, the nine national U.S. refugee resettlement agencies that lead the process are having to work with community partners to find housing, according to Kristen Aster, director of client and community engagement with the International Rescue Committee (IRC), one of the nine agencies.
In some cases, people like the Martinez family are opening their homes for free to Afghan refugees. In other cases, local companies and individuals are offering places to rent.
“Given the large numbers of folks who are arriving right now, we are working with community members and private resources to have interim solutions,” said Aster. “That’s definitely been a great and critical lifeline as we work with these families to find them more permanent housing.”
“Then we work with the families to help them find jobs, to enroll their kids in school, and access medical care, to learn English, to get connected with volunteers and others in the community to help them navigate life in the United States,” she said. “All of that is with the goal of helping families to be self-sufficient and integrated as soon as possible.”
The Martinezes said their Christian faith as well as their own experience motivated them to help. The couple immigrated to the United States from Mexico in 2011 when Kenneth Martinez was offered a job with Microsoft.
“We know exactly what it feels like to come to a brand new country with no family or anything,” he said. “We know it can be difficult, and in the case [of Afghan refugees], it’s very difficult.”
For Fawn Johnson, a real estate developer in nearby Seattle, the realization she could help Afghan families in need came as she was watching news coverage of them fleeing their home country on U.S. military aircraft.
“One of [our] homes became vacant in July and as we saw more and more about what was going on in Afghanistan, we decided we wanted to use it to help refugees,” she said. “This was one thing we could actually put our hands-on and personally do something about.”
Johnson is now donating her property to be used as a temporary landing spot for refugees until they are able to move to more permanent housing.
When Johnson and her son and daughter, who work in the family business, asked for help from family and friends, a team of more than 100 volunteers stepped up to renovate the house in a matter of weeks and stock it with food, clothing, household supplies and toys.
A family of three, including an 18-month-old boy, arrived at the home on Aug. 23, and Johnson and other volunteers were there to greet them.
“We helped them carry in their luggage and they came in with everything they had,” she said. “It really hit us the few things that they brought with them and how we could carry of all that in just a trip or two.”
Describing the toddler’s reaction to his new home in the U.S., Johnson recalled, “The first thing he did when he came in was go right to where the toys are and he saw a ball. His father said that he loves balls and that he had one in Kabul that he had to leave behind.”
Johnson has stayed in touch with the family as they have settled into their home, including taking them to see the ocean for the first time and procuring bread from a local Afghan bakery so they would feel more at home.
She is now also working to help find jobs for the Afghan refugees resettling in the Seattle area.
“The husband in the house now has a degree in computer science,” said Johnson. “As he looks for jobs here, it’s difficult to make that transition, so we’re really hoping some of the big tech companies can step up and help people like him who have the education to work with them to get them employed.”
“The people that we are seeing are those who worked with U.S. military, who are well-educated and who are going to do a great deal to add to this country,” she said. “They will really be clearly adding to the culture and the economy and just the tapestry of the United States.”
Both Johnson and the Martinez family are volunteering their homes through World Relief, a Christian humanitarian organization whose Seattle office is working to resettle more than 100 Afghan refugees who have arrived in the past month.
“We have a pretty robust Afghan community in the Seattle area and most folks want to go where they have a tie, either a family member or friend,” Chitra Hanstad, executive director of World Relief Seattle, said of why the area is experiencing such an uptick. “I think it also has to do with the welcoming nature of Washington state. It makes it a great place for people to land, and there are a lot of job opportunities.”
The Afghan refugees arriving in the Seattle area typically come with just a suitcase or two and just over $1,000 in hand — through a U.S. government stipend — to start their new lives, according to Hanstad.
From there, World Relief steps in to help provide housing and supplies to start their lives in the U.S., including gift cards to local stores so the families can pick out their own belongings. The organization also provides long-term support like job placement, child care, social activities and language classes.
“We read research that you can learn language faster if you’re doing something that you’re good at or want to do, so we started an Afghan women’s sewing class and teach English through sewing,” said Hanstad, adding that the class also helps with the isolation refugees often feel. “We do it in a cohort model so these women get to know another group of women really well through those weeks of sewing.”
