(NEW YORK) — Hailey Bieber, who suffered a mini-stroke earlier this year, is opening up about another health complication.
Bieber, 26, shared on Instagram Monday that she has a cyst the size of an apple on her ovary.
“It’s painful and achey [sic] and makes me feel nauseous and bloated and crampy and emotional,” Bieber wrote over a photo of herself, posted on her Instagram story.
Bieber also wrote that she has had a cyst on her ovary before, saying, “It’s never fun.”
She also said she does not have endometriosis or polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), two conditions that can cause ovarian cysts.
The Rhode Skin founder did not share any additional information about the cyst but said she thought other women could relate to what she’s going through, writing, “We got this,” alongside three peace sign emojis.
According to the U.S. Office on Women’s Health, women form at least one cyst every month as part of the normal ovulation cycle, while around 8% of premenopausal women develop cysts large enough to need treatment.
What to know about ovarian cysts
An ovarian cyst is a fluid-filled sac that forms in the ovaries.
Cysts are formed every single month in the ovulation process, according to the Office on Women’s Health. Most of the cysts are what gynecologists call “functional cysts” and do not cause specific symptoms.
Any cysts that develop after menopause are not normal and should be evaluated by a doctor, as they are more likely to be cancerous, according to the U.S. Office on Women’s Health.
Symptomatic ovarian cysts can be caused by hormonal problems, endometriosis, pregnancy and severe pelvic infections, according to the Office on Women’s Health.
If an ovarian cyst does cause symptoms, they may include bloating, pressure or pain near where the cyst is located.
Most functional ovarian cysts are about the size of a walnut. However, symptomatic ovarian cysts can grow to the size of a grapefruit, and in some cases, can grow to several pounds in weight.
Symptoms for a ruptured ovarian cyst may include dizziness, nausea, vomiting and intense pelvic or abdominal pain on the side of the body where the cyst is located. Ruptured ovarian cysts can mimics symptoms of appendicitis, ovarian torsion and ectopic pregnancies that are medical emergencies. The Office on Women’s Health recommend seeking immediate medical attention if a woman is having sharp, sudden abdominal pain especially if accompanied by vomiting, fever, dizziness, weakness or rapid breathing.
The majority of ovarian cysts resolve on their own and most are benign, according to Dr. Jennifer Ashton, ABC News’ chief medical correspondent and a board-certified OB-GYN.
If a cyst is small, the doctor will implement what Ashton calls “watchful waiting” to see if the cyst resolves itself on its own.
Treatment for a larger ovarian cyst typically begins with a sonogram or ultrasound so the doctor can look for features that would indicate the cyst is benign. If there is not suspicion, the doctor will likely have the patient come back in four to six weeks for another checkup, according to Ashton.
If there is a suspicion of cancer, a doctor will likely order further testing.
Problematic cysts can be removed through surgery. The National Institutes of Health estimates that 5% to 10% of women have surgery to remove an ovarian cyst.
Women with frequent or painful cysts may be advised by their doctor to take over-the-counter pain medication or hormonal birth control, according to the Office on Women’s Health.
(NEW YORK) — The owners of a nursing home in Western New York allegedly “wove a complicated web of fraud” that resulted in patient neglect and caused the conditions that led to deadly problems exposed during the COVID-19 pandemic, New York Attorney General Letitia James alleged Tuesday in a new lawsuit.
The lawsuit, filed against the owners, operators and related companies of The Villages of Orleans Health and Rehabilitation Center, said the defendants took advantage of the state’s Medicaid program to increase their personal profits, rather than use those funds for the intended purposes of staffing and patient care.
“Every individual deserves to live out their golden years in comfort and with dignity,” James said. “Yet the abject failure of The Villages and its owners to uphold their duty under the law caused residents to suffer inhumane treatment, neglect, and harm.”
Between 2015 and 2021, The Villages’ received more than $86 million in Medicare and Medicaid payments meant for resident health care. The lawsuit said the owners steered 20% of it into separate entities they formed to increase their personal profits. The result was insufficient staffing and low quality of care, the lawsuit said.
According to the lawsuit, residents were forced to sit in their own urine and feces for hours; suffered malnourishment and dehydration; developed sepsis, gangrene, and other infections due to gaping bed sores and inadequate wound care; endured medical toxicity and unexplained doping; and sustained falls and other physical injuries. Some of these abuses, including other unmonitored or undocumented circumstances, resulted in hospitalization and death.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, The Villages management tried to keep positive cases secret and either delayed or entirely neglected to enforce proper protocols for quarantining infected residents, the lawsuit said, resulting in preventable deaths. Staff members were forced to report to work even when they were sick and were provided little to no personal protective equipment.
The Villages was so short-staffed that employees were caring for residents who were both positive and negative for COVID-19 without following any quarantine protocols. As the pandemic progressed, COVID-19-positive employees, forced to report to work despite being sick, mixed with COVID-19-negative residents, and all residents intermingled regardless of infection status. Employees were told that if their temperature check indicated they had a fever, they were to go outside for an hour and come back to take their temperature again.
The lawsuit sought to compel the owners to return all funds fraudulently received, to appoint a receiver and financial monitor to stop the self-dealing and a healthcare monitor to improve care, and to require The Villages to stop admitting new patients until further notice.
“The owners of The Villages gave themselves millions while they let our most vulnerable suffer,” James said in a statement Tuesday. “Today, we’re taking action to hold them accountable and ensure no one is ever treated this way again.”
(NEW YORK) — Promising data shows that an Alzheimer’s drug can slow cognitive decline.
In a phase III clinical trial, with results published Tuesday in The New England Journal of Medicine, the drug, Lecanemab — developed by Eisai and Biogen Inc. — slowed the rate of cognitive decline by 27% in patients in the early stages of the disease, making it the first drug of its kind to produce such positive trial results, a study showed.
