COVID-19 live updates: Florida reports largest single-day increase in cases since pandemic began

August 1, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — The United States is facing a COVID-19 surge this summer as the more contagious delta variant spreads.

More than 612,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 and over 4.1 million people have died worldwide, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

Just 57.7% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC on Tuesday, citing new science on the transmissibility of the delta variant, changed its mask guidance to now recommend everyone in areas with substantial or high levels of transmission — vaccinated or not — wear a face covering in public, indoor settings.

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

Aug 01, 8:20 am

Israel to offer 3rd COVID-19 booster shot to older citizens: Reports

Israel’s ministry of health has instructed that a third dose of vaccine should be administered to those over 60, beginning Sunday, Aug. 1, Israeli media is reporting.

The third jab will be given to those who have received the second dose at least five months ago. People who have recovered from COVID-19 will not be given the third dose.

Israel’s prime minister and the minister of health are expected to speak on this Sunday morning.

ABC News’ Bruno Nota

Jul 31, 5:38 pm

US reports another huge single-day increase in cases

The United States has reported over 100,000 new COVID-19 cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There were 101,171 new COVID-19 cases reported to the CDC on July 30.

The last time the U.S. saw over 100,000 cases reported in a single day was nearly six months ago on Feb. 6.

On Friday, the CDC reported that the U.S. saw 86,000 cases in the previous 24 hours. That total had been the largest since Feb. 12, as the country began to come out of the surge seen in late December 2020 and early January.

Officials have said the delta variant is driving the increase in cases and continue to push the unvaccinated to get the shot.

Jul 31, 4:58 pm

Florida sees largest single-day increase of COVID-19 cases ever

Florida reported its largest single-day increase of COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic on Saturday.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 21,683 people tested positive for the coronavirus in the last 24 hours.

Cases have risen sharply in the past month in Florida, fueled by the highly transmissible delta variant. On Friday, the state reported over 110,000 new COVID-19 in the past week — the highest weekly increase since the start of the year.

Jul 31, 4:37 pm

Austin, Texas, has just 9 ICU beds left

Austin, Texas, has just nine ICU beds available for its population of 2.3 million, as of Saturday, according to the state’s coronavirus tracker.

The Austin area is currently treating 400 COVID-19 patients in hospitals. The 7-day moving average for hospitalizations in a week has increased over 47% from 34 to 50 new admissions on July 30, according to an Austin Public Health news release.

“We are running out of time and our community must act now,” Austin-Travis County Health Authority Dr. Desmar Walkes said on the crisis. “Our ICU capacity is reaching a critical point where the level of risk to the entire community has significantly increased, and not just to those who are needing treatment for COVID. If we fail to come together as a community now, we jeopardize the lives of loved ones who might need critical care.”

Jul 31, 2:16 pm

New Orleans runs out of capacity to respond to 911 calls

New Orleans’ EMS department has become so hard hit by the pandemic and the rampant delta variant, it does not have the capacity to respond to 911 calls, Mayor LaToya Cantrell said Friday.

“One of our primary and premiere public safety agencies, EMS, was hit very hard with COVID, we’re experiencing that this week, today, right now,” Cantrell said.

The crisis prompted Cantrell to issue an emergency contract to increase the city’s capacity on the ground, “because we currently do not have the capacity to respond to 911 calls that come from our community right now,” she said.

On Friday Cantrell enacted an indoor mask mandate, which requires all people regardless of vaccination status to wear a mask indoors. The mayor also announced that all city employees will be required to be vaccinated, hoping the decision will prompt private businesses to issue similar orders for their workers.

“Our children are dying,” she said. “From 2 weeks old to 2 years old to 4 years old, you cannot make it up.”

She cited that the city has recorded over 1,000 new cases just over this past week.

At the press briefing when Cantrell was asked whether she worries about losing employees who don’t want to get a shot, she said, “Well I’m worried about city employees as it relates to death due to this virus.”

-ABC News’ Joshua Hoyos and Will McDuffie.

Jul 31, 1:08 pm

White House says about 3 million received 1st COVID-19 shot in the past week

The White House offered a glimmer of hope in the COVID-19 crisis Saturday as the nation continues to grapple with the delta variant.

For the first time “in a long stretch” the U.S. recorded four days in a row where over 700,000 COVID-19 vaccines were given out, White House Chief of Staff Ronald Klain tweeted Saturday.

Overall, about 3 million people got their first vaccine shot over the past seven days, Klain said.

Jul 31, 9:28 am

CDC director says ‘no federal vaccine mandate’

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky caused a stir on Fox News on Friday when asked, “Are you for mandating a vaccine on a federal level?” to which she replied, “That’s something that I think the administration is looking into.”

Walensky later clarified her comments on Twitter saying: “There will be no nationwide mandate. I was referring to mandates by private institutions and portions of the federal government. There will be no federal mandate.”

Jul 31, 4:23 am

4,058 new cases reported in Tokyo, a 217% increase since last week

At lest 4,058 new cases of COVID-19 were reported Saturday in Tokyo, according to the city’s coronavirus information website.

Of those cases, 95 are severe and three have resulted in death.

