(HOUSTON) — At least eight people are dead after a crowd surged toward the stage at a massive Houston concert, causing panic and chaos, authorities said.
Over 50,000 people were at the first night of this weekend’s sold-out Astroworld music festival at NRG Stadium when, around 9:30 p.m. local time, “the crowd began to compress toward the front of the stage,” Houston Fire Chief Sam Pena told reporters Friday night.
“That caused some panic, and it started causing some injuries,” Pena said.
Pena described the chaotic scene in an interview with ABC News’ Gio Benitez on “Good Morning America” Saturday.
“As soon as the crowd began to surge … those people began to be trapped, essentially up at the front, and they began to be trampled and they actually had people falling down and passing out,” Pena said.
One concertgoer said she was pushed “very aggressively.”
“It was intense, it was intense,” the concertgoer told “Good Morning America.” “We were seeing people getting pulled out of the crowd, and we would see some of these people unconscious.”
Amid the chaotic scene and mass of people it was difficult to disperse the crowd and reach those who needed medical attention, Pena said. The festival organizer, Live Nation, had set up a field hospital of sorts to treat minor injuries during the festival, but that was “quickly overwhelmed.”
Twenty-three people, including one as young as 10, were transported to the hospital, authorities said. Eleven people were transported in cardiac arrest, Pena added.
The cause of death of the eight individuals won’t be known until the medical examiner completes the investigation, Pena said.
No further details have been released on the deceased victims. Some didn’t have identification on them, Houston Police Chief Troy Finner told reporters Friday.
A command post for information on missing persons was set up at a nearby hotel. The festival ended early Friday night and has been canceled for Saturday.
The cause of the incident is currently unknown, according to Finner, who said Live Nation is cooperating with police in reviewing video footage of the concert.
“Nobody has all the answers tonight,” he said Friday. “There’s a lot of rumors going around. We don’t have facts, we don’t have evidence.
“We’ve got to do an investigation and find out because it’s not fair to the producers, to anybody else involved, until we determine what happened, what caused the surge. We don’t know. We will find out.”
The Houston Fire Department has scheduled an update on the investigation for 3 p.m. local time Saturday.
Concertgoers knew something was amiss during a set by headliner Travis Scott. During the middle of his performance, the rapper stopped and told the crowd, “Somebody passed out right here,” as captured by an Apple Music livestream of the event.
“I’m absolutely devastated by what took palace last night,” Scott, a Houston native, said in a statement on Twitter Saturday. “My prayers go out to the families and all those impacted by what happened at Astroworld Festival.”
Scott said the Houston Police Department has his “total support” during the investigation, and that he is “committed to working together with the Houston community to heal and support the families in need.”
Festival organizers also said they are “focused on supporting local officials,” and urged anyone with information to contact the police.
Investigations will be speaking with concert promoters and witnesses and reviewing videos from the event and venue on Saturday, according to Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner.
“I have called for a detailed briefing from all stakeholders, including Live Nation, Harris County, NRG Park, Police, Fire, Office of Emergency Management, and other agencies, explaining how the event got out of control leading to the deaths and injuries of several attendees,” he said in a statement.
Gov. Greg Abbott said he has ordered the Texas Department of Public Safety to make state resources available to support the investigation.
“What happened at Astroworld Festival last night was tragic, and our hearts are with those who lost their lives and those who were injured in the terrifying crowd surge,” Abbott said in a statement. “Thank you to the first responders and good Samaritans who were on site and immediately tended to those who were injured in the crowd.”
(ATLANTA) — With a COVID vaccine for younger children given the final go-ahead, millions more Americans as young as 5 years old can now roll up their sleeves for the protection the shot affords: dramatically reducing the risk of developing COVID-19.
For many, that will also mean protection from long COVID — sometimes-debilitating symptoms that can last for months after a COVID-19 diagnosis.
Kate Porter’s daughter Adria was 11 when they both came down with an awful fever, fatigue and malaise in March 2020, before there was a vaccine for anyone. They both have grappled with ongoing symptoms since.
“If she could have been prevented from going through what we went through, I think it would have saved us a lot of hardship and pain and emotional, just anguish and worrying. I would have gotten her vaccinated immediately,” Porter said.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s final signoff late Tuesday paved the way for pediatric doses of the Pfizer vaccine to begin rolling out to thousands of hospitals, family doctors’ offices and major retail pharmacies across the country. It comes as the academic year kicks into higher gear and just in time to punctuate the holiday season.
“So many of my friends are just breathing a sigh of relief. They have been waiting for this,” Ann Wallace said. Her daughter Molly was 16 when she came down with COVID. Molly has grappled with recurring bouts of chronic fatigue ever since.
“Whether they are 8 or 18, long-hauler symptoms is a real struggle, especially for those in school,” Wallace said. “It takes an enormous toll.”
In discussing whether to recommend Pfizer for younger age groups, federal health officials have emphatically pointed not only to the overwhelming benefits of the vaccine, but also to the sobering risks of not making the shot available to vulnerable kids.
“There’s a lot of attention to the vaccine and not as much to the danger of COVID and what it can do,” said Claire Hannan, executive director of the Association of Immunization Managers. “And that’s a really important piece.”
“As a parent, if I had young children this age group, I would get them vaccinated now,” acting Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Janet Woodcock said Friday. “I would not want to take the risk that they would be one of the ones who would develop long COVID.”
“We can include not only the known benefit of the prevention of COVID cases … but many broader benefits — prevention of hospitalizations, MIS-C and deaths — as well as the prevention of additional post-COVID conditions,” CDC’s Sara Oliver said at Tuesday’s meeting recommending the shot.
More than 1 million children were diagnosed with COVID in the past six weeks, adding to the total of more than 6 million children who have tested positive since the start of the pandemic, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Of the 1.9 million kids aged 5 to 11 who have gotten COVID, 8,300 wound up hospitalized.