Researchers followed nearly 1,800 patients over the course of 18 months and found the drug “resulted in moderately less decline on measures of cognition and function,” compared to patients who received a placebo.
However, the companies noted that “longer trials are warranted to determine the efficacy and safety of Lecanemab in early Alzheimer’s disease.”
Patients who have Alzheimer’s disease have build-up of two proteins, amyloid-beta and tau, in the brain. They clump together and form plaques, disrupting cell function and causing symptoms such as memory loss and confusion.
Lecanemab is a monoclonal antibody that helps remove the amyloid-beta clumps.
Trial participants were split into two groups, both with a Clinical Dementia Rating Scale Sum of Boxes (CDR-SB) score of about 3.2 when the trial began. This score, which measures dementia impairment, has a scale from 0 indicating no impairment to 18.0 indicating severe impairment. A score of 3.2 indicates very mild impairment.
Over the course of 18 months, patients in the Lecanemab group saw their score go up by 1.21 points in comparison with patients in the placebo group, who saw their score go up by 1.66 points.
There were some adverse events in the trial, the companies said, including patients who experienced brain swelling or brain bleeding.
Following the 18-month study, two patients died after experiencing brain hemorrhaging. However, Easi said no deaths are considered linked to Lecanemab.
What’s more, the Alzheimer’s Association said it was “encouraged” by the news and called on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to give accelerated approval of Lecanemab.
“These peer-reviewed, published results show Lecanemab will provide patients more time to participate in daily life and live independently,” the association said in a statement. “It could mean many months more of recognizing their spouse, children and grandchildren.”
The statement continued, “Treatments that deliver tangible benefits to those living with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) due to Alzheimer’s and early Alzheimer’s dementia are as valuable as treatments that extend the lives of those with other terminal diseases”
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden on Monday asked Congress to intervene and avert a potential strike of the nation’s railway workers — which could upend huge parts of the economy that depend on freight to move goods — by forcing the workers’ unions to accept a deal negotiated earlier this year.
In a statement, Biden described himself as a “proud pro-labor” president and said his decision was a difficult one.
But he said the larger economic considerations outweighed those concerns.
As at least one of the unions involved express dismay at the move, trade groups applauded Biden’s request of Congress.
“I am reluctant to override the ratification procedures and the views of those who voted against the agreement. But in this case — where the economic impact of a shutdown would hurt millions of other working people and families — I believe Congress must use its powers to adopt this deal,” he said.
He asked Congress to quickly pass legislation to adopt the tentative deal between the rail companies and employees that was reached in September and brokered by the White House.
If a deal is not reached — or forced by Congress — then a strike could begin after the Dec. 9 deadline. Outgoing Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement Monday night that the House will soon take up such legislation and won’t modify the agreed-upon terms from September.
Like Biden, she said, “We are reluctant to bypass the standard ratification process for the Tentative Agreement — but we must act to prevent a catastrophic nationwide rail strike, which would grind our economy to a halt.”
The tentative contract included a 24% compounded wage increase and $5,000 total in lump-sum payments.
Pelosi praised certain elements of that deal but said, “Democrats are continuing to fight for more of railroad workers’ priorities, including paid sick leave.” Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., a member of the Democratic caucus, has said his colleagues should do more for workers.
The two largest unions had initially highlighted how the tentative agreement included “wage increases, bonuses, with no increases to insurance copays and deductibles” and improved time-off policies, which had become a sticking point.
While eight of the 12 rail unions then went on to formally ratify the agreement, four rejected it — including the largest in the nation, with 50.8% of its workers voting against the deal.
Some of the workers’ groups who rejected the agreement cited frustration with compensation and working conditions, particularly a lack of paid sick days.
Because all of the rail workers have vowed not to cross the picket line in the event of a stoppage, the objections of four of the 12 unions ensures a strike unless there is a last-minute change in negotiations or congressional intervention.
Biden said Monday he was calling for Congress to act on advice of his secretaries of labor, agriculture transportation, who “believe that there is no path to resolve the dispute at the bargaining table and have recommended that we seek Congressional action,” according to his statement.
In urging Congress to ratify the deal between the rail companies and workers, however, Biden also warned lawmakers not to try and change the terms on their own. “Some in Congress want to modify the deal to either improve it for labor or for management. However well-intentioned, any changes would risk delay and a debilitating shutdown. The agreement was reached in good faith by both sides,” he said.
A strike would “devastate our economy,” he said, noting that “the holiday season” was no time for that outcome.
Why rail workers rejected the deal
Unions have said rail employees are seeking improvements to working conditions, since workers do not receive paid sick days. The unions have accused rail companies of penalizing workers for taking time off for medical reasons and holding the nation’s economy hostage to ensure a favorable deal.
The National Carriers’ Conference Committee, or NCCC, which represents the nation’s freight railroads in national collective bargaining, has said rail employees are provided “significant” time off and the companies have offered a fair contract that includes a considerable wage increase.
After the SMART Transportation Division, or SMART-TD, the nation’s largest rail union, rejected the contract in a record turnout vote last week, the group’s president urged further negotiations.
“SMART-TD members with their votes have spoken, it’s now back to the bargaining table for our operating craft members,” SMART-TD President Jeremy Ferguson said in a statement then.
“This can all be settled through negotiations and without a strike. A settlement would be in the best interests of the workers, the railroads, shippers and the American people,” he added.
Immediate reactions on Congress intervening
One of the unions whose membership turned down the new freight rail contract said it was “disappointed by and disagrees with” Biden’s call for Congress to pass legislation to end the labor dispute.
The Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (BMWED) said in a news release Tuesday that congressional intervention “both denies Railroad Workers their right to strike while also denying them of the benefit they would likely otherwise obtain if they were not denied their right to strike.”
The union reiterated workers’ calls for better paid sick leave policies in a new contract, saying the president and Congress should “act swiftly by passing any sort of reforms and regulations that will provide paid sick leave for all Railroad Workers.”