The new figure marks a 217% increase in cases since last Saturday.

Jul 30, 7:09 pm
New Orleans to mandate indoor masking, city employee vaccinations
New Orleans officials reissued a mask mandate Friday, requiring that everyone, regardless of vaccination status, wear a mask indoors in public spaces due to rising COVID-19 cases.

“Thanks to the delta variant, the COVID pandemic is once again raging out of control,” Mayor LaToya Cantrell said during a press briefing, noting the daily average of new COVID-19 cases increased from 104 last week to 272 this week. “This is a very dangerous number. We have been here before. … And what was once unpreventable, today is preventable, and is through our people getting vaccinated.”

The mayor also announced that city employees and contractors will be required to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Over 71% of city employees are vaccinated, “but that is not good enough,” the mayor said. “We want to get to 100%.”

Jul 30, 7:02 pm
Austin facing ‘dire’ ICU bed shortage
In Austin, Texas, intensive care unit capacity has reached a “dire” point, the city’s health department said Friday, with only 16 staffed beds available for over 2.3 million residents.

“We are running out of time and our community must act now,” Austin-Travis County Health Authority Dr. Desmar Walkes said in a statement. “Our ICU capacity is reaching a critical point where the level of risk to the entire community has significantly increased, and not just to those who are needing treatment for COVID. If we fail to come together as a community now, we jeopardize the lives of loved ones who might need critical care.”

APH is urging the community to act as the situation becomes critical. The region is now facing the lowest staffed ICU bed capacity since the beginning of the pandemic with only 16 staffed available.
📌 More: https://t.co/dbnHqlqW7R
📌 Vaccinate: https://t.co/uNEZHhMj3c
(1/4) pic.twitter.com/4YXSavkIAc

— Austin Public Health (@AusPublicHealth) July 30, 2021

The low ICU capacity is similar to the beginning of the pandemic, Austin Public Health said, noting that the number of COVID-19 patients in local ICUs increased 28% between July 23 and July 30.

Local health officials advised that partially or unvaccinated people should avoid gatherings and wear a mask during essential activities, while those who are vaccinated should limit gathering sizes and wear a mask indoors, among other measures.

Jul 30, 5:40 pm
Florida reports over 110K new COVID-19 cases in past week
There were over 110,000 new COVID-19 cases in Florida in the past week — the highest weekly increase since the start of the year — according to the latest state data.

The Florida Department of Health reported Friday there were 110,477 new cases from July 23 to July 29. The state’s positivity rate is now 18.1%.

MORE: Front-line workers in Florida say current COVID-19 surge ‘feels like it’s an impending storm’
Just one month ago, the state was reporting 15,998 new cases in one week, from June 25 to July 1.

-ABC News’ Joshua Hoyos

Jul 30, 4:44 pm
US records highest daily case total since February

Overnight, the U.S. recorded its highest daily case total since Feb. 12, reporting over 86,000 new cases.

The daily case average in the U.S. has surged to more than 66,600 cases per day, up by nearly 64.1% in the last week, and up nearly 481% since mid-June.

Louisiana now has the country’s highest case rate with nearly 540 new cases per 100,000 residents. The state’s case average has skyrocketed in the last month, up by nearly 1,000%, and is now nearing its highest case level since the onset of the pandemic.

-ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos

Jul 30, 2:55 pm
Antibody treatment available for preventative use after exposure for certain people

The Food and Drug Administration is now permitting preventative use of the monoclonal antibody cocktail from Regeneron for certain people who have been exposed to COVID-19.

Until now, monoclonal antibodies had only been for patients who were infected with COVID-19 and at high risk of getting very sick.

This new preventative use will be for people who meet several criteria: COVID-19 exposure or good chance of COVID-19 exposure; at high risk of getting very sick from COVID-19 due to health complications; at high risk of getting sick due to not being fully vaccinated.

This is the only COVID-19 antibody therapy available in the U.S. for both treatment and post-exposure prophylaxis. It has shown to hold up against the variants of concern, including delta. A Regeneron spokesperson told ABC News the company is continuing discussion with the FDA to evaluate even broader prevention use in immunocompromised people for “pre-exposure” situations.

-ABC News’ Sasha Pezenik

Jul 30, 1:00 pm
Delta variant leaves vaccinated, unvaccinated with similarly high viral loads: CDC

Data shows that the delta variant leaves vaccinated and unvaccinated people with similarly high viral loads, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said in a statement Friday.

“High viral loads suggest an increased risk of transmission and raised concern that, unlike with other variants, vaccinated people infected with Delta can transmit the virus,” Walensky said.

“This finding is concerning and was a pivotal discovery leading to CDC’s updated mask recommendation” this week, Walensky said.

-ABC News’ Sony Salzman

Jul 30, 10:45 am
6 passengers test positive on cruise ship

Six passengers on Royal Caribbean’s Adventure of the Seas ship have tested positive for COVID-19 during routine testing, the cruise line said Friday.

Four of the passengers — who were not traveling together — are vaccinated. The other two are unvaccinated minors who were traveling together, the cruise line said.

One person has mild symptoms. The other five have no symptoms, the cruise line said.