Estimates vary, but studies in adults suggest that 10% to as many as a third of COVID-19 patients go on to develop long-term symptoms.
While vaccinations will help prevent many cases of COVID-19 — and therefore save many children from developing long-haul symptoms — scientists still aren’t sure if getting vaccinated will heal children already living with long COVID.
Molly, now 18, never expected to have symptoms this long. But more than a year after being infected she still struggles with chronic fatigue, and uses an inhaler.
“People are like, ‘Oh, I’ll get better, it’ll be fine.’ But there’s a wide range of ways that COVID can affect you,” she said.
Porter, meanwhile, was concerned how her daughter’s long-hauler symptoms might be impacted by taking the vaccine. But she now plans to get Adria vaccinated in the coming weeks.
“I feel like the last two years were stolen from us,” Porter said. “I feel like she should still be 11. And I should still be 34.”
Terri King’s daughter, Haley, was 9 in November 2020 when her fever began to spike, along with a sore throat, cough, headache and loss of taste and smell. She felt like her mouth was constantly numb and burning, King said. A year later, Haley has a persistent hypersensitivity to noise that interferes with her daily life. King has been hesitant to get Haley vaccinated, though.
Before data was available on Pfizer’s pediatric vaccine, a Kaiser Family Foundation poll suggested that roughly a third of parents of children ages 5 to 11 wanted to “wait and see.” Public health officials are hoping the FDA and CDC’s public review of all available data and strong endorsement will encourage more parents to seek vaccination for their younger children.
“I waiver back and forth, and you tend to get pulled in both directions,” King said. She’s now leaning toward getting Haley vaccinated by the end of the year.
“I know this is what needs to happen for my kids,” King said. “It’s just getting to that point where I’m completely comfortable with having it done. But we’re ready to get back to — and obviously, we know, it’s not going to be the same normal that it used to be — but, you know, back to some kind of normality. We’re ready to start out a new year, new and protected.”
ABC News’ Sony Salzman and Eric M. Strauss contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden said the country took a “monumental step forward” after his $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure plan passed the House late Friday.
“We did something that’s long overdue, that long has been talked about in Washington, but never actually been done,” Biden said Saturday from the White House of the bipartisan infrastructure bill. “A once-in-a-generation investment that’s going to create millions of jobs, modernize our infrastructure, our roads, our bridges, our broadband, a whole range of things. To turn the climate crisis into an opportunity. And it puts us on a path to win the economic competition of the 21st century that we faced with China and other large countries, and the rest of the world.”
The bipartisan infrastructure deal will invest $110 billion in the nation’s highways, bridges and roads; $66 billion in passenger rail; $39 billion in public transit; $65 billion in broadband access; $65 billion in the nation’s power grid; and $55 billion in water and wastewater infrastructure, among other areas. The White House said the plan will create on average 1.5 million jobs per year over the next decade.
Biden had taken to the phones for last-minute calls to key House members as Speaker Nancy Pelosi pushed through two critical votes late Friday on the Democratic agenda: the infrastructure plan, and the $1.75 trillion “Build Back Better” social spending and climate policy package.
The final vote on the infrastructure plan, already passed by the Senate, passed 228-206, with 13 Republicans joining Democrats and six Democrats voting against. The bill will now be sent to Biden’s desk for his signature.
During a briefing with reporters, Biden told ABC News’ Ben Gittleson that Americans can expect to see the impacts of the bill within two to three months.
In the end, it took 87 days following the passage of the bill in the Senate to get the spending approved in the House, as well as two visits to the Capitol by the president and dozens of meetings between the White House and representatives.
The six Democrats who voted against the infrastructure bill were all members of the so-called “squad”: Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley, Cori Bush, Rashida Tlaib and Jamaal Bowman.
Democratic infighting had continued throughout Friday as moderates demanded Pelosi wait for a cost estimate on the larger bill from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office before moving forward.
That group, including Reps. Kathleen Rice, D-N.Y., Ed Case, D-Hawaii, Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., and Kurt Schrader, D-Ore., released a statement late Friday saying they would support the “Build Back Better” vote if it’s considered by Nov. 15 and the CBO scores remains consistent.
Progressives, who had their own issues with the bills, such as guaranteeing the inclusion of paid family leave, also came to an agreement late Friday to support the vote.
“Tonight, members of the Progressive Caucus and our colleagues in the Democratic Caucus reached an agreement to advance both pieces of President Biden’s legislative agenda,” Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Rep. Pramila Jayapal said in a statement just prior to the vote.
Just after midnight in Washington, the House approved a procedural measure that advances the $1.75 trillion plan, 221 to 213, directly down party lines.
Late Friday afternoon, Pelosi announced the House would vote Friday on the already Senate-passed bipartisan infrastructure plan and then take a procedural vote on moving forward with the “Build Back Better” legislation — but not a final vote — a significant concession.
“We had hoped to be able to bring both bills to the floor today. Some members want more clarification or validation of numbers that have been put forth — it’s top line, that it is fully paid for. And we honor that request,” Pelosi said. “So today, we hope to pass the BIF and also the rule on Build Back Better with the idea that before Thanksgiving — it should take them another week or so — to get the numbers they are requesting.”
So, Democratic leaders imposed yet another deadline after missing many others — to pass the “Build Back Better” legislation by the middle of the month, with Pelosi calling its hoped-for passage a “Thanksgiving gift for the American people.”
The speaker, renowned for her vote-counting prowess and who has famously said she doesn’t call a vote unless she know she has enough to win, was asked by a reporter, “Do you … have 218 votes to pass it?” Pelosi answered, “We’ll see, won’t we?”
“I have a speaker’s secret whip count. I don’t tell anybody. Not even you, my dear good friends, but I have a pretty good feeling,” she said.
Even so, it wasn’t clear whether progressive Democrats would go along with Pelosi’s plan to vote Friday on the bipartisan infrastructure bill.
For months, they’ve threatened to vote against it — unless at the same time they got a vote on final passage of the larger social spending package.
