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Jan. 6 officers to ABC’s David Muir: ‘I return to the crime scene every single day’

January 5, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — “From the way I sleep, eating breakfast, making sure I don’t hurt myself putting my shirt on. The way I walk, the way I play with my son. The phone calls from the Justice Department, from the FBI, from the department, asking ‘do I recognize this individual?’… It hasn’t been easy,” Gonell told ABC “World News Tonight” anchor David Muir last month.

Watch more TONIGHT on “World News Tonight” at 6:30 p.m. ET

A Capitol Police officer and Iraq War veteran, he was on Capitol Hill that day when thousands of supporters of former President Donald Trump stormed the halls of Congress, looking to overturn the presidential election.

“They were pulling me by my leg, by my shield, by my shoulder strap,” Gonell told Muir.

Gonell and his fellow officers were outnumbered. By the time the rioters left the building, he would be one of dozens officers injured in the first attack on the U.S. Capitol since 1814: Gonell was sprayed with chemicals and crushed by the crowds — his left shoulder and one of his feet later requiring surgery.

When he got home early morning Jan. 7, he was afraid the chemicals on his uniform and skin would injure his wife, as she tried to hug him.

“All she wanted to do was hug me because she had been watching TV since it started. And I knew that if I would hug her, then all those chemicals would transfer to her,” he told Muir.

On Jan. 6, ABC News Live will provide all-day coverage of events marking one year since the attack on the U.S. Capitol and the continuing fallout for American democracy.

As the country marks one year since that insurrection, and with investigations into the planning and execution of that attack ongoing, Muir sat down with Sgt. Gonell, his fellow Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn, and Metropolitan Police officer Daniel Hodges — all of whom were at the Capitol on Jan. 6 of last year.

It was the first time the three officers sat down for an interview since they, and former Capitol Police Officer Michael Fanone, detailed the horror they endured on Jan. 6 during a congressional hearing six months after the attacks.

The wounds are still raw.

“I think it’s just as simple as I work in a crime scene,” Dunn told Muir. “Going to work at the Capitol every day, it’s a constant reminder of what happened…I return to the crime scene every single day. And what more memory do you get than just going to the scene of the crime every day?

Dunn testified to the House select committee investigating Jan. 6 that he was called racial slurs by the rioters as they stormed the Capitol.

“Is this America?,” Dunn recalled asking a fellow officer during the interview with Muir. “How could something like that happen at the U.S. Capitol, the pinnacle of democracy?”

ABC’s Rachel Scott, Ely Brown and Trish Turner contributed to this report.

Staff shortages from COVID forcing some health care facilities to limit services

January 5, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — As U.S. COVID-19 cases continue to surge, some health care facilities have been forced to shut down facilities or departments as staffing shortages worsen.

Holy Cross Health in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was forced to close labor and delivery units, while keeping open, at least for now, NICU and postpartum units.

“Holy Cross Health has reached critical staffing levels in Labor and Delivery,” the hospital said in a statement to ABC News. “In the best interest of patient safety, the Labor and Delivery unit is on diversion until further notice.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated guidance last month for health care workers, reducing their isolation periods to align with “understanding of the disease trajectory,” which affected staffing measures.

Three Aurora Urgent Care facilities in Wisconsin were forced to close last week until at least Jan. 26.

“Managing the COVID surge combined with staffing shortages have contributed to temporary closures at three lower volume urgent care centers in Menomonee Falls, Brookfield and on River Center Drive in Milwaukee,” a representative for Advocate Aurora Health told ABC News in a statement. “This allows those team members to be deployed to busier urgent cares in the area. All other non-urgent care services offered at these three facilities are currently open.”

Pulaski Memorial Hospital in Indiana also told ABC News it’s closing its OB/Maternity department in mid-January due to staffing shortages.