“The guests were immediately quarantined, and their immediate travel party and all close contacts were traced and all tested negative,” Royal Caribbean said. “Each guest and their immediate travel parties disembarked in Freeport, The Bahamas, and separately traveled home via private transportation.”

This cruise started in the Bahamas on July 25. Everyone over 16 must be fully vaccinated and test negative before boarding, the cruise line said.

-ABC News’ Sam Sweeney

Jul 30, 10:30 am
Broadway audiences must be vaccinated

As Broadway gears up for its return in September, the Broadway League announced Friday that everyone attending a show must be vaccinated and wear a mask.

Guests will need to show proof of vaccination when they enter the theater.

This rule applies through October 2021 and may change in November.

All performers, staff and backstage crew also must be vaccinated.

Jul 30, 5:29 am
New Yorkers getting 1st dose to receive $100 incentive

Starting Friday, New Yorkers who receive their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at any city-run site will get a $100 incentive.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio made the announcement during a press briefing Wednesday.

“We will say thank you. We’ll say we’re really glad that you got vaccinated for yourself, for your family, for your community,” de Blasio said. “And here’s $100 to thank you for doing the right thing and to encourage people.”

The mayor said that New Yorkers getting vaccinated will not only get the cash, they’ll also be able to do “everything else that’s wonderful in this city, including the amazing concerts coming up. You can’t go to those concerts unless you’re vaccinated.”

Jul 30, 4:53 am
Japan to extend coronavirus state of emergency covering 3 of Tokyo’s neighboring prefectures

Japan’s government will put in place a coronavirus state of emergency covering three of Tokyo’s neighboring prefectures and Osaka on Monday, according to public broadcaster NHK.

Tokyo and Okinawa’s declarations will remain in place.

The news comes as case numbers in Japan continue to rise amid the Olympics.

As of Friday, there are 3,300 new positive cases in Tokyo, according to the Tokyo government’s COVID-19 information website. Of those 3,300 cases, 88 are severe and two have turned fatal.

Jul 30, 4:22 am
New CDC brief says vaccines may be less effective against delta variant

An internal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention brief published by the Washington Post Thursday reveals more details about why the delta variant is different to and more concerning than other strains of the coronavirus.

The CDC said the main differences between the delta variant and previous strains is that delta is highly contagious and likely more severe. Plus, breakthrough infections caused by delta may be as transmissible as unvaccinated cases.

“This is an incredibly, incredibly contagious version of virus, it’s almost like a whole different virus,” Dr. Ashish Jha said. “And CDC is estimating that it is probably also more deadly.”

Vaccines prevent more than 90% of severe diseases, but may be less effective at preventing infection or transmission of the delta variant, the CDC said. Therefore, there could be more breakthrough infections and more community spread despite people’s vaccination status.

“Current vaccines continue to provide strong protection against severe illness and death, but the delta variant is likely responsible for increased numbers of breakthrough infections — breakthroughs that could be as infectious as unvaccinated cases,” Dr. John Brownstein, an ABC News contributor, said. “This internal document highlights the challenge we all now face in combating the most transmissible variant of COVID so far.”

Jul 30, 3:38 am
Number of positive cases at Tokyo Olympics reaches 225

There are now 225 positive COVID-19 cases at the Tokyo Olympics, according to a tally kept by Olympics organizers.

That is an increase of 27 cases since Thursday.

Of those cases, three of them are athletes. Two were in the Olympic Village at the time of their positive case, and one was not.

Donald Trump builds war chest of $102 million entering 2nd half of 2021

August 1, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Donald Trump has not yet said whether he’ll run for president in 2024, but he’s already raising a huge war chest in case he does.

New disclosure reports filed Saturday night show that his affiliated political committees have a total of $102 million in cash on hand going into July, after bringing in more than $80 million in the first six months of 2021.

The massive fundraising sum the committees reported include transfers of donations dated December 2020, though the exact amount transferred from last year is unclear.

According to his team, the latest fundraising total, which spans from Jan. 1 through June 30, comes from 3.2 million contributions.

The money will also come in handy in the midterm elections in 2022, where he could pump tens of millions of dollars into a quest to take back the House and Senate from Democrats.

The latest figures are a show of continued fundraising prowess from Trump, whose massive post-election fundraising success has come amid baseless fraud claims about the 2020 presidential election.

Since the election, Trump and his team have solicited hundreds of millions of dollars for an “Election Defense Fund” and seeking support to fight the 2020 results. But little of that has actually gone to such efforts so far, disclosure filings show.

The latest filings show that much of the amount raised by Trump’s various committees in the first six months of this year have been saved in the bank, while much of the rest has been used for various fundraising and consulting expenses.

Roughly $3.8 million of the spending from Trump’s old presidential campaign committee were labeled as various “recount” expenses, including $2 million in recount legal consulting and $76,000 paid to Giuliani Security & Safety for “recount travel expenses.”

Another $5.8 million was reported as general legal consulting fees.

Trump’s newly formed PAC also reported giving $1 million in contributions to the America First Policy Institution, affiliated with pro-Trump super PAC America First Action.

More than $80,000 has also gone to lodging at Trump’s properties, filings show.