Pelosi had addressed some of their concerns by adding back in four weeks of paid family and medical leave over the objections of West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin, whose vote is key to getting the measure passed in the Senate.
In a sign of the fast-changing developments and disarray, minutes after Pelosi announced there would be a vote on the bipartisan infrastructure package Friday, progressives gathered behind closed doors.
In the middle of their meeting, Biden called Jayapal, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
She left in a hurry, racing to nearby elevators to take the call from the president.
ABC News Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott said she was told roughly 20 progressives were ready to vote against the bipartisan infrastructure bill unless there was a vote on the larger social spending bill, too.
The roadblocks thrown up by House Democrats continued despite Biden urging them to act — with the party facing new pressure to deliver after disappointing election results on Tuesday.
“I’m asking every House Member, Member of the House of Representatives to vote yes on both these bills right now. Send the infrastructure bill to my desk. Send the Build Back Better bill to the Senate,” Biden send in his Friday morning message to lawmakers. “Let’s, let’s build on incredible economic progress. Build on what we’ve already done, because this will be such a boost when it occurs. Let’s show the world that American democracy can deliver and propel our economy forward. Let’s get this done.”
(NEW YORK) — Across the small town of Gloster, Mississippi, passersby can still see remnants of the damage caused by Tropical Storm Claudette and Hurricane Ida: tarps on roofs, fallen trees, damaged cars and homes hit hard by rain, debris and strong winds.
Both of the storms tore through the area in quick succession over the summer — Claudette in June and Ida in August, leaving a trail of damage and power outages.
Jimmy Brown, an activist who works with the local NAACP, says that when the power goes out in Gloster as it did for half of Amite County during Ida, it can stay out for days or weeks — and help can be hard to come by.
In the last five years, Gloster has had at least 774 outages and extreme weather events are the main culprits, according to Entergy Mississippi representatives.
Brown, who has lived in this impoverished small town all of his life, says his community members are finding it more difficult to manage as the effects of climate change continue to intensify.
“I call us the forgotten communities,” Brown said in an interview with ABC News. “This is heartbreaking when you really sit down and think about it. But you have to, in order to make some changes, you’ve got to go out and do something to try to help try to make it better.”
Experts say climate change causes hurricanes and other storms to intensify, and with that, those most frequently in their path, particularly the Gulf states, such as Mississippi, are faced with an uncertain future.
For the poor, the effects are particularly acute.
Research suggests that the impoverished are impacted in several ways: they are less prepared for the effects of extreme weather events and then don’t have the resources to either recover or move.
On top of that, as in the case of Gloster and other impoverished places, the effects of climate change on vulnerable populations are compounded — in this case by poor air quality from local industry.
Only getting worse
Gloster, a small majority-Black town of only 869 people, has a poverty rate of more than 50%, with a median household income of about $17,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Data from the National Hurricane Center shows that at least 14 storms have affected Mississippians in the last four years, resulting in floods, strong winds and heavy downpours.
After Hurricane Ida in August, Gloster was one of several places in Mississippi to qualify for public and individual assistance to recover from the disasters. FEMA often provides temporary housing, funds for disaster-caused expenses and more for natural disaster victims.
“I’ve met quite a few individuals who had been affected by Hurricane Harvey and they were displaced from their homes, and I heard stories about mobile homes being wrapped around trees,” Erniko Brown, an activist with the environmental advocacy group Dogwood Alliance said about residents she’s helped in Gloster. She is unrelated to Jimmy Brown.
For those living in vulnerable populations in vulnerable areas, climate change is another expense that many can’t bear. And it’s only going to get worse for the people of Gloster and towns all across the country just like it, according to the Fourth National Climate Assessment, which is a congressionally mandated report from the U.S. Global Change Research Program.
Existing inequalities in poor communities will only be exacerbated due to climate change, the Fourth National Climate Assessment shows.
According to a 2018 study published in Cambridge University Press, natural disasters reduce household income, destroy homes, and force families to give up a larger fraction of their wealth.
The study reports that natural disasters are a “key factor for pushing vulnerable households into poverty and keeping households poor.”
Poor property owners can’t afford to modify their homes to withstand strong winds, erosion, or flooding, the Fourth National Climate Assessment shows. Instead, the repairs only make them financially tied to houses that are at greater risk of damage.
“People were just trying to live in what they had left of a home,” Erniko Brown said. “One woman told me about her mother and father living in their mobile home although it had mold in it, and they felt like calling FEMA, but there’s so much red tape.”
Impoverished communities are often composed of renters and people who do not own their property, the report says, which makes it harder to advocate and invest in better climate-prepared housing. Poverty also makes it harder for people to evacuate or relocate during or following a major natural disaster.
This research found that impoverished communities are more likely to be exposed to the negative environmental impacts of climate change, like intensified storms, and will often take longer to recover from natural disasters.
Hits keep on coming
When one storm hits Gloster, the blue tarps, fallen trees and home damage are often still in sight when the next storm creeps up on the small rural town, according to Jimmy Brown.
He says that the community has taken a lot of hits in recent years — businesses have slowly closed, there is no longer a school in the town, and they rely on many outside emergency services to get assistance.
Representatives from the Red Cross say that in the last five years alone, it has helped more than 28,000 people affected by tornadoes, floods, hurricanes and home fires in Mississippi. Overall, they say it’s helped 767,100 people across the U.S
“This increasing rate of climate-driven disasters has become an unsustainable burden on those most vulnerable, notably low-income populations and low-income communities of color, the elderly and people with disabilities,” Jennifer Pipa, vice president of American Red Cross Disaster Programs, told ABC News.
Of the U.S. households the Red Cross provided assistance to following disasters in 2020, the Red Cross reported that 63% had incomes at or below federal poverty levels.
“Until recently, what was an episodic series of acute events has now become a chronic condition of devastating climate impact, leaving families and neighborhoods without the opportunity or time to prepare or recover effectively on their own,” Pipa added.
