(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden will head to Capitol Hill Friday afternoon to meet with House Democrats, White House officials said, amid party infighting over passing his agenda.
Biden, who has kept a low public profile most of the week while negotiating behind the scenes trying to break the impasse, is set to meet with Democrats at 3:30 p.m.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has twice had to delay a vote on a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure plan Biden supports because progressive Democrats are vowing to defeat it unless they also get a vote on $3.5 trillion social and climate policy measure he also supports — but one that two moderate Democratic senators have objected to as too costly.
Some Democrats said they were excited to be hearing from Biden directly and some had complained in recent days that he was not more involved in negotiations.
“He’s going over there to make the case for his legislative agenda, which includes the infrastructure bill, and it includes his Build Back Better agenda that would be in the reconciliation package, so he wants to speak directly to members, answer their questions and make the case for why we should all work together to give the American people more breathing room,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters shortly before Biden was scheduled to leave for the Capitol.
Asked whether he expects to walk out of there an agreement, Pskai said, “I’m not going to make a prediction of whether there will or won’t be a vote. I’ll leave that to Speaker Pelosi to determine when she will call a vote. But he’s making the case he believes it’s — it’s the right time for him to go up there.”
“The case that the White House is making is that compromise requires everybody giving little. That’s the stage we’re in. But no matter where we end, if we can get something done here, we’re going to have a historic piece of legislation passed Congress that’s going to have a huge impact on the American people,” she added.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(NEW YORK) — The United States has been facing a COVID-19 surge as the more contagious delta variant continues to spread.
More than 696,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 while over 4.7 million people have died from the disease worldwide, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.
Just 65% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the CDC.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Oct 01, 3:02 pm
White House COVID-19 team on rapid testing, vaccine updates
The White House COVID-19 team told ABC News that they are aiming to double the number of rapid tests available at market within the next two months.
“You’re right that the at-home rapid test is under a lot of demand,” said White House COVID-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients. “The manufacturing is scaling up significantly, doubling across the next couple of months, and we’re just going to keep at it to encourage those manufacturers to increase capacity and to drive down the cost of those tests.”
Zients added: “Overall, we’ll continue to pull every level we can to further expand the manufacturing and the production of these tests in order to make them more widely available, and to drive down the cost per test.” He did not offer further specifics.
Surgeon General Vivek Murthy also said that the shots for children ages 5 to 11 are “on the horizon.” Murthy deferred to the FDA and CDC’s “rigorous review process” and independent advisory panels to determine further absolutes.
The White House team urges Americans not to let their guard down even though the latest surge of COVID-19 may be subsiding. White House chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci said that it is not an excuse for unvaccinated Americans to remain unvaccinated.
“I think that the people who are unvaccinated, when they see the curve starting to come down, that is not a reason to remain unvaccinated, because if you want to ensure that we get down to a very low level and that we don’t re-surge again,” Fauci said. “We still gotta get a very large proportion of those 70 million people who are eligible to be vaccinated who have not been vaccinated, we’ve got to get them vaccinated.”
-ABC News’ Sasha Pezenik
Oct 01, 2:11 pm
California to require COVID-19 vaccine for all students
California will be the first state to require the COVID-19 vaccine for all eligible students, faculty and staff in public and private schools. Gov. Gavin Newsom says that the COVID-19 vaccine will be one of 11 vaccines required to attend schools in California.
The vaccine will be required at the start of the upcoming school term following the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s full approval of the vaccines. Terms begin in January and July.
The government has only fully approved the COVID-19 vaccine for those 16 and over.
School staff will be required to be vaccinated on the same timeline as grades 7-12, the earliest group to see full FDA approval.
There are exemptions for medical reasons and for personal and religious beliefs.
-ABC News’ Matthew Fuhrman
Oct 01, 12:20 pm
Vaccine acceptance at high amid delta surge: Polls
Polls found that coronavirus vaccine acceptance is at a high — with surveys finding 80% to 82% of people say they have been vaccinated or are likely to get vaccinated. These are the highest percentages [since the vaccine rollout began] ().
The CDC reports that 77% of adults have gotten at least one vaccine dose.