Trump has remained very popular among his base in the first six months of the Biden administration.

Over the past few months, the Republican National Committee as well as multiple Republican candidates vying for key races in the 2022 midterms have fundraised off of Trump, using his name and appealing to his supporters in fundraising emails and messages, hosting fundraisers at Trump properties and even flocking to Mar-a-Lago to feature the former president himself at supporter events.

ABC News’ John Santucci contributed to this report.

Protests unfold as city reburies remains that could be linked to Tulsa’s 1921 Race Massacre

August 1, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) —Protesters gathered outside an Oklahoma cemetery on Friday to decry the reburial of remains exhumed earlier this summer that could be linked to the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.

The remains of 19 people exhumed from Oaklawn Cemetery in Tulsa were reinterred Friday in the same place they were found. The remains were exhumed as a part of a city effort to find unmarked burials from the violent event — which happened 100 years ago — when a white mob stormed the Greenwood District of Tulsa, a predominantly Black area dubbed “Black Wall Street” on May 31, 1921. The mob destroyed and burned 35 city blocks of the thriving Black neighborhood to the ground.

Oklahoma originally recorded 36 deaths in the brazen attack, but a 2001 commission reported the number was as high as 300.

However, dozens of protesters had gathered to denounce the Friday reburial without a proper funeral ceremony. The burial process was closed to the public.

“It’s disgusting and disrespectful that these are our family members and we are outside of the gate and they are inside of the gate where they are,” Bobby Eaten, a descendant of a massacre victim, said to ABC Tulsa affiliate KTUL.

The city of Tulsa told ABC News that the reburial went on as planned based on a proposal presented to a public oversight committee that was approved in March, “as on-site forensic analysis, documentation and DNA sampling were complete.”

Further, the city had to abide by permit requirements filed with the state’s Department of Health and the Tulsa County District Attorney’s Office, which required the remains be temporarily interred at Oaklawn Cemetery. An internment plan was required before moving forward with the excavation.

City spokeswoman Michelle Brooks told ABC News that the city remains “committed to transparency during this investigation” and research experts will report their findings from the excavation this fall as well as recommendations for next steps.

All public oversight committee members, the physical investigation team and North Tulsa clergy involved with the exhumation were invited to the reburial, Brooks said.

Brooks said analysis will be done on the remains to determine if they are massacre victims.

“If they are, then we will want to try to match DNA with descendants and let descendants decide where they want them to be buried. If they can’t be identified, we would work to establish a permanent memorial,” Brooks said.

While on-site forensic analysis and DNA sampling from the remains are complete, she noted DNA matching with potential descendants could take years.

There are two more sites the city is looking at for possible massacre victim remains, KTUL reported.

With hours until eviction ban expires, lawmakers lean on CDC to act

August 1, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — In a new letter to President Joe Biden and CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, progressive members of Congress are calling for the CDC to “leverage every authority available to extend the eviction moratorium” after the House failed to take action Friday to extend the eviction ban set to expire Saturday at midnight.

Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., along with Reps. Cori Bush, D-Mo., Jimmy Gomez, D-Calif., Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., and Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., signed on to the letter, seen first by ABC News, urging the administration, which has said its hands are tied by a June Supreme Court ruling, to act.

In June, the Supreme Court voted 5-4 to allow the eviction ban to continue through the end of July but signaled in its ruling that it would block any further extensions unless there was “clear and specific congressional authorization.”

In a statement Thursday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden would have supported the CDC extending the ban, but “the Supreme Court has made clear that this option is no longer available,” and called on Congress to take action.

That led to criticism by some progressive members of Congress that the call to action for addressing a known problem came too late, just as Congress was about to recess.

House Democrats launched a last-minute effort to pass legislation that would keep the protections in place but failed to pass it before gaveling out of session for recess Friday evening.

In their letter Saturday, the lawmakers said they will continue to work legislatively to address the expiring moratorium, as well as to get billions in previously approved funding out to help renters and landlords — a process that has gotten off to a slow start.

“In the meantime, we are continuing to work diligently to push for legislative action and ensure that states and localities in our districts are disbursing the billions in critical emergency rental assistance to renters and property owners that Congress passed most recently as part of the American Rescue Plan,” the lawmakers write.

“Extending the eviction moratorium is a matter of life and death for the communities we represent. The eviction moratorium expires tonight at midnight. We implore you to act with the urgency this moment demands,” they add.

Bush, who previously struggled with homelessness, took her protest to Capitol Hill Friday night, sleeping on the steps of the Capitol after Congress failed to act.

“This is personal for me. I lived in a car! I lived out of a car with two babies and my partner. I know what that’s like. And I will not sit by and allow it to happen to other people because it happened to me. I won’t,” Bush told ABC News in an interview Saturday.

“I will show up and I will speak up, not only me — Congresswoman Ayanna Presley was out here with us last night. Congresswoman Ilhan Omar was out here with us last night. We are making sure that people know this is not OK and we won’t sit by,” she added.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren took to the Senate Floor Saturday to urge action as well, and later joined Bush outside the Capitol.