“With so few maternity nurses available, our medical staff and senior leadership felt it best to close the OB/Maternity Department instead of trying to operate at less than optimal staffing levels,” hospital CEO Tom Barry said in a statement. “Over the past several months, we have had significant difficulty recruiting additional staff to our OB/Maternity Department in order to maintain the high-quality standards that all patients deserve and expect from PMH.”

Kazakhstan president appeals to Russia’s military alliance for help as unrest escalates

January 5, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(LONDON) — Kazakhstan’s president has appealed to a Russian-led military alliance for help in quelling the mass protests gripping the Central Asian country, promising to use force to put down the unrest.

President Kassym-Jopart Tokayev in a televised speech Wednesday said he had appealed to the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), a security alliance of former Soviet countries dominated by Russia, to assist Kazakhstan with suppressing the protests which he claimed were being led by foreign terrorists.

The alliance has agreed to send a joint force of “peace-keepers” to Kazakhstan to help restore order, according to Armenia’s prime minister, which is part of the alliance. Prime minister Nikol Pashinyan said the force would deploy to Kazakhstan for a “limited period,” with the goal of “stabilising and normalising the situation in the country.” The CSTO includes Russia, Armenia, Belarus and Kazakhstan’s two neighbors, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

The announcement raises the prospect that foreign and potentially Russian troops may now help violently put down the unprecedented protests that have spread across Kazakhstan. First triggered by anger over a hike in fuel prices, they have escalated into a unprecedented challenge to the authoritarian regime of Nursultan Nazarbayev, that has dominated the former Soviet country for three decades and is a key ally of Russian president Vladimir Putin” target=”_blank”>Vladimir Putin.

Thousands of protesters on Wednesday stormed government buildings in several cities, including the largest city and former capital Almaty. There, protesters broke into the city administration office, set fire to other key buildings, and overran the airport. Security forces trying to violently disperse the crowds there and in several other cities appeared overwhelmed, with videos posted by local media showing protesters forcing military armored vehicles to flee and riding in police vehicles. Kazakhstan’s interior ministry said at least eight police officers had been killed.

Authorities have declared a state of emergency in the country and internet access for the country was shut down on Wednesday.

Tokayev on Wednesday tried to calm the protests with concessions, reversing the fuel price rise, dismissing his cabinet and announcing he would take over from Nazarbayev as head of the national security council. But after the protests continued, late Wednesday Tokayev announced he was now seeking assistance from the Russian military alliance.

Tokayev claimed “international terrorist groups” had seized parts of Almaty, saying that should be considered an “act of aggression” and he was therefore invoking the CSTO’s collective security guarantees.

“Considering the given terrorist groups are in essence international — they’ve undergone serious training abroad — their attack on Kazakhstan can and must be considered as an act of aggression. In connection with that, as set out by the treaty on collective security, I today am appealing to the heads of state of the CSTO for help,” Tokayev said in his speech to officials.

The CSTO alliance also includes Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia and Tajikistan, but its driving force is Russia. The alliance’s treaty guarantees assistance to members when their security or stability is threatened.

Tokayev made the announcement after calls with Putin and Belarus’ leader Alexander Lukashenko.

After Tokayev spoke, authorities in Almaty said security forces were conducting a “counter-terrorist operation” in the city, warning residents to remain indoors.

Kazakhstan is a major energy exporter and its authoritarian government is an important ally for the Kremlin, which has a stable and productive relationship with Tokayev’s government.

It is the second time in a year and a half that a long-time former Soviet leader of one of Russia’s key neighbors has faced a massive uprising after the failed protests in Belarus year.

Before Tokayev’s request for help on Wednesday, the Kremlin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia believed the crisis could resolved internally and warned others against outside intervention.

Dissatisfaction has been growing in Kazakhstan in recent years over worsening living standards and rising prices, and resentment at corruption among its ruling elite. The coronavirus pandemic has worsened those economic problems. The protests began four days ago in the Western oil region of Mangystau, sparked by a sharp rise in the price of liquefied natural gas (LNG) widely used in vehicles. But since Tuesday, unrest has spread across the country and broadened into a movement calling for an end to the regime built around Nazarbayev.