Vaccinations have gone up since August, and a study by [health policy research organization Kaiser Family Foundation] () indicates that gaps by race and ethnicity are almost eliminated — 73% of Hispanics, 71% of white people and 70% of Black people are said to be vaccinated.
However, vaccine gaps persist across party lines — KFF found that 90% of Democrats say they’ve gotten at least one dose of the vaccine, compared with 68% of independents and 58% of Republicans.
However, unvaccinated people continue to express doubts concerning the vaccines’ effectiveness and resistance to vaccine mandates in the workplace.
In a poll by [the Axios/Ipsos Coronavirus Index] (), 71% of unvaccinated Americans believe that the vaccine booster shots and breakthrough infections are signs that vaccines are not as effective as they are said to be.
Only about 29% of unvaccinated workers say they would get a shot if their employer mandates it, according to the Axios/Ipsos Coronavirus Index.
Oct 01, 8:35 am
Merck announces virus-fighting breakthrough in pill form
Merck Thursday morning announced the results of an ongoing Phase 3 study of an antiviral pill that may slash the risk of being hospitalized or dying of the virus by 50%.
The study’s results are so compelling that an independent monitoring board recommended, in consultation with the FDA, ending the trial early so the companies can swiftly seek authorization.
Sep 30, 4:33 pm
Daily hospital admissions down 32% in last month
Since the beginning of September, the U.S. has seen a drop of more than 27,000 patients in hospitals across the country, according to federal data. A little less than half of those patients come from Florida.
Daily hospital admissions are down by nearly 15% in the last week and by 32% in the last month, according to federal data.
The country’s daily case average has fallen to 107,000 — a 33% drop in the last month. However, about 97% of counties are still reporting “high” or “substantial” community transmission.
(NEW YORK) — Breast Cancer Awareness Month has started and Victoria’s Secret is launching several new initiatives around the cause.
The lingerie line is launching its first mastectomy bra throughout October and while supplies last.
The Body by Victoria Mastectomy Bra was created to support thousands of women who undergo mastectomies each year as part of their fight against breast cancer, the company says.
The undergarment features a wire-free design made with soft micro fabric and lace. The bra also includes a pocket located within the inner lining to fit a prosthetic.
Priced at $49.50, the bra is available in black and champagne white. One hundred percent of sales will be donated to The Victoria’s Secret Global Fund for Women’s Cancers to support breast cancer research and discoveries.
In addition to Victoria’s Secret’s new mastectomy bra, the company has teamed up with fashion designer Stella McCartney to launch a public service announcement that aims to create a greater understanding of the risks of breast cancer and the importance of early detection.
“As the world’s leading lingerie brand, the health and well-being of women is paramount to our community,” said Victoria’s Secret chief marketing officer Martha Pease in a statement.
She continued: “We have a unique opportunity but also a responsibility to use our platform and scale of our global footprint to bring greater awareness to the risks of breast cancer, especially among younger women, and educate around the effectiveness of self-checks.”
The campaign extends now through Oct. 31, 2021, and will also include a #CheckYourself reminder along with a guide provided by The Stella Cares Foundation, on how to effectively perform a breast self-exam.
The campaign will extend to social media and over 25,000 Victoria’s Secret employees worldwide will receive educational materials to help reach hundreds of thousands of women, the company said.
The company also said it will invest at least $5 million annually in cancer research, including examining and addressing racial and gender inequities and unlocking new innovations that improve cancer outcomes for all women.
The news of Victoria’s Secret’s breast cancer awareness plans comes a few months after the brand announced a total rebrand that aims to include diverse, inclusive messaging.
The company also launched VS Collective — a platform created to develop new associate programs, revolutionary product collections, compelling and inspiring content and rally support for causes vital to women. Notables such as Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Megan Rapinoe, Paloma Elsesser and several more are a part of the collective.
(CHANDLER, Ariz.) — A helicopter and a fixed-wing plane collided in mid-air in Chandler, Arizona, Friday, local authorities confirmed.
Chandler police tweeted that they are currently at the scene.
“We are at the scene of a mid-air collision between a plane and helicopter at a Chandler Airpark. We ask anyone who possibly witnessed or caught this incident on camera to contact Chandler PD at 480-782-4130,” the police posted.