“Look, I agree that the eviction moratorium is not a long-term solution. But let me be very clear, it is the right, short-term action is how we keep families safely in their homes while states deliver emergency aid,” Warren said.

Progressive members of Congress pen letter urging Biden, CDC chief to act on expiring eviction ban

July 31, 2021 by WDNY Radio

That led to criticism by some progressive members of Congress that the call to action for addressing a known problem came too late, just as Congress was about to recess.

House Democrats launched a last-minute effort to pass legislation that would keep the protections in place but failed to pass it before gaveling out of session for recess Friday evening.

Bush, who previously struggled with homelessness, took her protest to Capitol Hill Friday night, sleeping on the steps of the Capitol after Congress failed to act.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren took to the Senate Floor Saturday to urge action as well, and later joined Bush outside the Capitol.

Air pollution remained higher in minority communities during the pandemic, revealing persistent health disparities

July 31, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Despite COVID-19 shutdowns temporarily clearing the air in many major cities, damaging air pollution was persistently higher in more minority and lower-income neighborhoods, compared to whiter, higher-income neighborhoods, according to a new study led by researchers at George Washington University.

“This means that given all the impact the pandemic had on our way of life and on emissions, it couldn’t undo these deeply rooted disparities,” said Dr. Gaige Kerr, lead author of the study and a scientist in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at George Washington University.

Overall, the pandemic took an uneven toll on minority communities, especially African Americans who had twice the risk of COVID-19 at the height of the pandemic, compared to white populations.

Although pollution levels decreased throughout urban areas during the pandemic, nitrogen dioxide levels were still elevated in primarily minority neighborhoods. The same finding held true when comparing income and educational attainment, though, it was not as significant as race and ethnicity.

“Exposure to air pollution has been linked to a number of health problems including asthma, heart disease, preterm birth and mortality,” said Dr. Stephanie Lovinsky-Desir, director of the Pediatric Pulmonary Division at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, as well as a volunteer medical spokesperson for the American Lung Association. Lovinsky-Desir was not a part of the research team.

The new pollution study analyzed various demographics of 15 urban cities throughout the United States including Los Angeles, Atlanta, Detroit and New York City.

Researchers analyzed levels of nitrogen dioxide, an air pollutant related to traffic and associated with health impacts, such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. For children and the elderly exposed to these emissions, their risk of developing these conditions increases.

“Neighborhoods near highways and dense urban corridors are the areas at the greatest risk of high levels of exposure and adverse health effects,” said Dr. Renee Crichlow, chief medical officer, Codman Square Health Center and vice-chair of health equity at Boston University Medical School.

And nitrogen dioxide has a “direct impact on the lungs,” said Crichlow, potentially causing “irritation and inflammation of the lining of the respiratory system.”

It’s not surprising minority communities are clustered in higher-pollution areas, Kerr says.

“When we look at the history of the U.S. in the 20th century going all the way back to the days of red-lining, a lot of the ways that our urban areas were constructed, where highway interstates are, which neighborhoods are located by certain industries, that is years and years of racism that’s again woven into the fabric of cities,” he said.

“It’s going to take a lot of policy efforts to rethink the way that our emissions are distributed throughout the city equally and try to undo years and decades’ worth of environmental injustices.”

Researchers are hoping for broader policies to help curb pollution disparities. But in the meantime, there are small things everyone can do to aid this nationwide issue.

Kerr suggests rerouting heavy-duty trucks out of certain city neighborhoods. Also: “Driving less, support greener public transportation options, such as electric buses and rails, and have tighter emissions control on both personal vehicles and industrial processes,” are other suggestions Crichlow proposed.

“Together we can actually make a difference in the health of our children and communities,” Crichlow said.

Alexis E. Carrington, M.D. is an ABC News Medical Unit Associate Producer and a rising dermatology resident at George Washington University.

Woman and her dog are fatally stabbed in Atlanta park, FBI investigating

July 31, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(ATLANTA) — A woman and her dog were brutally stabbed to death early Wednesday at Atlanta’s Piedmont Park in what police described as a “gruesome” scene.

Katherine Janness, 40, was found dead at the park around 1 a.m., along with her slain dog Bowie. Police said that Janness had been stabbed multiple times.

Janess’ parter of seven years Emma Clark said that Janness went to walk Bowie after dinner but never returned, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. When she didn’t come home, Clark tracked her phone’s location and went to the park, where she discovered her girlfriend dead.

The FBI confirmed with ABC News it is now joining the Atlanta Police Department’s investigation into her death, So far, no arrests have been made in the case.

Police have shared a surveillance image showing Janness crossing a street near the park before she was found dead.

On Thursday more than 100 people attended a vigil for Janness at the park, where her partner’s father described the killer as a “monster.”

“What they did to her is ridiculous. There is a monster on the loose in the city of Atlanta,” Joe Clark said according to ABC Atlanta affiliate WSB-TV.

“It’s a gruesome scene,” deputy police Chief Charles Hampton said to the outlet on the murder.

Police have since added five mounted patrol units to the park, a popular area for locals and dog walkers. Police have combed the area this week and divers went in and out of the lake for hours Wednesday searching for potential evidence.

A $10,000 reward is being offered for information that could help lead to an arrest.