Storms often leave lasting destruction and damage in their wake: the total cost for the 2020 hurricane season almost reached $47 billion, the Center for Disaster Philanthropy reports. The research shows 2020 was the seventh most expensive hurricane season in history.
Nine of the 10 costliest hurricane seasons in the Atlantic have occurred since 2004, according to the Center for Disaster Philanthropy.
Hurricanes and flood-related events cause more economic damage than other types of natural disasters, according to NOAA.
Between 2010 and 2018, flood damage has cost the U.S. $17 billion annually, according to Federal Emergency Management Agency representative Michael Grimm in House testimony.
Since 1980, the total amount of damage has surpassed $1 trillion, according to research from the flood research organization First Street Foundation.
It was estimated that flood damage would cause $20 billion of damage in 2021 to homes with a substantial risk of flooding. First Street Foundation also found that this amount is expected to rise to $32 billion annually by 2051.
Compounded by other injustices
Like many injustices, environmental tragedies are affecting Gloster from many different angles.
In February, following action taken by the Mississippi Department of Environment Quality the wood pellet manufacturer Drax Biomass agreed to pay $2.5 million to settle allegations that its facilities emitted three times more air pollution than permitted over Gloster. The company did not admit to wrongdoing and a Drax spokesperson at the time said that the company had monitored the emissions and notified MDEQ of its breach.
Local environmental advocacy organizations say they have heard reports of asthma, rashes, throat irritation and more impacting the people of Gloster since the factory arrived in 2016.
“My first time experiencing it — the air was so thick,” Erniko Brown said. “My eyes and my nose were burning and I couldn’t be out there. I think I was out there for maybe five minutes.”
“We take our environmental responsibilities seriously, are committed to complying with all local and federal regulations and have worked with the local authorities in Mississippi to install equipment at our plant, which ensures we are operating within the permitted emissions limits,” a Drax spokesperson said in a statement to ABC News.
“We monitor our emissions regularly and report them to the state environment agency – the Mississippi Department for Environmental Quality,” the statement read.
In rural, impoverished areas like Gloster, the Fourth National Climate Assessment reports that there is an increased risk of exposure to extreme heat and poor air quality, lack of access to basic necessities and fewer job opportunities.
With environmental injustices compounding, activists in the South have pleaded with legislators to come and survey the damage and the impact on the livelihoods of those who feel they’ve been forgotten in the conversations about climate change and environmentalism.
“Please come to a rural community and see what kind of effect it is having on us,” Jimmy Brown said.
Erniko Brown called on legislators to remember the smaller communities, who she says are suffering while lawmakers wait patiently for solutions as climate injustices worsen.
“If we are the richest nation in the world, then we need to be able to provide some of the resources to the people in the communities that are being left behind,” she said.
ABC News’ Julia Jacobo and Ayushi Agarwal contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 751,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
Just 68% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Nov 05, 9:49 am
Hospital admissions on the rise in 9 states from Alaska to New Hampshire
The U.S. has seen a drop of nearly 60,000 COVID-19 patients in hospitals over the last two months. Many of those patients come from large Southern states, including Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi, according to federal data.
But nine states — Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico and Utah — have seen a major increase in hospital admissions over the last two weeks.
Daily infections are trending up in what the Department of Health and Human Services classifies as Region 1 (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont) and Region 2 (New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands), according to federal data.
Nov 05, 8:02 am
Pfizer pill reduces risk of being hospitalized or dying by 89%: Company
A course of pills developed by Pfizer called PAXLOVID can slash the risk of being hospitalized or dying from COVID-19 by 89% if taken within three days of developing symptoms, according to results released Friday by the pharmaceutical company.
In a study of more than 1,200 COVID-19 patients with a higher risk of developing serious illness, people who took Pfizer’s pills were far less likely to end up in the hospital compared to people who got placebo pills.
None of the people who got the real pills died, but 10 people who got placebo pills died, according to results summarized in a Pfizer press release.
Infectious disease experts cautioned these results are preliminary — only described in a press release and not in a peer-reviewed medical journal — but they represent another promising development in the search for effective and easy-to-administer COVID-19 pills.
Nov 04, 7:20 pm
US at ‘inflection point’ heading into winter months
The U.S. is at an “inflection point” heading into the colder winter months, the PolicyLab at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia said this week in its latest COVID-19 forecast.
Throughout the fall, increases in case incidence were mostly concentrated in areas with poor vaccination rates, such as in communities across Alaska, Idaho, Michigan, Montana, Utah and Wyoming. However, there is growing concern among experts that both colder weather and an increase in indoor gatherings, such as over Halloween weekend, will “further drive increases in COVID-19 transmission over the next couple of weeks.”
The U.S. is likely at a critical moment for more highly vaccinated areas with colder weather and holiday gatherings approaching, according to the group.
“The coming weeks will reveal whether other highly vaccinated regions in the West, Midwest, and Northeast can maintain steady incidence rates — and more importantly stable or declining hospitalizations — amidst the increasing pressure of even colder weather and more gatherings,” experts wrote.
Nov 04, 3:21 pm
Alaska, Montana lead US infection rate
Despite boasting high vaccination rates, several Northern states, particularly in the Upper Midwest and the Northeast, continue to see their case numbers tick up as the weather gets colder, according to federal data.
Alaska currently has the country’s highest infection rate, followed by Montana, North Dakota and Wyoming.
The U.S. daily death average, though down from 1,800 deaths reported each day in September, remains around 1,100 — which is nearly six-times higher than mid-June, according to federal data.
Nov 04, 2:49 pm
Indiana governor plans on lawsuit challenging federal vaccine mandate
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb said he’s directing the state’s labor department to “work with the Attorney General on a lawsuit challenging the federal government” in the wake of the Biden administration’s announcement that large businesses must begin enforcing a vaccine-or-test mandate Jan. 4.