The tentative deal, if enforced, would give rail workers an additional personal leave day.
Pelosi said on Tuesday that the House would take up legislation to avert a rail strike as soon as Wednesday morning.
“Tomorrow morning, we will have a bill on the floor,” she said outside the White House after meeting with Biden and the other top four congressional leaders: Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer, Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell and Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy.
“It’s not everything I would like to see,” Pelosi said, adding that she would’ve liked to see the rail workers get more paid sick leave.
Schumer confirmed that the Senate, too, would get the bill on the floor soon — and he said he had agreement from McConnell.
“Leader McConnell I agreed we’d try to get it done ASAP,” Schumer said.
Neither he nor Pelosi answered questions or said whether they thought they had the votes to pass the legislation. At least one senator, Florida Republican Marco Rubio, wrote on Twitter that he opposed it because it “doesn’t have the support of the rail workers.”
McCarthy said outside the White House that thought legislation would pass.
He didn’t miss an opportunity to blame Biden for the deal falling apart, though. He called it another example of the White House going back on its word, after calling the negotiation a “win” just a month ago.
“It’s unfortunate that this is how we’re running our economy today,” he said.
Biden told ABC News’ Mary Bruce at the White House on Tuesday that he was “confident” in avoiding a strike.
“Congress, I think, has to act to prevent it. It’s not an easy call, but I think we have to do it. The economy’s at risk,” he said.
What a railroad strike could mean for the economy
A potential strike could lead to $2 billion a day in lost economic output, according to the Association of American Railroads, which lobbies on behalf of railway companies.
“No one benefits from a rail work stoppage — not our customers, not rail employees and not the American economy,” AAR President and CEO Ian Jefferies said in a statement Monday night. “Now is the appropriate time for Congress to pass legislation to implement the agreements already ratified by eight of the twelve unions. A clear pattern of ratified agreements has been established and Congressional action to prevent a work stoppage in this manner is appropriate.”
“A national rail strike would severely impact the economy and the public,” the NCCC said last week.
Rail is critical to the entire goods side of the economy, including agriculture, manufacturing, retail and warehousing. Freight railroads are responsible for transporting 40% of the nation’s long-haul freight and a work stoppage could endanger those shipments.
Moody’s Analytics chief economist, Mark Zandi, said that a railroad strike would be “economically costly,” and that a freight shutdown would roil supply chains and put upward pressure on U.S. goods inflation, making price problems temporarily worse.
The main channel for a strike to boost inflation is through the higher cost of transportation, particularly for agriculture, Zandi said. Corn, wheat and soybeans are the primary agriculture commodities that use rail.
A strike would also affect shipments of ethanol, potentially leading to higher gas prices, according to Zandi.
Trucking freight rates, which are still elevated above pre-pandemic levels, could also be pushed higher. Zandi said that the American Trucking Association estimates that a rail work stoppage would require 500,000 more trucks and 80,000 more drivers to fill the gap — an untenable number.
More immediately, however, Zandi said a strike would not have a material impact on holiday sales. Inventories of Christmas goods are ample and the major shipping of goods from ports to warehouses for the season is long over.
“Getting goods from warehouses to homes is done by truck,” Zandi said. “Perhaps some trucks would be diverted to help move goods typically done by rail, but this should not be a significant factor for Christmas.”
Local rails, though, could see disruptions should a rail strike occur — leaving commuters in a lurch. Freight companies own and operate many of the tracks across the country and in the event of a strike, local trains that run on those tracks would be forced to cancel trips.
But some Amtrak trains and commuter rails that run along the Northeast Corridor wouldn’t be affected by this. Amtrak owns some of its tracks, and they are not involved in the ongoing negotiations. In addition, local rail that own and operate their own tracks would not be affected — such as Trinity Railway Express in Dallas and Bay Area Rapid Transit in San Francisco.
Why Congress is involved in potential rail strike
All labor disputes in the railway and airline industries — which are seen as critical to the U.S. economy, stretching across major industries from energy to agriculture — are governed by a 1920s-era federal law known as the Railway Labor Act, or RLA.
Congress enacted that law after decades of sometimes violent worker strikes and when Americans had grown dependent on many industries, particularly farming and manufacturing.
Under the RLA, if the parties in the rail labor dispute do not reach agreement on a new contract, the railroads can either impose their own work rules or employees can strike — or both.
At that point, the RLA would no longer set the terms of behavior.
Congress, acting with authority from the Constitution’s commerce clause, has not voted to end a railroad strike since April 1991 — less than 24 hours after a walkout. At the time, lawmakers approved a joint resolution — with President George H. W. Bush being roused from his bed in the middle of the night to sign the bill — that forced the parties in the dispute into a 65-day binding arbitration process.
Had those workers not approved of the terms in arbitration, Congress mandated that less generous solutions from the Presidential Emergency Board, acting as a third party, be accepted.
ABC News’ Adam Carlson, Cheyenne Haslett and Lauren Peller contributed to this report.
(DELPHI, Ind.) — A judge presiding over the Delphi, Indiana, double murder case issued an order on Tuesday unsealing the probable cause affidavit related to suspect Richard Allen’s arrest.
Judge Frances Gull found that “public interest is not served by prohibiting access” to the evidence in the murders of Abby Williams, 13, and Libby German, 14. The judge added that witness safety is ensured by redacting their names.
The newly released probable cause affidavit said one of the girls mentioned “gun” as a man approached, according to video recovered from one of the victim’s phones.
A man is seen and heard telling the girls, “Guys, down the hill,” and Abby and Libby go down the hill, according to the probable cause affidavit.
A .40-caliber unspent round was found less than 2 feet away from one of the bodies, and that unspent round went through a gun that Allen owns, according to the probable cause affidavit.