If you can help, please call the Atlanta Police Homicide Unit or Crime Stoppers at 404-577-8477.

Why women have an ‘orgasm gap’ and 5 myths debunked

July 31, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Alex Gilbeaux/ABC News Photo Illustration

(NEW YORK) — In a society where women face all kinds of disparities, there is one gap that women may not know about, even though it can lead to shame, guilt and unanswered questions.

That is the “orgasm gap,” a term coined by health experts based on data that shows that, in heterosexual relationships, women on average are having fewer orgasms than men, by as much as 95% for men compared to 65% for women, according to one study.

Lesbian women also have significantly more orgasms, while for men, the orgasm rate doesn’t vary much with sexual orientation, the data shows.

“There’s a huge discrepancy and part of the reason is lack of knowledge,” said Dr. Nita Landry, a Los Angeles-based OBGYN. “We just have to talk about it or, otherwise, we’re just going to keep having the sex life that we have overall as women, and that gap is going to continue to be there and nothing is going to change.”

An orgasm, considered the peak of sexual pleasure, is a physical reflex that happens when muscles tighten during sexual arousal.

The miseducation around women and orgasms goes back centuries, according to Katharine Smyth, a Brooklyn-based author whose own self-doubt about not being able to orgasm led her to research the topic for an article titled “The Tyranny of the Female Orgasm-Industrial Complex.”

“Going back as far as Aristotle, who believed that only women with fair skin and fair hair could have orgasms, it’s been shrouded in just a series of misconceptions, one after the other,” said Smyth. “And another thing I realized when I was doing the research is that a lot of women just don’t … know that much about their bodies.”

The historically male-dominated medical field hasn’t helped women completely either, as researchers and doctors have not solved the puzzle of what prevents orgasm in women, and how to treat it medically.

“I think it all started a long time when someone just laid down this narrative about what sex was supposed to look like, and when they spelled out the narrative … they really focused on men,” said Landry. “They looked at what a sexual encounter looked like for a typical man and what brought that man pleasure and then they just said, ‘Oh, by the way, this is going to work for women too.'”

“The problem is, that’s not how it works,” she said.

Here are five myths about female orgasms explained and corrected by Landry and Smyth.

Myth #1: Women need to orgasm to have pleasurable sex.

When Smyth got divorced at age 34 and started dating again, she says she encountered a series of men who did not believe she was enjoying sex without orgasming.

“Some actually broke up with me, because I couldn’t have an orgasm,” she said. “The thing that was really frustrating for me was that they kept saying, ‘You’re not enjoying sex enough?’ and I would say, ‘No, I’m really enjoying sex. I’m having a great time.'”

“That was just such a frustrating feeling to kind of be told that I wasn’t enjoying myself enough,” recalled Smyth.

An orgasm is something that happens to some women, but not all, and is not the only sign of a successful sexual experience, according to Landry.

“You definitely can have sex that is super enjoyable without having an orgasm,” she said. “When a woman is OK with not having an orgasm, when a woman is enjoying the emotional connection, or the non-orgasmic pleasure associated with having sex, then that’s 100% okay.”

Don’t make the orgasm, the goal, make pleasure the goal

Landry explained, “A big part of it is making pleasure your goal. Don’t make the orgasm, the goal, make pleasure the goal.”

Myth #2: Women can only orgasm through penetrative sex.

While popular culture tells us otherwise, for women, having an orgasm through penetrative sex, or intercourse, is much less of a guarantee than it is for men.

A long held piece of data, published in Elisabeth A. Lloyd’s 2006 book, “The Case of the Female Orgasm,” found that around 75% of all women never reach orgasm from intercourse alone.

More recent data, published in The Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy in 2017, found that just 18% of women in the United States orgasmed through intercourse alone. Nearly 40% of women meanwhile required clitoral stimulation to experience orgasm.

The clitoris is the pleasure center of the vulva, the outer part of female genitals. In many cases, due to women’s anatomy, the clitoris does not get adequate stimulation with penetration, according to Landry.

“When patients come to see me, a lot of times some of them actually come in disappointed that they’re not able to have an orgasm from just penetration.,” she said. “And then I’ll say, ‘Okay, well, can you have an orgasm with clitoral stimulation?, ‘and they’re like, ‘Oh, yeah, well, that’s fine,’ but that’s not the orgasm that they want.”

“It’s a matter of just educating them and just making sure that they understand they are not broken, they are not abnormal,” continued Landry. “It’s just that they’ve been taught that that’s what sex is supposed to look like for everybody, when that’s not the case.”

Myth #3: Women have to just fake it until they make it.

Meg Ryan’s famous orgasm scene in “When Harry Met Sally” may have put faking an orgasm in the spotlight forever, but women don’t need to fake it.

While there is not yet a pill or prescription for the female orgasm, there are things that can be done to help, if that is what a woman wants, according to Landry.

“Based on the research that we do have, your best treatment options are going to be centered on therapy,” she said, noting a specific option called cognitive behavioral sex therapy. “A lot of times [therapists] will start with education and educating women about their bodies, and helping women to figure out what they like … and they’ll also talk about behavioral stuff and relationship stuff.”