Kazakhstan has been dominated by Nazarbayev since it became independent after the fall of the Soviet Union, thirty years ago. In 2019, the ailing 81-year-old handed the presidency to the younger Tokayev, but Nazarbayev retained power behind the scenes by moving to become chairman of Kazakhstan’s national security council.

Tokayev on Wednesday announced he was now heading the council, in an apparent concession. Tokayev did not mention Nazarbayev by name or refer to him, and it was unclear what it meant for Nazarbayev’s future role in the country.

“And so I, as head of state and from today chairman of the Security Council, am determined to act with maximum harshness,” Tokayev said in the address broadcast on state news channels. “Whatever happens I will stay in the capital,” he said.

Houston police investigating shooting of George Floyd’s 4-year-old niece on New Year’s Day

January 5, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(HOUSTON) — Houston police are investigating a New Year’s Day shooting that wounded a 4-year-old girl, identified by her family as Arianna Delane, a niece of George Floyd, the unarmed Black killed by a Minneapolis police officer in May 2020.

Derrick Delane, the child’s father, told ABC Houston station KTRK that the family’s apartment was hit several times by gunfire, some which entered the second story where she was sleeping.

“My daughter jumped up and said, ‘Daddy, I’ve been hit,’ and I was shocked until I seen the blood and I realized my 4-year-old daughter was really hit,” he said.

Houston police said “a suspect or suspects fired several shots” into the apartment on Yellowstone Boulevard around 2:55 a.m. but didn’t identify any victims by name. Four adults and two children were inside.

Detectives A. Carroll and J. Roberts said in a statement on Tuesday that a juvenile female was “struck in the torso” and she was “transported in a private vehicle to an area hospital where she underwent surgery and is currently in stable condition.”

The family said Arianna, who was driven to the hospital by her mother, was hit in the lung and in the liver, with the shots breaking three of her ribs.

Delane said he immediately called 911 after the shooting, but officers didn’t show up until nearly 7 a.m.

Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said in a statement on Tuesday that HPD has launched an internal investigation into the delayed response time.

“I am aware and have concerns regarding the delayed response time in this incident and have initiated an Internal Affairs investigation,” Finner said. “I ask the city continue to pray for the child’s full recovery and assist in providing information that would lead to the arrest of the suspect or suspects responsible.”

Police said on Tuesday that they didn’t have a motive for the shooting or descriptions of potential suspects.

Delane told KTRK that he believes that the family’s home was targeted.

“Why would my house get shot up?” he said. “My daughter don’t know. I can’t explain that to her. As the father, you’re supposed to protect the kids.”

The apartment that was sprayed with gunfire is where the Floyd family gathered in April 2021 to watch the verdict in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who was convicted of murdering Floyd and sentenced to more than 22 years in prison in June.

The HPD didn’t immediately respond to ABC News when asked whether the home could have been targeted.

Authorities are urging anyone with information regarding the shooting to contact the HPD Major Assaults & Family Violence Division at 713-308-8800 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.

ABC News’ Gina Sunseri, Marilyn Heck and Izzy Alvarez contributed to this report.

Jan. 6 officer to David Muir: ‘I guarantee people are imagining this happening again’

January 5, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Metropolitan Police officer Daniel Hodges has become a symbol of the violence officers endured while protecting lawmakers and the Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrection.

Hodges had responded to the building as Capitol Police units were overrun, and ended up pinned down by the crowd, between a door and a crush of rioters intent on getting through police lines and into the building. One of those rioters, attacking him — as Hodges screamed, trying to set himself free. Video of that attack now seen around the world.

Watch more TONIGHT on “World News Tonight” at 6:30 p.m. ET

“I remember just the intensity of his guttural screams and I swear I remember him foaming at the mouth and just grabbing at my mask and … ripping it off my head, straining my neck, ripping away my baton, beating me in the head with it,” Hodges told “World News Tonight” anchor David Muir. “It crossed my mind at the time that, you know, this might be it.”