Clothes belonging to the girls were found in Deer Creek, south of where their bodies were discovered, the document revealed.
Police still have not released how Abby and Libby died.
Allen, a 50-year-old Delphi man, was arrested last month and charged with two counts of murder for the Feb. 2017 killings. Abby and Libby, best friends in the eighth grade, were on a hiking trail in rural Delphi when they were killed. Allen has entered a not guilty plea.
When interviewed by police in 2017, Allen said he was on the trail that afternoon, according to the affidavit.
On Oct. 13, 2022, Allen told police he saw juvenile girls on the trails east of Freedom Bridge and said he went onto the Monon High Bridge.
Allen confirmed to the police he owns guns, the document said.
A search warrant was executed at Allen’s home on Oct. 13, 2022, the document said. Officers found knives and guns, including a Sig Sauer, Model P226 and .40-caliber pistol, the document said.
Indiana State Police’s lab analysis of Allen’s gun “determined the unspent round located within two feet” of one of the girl’s bodies “had been cycled through Richard M. Allen’s Sig Sauer Model P226,” the probable cause affidavit said.
Allen voluntarily spoke to police on Oct. 26, 2022, and said he never allowed anyone to borrow that gun, the document said.
“When asked about the unspent bullet, he did not have an explanation of why the bullet was found between” the girls’ bodies, the probable cause affidavit said.
“He again admitted that he was on the trail but denied knowing Victim 1 or Victim 2 and denied any involvement in their murders,” according to the probable cause affidavit.
Video from one of the girl’s phones shows a man wearing dark jacket and jeans. Allen told investigators on Oct. 13, 2022, that he wore jeans and a blue or black Carhartt jacket that day, according to the probable cause affidavit. Allen’s wife confirmed to police that he owns a blue Carhartt jacket, the document said.
Investigators believe Allen is the man seen on the cellphone video. Investigators also claim he forced Abby and Libby down the hill to the spot where they were killed, according to the document.
Investigators believe Allen was seen walking back to his car with “clothes that were muddy and bloody,” according to the probable cause affidavit.
Prosecutors wanted to keep the probable cause affidavit sealed.
The document was released in response to a motion filed by news organizations, including ABC News.
Allen is set to return to court on Feb. 17 for a bond hearing and pretrial hearing.
The defense submitted a change of venue motion on Tuesday requesting that the trial take place at least 150 miles from Carroll County (where Delphi is located).
Police still ask anyone with information about the case to submit a tip at abbyandlibbytip@cacoshrf.com or 765-822-3535.
(NEW YORK) — Scientists have observed two new lava flows out of the Mauna Loa volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island — the largest active volcano in the world.
The lava is flowing north out of Fissure 3 in the northeast rift zone, crossing the road outside the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s observatory overnight, the U.S. Geological Survey announced Tuesday morning.
Ash and lava began spewing out of the volcano on Sunday around 11:30 p.m. and continued into Monday, is the first eruption from Mauna Loa in nearly 40 years.
The lava was contained to the summit, and there are currently no threats to populated areas, according to the USGS.
However, the eruption has migrated from the summit to the northeast rift zone, where fissures are feeding several lava flows, according to the USGS, which advised residents at possible risk from Mauna Loa lava flows to review preparedness and refer to Hawaii County Civil Defense information for further guidance.
Lava flows are significant enough to be visible from Kona, dozens of miles away.
Mauna Loa is so large it takes up more than half of the Big Island. The last time it erupted was in March and April 1984.
The volcano has erupted dozens of times since the 1880s, allowing volcanologists to get to know its “personality,” Michael Poland, research geophysicist for the USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory, told ABC News. This means that scientists are predicting that the flow will likely abate now because the initial eruptions are typically the heaviest.
Since the eruption is occurring to the northeast, where the peak’s slope seaward is more gentle, it would take weeks of a continuous eruption for it to reach Hilo, Poland said.
Gov. David Ige told ABC News Live that he was not yet worried about any impact on Hawaiians.
“I think right now we’re not that concerned,” Ige said. “The eruptions and the fissures are very high up. … In fact, there really is no communities or no structures anywhere close to the fissures that are erupting right now.”
“It will take weeks, if not longer, of eruptions occurring in order for the Northeast Rift Zone eruption to reach any kind of community or get close to any infrastructure,” the governor added.
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park has closed the Mauna Loa Summit Area to visitors as a precaution
Video posted to Twitter by the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory shows thermal footage of the lava flowing out of the volcano’s summit.
In conjunction with the lava flow, there were more than a dozen earthquakes in the region of more than 2.5 magnitude early Monday morning, according to the USGS.
Lava was still erupting from the summit and was overflowing from the caldera Monday, according to USGS Volcanoes. The National Weather Service issued an ashfall advisory for depositing ash and debris, as well as light accumulation of ash on vessels, until 6 a.m. along the Alenuihaha Channel, Big Island windward waters, Big Island leeward waters and Big Island southeast waters.
The NWS advised that vessels should remain at port or avoid advisory areas, and those with respiratory sensitivities should take extra precautions to minimize exposure.
Falling volcanic ash and debris can also render engines or electronics inoperative, according to the NWS.
Hawaii is home to several active volcanos, including the Kīlauea volcano on the Big Island, one of the most active in the world.
Volcano activity has been recorded all around the globe over the past year.
Major eruptions could be underway from two volcanoes on Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula after clouds of ash and lava began spewing on Nov. 20.
In July, an eruption at the Sakurajima volcano in Japan prompted evacuation orders for residents nearby in the southwestern prefecture of Kagoshima.
And last week, marine geologists announced that the underwater volcano eruption that occurred on Jan. 15 in the Tongan archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean is the largest ever recorded.
ABC News’ Max Golembo, Matt Gutman and Bonnie Mclean contributed to this report.