The plane was able to land safely, but the helicopter crashed and caught on fire, the Chandler Fire department reported. Chandler Police have confirmed two deaths.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(WASHINGTON) — After failing to keep her promise on Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters Friday Democrats are “on a path” toward a vote on a bipartisan infrastructure bill as she arrived at the Capitol, despite progressives continuing to vow to vote “no” unless a deal on a larger spending package is reached.
The speaker suggested that talking to reporters later on would be more useful than during her arrival at the Capitol — an indication no progress was achieved overnight.
Pelosi and House Democrats held a caucus meeting Friday morning as they continue trying to find a path forward on their policy agenda after Democratic leadership and the White House failed to bring progressives and moderates together behind a path forward for President Joe Biden’s broader agenda.
The breakfast meeting gave leadership an opportunity to brief members on the status of the discussions with Senate moderates and the White House — and lawmakers a chance to address each other.
ABC News asked Pelosi on Friday whether she is trying to get members on board by promising a second reconciliation bill early next year in an effort to appease members now, after vowing again on Thursday that a reconciliation bill would follow the vote on the bipartisan package.
“I don’t know about that but a reconciliation bill is not excluded. It’s not necessarily connected to this,” she said.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer arrived a minute ahead of Pelosi, only telling reporters “we’ll see” when asked whether the House will vote on the measure before the end of the d
Pelosi has insisted for two mornings now that she plans to go ahead with a vote on the Senate-passed $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill — despite progressive Democrats vowing to defeat it.
Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., reiterated on Thursday progressives’ position that they’ll vote “no” unless there is agreement with the moderate Democratic senators on a larger social spending package to accompany it.
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W. Va., who along with Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., is not agreeing with Democrats on a larger bill, told reporters on Thursday he already conveyed to leadership his topline number is $1.5 trillion — far below progressives $3.5 trillion number, putting the House vote in even more jeopardy.
Biden, meanwhile, has remained largely out of the public eye this week as negotiations continue behind closed doors, other than stopping at the congressional baseball game to rub elbows with lawmakers.
“The President is grateful to Speaker Pelosi and Leader Schumer for their extraordinary leadership, and to Members from across the Democratic Caucus who have worked so hard the past few days to try to reach an agreement on how to proceed on the Infrastructure Bill and the Build Back Better plan,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement Thursday night.
“A great deal of progress has been made this week, and we are closer to an agreement than ever. But we are not there yet, and so, we will need some additional time to finish the work, starting tomorrow morning first thing,” she said.
On Thursday, Pelosi left the Capitol just after midnight and told reporters that progressives and moderates were closer to reaching an agreement on the size of their social policy package than it appeared earlier in the week.
“We’re not trillions of dollars apart,” she said.
Asked about the vote that didn’t take place Thursday as she promised, Pelosi said, “There will be a vote today,” an apparent reference to the legislative calendar, by which, because the House was in recess, Friday was still considered to be “Thursday.”
Notably, Pelosi told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos on “This Week” that she’s “never bringing a bill to the floor that doesn’t have the votes” — raising questions of whether she’ll be able to have a vote this week at all.
If Democratic leaders and the White House can reach an “agreement” or get Manchin and Sinema to accept a public commitment co-signed by Biden, that could be enough to meet progressive demands, and get their support for the delayed $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure plan in the House.
(MONTEZUMA, Iowa) — The remains of an adolescent were discovered by a farmer in rural Iowa Thursday, along with clothes that matched what a boy who lived in the region was last seen wearing before he vanished in May, authorities said.
Xavior Harrelson was last seen the morning of May 27, days before his 11th birthday, when he left his home in Montezuma to go on a bike ride, authorities said.
His disappearance sparked a widespread search by police and community volunteers through miles of cornfields, lakes, ravines and wilderness in Poweshiek County.
Around 2 p.m. local time Thursday, the local sheriff’s office received a call from a farmer working in a field a few miles outside of Montezuma who had discovered what they believed to be human remains, authorities said.
The remains were found in a grassy area of a combined field, and the state medical examiner determined them to be human and likely those of an adolescent, according to Mitch Mortvedt, assistant director of Iowa’s Division of Criminal Investigation.
“We are not saying it is Xavior Harrelson at this time,” Mortvedt told reporters at a press briefing near the scene Thursday. “There’s a lot of work yet to be done at the scene here, and as you can imagine, the state medical examiner’s office and state anthropologist have a lot of work left ahead of them in the days and weeks, even, to come.”