Holcomb in a statement Thursday called Biden’s plan “an overreach of the government’s role.”
“While I agree that the vaccine is the tool that will best protect against COVID-19, this federal government approach is unprecedented and will bring about harmful, unintended consequences in the supply chain and the workforce,” he said.
Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts also said he’d “fight” the mandate.
“If this rule is allowed to take effect, many Nebraskans will be at risk of losing their jobs over something that should remain a personal health choice,” Ricketts said in a statement. “I have been in communication with the Attorney General today, who will be taking the lead on Nebraska’s legal review of the potentially illegal federal vaccine mandate. We will fight back.”
The vaccine mandates for businesses with 100 or more workers is a part of a sweeping new federal plan that identifies COVID-19 as an occupational hazard in the workplace. Industry groups had pressed the administration to give businesses extra time, warning that imposing any mandates now would exacerbate the nation’s worker shortage. The plan gives federal contractors an extra month to comply, sliding back the previously-set Dec. 8 deadline.
(BRUNSWICK, Ga.) — The murder trial of three white Georgia men charged in the 2020 killing of Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man prosecutors allege was “hunted down” and shot to death while out for a Sunday jog, has begun.
The evidence portion of the high-profile case kicked off just after 9 a.m. in Glynn County Superior Court in Brunswick, Georgia.
“I do feel like we’re getting closer to justice for Ahmaud day by day,” Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, said in an interview scheduled to be broadcast Friday night on ABC’s Nightline.
The trial started under a cloud of controversy after a jury comprised of 11 white people and one Black person was selected on Wednesday, prompting an objection from prosecutors that the selection process, which took nearly three weeks, ended up racially biased.
On Thursday afternoon, one of the seated jurors, a white woman in her 40s or 50s, was dismissed from the panel for undisclosed medical issues. One of the alternate jurors, a white person, replaced her, bringing the number of alternates to three. All of the alternates are white.
The three defendants are Gregory McMichael, 65, a retired police officer; his son, Travis McMichael, 35; and their neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan, 52.
The men have pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, aggravated assault and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment.
The McMichaels and Bryan were also indicted on federal hate crime charges in April and have all pleaded not guilty.
Arbery was out jogging on Feb. 23, 2020, through the Satilla Shores neighborhood near Brunswick when he was killed.
Nov 05, 3:59 pm
Bryan’s attorney defers opening statement
Kevin Gough, the defense attorney for William “Roddie” Bryan, told the judge that he wants to wait to give his opening statement until after the prosecution presents its case.
While Judge Timothy Walmsley described the strategy as unusual and one that he’s never encountered in his decade on the bench, he granted Gough’s request.
Nov 05, 3:53 pm
Gregory McMichael’s attorney gives opening statement
Franklin Hogue, an attorney for Gregory McMichael, told jurors that when his client saw Arbery running past his home on Feb. 23, 2020, he was certain it was the same man he saw in videos shown to him by neighbors of a suspected burglar targeting the Satilla Shores community.
“Greg was absolutely sure, he was absolutely certain, and his suspicions were well-founded,” Hogue said.
He agreed with Travis McMichael’s attorney, Rubin, that the elder McMichael feared that the man he and his son were chasing was armed with a gun.
He said that while in the rear bed of his son’s pickup on the phone with police, Greg McMichael saw Arbery running in his direction away from Bryan’s truck.
“Then you hear him yell, ‘Stop right there, damn it! Stop,'” Hogue said, referring to the recorded 911 call Gregory McMichael was on. “Then the last word you hear was him saying is ‘Travis.’
He’s in abject fear that he is about to witness his only son shot and killed in front of his very eyes,” Hogue said.
Hogue said that following the shooting, Gregory McMichael had a lengthy interview with police in which he said, “My intention was to stop this guy so he could be arrested or identified.”
“The truth of this case is that Greg McMichael is not guilty of any of these crimes,” Hogue said.
Nov 05, 3:36 pm
Travis McMichael was attempting to ‘de-escalate’ when he shot Arbery: Attorney
Rubin said that on the day of the shooting, a neighbor saw Arbery go into the house under construction and make eye contact with the man.
He said Arbery bolted from the house and ran at the pace of a 6-minute mile. Rubin said Gregory McMichael saw Arbery and recognized him from videos neighbors shared of the unidentified man who had been seen multiple times at the home construction site.
Rubin said the older McMichael went into the house and told his son that the man they had been on alert for just ran by. He said Travis McMichael grabbed his shotgun because he feared the man might be armed because of what occurred on his previous encounter with him.
He said that when the McMichaels caught up to Arbery in their truck, Travis McMichael told the man they just wanted to talk to him to find out what he was doing in the neighborhood, but that Arbery said nothing and continued to run.
Rubin said the McMichaels had every right under the state’s citizen’s arrest law to detain Arbery for the police, adding, “When seconds count, police are often minutes away.”
He acknowledged that Travis McMichael parked his truck and got out with his shotgun when he saw Arbery running away from Bryan’s truck and back toward him. He said Travis McMichael called 911 on his cellphone and handed it to his father as Arbery charged toward him, ignoring orders to stop.
“Before the first shot is fired they called the police. That is not intent to commit murder,” Rubin said.
He said Travis McMichael raised his gun at Arbery from 20 yards away because “that is how you de-escalate violence.”
“If he wanted to kill him this is an open shot,” Rubin said.
Rubin said Arbery moved to the opposite side of the pickup away from Travis McMichael and then came around the front of the truck and lunged at the armed man, trying to take his gun. That’s when Travis McMichael fired the first of three shots at Arbery.
“It’s tragic that Ahmaud Arbery lost his life, but at that point, Travis McMichael is acting in self-defense,” Rubin said. “He did not want to encounter Ahmaud Arbery physically. He was only trying to stop him for the police.”
He asked the jury to find Travis not guilty on all charges.