(PHILADELPHIA) — Across the country, police forces are scrambling to keep their roll call numbers at full staff, but officials said they’ve been hit with challenges.
Burnout, low morale, and dejection have caused many cops, both long-time veterans and newcomers, to quit and change careers and recent public backlash against excessive police force has resulted in a drop in new applications, according to police officials.
In Philadelphia, the police force is facing a shortage of 600 officers, roughly 10% of its full force.
“It’s critical now,” Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw told ABC News of her force’s staffing levels. “It’s already critical, was critical a year ago.”
Outlaw and other police chiefs said the nation’s officer turnover issue is coming at a crucial time with crime on the rise and they’re working hard to get officers on the streets.
Several other cities have also reported officer shortages during the last two years.
Los Angeles’ police force is down roughly 500 officers and New Orleans’ police department has 300 fewer officers this year compared to 2021, according to data from the departments and local media reports.
A survey released two weeks ago by the Police Executive Research Forum found that three out of every four police departments have warned that their number of new applicants have declined over the last five years.
Kevin Davis, the police chief for the Fairfax County Virginia police, told ABC News that exit interviews show officers are leaving because they’re not feeling valued and can find better opportunities elsewhere.
“They’re going into IT, they’re going into sales, they’re teaching,” he told ABC News. “We’ve even had a person leave to go be a farmer.”
Anthony Carapucci told ABC News that he turned in his badge and gun after about a decade with the Philadelphia police department this year because he felt burned out.
“Yes, it’s a good job. It’s an honorable job, but it’s almost not worth it,” Carapucci, the son of two police officers, said.
Outlaw acknowledged the increased toll that her officers are facing, especially since they’re needed to take on extra duties to fill the voids.
The retention issue has also created a grave safety concern, she said. While Philadelphia police still respond quickly to 911 calls for shootings, homicides, and other serious crimes, the commissioner said it may take longer for officers to respond to lower-priority calls.
Philadelphia saw a record-breaking 562 homicides last year, according to police statistics. More than 460 people have been murdered in the city so far this year, statistics show.
Some Philly residents have said they’ve seen a difference in the lower police presence.
Kanitra Scott, who runs Nuvo’s Glam and Glow Hair Salon in Germantown, told ABC News that there have been a number of shootings outside her store since a patrol car stopped coming to patrol.
“All the killings started from the summer until now,” she said.
Police officials said that some of their officers have been discouraged by the public criticism following instances of police brutality.
When asked to respond to critics who say law enforcement may have undermined its own credibility and discouraged some potential recruits from pursuing a career in law enforcement, Outlaw rejected that notion adding “the same people who raised their voices against misconduct were the same ones “that will call 911 and will file a complaint if we don’t get there quickly enough.”
Still the commissioner and other chiefs said that the best way to tackle this issue is to convince communities that policing is still a “trusted profession.”
“Examine your heart, do you want to serve? Do you want to make your community better and your family safer and your neighbor safer and your friends safer?” Fairfax County’s Davis said.
(WACO, Texas) — A woman accused of helping Fort Hood soldier Vanessa Guillen’s suspected killer dismember and dispose of her body pleaded guilty to multiple federal charges on Tuesday, weeks before her trial was scheduled to start.
Cecily Aguilar, 24, was indicted last year on 11 federal charges. She pleaded guilty to four of them in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas in Waco — one count of accessory to murder after the fact and three counts of false statement or representation.
Aguilar faces a maximum possible penalty of 30 years in prison, plus three years of supervised release and a $1 million fine, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas.
A sentencing date has not yet been set.
Several of Guillen’s family members traveled to Waco to attend the hearing in person.
“Please God. Let justice prevail. Give my self & my parents the strength we need as we face her in court …” her sister, Mayra Guillen, tweeted beforehand, calling Aguilar a “monster” in another tweet.
Mayra Guillen said she was surprised by the guilty plea and had expected Aguilar to “keep fighting back.”
“Still a lot of mixed emotions — it’s both anger and frustration,” she told reporters following the hearing. “Now we have to wait for the actual sentencing.”
When asked what she was hoping for as far as the sentencing, Mayra Guillen said, “I comfort myself in knowing that she will be locked up for most of the rest of her life.”
“I hope she has time to sit down and think about what it is that she did and how she impacted our life,” she said. “Not only our life, but a lot of people that know Vanessa’s name.”
ABC News did not immediately receive a response to an email seeking comment from Aguilar’s attorneys.
Aguilar was indicted by a grand jury on the charges a month after a Texas judge denied her attorneys’ motion asking that her confession in the crime be thrown out. She previously entered a plea of not guilty during an arraignment in August 2021. A jury trial in the case had been scheduled to start in January 2023.
Vanessa Guillen, 20, was a Fort Hood Army specialist who disappeared in April 2020. Her remains were found two months later near the Leon River in Belton, Texas.
Fellow soldier Aaron David Robinson — Aguilar’s boyfriend at the time — was one of the last people in touch with Vanessa Guillen based on cellphone records, according to court documents.
The indictment accused Aguilar and Robinson of dismembering, destroying and concealing Vanessa Guillen’s body, then making false statements to prevent themselves from being charged with any crime.
Prosecutors said Vanessa Guillen was bludgeoned to death with a hammer by Robinson in the armory of the Killeen, Texas, military base, on April 22, 2020, according to the criminal complaint.
An attorney for Vanessa Guillen’s family has said investigators told her that Vanessa Guillen and Robinson had an argument after she discovered his relationship with Aguilar, the estranged wife of a former Fort Hood soldier.
Robinson told Aguilar that he killed Vanessa Guillen with a hammer, transferred her body off the Army base, and then the two of them dismembered, attempted to burn and buried her remains near the Leon River, according to the complaint.
While searching Robinson’s phone records, investigators found that Robinson had called Aguilar multiple times on the night Vanessa Guillen vanished. The calls raised suspicion, as Robinson initially told investigators he had been with Aguilar all night. Aguilar later changed her story, claiming that she and Robinson went on a drive to look at the stars that night, according to court documents.