The remains had likely been in the field for a “significant” amount of time, Mortvedt said, and the documentation at the scene will be a “very slow and methodical process.”
The clothing found was “consistent with what we knew Xavior to last be wearing,” he said.
Xavior was last seen wearing a red T-shirt, blue pajama pants and black high-top shoes, according to the sheriff’s office.
His family has been contacted about the development, Poweshiek County Sheriff Thomas Kriegel told reporters. “Naturally she was upset,” he said of the boy’s mother.
The field where the remains were found had not been previously searched on foot as part of the investigation, Kriegel said.
The medical examiner will be working to identify the remains, a process that could take weeks, Mortvedt said. The cause and manner of death will be investigated, and “whether or not there was foul play,” he said.
A reward for information in the case has grown to $36,000.
Anyone with information or tips is urged to call the Poweshiek County Sheriff’s Office at 641-623-5679.
(CHICAGO) — Three years ago, a 26-year-old postal worker who was eagerly expecting her first child mysteriously disappeared in her own neighborhood.
There’s still no resolution, leaving her heartbroken mother desperate to know if her daughter is even alive or dead.
Kierra Coles was about three months pregnant when she vanished on Oct. 2, 2018, on Chicago’s South Side. Her car was found in front of her apartment with her phone and packed lunch still inside.
The Chicago Police Department considers the case “a high-risk missing person investigation with potential foul play suspected.”
For Coles’ mother, Karen Phillips, having no answers is torturous.
Phillips said police have not provided any information whenever she’s called over the last year.
“I could never reach nobody. They’re gone to lunch, they’ll call me back, they’re out of the office. It’s always something,” she told ABC News last week. “They don’t even reach out and say, ‘Well, Ms. Phillips, we’re still going through this’ … or, ‘We don’t have any new leads.’ Just say something.”
The Chicago police didn’t respond to Phillips’ claim that they ignored her calls, but in a statement to ABC News the police department said it urges “anybody with knowledge of her last whereabouts … to contact the Chicago Police Department.”
“We are seeking any and all information in an attempt to locate her and we won’t stop until we do,” police said.
For Phillips, the loss is “unbearable.”
“I went from seeing my child every day — if not seeing her, at least talking to her every day — to not seeing her in three years,” Phillips said. “I try to stay strong for the other kids, I try to not really break down in front of them. But we talk about her all the time, we got pictures everywhere. We just really want her home.”
Coles’ siblings range in age from 35 to 24. Coles, a devoted aunt to her nieces and nephews, was the last of Phillips’ children to have a baby.
Phillips said she misses the grandchild she never got a chance to meet.
“I miss him — he or she — even though they wasn’t born yet. I just miss him because she would’ve been a great mother,” she said. “For her to be a mother, we were so excited. … That was the last thing she was waiting for.”
Coles had a plan for her life and so far “everything was going according to plan,” her mother said.
Coles first wanted a good job, and after years with the post office she had saved for a car and a home. Then, she and her boyfriend decided they were ready for a baby, Phillips said.
For her to vanish “out of the blue,” she said, “I can’t understand it.”
The United States Postal Inspection Service and the FBI are both working with the Chicago police on the case.
“Since October 2018, Postal Inspectors have tracked down and vetted nearly 400 leads across the country. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service distributed thousands of reward flyers,” the Postal Inspection Service said.
“Kierra Coles is a member of our Postal family and we will continue looking for her and following up on all leads,” the agency continued. “If you know something, no matter how trivial it may seem, please come forward as it may be crucial to our investigation. Please contact the U.S. Postal Inspection Service hotline at (877) 876-2455 and reference case number 2693502.”
Some days Phillips said she “really can’t function because my mind just, you know, keeps wondering — where’s my child? Is she being harmed? Is she dead or alive?”
“It’s hard waking up every day wondering,” she said. “I just want somebody to come forward and say what happened.”
(WASHINGTON) — Lawyers from the Justice Department and the state of Texas squared off in court Friday as the Biden administration seeks an order that would halt enforcement of the state’s restrictive abortion law.