Hanstad said there has been a “huge uptick” recently of donations for Afghan refugees, but she worries about the months and years ahead as the refugees continue to build their lives in the U.S.
“I’ve been doing this work for years and I’ve seen that crises are short-lived. People move on to the next thing,” she said. “Really what we need desperately is funding so we can be flexible and agile.”
The huge need for help for Afghan refugees has prompted companies in the private sector to step up and help too.
Airbnb.org, for example, is providing temporary housing to 20,000 Afghan refugees worldwide, working with the International Rescue Committee to place refugees in housing available for rent.
Cameron Steele, a 30-year-old in Arlington, Virginia, found out in late August that his Airbnb property in Sacramento, California, would be rented via Airbnb.org and the International Rescue Committee to house a refugee family.
As he told his friends about the booking, an idea grew of how they could help the incoming Afghan family.
“One of my friends said, ‘If the family needs anything, let me know, I’m happy to support,'” said Steele. “That sparked an idea and I posted on Facebook and Instagram that I’d be hosting a family and if anyone wanted to [support] I’d make sure 100% was given to the family.”
Donations started pouring in, mostly in small amounts like $5 and $10, according to Steele.
Steele’s sister, Ashley Frost, who lives in Sacramento and helps him manage the Airbnb property, used the support to stock the house with supplies and leave the family a gift card so they could shop on their own.
“She spent hours collecting all the stuff for the family with the money that was given,” Steele said of Frost. “She went with her two daughters, my nieces, so it was neat to see her involving them in the process.”
When the first Afghan family moved on to more permanent housing and a second family moved in this week, Steele was also able to give them gift cards and supplies.
“It’s so difficult to leave everything you know, even if you know the opportunity is better for your kids and your family,” said Steele, who saw it firsthand through his girlfriend and her family, who are Armenian and immigrated to the U.S. “I know it’s not easy at all so it’s cool to just play a little role in adding some humanness to this whole experience and really showing them what we’re about.”
Steele said that in addition to helping them start their lives, he hopes the act of leaving donations for the Afghan families helps make them feel more at home in America.
“Little things like this hopefully make you feel like you made the right decision and you’re in the right place and it gives you hope, and that’s what we all need,” he said. “[Afghan refugees arriving in the U.S.] is a challenging thing for a lot of people — both for people moving here and for people feeling like people are coming into their communities — but it’s part of the American dream and the foundation of who we are as a country, as a people.”
“For this country specifically, we were all immigrants once,” said Steele.
(NEW YORK) — A powerful new public service announcement is raising awareness about gun violence in a unique way.
Today, Sandy Hook Promise — a nonprofit organization led by several family members whose loved ones were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Dec. 14, 2012 — released a video of survivors of school shootings reciting lyrics from Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream” to show others that for victims of school shootings, the teenage dream is not what it used to be.
“It’s quite ironic, I think when you look at the lyrics,” Samantha Fuentes, a Parkland school shooting survivor who appears in the PSA, told “Good Morning America.” “It’s like the epitome of what you imagine — the typical teenage American life, the carefree worries of what that era of your experience is. So as a teenager who’s had all of that ripped from me — it’s almost like something that you wish that I could have.”
Fuentes added, “This story that I’ve experienced — my life is becoming more and more of a reality for people of my age.”
Living with the trauma
For Fuentes, the aftershock from the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, is something she still lives with each day.
“I’m now physically handicapped,” said Fuentes, who suffered leg injuries due to gunshot wounds as well as smaller injuries from shrapnel. “I have issues with mobility and getting around. I suffer from PTSD, depression, anxiety, insomnia. These are all things that I have to juggle on a daily basis.”
Aalayah Eastmond, who also survived the Parkland shooting and participated in the PSA, told “GMA” that she struggles each day with survivor’s guilt after her friend, Nicholas Dworet, sacrificed his life to save hers.