During the investigation into Vanessa Guillen’s disappearance, Aguilar ultimately made “four materially false statements to federal investigators,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas said.
When investigators found Vanessa Guillen’s remains near the Leon River on June 30, 2020, they confronted Aguilar, after which they say she confessed.
Robinson died by suicide in July 2020 when confronted by police.
Months before Vanessa Guillen was killed, her family said she told them she was being sexually harassed by a superior.
A U.S. Army investigation determined that Vanessa Guillen was sexually harassed by a supervisor, and that the leaders in her unit did not take appropriate action after she stepped forward.
The family has been seeking to reform the way the military handles sexual assault and harassment cases since her death.
Natalie Khawam, the attorney for the Guillen family, called Aguilar’s guilty plea “another step on the long path toward justice for Vanessa, my client and her courageous family.”
(CHESAPEAKE, Va.) — A Virginia community is reeling after a man armed with a handgun shot and killed six people and injured several others in a mass shooting at a Walmart in Chesapeake.
Survivors said the gunman walked into a break room and opened fire on Nov. 22.
The suspect, a current employee, died at the scene from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said.
Two victims remain in the hospital and two have been released, Walmart said Tuesday.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Nov 29, 7:29 PM EST
Employee complained about suspect’s behavior months before shooting: Lawsuit
In a lawsuit filed on Tuesday, a Walmart employee accused the company of being negligent by continuing to employ suspected shooter Andre Bing despite a written complaint the employee submitted about Bing’s alleged disturbing behavior more than two months before the shooting.
Donya Prioleau, an employee who had worked at Walmart for more than a year and was in the room during the shooting, alleged Walmart knew or should have known about Bing’s “violent propensities” and accused the company of failing to “enact any preventative measures to keep Walmart customers and employees safe,” according to the suit.
Prioleau is seeking $50 million in damages.
Walmart said that it’s reviewing the complaint and “will be responding as appropriate with the court.”
-ABC News’ Nadine El-Bawab and Luke Barr
Nov 29, 6:47 PM EST
Walmart to close store for the ‘foreseeable future’
Walmart has announced plans to close the Chesapeake store for the “foreseeable future.”
“All associates will continue being paid regardless of planned schedules,” CEO John Furner wrote in an email to staff on Tuesday.
The company is supporting the victims’ families with funeral, travel and other expenses, and the Walmart Foundation intends to contribute $1 million to the United Way of South Hampton Roads’ Hope & Healing Fund, “which will support those impacted by the shooting and the broader Chesapeake community,” Furner added.
-ABC News’ Beatrice Peterson
Nov 25, 12:18 PM EST
Identity of 16-year-old killed in shooting revealed
The 16-year-old victim killed in the Walmart shooting is Fernando Chavez-Barron, according to the City of Chesapeake. His identity had been previously withheld due to his age.
“We are saddened to announce the names of those we lost on Tuesday evening at the shooting at Walmart on Sam’s Circle but hope that with this information we can honor their lives in our community,” city officials said in a statement Friday.
“The City of Chesapeake has always been known as the ‘City That Cares’ and now, more than ever, we know our City will show up and care for those who need it most. Please join us in praying for the family and friends of these community members who we have lost,” the statement continued.
Nov 25, 10:32 AM EST
Gunman purchased gun day of shooting, left note on his phone
The city of Chesapeake, Virginia, released messages found on the gunman’s phone and the 9 mm handgun that Andre Bing legally purchased on Tuesday, just hours before the shooting.
In the note, Bing complained about his colleagues, referred to murder and asked for forgiveness. Bing claimed his coworkers made fun of him and compared him to Jeffrey Dahmer, even naming some he said would mock and laugh at him.
-ABC News’ Jay O’Brien, Beatrice Peterson and Arthur Jones II
Nov 24, 3:35 PM EST
Walmart employee spends Thanksgiving traumatized at home
There are those in Chesapeake, Virginia, who haven’t celebrated a moment of Thanksgiving. Jessie Wilczewski, who’d only been on the job at Walmart for five days, told ABC News she is still haunted by images of the shooting.
“When I sleep like it still plays, bits and pieces, so I can’t run away from it, like I had to sit there on the floor and in front of me watch my coworker have her last moments,” she said, with tears in her eyes.
The shooter spared Wilczewski’s life, she said. Wilczewski believes the attack was targeted and she was let go because she had not worked with the shooter long.
“I looked at him after I got up from under the table and he saw it was me. And he had the gun pointed at me [gesturing] and he went like this and put the gun up. And then he just looked at me and said, ‘Jessie go home,'” Wilczewski said.
A mom of a 15-month-old boy, Wilczewski spent her Thanksgiving traumatized at home. The shades are drawn. Too many cars on the street can terrify her. Her biggest goal since the shooting was going to 7/11, which she accomplished on Thursday.
There are countless families in Chesapeake now facing this reality, reeling from tragedy on this holiday and preparing for a holiday season that won’t feel the same.
-ABC News’ Jay O’Brien, Beatrice Peterson and Arthur Jones II
Nov 24, 3:29 PM EST
Walmart hosts Thanksgiving for store employees, families at Delta Hotel
Walmart hosted a Thanksgiving dinner for shaken store employees and their families at a Delta Hotel in Chesapeake, Virginia. Counselors and faith leaders were on hand to talk people through the shooting’s immediate aftermath.
Whole families were seen going into counseling sessions together.
Six families in Chesapeake are without loved ones this Thanksgiving. Seven others have relatives in the hospital. And, countless people in the Chesapeake community are celebrating a holiday that will never be the same, after a store manager at a local Walmart opened fire on staff during a meeting Tuesday night.