Nov 05, 2:35 pm
Travis McMichael’s previous encounter with Arbery
Rubin claimed that on Feb. 11, 2020, 12 days before the slaying, Travis McMichael had an encounter with Arbery outside the home that was under construction in his neighborhood.
He said the younger McMichael was going to get gas when he saw a Black male dart across his path and start “lurking in the shadows” 20 to 30 feet from the street.
Rubin alleged that when Travis McMichael got out of his car and approached, the man, who turned out to be Arbery, reached for something in a waistband leading McMichael to believe he was reaching for a gun. He said the man ran into the unfinished home while Travis McMichael went home and called 911.
By the time Travis McMichael and his father went back to the construction site armed, the Black man was nowhere to be found, Rubin said.
Nov 05, 2:00 pm
Travis McMichael’s attorney gives opening statement
The first defense attorney to give an opening statement was Bob Rubin for Travis McMichael.
“This is about duty and responsibility,” Rubin said of the case. “It’s about Travis McMichael’s duty and responsibility to himself, his family and his neighborhood.”
Months before the Arbery killing, the neighborhood of Satilla Shores was “on edge” due to a series of burglaries, Rubin explained.
He showed the jury a list of complaints lodged on online posts from neighbors saying, “This is ridiculous,” “I’m nervous” and “lock your cars.”
“People were on alert to suspicious behavior,” Rubin said, describing the neighborhood of Satilla Shores as a quiet, middle-class neighborhood where parents allow their children to play outside after dark.
He said Travis McMichael was a former U.S. Coast Guard border officer working in security. He said the younger McMichael was trained and authorized to make arrests, conduct investigations and searches and “use his weapon when appropriate.”
Travis McMichael was trained so well, Rubin noted, that his training became part of his muscle memory, adding, “Split seconds are often the difference between life and death.”
Nov 05, 1:57 pm
Defense objects to prosecutor’s opening statement
A defense attorney for Gregory McMichael objected to a part of Dunikoski’s opening statement in which the prosecutor mentioned that the investigation was “stalled” after Arbery’s killing and that the defendants were “sent home.”
Laura Hogue, a lawyer for Gregory McMichael, accused Dunikoski of violating a pre-trial agreement to not mention the more than two-month time lapse between the shooting and when the McMichaels and Bryan were arrested.
Hogue suggested that Dunikoski’s statement could mislead the jury into believing the delay had something to do with the defendants.
Dunikoski denied that she violated the agreement and noted that she didn’t mention that two district attorneys recused themselves from the case and former Brunswick District Attorney Jackie Johnson was indicted on a felony charge stemming from her handling of the case.
Johnson, the first prosecutor to get the case and who once had a working relationship with Gregory McMichael, was indicted in September on a felony count of violating her oath of office by allegedly “showing favor and affection” to Gregory McMichael and a misdemeanor count of hindering a law enforcement officer. Johnson, who lost a reelection bid in November 2020, has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Bryan’s attorney, Kevin Gough, said in court that Walmsley should declare a mistrial, which he refused.
Nov 05, 12:10 pm
Arbery’s mother breaks down as death video played
Dunikoski methodically went through the events of Feb. 23, 2020, the day Arbery was killed.
She said it started around 1 p.m. when Gregory McMichael saw Arbery run past his home and allegedly assumed Arbery was a burglar seen in security videos a neighbor showed him. Dunikoski said at no time did Gregory McMichael ever see Arbery at the house under construction or had any reason to believe Arbery had committed a felony, grounds for making a citizens’ arrest.
Dunikoski said Gregory McMichael ran into his home, armed himself with a handgun and got his son, Travis. She said Travis armed himself with a Remington 12-gauge pump-action shotgun and that he and his father got into his pickup truck and chased after Arbery.
She said that Bryan joined the chase with his pickup truck, not knowing why the McMichaels were chasing Arbery. Dunikoski said that during the five-minute chase of Arbery, Bryan attempted to strike the man with his pickup on four different occasions and admitted to running Arbery off the road and into a ditch.
Dunikoski played a cellphone video of the moment Arbery was cornered between the McMichaels’ pickup and Bryan’s truck and when Travis McMichael got out of his vehicle and shot Arbery.
As the video was played, Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, who was sitting at the rear of the courtroom, broke down in tears.
Dunikoski also played a 911 call Gregory McMichael made at 1:14 p.m. and described an emergency: “I’m here in Satilla Shores. A Black male is running down the street.”
“This was an attack on Mr. Arbery for five minutes and the only thing Mr. Arbery did was try to run away,” Dunikoski said.
Nov 05, 10:47 am
Videos of Arbery in home under construction shown
Dunikoski said the evidence will show that the defendants wrongly assumed Arbery was burglarizing a home under construction in their neighborhood.
The prosecutor played multiple videos of Arbery inside the unfinished home dating back to Oct. 25, 2019, to show that Arbery had a routine of running through the Satilla Shores neighborhood where the defendants lived.
But Dunikoski said none of the videos showed Arbery stealing or damaging anything. She said that after Arbery was captured on surveillance video on Feb. 11, 2020, the owner of the home under construction, Larry English, told the McMichaels through a sheriff’s deputy that the unidentified Black man had been seen on security video at the home before and that he never stole anything.
Dunikoski also played a body-camera video of a sheriff’s deputy speaking to the McMicheals outside the home under construction.
“At no time on this video do you hear the words burglary or attempted burglary,” she said, referring to the reasons the McMichaels claimed they were attempting to make a citizen’s arrest of Arbery.
Nov 05, 12:37 pm
Prosecutor gives opening statement
Dunikoski, the lead prosecutor in the case, began her opening statement by telling the jurors why they were there.
“We are here because of assumptions and driveway decisions,” Dunikoski said.
“A very wise person once said do not assume the worst of another person’s intentions until you actually know what’s going on with them.”
Dunikoski went on, “And in this case, all three of these defendants did everything that they did based on assumptions. And they made decisions in their driveways based on assumptions that took a young man’s life and that’s why we are here.”