Muir sat down with Hodges and Capitol Police officers Harry Dunn and Aquilino Gonell — all of whom were at the Capitol on Jan. 6 last year. It was the first time the three officers sat down together for an interview since they, and former Capitol Police officer Michael Fanone, detailed the horrors they endured on Jan. 6 during a congressional hearing six months after the attacks.

“The absolute zealotry of these people was unreal. They — they were completely convinced that — without any evidence whatsoever ever, that the election was stolen and that they were doing the right thing,” Hodges told Muir.

For Hodges, the lack of accountability so far for people in power he says are responsible for the attack is both frustrating and troubling.

On Jan. 6, ABC News Live will provide all-day coverage of events marking one year since the attack on the U.S. Capitol and the continuing fallout for American democracy.

“It’s frustrating that we’re a year on and no one higher up at all has been charged with anything save, you know, contempt for not responding to a subpoena,” Hodges told Muir. “I’m very sensitive to telling other professionals how to do their job. You know, I’m not a fed, I’m not a lawyer, I’m not a prosecutor … I just have to hope that they’re doing everything they can to see that the– the people in power get what they deserve.”

Hodges, who remains an officer with the Metropolitan Police Department, warns — if there are no consequences — a new attack is imminent.

“You’ve got to deal with this harshly and quickly in order to squash any thoughts of this happening again, which I guarantee you, people are imagining this happening again,” he told Muir.

“Right now?” Muir asked.

“Right now,” he warned.

ABC News’ Rachel Scott, Ely Brown and Trish Turner contributed to this report.

Here’s what’s happening at the Capitol to mark one year since the Jan. 6 insurrection

January 5, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — As the nation approaches one year since the violent siege on the U.S. Capitol that sent shocking images worldwide of America’s democracy under attack, Democrats in Washington are planning to mark the anniversary with somber tributes from the building that was stormed.

Thursday’s events will include a moment of silence, first-hand testimonies from lawmakers, a panel discussion with historians and a prayer vigil on the Capitol steps.

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are scheduled to deliver remarks to kick off the ceremonies at 9 a.m. with the president expected to highlight the “historical significance” of Jan. 6, according to White House press secretary Jen Psaki, and address “what it means for the country one year later.”

“The president is going to speak to the truth of what happened, not the lies that some have spread since, and the peril it has posed to the rule of law and our system of democratic governance,” Psaki said at a press briefing Tuesday.

She said Biden will take the chance to commemorate law enforcement officers who protected the Capitol and those inside.

Approximately 140 police officers were injured at the Capitol on Jan. 6 including about 80 U.S. Capitol Police and about 60 from the Metropolitan Police Department, according to the Department of Justice. At least five people died during or after the attack, including four protestors and one law enforcement officer.

“Because of their efforts, our democracy withstood an attack from a mob and the will of the more than 150 million people who voted in the presidential election was ultimately registered by Congress,” Psaki said.

On Jan. 6, ABC News Live will provide all-day coverage of events marking one year since the attack on the U.S. Capitol and the continuing fallout for American democracy.

Biden is also expected to preview the “work we still need to do to secure and strengthen our democracy and our institutions to reject hatred and lies,” Psaki added.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has unveiled a full program as well, based on member input.

“These events are intended as an observance of reflection, remembrance and recommitment, in a spirit of unity, patriotism and prayerfulness,” Pelosi said in a letter to House Democrats last week.

The schedule Pelosi outlined begins at 10 a.m. with a statement from the speaker and a moment of reflection on the House floor, followed by a moment of silence in the chamber at noon. Then, Librarian of Congress Dr. Carla Hayden will moderate a “Historic Perspective” panel discussion with historians Doris Kearns Goodwin and Jon Meacham “to establish and preserve the narrative of January 6th.”