-ABC News’ Jay O’Brien, Beatrice Peterson and Arthur Jones II
Nov 24, 12:09 PM EST
2 victims remain hospitalized in critical condition
Two of the injured victims from Tuesday night’s mass shooting at a Chesapeake Walmart remain hospitalized in critical condition, officials said.
Sentara Norfolk General Hospital in Norfolk, just north of Chesapeake, is continuing “to treat two patients who remain in critical condition,” a spokesperson told ABC News on Thursday.
-ABC News’ Beatrice Peterson
Nov 24, 6:48 AM EST
Governor orders flags to fly at half-staff through Sunday
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has ordered flags to be flown at half-staff over the state Capitol and all local, state and federal buildings and grounds across the commonwealth “in respect and memory of the victims of the Chesapeake shooting, their families, and the entire Chesapeake community.”
“I hereby order that the flags shall be lowered immediately on Wednesday, November 23, 2022 and remain at half-staff until Sunday, November 27, 2022 at sunset,” Youngkin said in a statement.
Nov 23, 7:25 PM EST
Victims of shooting identified
Five of the victims of the shooting have been publicly identified by Chesapeake officials as Lorenzo Gamble, Brian Pendleton, Kellie Pyle, Randall Blevins and Tyneka Johnson.
The name of the sixth victim — a 16-year-old boy — has not been released due to his age.
Nov 23, 7:14 PM EST
‘He had a real big heart’: Mother of victim Brian Pendleton
Brian Pendleton, one of the six people killed in the shooting, would have turned 39 next week, his mother said in an emotional phone interview Wednesday.
“He had a real big heart,” his mother, Michelle Johnson, said. “Anybody that wanted to laugh, or just want company, he’d buy you lunch. He’d buy you anything in a minute.”
Pendleton worked at the Walmart for nearly 11 years as a custodian and “loved his job,” she said.
“He was just a hard worker and a good kid,” she said.
When a family friend called and told her there had been a shooting at his Walmart, Johnson’s husband went to where families had been told to convene for reunification. He was told Brian had been transferred to Norfolk General Hospital, so Johnson and her husband drove there, she said.
“We waited, and then the police came out with a nurse and they took us to a side room and that’s when they told us that he didn’t make it,” Johnson said, choking up.
“That’s when they said that he didn’t make it,” Johnson said, sobbing. “I just wondered, was he afraid at that time? I know my son. I didn’t want him to be afraid, and I didn’t want him to hurt.”
Pendleton had a condition called congenital hydrocephalus. Johnson has it too, she said, but they had both been “blessed” not to have a severe case.
“We’re fighters, and we trust the Lord,” she said.
This was Pendleton’s favorite time of year, with Thanksgiving and his birthday on Dec. 2, said Johnson.
“I don’t understand why, what happened, happened,” she said.
“I will never go near that Walmart again,” she added.
-ABC News’ Sasha Pezenik
Nov 23, 6:21 PM EST
‘We will get through this together’: Chesapeake mayor
Chesapeake Mayor Rick West offered words of support in a brief video statement Wednesday evening.
“I know this community, and I know it well, and I know that we will come together and lend a helping hand to the victims’ families,” West said. “We’ll share this burden together and we’ll be stronger for it.”
The mayor promised to share more information on the incident.
“Until then, please know that we will get through this, and we will get through this together, and we will never forget those that we have lost,” he said.
Nov 23, 9:28 AM EST
Employee recounts hiding during shooting
Walmart employee Kevin Harper told ABC News he arrived to work early Tuesday night. He was sitting in the break room when he said something didn’t feel right — so he left.
Moments later, Harper said he heard around three or four muffled gunshots and he ran into a clothes hanger to hide.
“I couldn’t tell you how long I hid in there. Time just stopped at that moment,” he said.
He said he then ran as fast as he could out of the employee entrance. On his way out, he said he saw two people on the floor, including one woman covered in blood.
“I’m just praying for my Walmart family,” Harper said.
Nov 23, 9:15 AM EST
‘Very, very proud of the response,’ city manager says
Chesapeake City Manager Chris Price said Wednesday that he was “very, very proud of the response of our public safety team” after the mass shooting at a Walmart.
“You hope a day like this never comes, but you train for it,” Price said during a press conference. “We practice, we talk about it, we discuss, we learn lessons from other places, we try to put those lessons to good use, hoping those lessons will never have to be put to good use.”
Price described Chesapeake as a “wonderful place” where the community comes together “when times are good” and “when times are difficult.”
“I know it pains all of us to be together today on this day of incredible tragedy and unimaginable sadness,” he added.
Price then read a statement from Chesapeake Mayor Rick West, who tested positive for COVID-19 and could not attend the press conference.
“I am devastated by the senseless act of violence that took place late last night in our city,” Price said, quoting West’s statement. “My prayers are with all those affected — the victims, their family, their friends and their coworkers. I am grateful for the quick actions taken by our first responders who rushed to the scene. Chespeake is a tighknit community and we are all shaken by this news. Together, we will support each other throughout this time. Please keep us in your prayers.”
The mayor as well as the city council have all been fully briefed on the shooting and the response, according to Price.
Nov 23, 8:52 AM EST
Seven people dead, four others injured, police say
In addition to the seven fatalities, four people were wounded in Tuesday night’s shooting at a Chesapeake Walmart, according to police.
“While our investigation continues we can tell you the following: six victims have died, four victims are in area hospitals with conditions unknown at this time and the suspect is dead from what we believe is a self-inflicted gunshot wound,” Chesapeake Police Chief Mark Solesky said during a press conference on Wednesday morning.
While police believe the suspect was a current employee of the store, Solesky would not confirm whether the victims were all employees as well. He told reporters that it’s unclear whether the shooting was a targeted or random attack.
Nov 23, 8:42 AM EST
Gunman may have been a store manager, sources say
Preliminary information indicates a gunman walked into the break room of a Chesapeake Walmart and opened fire at people before shooting himself, law enforcement sources told ABC News.