Women can also do things on their own, like exploring their own bodies to know their pleasure points and practicing mindfulness outside the bedroom.

“You can start by doing simple things like when you are eating, just being in that moment, and paying attention to how the food feels in your mouth and how that tastes,” said Landry, adding that if your mind wanders, practice bringing it back to the moment. “It’s a skill that you learn, and then you take that into the bedroom.”

Landry also recommends that women look at what could be putting the brakes on their sex life, which can include everything from certain medications and medical issues like endometriosis to body issues, relationship conflicts, stress and a history of abuse or trauma.

“You want to address anything that you can address, anything that is going to ‘press on the brake,'” she said.

Misconception #4: It’s up to a man to decide how a woman is pleasured:

“It’s not the fact that you don’t have an orgasm. It’s how you feel about the fact that you’re not having an orgasm,” said Landry. “And if you are OK with pleasure, if that’s good enough for you, that should be good enough for [your partner].”

Communication is lubrication.

Landry uses the phrase “communication is lubrication” with her patients to let them know they need to express their sexual desires and pleasures with their partners.

“When it comes to female pleasure, it is very important for you to know what you like so that you can communicate that to your partner,” she said. “Sometimes what happens is men will come into a relationship knowing what worked for their other partner or partners, and they’ll try those same things that might not work for you.”

“So when you get in a situation where you’re not willing to communicate, or you fake an orgasm, he thinks that he’s doing something that you really like and that goes to that becomes his go to signature move,” Landry continued. “Then you’re in a situation where you’re not able to enjoy your sexuality the way that you should be able to.”

Myth #5: Women who don’t have orgasms are broken.

Smyth’s article on female orgasms prompted the biggest response she said she has received on any article she’s ever written.

“The majority were women who were saying, ‘Thank you so much for writing this. I thought there was something wrong with me, I thought I was broken,'” said Smyth. “There were a lot of people whose partners had broken up with them because of it, or had made them sort of feel inadequate because of it.”

Not only are women who either don’t orgasm or don’t worry about orgasming not broken, they’re perfectly normal and actually in the majority, according to the data.

“I’ve now been with a man for a year and he couldn’t be more generous, couldn’t be more accepting,” said Smyth. “So one thing I would say to women in my position is that there are definitely men out there who do possess the necessary generosity, the necessary maturity.”

“And if you’re feeling frustrated about your orgasm, try and fix that for you, not for a man,” she said.

GoodMorningAmerica.com is tackling a different taboo women’s health topic each month, breaking down stigmas on everything from mental health to infertility, STDs, orgasms and alcoholism.

House fails to extend eviction moratorium ahead of 6-week recess

July 30, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

(WASHINGTON) — House Democrats’ attempt to pass an extension of the eviction moratorium via unanimous consent request failed late Friday ahead of a six-week recess. The moratorium will end Saturday.

The measure was objected to by Republicans, none of whom supported the bid.

“We are proud and pleased that, overwhelmingly, House Democrats have understood the hardship caused by rental evictions and support extending the eviction moratorium to October 18, 2021,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Whip James E. Clyburn said in a joint statement after the failed bid. “Unfortunately, not a single Republican would support this measure.”

The eleventh-hour attempt to pass an extension came after hours of delay as leaders tried to scramble support for the extension.

In a letter to colleagues earlier Friday, Pelosi said the October date would align with the public health emergency declaration that was issued by the Department of Health and Human Services.

Previously, Democrats had floated extending the moratorium through the end of the year, but some moderates had complained that the timeframe was too long.

“Congress has the power to direct the CDC to extend the eviction moratorium, as we encourage state and local governments to distribute the money that we allocated,” Pelosi wrote.

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky noted in a statement last month that the July extension would be the final one.

Pelosi also called on states and localities to distribute the Congress-approved rental assistance, of which there is more than $40 billion remaining in the pot.

Progressives lashed out at the White House and party leaders for their failed last-minute scramble to extend the eviction moratorium.

“Everybody knew this was happening. We were sounding the alarm about this issue,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, D-N.Y., told reporters in a gaggle outside Pelosi’s office. She was joined by Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., who has been outspoken about the time she spent homeless in pushing for the extension of the moratorium.

“The court order was not yesterday, the court order was not Monday, the court order was a month ago,” Ocasio Cortez continued. “We had a financial services hearing about it, members were bringing alarms to the administration about it.”

“The fact that the [White House] statement came out just yesterday is unacceptable. It is unacceptable,” she said. “I want to make that very clear, because the excuses that we’ve been hearing about it, I do not accept them.”

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement Thursday, “Given the recent spread of the Delta variant, including among those Americans both most likely to face evictions and lacking vaccinations, President Biden would have strongly supported a decision by the CDC to further extend this eviction moratorium to protect renters at this moment of heightened vulnerability.”

Pelosi told reporters Friday following the defeat that the extension of the eviction moratorium failed in part due to the last-minute notice from the White House about the need for Congress to fix the issue with legislation.

“Really, we only learned about this yesterday. Not really enough time to socialize it within our caucus to build … the consensus necessary,” Pelosi said. “We’ve had beautiful conversations with our members … when it comes, though, to the technicalities of legislation, we just need more time.”