In the afternoon, in a large room in the Cannon Office House Building, Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., a decorated Iraq and Afghanistan War veteran who was sworn in for his second term on Jan. 6 — will lead members in sharing their experiences and reflections.

The schedule is set to conclude at 5:30 p.m. with a prayer vigil on the U.S. Capitol center steps. Members of the House and Senate were invited to observe the anniversary with prayer and music.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who is expected to appear with Pelosi at the day’s events, has tied the anniversary to a push for voting rights legislation that the House passed last year but which is stalled in the Senate.

Republican leaders, meanwhile, are not expected to be at the Capitol on Thursday. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is instead planning to attend the funeral of late Sen. Johnny Isakson in Georgia. And House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has repeatedly accused Democrats of politicizing the day after saying on Jan. 6, 2021, on the House floor that “President Trump bears responsibility” for the “attack on Congress by mob rioters.”

Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday canceled a planned press conference from Mar-a-Lago, and House Republicans will be at home “talking to their constituents about things that actually affect them” like inflation and high gas prices, according to a House Republican leadership aide.

With more than 700 accused Capitol rioters facing charges from the Department of Justice, Attorney General Merrick Garland is also scheduled to address Americans and Justice Department employees on Wednesday, the day before the anniversary, regarding how the agency is holding those responsible for the attack accountable.

Last year, speaking at the time from a podium labeled “Office of the President-Elect,” Biden called on then-President Trump to put an end to the “siege” as his supporters stormed the building.

“At this hour, our democracy’s under unprecedented assault, unlike anything we’ve seen in modern times. An assault on the citadel of liberty, the Capitol itself,” Biden said from Wilmington, Delaware. “This is not dissent, it’s disorder. It’s chaos. It borders on sedition, and it must end now. I call on this mob to pull back and allow the work of democracy to go forward.”

Following pleas from allies and critics alike, Trump released a one-minute video on social media several hours after he finished speaking to supporters at the Ellipse and the attack began. “Go home,” he told the group, adding, “We love you.”

ABC News’ Benjamin Siegel contributed to this report.

Garland, under pressure to hold Trump accountable, to speak on DOJ’s Jan. 6 investigation

January 5, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Attorney General Merrick Garland on Wednesday will deliver a rare address on the Justice Department’s sweeping investigation into the Jan. 6 insurrection, in remarks one official said will outline DOJ’s “efforts to hold accountable those responsible” attack on the Capitol.

One year after the assault, more than 700 people across nearly every state in the U.S. have faced federal charges for joining the riot — and the FBI continues to seek tips on hundreds more still-unidentified individuals, including more than 350 who committed violent acts while on Capitol grounds.

More than 70 people have been sentenced for their criminal conduct on Jan. 6, including 32 who were ordered to time behind bars. A New Jersey man seen hurling a fire extinguisher at police during the siege received the harshest sentence handed down by a judge thus far of more than five years in prison, an ominous sign for the more than 200 individuals currently facing charges of assaulting law enforcement.

According to the Justice Department, more than 270 face charges like conspiracy or obstruction that carry potential maximum sentences of 20 years in prison, and prosecutors have said in hearings for several alleged rioters that they’re weighing potential terrorism enhancements for those DOJ can prove were driven by political motivation in their crimes.

But even as the federal investigation into those who carried out the attack on the Capitol charges forward, DOJ and specifically, Garland himself, have increasingly found themselves the subject of public scrutiny over what critics have argued is a seeming hesitance to hold accountable those like former President Donald Trump or his allies who urged the rioters to march toward Congress or otherwise worked to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

The criticism has been levied by numerous legal experts, former prosecutors and lawmakers in editorial pages and cable news appearances — and has even extended to at least one of the federal judges overseeing the prosecutions of the Jan. 6 rioters.

On Jan. 6, ABC News Live will provide all-day coverage of events marking one year since the attack on the U.S. Capitol and the continuing fallout for American democracy.