The suspect was an employee of that store and, possibly, a manager, according to the sources.
Law enforcement sources also told ABC News that authorities are investigating whether the shooting was a case of workplace violence.
Nov 23, 8:24 AM EST
Police confirm deceased suspect was an employee
The suspect in Tuesday night’s mass shooting at the Walmart on Sam’s Circle in Chesapeake is believed to be a current employee and appears to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to Chesapeake Police Chief Mark Solesky.
“We have reason to believe that there’s no risk to the public at this time,” Soleksy said during a press conference on Wednesday morning. “We cannot tell you the identity of the shooter because his next of kin has not been notified.”
Police received the initial 911 call at 10:12 p.m. local time. Officers responded to the scene within two minutes and entered the store at 10:16 p.m. local time, where they found the deceased suspect and multiple victims. The scene was declared safe by 11:20 p.m. local time, according to Soleksy, who described the shooting as “senseless violence.”
“This investigation is still ongoing, so there’s no clear motive at this time,” he told reporters. “We’ll be processing that scene for days.”
(WASHINGTON) — The Senate on Tuesday approved legislation to codify protections for same-sex and interracial marriages, marking a historic win for Democrats anxious to secure the rights amid growing concern that a conservative Supreme Court majority could take them away.
The final vote was 61 to 36.
“What a great day,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said soon after passage. The bill sparked rare applause on the floor.
The Respect for Marriage Act would not require any state to issue a marriage license contrary to its laws but would mandate that states recognize lawfully granted marriages performed in other states, including same-sex and interracial unions.
The bill had been largely expected to pass after it earned essential support from 12 Republicans during a key test vote just before Thanksgiving, putting it on a glide path to President Joe Biden’s desk later this month. The bill next heads to the House, which is expected to vote on it next week — as early as Tuesday — before Biden signs it. In a statement Tuesday night, he said he would “promptly and proudly” do so.
“The United States is on the brink of reaffirming a fundamental truth: love is love, and Americans should have the right to marry the person they love,” he said.
Codifying same-sex marriage into federal law became a top priority for Democrats in light of the Supreme Court’s decision in June to overrule its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision guaranteeing a constitutional right to abortion nationwide.
In floor remarks Tuesday afternoon, Schumer celebrated the bill, which he said ensures rights of LGBTQ people won’t be “trampled.”
“In many ways, the story of America has been a difficult, but inexorable march toward greater equality. Sometimes we’ve taken steps forward, other times, unfortunately, we’ve taken disturbing steps backward, but today, after months of hard work, after many rounds of bipartisan talks, and after many doubts that we could even reach this point, wea re taking the momentous step forward for greater justice for LGBTQ Americans,” Schumer said.
Schumer and other Democrats have argued that a concurring opinion by Justice Clarence Thomas in the June decision, in which he said the court “should reconsider” granting a nationwide right to gay marriage, put the rights of LGBTQ Americans in question.
For Schumer, and other senators with loved ones who are a part of the LGBTQ community, the matter is personal. Schumer’s daughter is married to her wife. On Tuesday, he appeared on the Senate floor wearing a tie that he said he wore at his daughter’s wedding.
Schumer said that after Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died two years ago, his daughter was concerned her marriage could be in jeopardy. Now, two years later, and with the Congress poised to act, his daughter is expecting a child.
“I want them to raise their child with all the love and security that every child deserves,” Schumer said. “And the bill we are passing today will ensure their rights won’t be trample upon simply because they’re in a same-sex marriage.”
The original 12 Republicans from the first procedural vote stuck with their decision on Tuesday, despite pressure to reverse course from conservative groups and other lawmakers.
Those 12 were: Susan Collins of Maine, Rob Portman of Ohio, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Mitt Romney of Utah, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, Dan Sullivan of Alaska, Roy Blunt of Missouri, Richard Burr of North Carolina, Joni Ernst of Iowa, Todd Young of Indiana and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.
“I know that it’s not been easy but they’ve done the right thing,” Collins, one of the bill’s co-sponsors, said Tuesday of her GOP colleagues ahead of the final vote.
Lummis, largely seen as one of the bill’s most surprising supporters, described the days since her initial yes vote as a “painful exercise in accepting admonishment and fairly brutal self soul searching.” She took pains to explain that while her personal religious beliefs preclude same-sex marriage, but said she still intends to support the bill.
“For the sake of our nation’s today and its survival, we do well by taking this step, not embracing or validating each other’s devoutly held views but by the simple act of tolerating them,” Lummis said.
GLAAD celebrated the passage, with its president and CEO, Sarah Kate Ellis, saying in a statement that it “sends a message of equal protection, dignity, and respect for all same-sex and interracial couples who want to share in the love and commitment of marriage.”
The Respect for Marriage Act would “require the federal government to recognize a marriage between two individuals if the marriage was valid in the state where it was performed,” according to a summary from the bill’s sponsors, including Congress’ first openly bisexual woman in the Senate, Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., along with Collins, Portman and Tillis.
The legislation comes after months of behind the scenes coalition-building between Democrats and a group of Republican negotiators. Despite the crucial GOP support, the legislation was opposed by a large contingent of Republicans, some who have deemed it unnecessary.
“I think it’s pretty telling that Sen. Schumer puts a bill on the floor to reaffirm what is already a constitutional right of same-sex marriage, which is not under any imminent threat, and continues to ignore national security and not take up the defense authorization bill,” Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said earlier this month.
During the pre-Thanksgiving test vote, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell voted with the majority of his party to oppose the bill — and vote no again on Tuesday.
The House passed a similar version of this legislation earlier this year, with 47 Republicans supporting it. The Senate version includes new language to ease some GOP concerns about religious freedom.
ABC News’ Ben Gittleson and Robert Zepeda contributed to this report.