Nov 05, 9:52 am
Jury sworn in
The jury of 11 white people and one Black person was sworn in by Judge Walmsley.
The judge acknowledged that many of the jurors have never served on a jury before. During his instructions, he went over the charges against the three defendants and told jurors the men have all pleaded not guilty to the charges.
“The charges and the plea of not guilty are of evidence of guilt,” Walmsley told the panel, which sat socially distant, divided between the jury box and one side of the courtroom gallery.
“The defendants are presumed innocent until each is proven guilty. Each defendant enters upon the trial of the case with a presumption of innocence in his favor,” he said.
Nov 05, 9:48 am
Judge makes last-minute rulings
Judge Timothy Walmsley, who is presiding over the murder trial, made his final rulings on motions before the jury was expected to be sworn in to hear opening statements.
Walmsley denied a defense motion to blur out a Confederate flag vanity plate that was on the front of Travis McMichael’s pickup truck that was used to chase down Arbery on the day he was killed. Walmsley declared the vanity plate was relevant to the case after prosecutor Linda Dunikoski argued at a recent hearing that there was circumstantial evidence that Arbery saw the license plate as the truck came toward him and prompted him to reverse course.
“He put this on his truck. He wanted the world to see it,” Dunikoski alleged of Travis McMichael, accusing the defense of being “disingenuous” for asking that the plate be blurred out.
The judge also denied a request from the defense to allow the jury to hear that Arbery was on probation at the time of his death.
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden was making last-minute calls to key House members as Speaker Nancy Pelosi pressed for two critical votes Friday on the Democratic agenda: the president’s $1.75 trillion “Build Back Better” social spending and climate policy package and the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure plan.
But Democratic infighting continued as Democratic moderates demanded Pelosi wait for a cost estimate on the larger bill from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office before going forward.
That could take weeks.
Late Friday afternoon, Pelosi announced the House would vote Friday on the already Senate-passed bipartisan infrastructure plan and then take a procedural vote on moving forward with the “Build Back Better” legislation — but not a final vote — a significant concession.
“We had hoped to be able to bring both bills to the floor today. Some members want more clarification or validation of numbers that have been put forth. It’s top line, that it is fully paid for. And we honor that request,” Pelosi said. “So today, we hope to pass the BIF and also the rule on Build Back Better with the idea that before Thanksgiving — it should take them another week or so — to get the numbers they are requesting.”
So, Democratic leaders imposed yet deadline after missing many others — to pass the “Build Back Better” legislation by the middle of the month, with Pelosi calling its hoped-for passage a “Thanksgiving gift for the American people.”
The speaker, renowned for her vote-counting prowess and who has famously said she doesn’t call a vote unless she know she has enough to win, was asked by a reporter, “Do you … have 218 votes to pass it?’ Pelosi answered, “We’ll see, won’t we?”
Even so, it wasn’t clear whether progressive Democrats would go along with Pelosi’s plan to vote Friday on the bipartisan infrastructure bill.
For months, they have threatened to vote against and defeat it — unless at the same time they got a vote on final passage of the larger social spending package.
Pelosi had addressed some of their concerns by adding back in four weeks of paid family and medical leave over the objections of West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin, whose vote is key to getting the measure passed in the Senate.
In a sign of the fast-changing developments, minutes after Pelosi announced there would be a vote on the bipartisan infrastructure package Friday, progressives gathered behind closed doors.
In the middle of their meeting, President Biden called Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Rep. Pramila Jayapal, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
She left in a hurry, racing to nearby elevators to take the call.
ABC News Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott reported she was told roughly 20 progressives were ready to vote against the bipartisan infrastructure bill unless there’s a vote on the larger social spending bill, too.
The roadblocks thrown up by House Democrats continued despite Biden urging then to act — with the party facing new pressure to deliver after disappointing election results on Tuesday.
“I’m asking every House Member, Member of the House of Representatives to vote yes on both these bills right now. Send the infrastructure bill to my desk. Send the Build Back Better bill to the Senate,” Biden send in his morning message to lawmakers. “Let’s, let’s build on incredible economic progress. Build on what we’ve already done, because this will be such a boost when it occurs. Let’s show the world that American democracy can deliver and propel our economy forward. Let’s get this done.”
He did not answer reporter questions, but promised to come back to answer them when the bills pass.
But hours after he spoke, when or if that would happen remained in doubt.
(NEW YORK) — As leaders from nearly every country in the world converge upon Glasgow, Scotland, for COP26, the United Nations Climate Change Conference — the climate crisis is at center stage, as well as the way food is eaten and produced.
Some estimates show that a quarter of all planet-warming greenhouse gases come from food production, according to a 2018 study in the journal Science. Global greenhouse gas emissions from animal-based foods are nearly twice those of plant-based foods, according to a 2021 study in the journal, Nature Food. Close to 60% of food emissions come from meat production alone, compared to 29% for plant-based foods, the study found.
While “meatless Monday” and meat substitutes like Impossible Burger and Beyond Meat are gaining popularity, our choices when we do eat meat need to be strategic, according to Sujatha Bergen, the health campaigns director of the Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc.
“There are very easy ways to fight climate change with your fork,” said Bergen, who shared with “Good Morning America” four tips that you can do to help the planet with your food choices.
1. Eliminate 1 burger a week from your diet
“If all Americans were to cut just a burger a week out of their diet, that would save as much emissions as taking 10 million cars off the road every year. So we’re talking about a huge impact with just a very small change,” she said.
Though it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly how many burgers Americans consume in a week on average, a 2018 report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture found that Americans eat more chicken, red meat, eggs and grains than the recommended daily allowances.
2. Eat along the spectrum
Conventionally raised beef is the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases by far, with lamb, shrimp, pork and farmed fish rounding out the top five highest emitters of greenhouse gasses, according to Bergen. “Beef and lamb are on one end of the spectrum and things like beans and vegetables are on the other end. So the more you can shift your diet along the spectrum, the better,” Bergen adds.