In a November sentencing hearing for Jan. 6 rioter John Lolos, for instance, District Judge Amit Mehta described Lolos as a “pawn” being punished even as those who “created the conditions” for the insurrection “in no meaningful sense of the word have been held to account.”

Garland has acknowledged the commentary as recently as October in an appearance at the New Yorker Festival, where he said he’s aware “there are people who are criticizing us for not prosecuting sufficiently and others who are complaining that we are prosecuting too harshly.”

Specifically asked at the event about Trump’s alleged role in inciting the riot, Garland declined to answer directly noting Justice Department policy against commenting on potential investigations.

“We are doing everything we can to ensure that the perpetrators of Jan. 6 are brought to justice,” Garland said. “We will follow the facts and the law where they land.”

A DOJ official said that Garland’s remarks Wednesday will similarly “not speak to specific individuals or charges,” but rather will “discuss the department’s solemn duty to uphold the Constitution, follow the facts and the law, and pursue equal justice under law without fear or favor.”

The speech comes as a parallel investigation by the Jan. 6 House select committee investigating the Capitol siege continues to trickle out details of Trump’s actions before, during and after the attack as well as the activities of his inner circle who were seeking to overturn President Joe Biden’s election victory.

The co-chairs of the bipartisan committee, Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., have said in recent weeks that potential criminal referrals to DOJ for specific individuals could be on the table if they find what they believe amounts to evidence of unlawful conduct.

The committee has already made two referrals to DOJ for former Trump adviser Steve Bannon and former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows over their defiance of congressional subpoenas. DOJ indicted Bannon in November on two counts of contempt of Congress and his trial is currently set for July.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in D.C. has yet to take action against Meadows after receiving his contempt referral in mid-December.

One child dead, eight others injured after bouncy castle accident in Spain

January 5, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(LONDON) — One child died and eight others were injured after a bouncy castle overturned near the Spanish port city of Valencia on Tuesday evening, authorities said.

The accident occurred at a fairground in the town of Mislata, just west of Valencia. Several children became trapped inside a bouncy castle as a gust of wind lifted the inflatable structure into the air, local officials told ABC News.

Two children — an 8-year-old girl and a 4-year-old girl — suffered serious injuries after they were ejected from the overturned castle, local officials said.

Both were rushed to La Fe University and Polytechnic Hospital in Valencia. The 8-year-old girl died about 12 hours after she was admitted, a hospital spokesperson told ABC News. The 4-year-old girl remains hospitalized, the spokesperson said. Her condition was unclear.

An investigation into the fatal incident is ongoing, but preliminary evidence did not indicate foul play, according to local officials.

The tragedy in Spain comes less than a month after a similar accident left five children dead in Australia.

Millions of Americans under winter weather alerts for storms, arctic blast

January 5, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Almost 80 million people across the United States are on alert this week for heavy snow, brutally cold temperatures, gusty winds and icy conditions.

As of Wednesday morning, the National Weather Service has issued various advisories, alerts, watches and warnings for 32 states — from Oregon to New York — related to two winter storm systems.

The first is currently in the Upper Midwest region, bringing snow and wind across the Northern Plains and Great Lakes. The second is in the Pacific Northwest and Northern Rocky Mountains, bringing rain and wind to the West Coast and heavy snow to the nearby mountain ranges, from the Cascades to the Rockies. This storm could reach the East Coast by Friday morning, bringing more snow to the areas along Interstate 95, one of the busiest travel corridors in the country.

On Wednesday, the first storm will continue to sweep the Great Lakes region, with the heaviest snowfall in parts of Wisconsin, Michigan and western New York. A frigid arctic blast with wind chill temperatures well below zero degrees Fahrenheit will move in behind it, according to the latest forecast. As the cold front swings through the East, temperatures will be mild enough to keep most precipitation in the form of rain showers across the Northeastern states.

However, drizzles of freezing rain are possible Wednesday morning from eastern Virginia to Connecticut before likely changing to rain showers by mid-morning due to warmer temperatures. This could create icy road conditions for morning commuters.