“I’m only here because of Nick,” said Eastmond, who explained that Nick’s body took the bullets that day as she hid underneath him. In the PSA, Eastmond honors Nick by holding up his photo.
”I have to navigate every single day — while also struggling and dealing with survivor’s guilt — which is the biggest hurdle to try and overcome in this process. So, it’s not easy at all, especially being young. You’re never prepared for something like this. There’s no handbook on how to survive a school shooting and what to do afterwards.”
Nick Walczak, a survivor of the 2012 mass shooting at Chardon High School in Chardon, Ohio, said he now thinks three steps ahead wherever he goes in case he’s caught in another shooting.
“I have a plan in the back of my head almost everywhere I go now,” Walczak told “GMA.” “I have to figure out where I am and how to get out. And if I’m somewhere that has stairs or something, it’s very nerve-wracking because I am stuck there.”
Nine years ago, Walczak was at school when one of his classmates opened fire at him and three of his friends. Walczak was shot four times and the last bullet paralyzed him.
Despite the challenges that he has faced over the years, Walczak — as well as Fuentes and Eastmond — said they want others to know that shootings are preventable.
“The truth is that gun violence is in everybody’s backyard across the nation,” Fuentes said. “My hope is that people can make gun violence prevention a priority in their lives again, because people don’t realize that it’s folks like you and I, everyday people who went around thinking they wouldn’t be affected by something like this.”
Message for students returning to school
In previous years, Sandy Hook Promise released PSAs teaching people about gun violence prevention and how school shootings are preventable. But this year, as students return back to school, the nonprofit’s leaders said it was important to open up a conversation about how school shootings impact the lives of survivors.
“This has been a rather exceptional year and we’re facing a very different return to school,” said Sandy Hook Promise co-founder, Nicole Hockley, whose son, Dylan, was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy. “This time, I wanted to focus instead on the lived experiences of people, the aftereffects — because I don’t think people focus on what happens after a school shooting and how that impacts lives for decades.”
“I’m so grateful for all of those that survived and have the strength and fortitude to be able to share their stories, to help save the lives of someone else,” Hockley added.
According to a report released earlier this year by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, gun violence is the leading cause of death for teens, which is a concern facing many students returning to school this Fall.
“Our students are having feelings of loss of sense of safety, where that is different from past generations it’s a different experience,” Dr. Rachel Masi, a clinical psychologist and director of research at Sandy Hook Promise, said. “And if our kids are feeling anxious, worried, sad and depressed, which we know that they are at an increased level at this point. They’re not going to be able to learn.”
“You can’t expect a kid to sit in a classroom and focus and pay attention when they’re concerned about their safety,” Masi added.
Despite the trauma that students, teachers and families have experienced from past mass shootings at schools across the country, folks at Sandy Hook Promise and survivors like Fuentes, Eastmond and Walczk, are hopeful that change will happen.
“I know our generation has not been complacent with this issue. We’ve been having these conversations, forcing folks to sit down and recognize how important this problem is and how preventable it is,” Eastmond said. “I’m definitely hopeful that we will decrease gun violence.”
As students return to school this fall, Masi shared some tips to help students feel safer this school year. Read them below.
Prioritize mental health
“I think for teachers, they are that first line of defense in the school, they really know their students,” Masi said. “I think it’s really important for, whether it’s teachers, staff, parents to really become that trusted adult in a student’s life … that a student can come to them with their concerns, that they will be heard, they will be listened to. And their concerns will be taken seriously and they’ll get the support they need.”
Educate yourself
Another thing Masi encourages all teachers, parents and adults to do this school year as it begins for many students is to know the warning signs that people or students can exhibit before an act of violence is carried out.
“Nothing’s ever as simple as we see but there are things to do,” Masi said. “These are preventable and there’s ways to intervene.”
Have open conversations with students
With the reality of school shootings, Masi said it’s important to have open conversations with students about their concerns.
“Let’s bring it into the light and say these are the concerns that our kids are having,” said Masi. “These are real things they’re experiencing and the more we talk about it and the more we give those kids the voice to talk about it, the more that we’re going to see change.”