3. Use meat as a condiment
Another way to reduce your meat consumption is to use it as a condiment. Bergen says to think about this in terms of a pizza.“You’re going to sprinkle it with maybe a little bit of meat to add some flavor, but it’s not necessarily the primary feature of your dish.” The same goes for stir fry, for example. There are lots of options to implement this change.
4. Turn food waste into fertilizer by composting
Thirty precent of food is wasted. Experts say you should buy loose produce in just the quantity you need. You can freeze vegetables and meat scraps for soups and compost whenever possible to prevent greenhouse gases like methane from being produced. “So it’s a fun, kind of garden-friendly way to fight climate change,” Bergen said.
(HOUSTON) — A bond was raised Friday for the mother of an 8-year-old boy whose remains were left in his Houston home, along with three malnourished siblings.
Gloria Williams, 35, was arrested last week and charged with injury to a child by omission and tampering with evidence, according to the sheriff’s office. Her bond was set at $1,550,000 for the two charges.
Williams’ boyfriend, 31-year-old Brian Coulter, has been charged with capital murder in the 8-year-old’s death, prosecutors said.
The skeletal remains of Williams’ 8-year-old son were discovered on Oct. 24 along with three malnourished brothers, ages 7, 9 and 15, when the eldest boy called authorities.
The teen reported that the body of his 8-year-old brother — who died from “multiple blunt-force injuries” around November 2020, authorities said — was kept in the room next to his, the sheriff’s office said.
The teen told police his parents hadn’t been in the apartment for several months, authorities said. Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez described the home as “unspeakable living conditions,” with soiled carpets, roaches and flies. The apartment wasn’t furnished, prosecutors said.
Williams’ attorney, Neal Davis III, said Friday that he needs “to find out more information” about his client’s “mindset.” When asked if he thinks Williams understands the severity of the charges she’s facing, he replied, “I don’t think she does fully, no.”
Davis added, “I don’t want her to be painted in the same light as the co-defendant.”
The children were taken to a hospital and the Texas Department of Family and Protective services received emergency custody of them, Gonzalez said.
Authorities said last week that one of the boys had a jaw injury, allegedly caused by Coulter several weeks ago, and will need surgery.
Coulter and Williams have not entered pleas.
ABC News’ Izzy Alverez and Zach Ferber contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — Some 100 million American workers are expected to be impacted by the Biden administration’s new workplace COVID-19 vaccine mandate come January, under a sweeping new plan that labels coronavirus as an occupational hazard in the workplace.
Here is what to know about the new regulations, enforced by the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and how it might impact you.
Will the vaccine mandate apply to me?
Most likely, as it’s estimated that the regulation will cover the majority of the nation’s workforce. There are four types of workers who fall under some kind of mandate: federal workers, federal contractors, health care workers and anyone employed by a company with 100 or more employees.
Federal workers are required to get the shot by Nov. 22. Everyone else in the private sector has until Jan. 4.
Some workers also have the option to test weekly for the virus instead, but this only applies to people in the private sector who don’t work with the federal government or in health care facilities that accept Medicare or Medicaid. If you work at a large company that is included under the federal rule, it will be up to your employer to decide if you will be given the option to test weekly and wear a mask instead.
Firms that don’t comply could be fined $14,000 per infraction, and health care facilities like nursing homes and hospitals could lose access to Medicare and Medicaid dollars.
What if I work remotely?
If you work remote full-time, your company isn’t required to mandate a vaccine or weekly testing. But you will fall under a mandate if you go into the office or workplace even some of the time.
Keep in mind, your employer might require vaccination anyway as a term of employment. Some businesses, including some hospitals, have already done so.
Private businesses also can decide against giving the option of testing as allowed under the federal regulation.
What if I work at a franchise outpost of a larger company?
You wouldn’t fall under the mandate if the number of employees at your site is under 100 workers, and so long as the franchise location where you work is independently owned and operated.
Corporate employees at a company’s headquarters and employees at other franchise sites would be counted separately.
For example, if you work at an independently owned local gym that only has 50 employees, you would not be included in the mandate — even if that gym is part of a larger, nationwide chain.
Won’t this hurt the trucking industry ahead of the holidays?
Probably not, because the rule exempts people who work by themselves. Truck drivers who drive alone in their cabs wouldn’t be at risk of exposure.
The Truckload Carriers Association, which issued a statement insisting the rule would “undoubtedly ensure the trucking industry loses a substantial number of drivers,” did not immediately respond to ABC News’ inquiries about why they believe their members would be impacted.
It’s possible the rollout of the new regulations could cause some hiccups in the mounting supply chain issues the nation is seeing, but economists have expressed hope that these troubles will be temporary and lessen as the pandemic wanes. Vaccinations, meanwhile, have been effective at preventing hospitalizations and deaths, which in turn helps the overall job market and economy.
What about the impact on other businesses like retail?
As for other industries, the regulation’s impact remains to be seen. Because the rule for the private sector won’t take effect until Jan. 4, the Biden administration says it’s unlikely to cause problems ahead of the holiday season.
Still, businesses will have to prepare to implement a vaccine verification program during the busy shopping season.
It’s also possible a few workers with hardline views on the vaccine will try to opt out of the job market to wait out the regulation. As a temporary emergency standard, it’s expected to expire eventually although the government hasn’t said yet when that might happen.
Some business officials have argued that broader vaccine mandates might actually help by “leveling the playing field.” If every company is required to mandate vaccinations, it makes it harder for workers to jump jobs to avoid getting the shot. Supporters of the regulation also argue that while a vocal minority of workers will protest, the vast majority of Americans will wind up complying.
While once a touchy subject in the private sector, recent data has actually indicated that a majority of companies plan on having COVID-19 vaccine mandates for their workforce, separate from the federal regulation.