Meanwhile, the second storm will continue to move from West to East across the Rockies, with heavy snow in the mountains and gusty winds hitting Wyoming and Colorado. The system may redevelop in the Southern central states on Thursday, according to the latest forecast. Both long-term storm models, European and American, are predicting snow across the Northeast region on Thursday night into Friday morning.

Hundreds of people were stranded in a massive traffic jam across a 48-mile stretch of I-95 in Virginia, following a multi-vehicle accident that occurred Monday afternoon amid a heavy snowstorm. Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine told ABC News it took him almost 27 hours to drive from his Richmond home to the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C. I-95 in Virginia reopened Tuesday night at about 9 p.m. local time, after being closed for emergency response for most of the day.

COVID live updates: Chicago cancels classes as teachers vote for remote learning

January 5, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.4 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 827,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.

About 62% of the population in the United States is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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

Jan 05, 6:55 am
Michigan governor isolating after husband’s positive test

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was isolating after her husband, Dr. Marc Mallory, tested positive for COVID-19, her office said in a statement.

Whitmer’s office said the governor tested negative on Tuesday using a rapid test. She was awaiting the results of a PCR test.

“Thankfully, the entire family is fully vaccinated and boosted, so the governor has not tested positive and is not experiencing symptoms,” Whitmer’s office said in a statement. “Until the PCR test comes back, the governor is isolating in a separate area of the house and has taken steps to complete contact tracing to keep others safe.”

Jan 05, 2:43 am
Chicago cancels classes after teachers vote for remote learning

Chicago Public Schools canceled its Wednesday classes after the Chicago Teachers Union voted against in-person learning amid a wave of COVID-19 cases.

All classes, both in-person and virtual, and all after-school activities have been cancelled.

“I understand your frustration and deeply regret this interruption to your child’s learning,” said Pedro Martinez, chief executive of the schools. “We want out children back in their classrooms as soon as possible and will continue working with the CTU to reach an agreement that addressed their concerns and that is in the best interest of all in our CPS community, especially our children.”

About 88% of the union’s leadership and 73% of members voted on Tuesday to return to remote education, the union said in a statement.

“To the parents and guardians of this city, we want you to know that when you put your children in our care we put their well-being and safety first,” the union said in a statement. “We fight for your children like they are our own, because they are. As this pandemic continues, we will do everything in our power to ensure that our classrooms are the safest and healthiest places for your children to learn, thrive and grow.”

Teachers were being locked out of their Google Classrooms, the union said on Twitter.

Jan 05, 1:49 am
Mayo Clinic lays off 1% of staff for vaccine noncompliance

Mayo Clinic said it will lay off about 1% of its staff for failing to get at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by a company deadline.

“While Mayo Clinic is saddened to lose valuable employees, we need to take all steps necessary to keep our patients, workforce, visitors and communities safe. If individuals released from employment choose to get vaccinated at a later date, the opportunity exists for them to apply and return to Mayo Clinic for future job openings,” Mayo Clinic said in a statement to ABC.

Last October, Mayo Clinic had set a Jan. 3 deadline for all employees to get at least their first vaccine dose or face dismissal.

The health care organization said the number of staffers being let go was “comparable to what other health care organizations have experienced in implementing similar vaccine requirement programs.”

Mayo Clinic employs about 73,000 people, according to its website.

Jan 04, 7:53 pm
FDA: Do not swab your throat with at-home COVID-19 tests

The FDA is warning people not to swab their throats as part of an at-home COVID-19 test.

In a statement obtained by ABC News, the FDA said that is not how the tests were designed and it could pose a safety concern.

“The FDA advises that COVID-19 tests should be used as authorized, including following their instructions for use regarding obtaining the sample for testing,” the statement said.

Social media posts promoting at-home COVID-19 rapid test swabbing techniques claim that throat swabs collect a better sample. However, this hasn’t been proven for currently authorized tests.

– ABC News’ Sony Salzman

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