Hoyer added, “There were obviously some concerns about landlords getting payments, as well as the renters.”

Hoyer said an “overwhelming number” of Democrats wanted to pass the extension, but some had concerns about getting payments to landlords who have not been able to enforce rent collections.

“This is really so unfair” to the landlords, housing providers, as well as renters, Pelosi added.

Pelosi warned that further legislative action is possible in August.

ABC News’ Molly Nagle contributed to this report.

Biden’s new vaccine requirement meets pushback from unions who helped elect him

July 30, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Sarah Silbiger/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images

(WASHINGTON) — A commitment to American labor helped fuel President Joe Biden’s bid for the White House as he promised to be “the most pro-union president you’ve ever seen.” It was an embrace that many of the major federations, associations, teamsters and brotherhoods in the nation requited by endorsing his candidacy.

But the support for Biden’s leadership that united more than 50 union groups during the campaign threatened to splinter publicly this week, over mixed reception of his plan to require federal workers get the COVID-19 vaccine or face regular testing and other restrictions.

Even before Biden’s announcement, segments of the federal workforce rumbled with dissension. Some groups representing large numbers of workers raised preemptive objections.

“It is not the role of the federal government to mandate vaccinations for the employees we represent,” the American Postal Workers Union (APWU) said in a statement the day before Biden made his announcement, adding that they encourage members to “voluntarily get vaccinated.”

Following the announcement, an APWU spokesperson underscored that while their workers are government employees, they are an independent agency — and thus don’t have to adhere to Biden’s new policy.

A White House spokesperson said that employees of independent agencies are not required to be vaccinated, but are strongly encouraged to do so.

“Make no mistake, we support being vaccinated as the most effective path and means to eliminate the COVID-19 virus, but not at the cost of our Constitutional rights that we protect and hold as self-evident,” Larry Cosme, president of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA) said.

Biden’s new policy is not a mandate but a choice: Either get vaccinated, or face potentially inconvenient restrictions. Federal government employees and contractors onsite will be asked to “attest to their vaccination status” by showing proof. Those who decline to be fully vaccinated, or decline to show proof that they are, must wear a mask at work, social distance and get tested for the virus once or twice a week; they may also face restrictions on official travel.

It all comes as Biden contends with flagging vaccination rates and the delta variant’s exponential spread — both of which threaten hard-fought wins in the fight against COVID.

After the new vaccine policy had been spelled out Thursday, major union groups reacted with a largely tepid response, with many members voicing concerns about personal freedoms, privacy and the policy’s practice.

“We have a lot of questions about how this policy will be implemented and how employee rights and privacy will be protected,” National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) National President Tony Reardon said in a statement to ABC News. “This approach appears to establish a process for employees to voluntarily disclose their vaccination status.”

NTEU represents 150,000 federal employees across 34 departments and agencies. For those employees who wish to keep their vaccination status confidential or choose to remain unvaccinated, Reardon said, “a testing protocol will be established.”

The largest union representing federal employees, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), said they expected any new policies to be “properly negotiated with our bargaining units prior to implementation.”

“We are seeking details on many aspects of this plan,” NTEU’s Reardon said. “We will work to ensure employees are treated fairly and this protocol does not create an undue burden on them.”

NTEU endorsed Biden’s candidacy during the 2020 election, as did AFGE and APWU.

So did National Nurses United (NNU), the largest union and professional association of registered nurses in U.S. history. They represent more than 170,000 members nationwide, including some VA nurses, and while saying vaccination is “critically important,” they said they place the greatest emphasis on the importance of “respecting the need for medical and religious accommodations.”

“The Biden administration is trying to thread that needle,” NNU President Deborah Burger told ABC News. “You have to honor those accommodations, and move forward.”

At least one major federation of unions is going ever further than Biden in its stance on vaccines: AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said Tuesday that he would support a full vaccine mandate.

“It’s important, if you are coming back into the workplace, you have to know what’s around you. If you come back in and you are not vaccinated, everybody in that workplace is jeopardized,” Trumka told C-SPAN. “What we need to do now is to get more people vaccinated, and I think the mandate is a very acceptable way to do that.”

The AFL-CIO endorsed Biden during his candidacy, as did one of its largest member unions, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) — but this week, the two diverged on the matter of mandates: AFT President Randi Weingarten said that vaccine protocol should be arbitrated in the workplace itself.

“In order for everyone to feel safe and welcome in their workplaces, vaccinations must be negotiated between employers and workers, not coerced,” Weingarten said in a statement ahead of Biden’s announcement, cautioning that a get-the-shot-or-get-fired protocol would risk losing health care staff at a time when they’re most needed, and when “staffing levels are already low from the trauma of the past year.”

On Thursday, Biden pleaded for Americans to appreciate how urgent the situation has become.

“It’s literally about life and death,” Biden said in announcing the policy. “That’s what it’s about. You know and I know, people talk about freedom. But I learned growing up, from school and my parents: With freedom comes responsibility.”

ABC News’ Jordyn Phelps, Sarah Kolinovsky and Molly Nagle contributed to this report.

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