In an overnight filing, DOJ officials accused Texas of mounting a “brazen” effort to enact a law purely designed to obstruct women’s right to an abortion while evading all traditional methods of judicial review.
“S.B. 8’s novel enforcement scheme is calculated to accomplish what no state should be able to do in our federal system: deter, suppress, and render moot rights guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States,” department officials said in their filing. “The State does not dispute that S.B. 8 has virtually eliminated previability abortions after six weeks of pregnancy in the State. Moreover, the approach Texas has taken need not be confined to the abortion context. If this mechanism works here, it would serve as a blueprint for the suppression of nearly any other constitutional right recognized by the Supreme Court but resented by a state government.”
S.B. 8, or the ‘Texas Heartbeat Act,’ bars physicians from providing abortions once they detect a so-called fetal heartbeat — which can be seen as early as six weeks into a pregnancy. But the language of the law makes it so private citizens can sue anyone they “reasonably believed” provided an abortion, and effectively removes any government officials from being part of its enforcement.
Attorney General Merrick Garland announced last month that the Justice Department would sue Texas over its law just one week after the U.S. Supreme Court let it take effect. Soon after, the department filed for an emergency injunction seeking to halt enforcement of the law entirely as the legal fight plays out.
In a filing Wednesday, Texas officials urged District Judge Robert Pitman to dismiss DOJ’s request for an injunction — arguing the Biden Administration had no standing to pull it before a federal judge and that the matter should instead be resolved before state courts.
“The federal government asks the Court to dispense with the normal cause-of-action requirement based on unfounded fears that the Texas Heartbeat Act will otherwise “evade judicial review.” Nothing could be further from the truth,” officials wrote in their filing. “The constitutionality of the Texas Heartbeat Act can be reviewed in the same way that virtually all of state tort law is: State-court defendants raise constitutional defenses before neutral judges sworn to follow the U.S. Constitution and, if necessary, appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.”
Also in their brief, Texas officials made an eyebrow-raising counterargument to DOJ’s contention that the abortion law hinders interstate commerce — the state instead pointed to reports of women seeking an abortion being forced to travel out of the Texas to Oklahoma, saying that “is stimulating rather than obstructing interstate travel.”
It’s not clear when Judge Pitman might rule on DOJ’s request for an emergency injunction — though the ruling is likely to face a quick appeal from either Texas or DOJ to try and put the matter before the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, which in a separate challenge previously ruled the law could take effect.
(LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla.) — October 1 marks 50 years since Walt Disney World Resort officially opened to guests.
To celebrate its 50th anniversary, “The Most Magical Place on Earth” has put together an 18-month event featuring new attractions, nighttime spectaculars and a lot more.
“Guests will discover new experiences across the resort, where shimmering EARidescence appears as if by magic everywhere from theme parks to Disney Resort hotels to transportation to merchandise and more,” Disney said in a press release.
In honor of “The World’s Most Magical Celebration,” here are six things to watch for as you plan your trip for the 50th-anniversary celebration.
1. Expanded EPCOT France Pavilion
The France Pavilion at EPCOT is serving up a new attraction and a new restaurant.
Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure is a family-friendly attraction where guests are shrunk to the size of Chef Remy from Disney and Pixar’s Academy Award-winning film, Ratatouille.
The new restaurant, La Crêperie de Paris, offers table and quick-service options featuring items like sweet crepes and savory buckwheat galettes.
2. Nighttime Spectacular ‘Harmonious’
EPCOT guests can also experience “Harmonious,” one of the largest nighttime spectaculars ever created for a Disney park.
The show at World Showcase Lagoon features new interpretations of classic Disney songs from a diverse group of 240 artists from around the world.
3. ‘Disney Enchantment’ at Magic Kingdom Park
Magic Kingdom Park is also debuting a new nighttime spectacular called “Disney Enchantment.”
According to a press release, “Disney Enchantment” features stunning fireworks, powerful music, enhanced lighting and, for the first time, immersive projection effects that extend from Cinderella Castle down Main Street, U.S.A.”
4. ‘Disney KiteTails’ at Animal Kingdom
Discovery River Theater at Animal Kingdom will now feature “Disney KiteTails” several times daily.
You can watch performers fly windcatchers and kites of all shapes and sizes to the beat of favorite Disney songs.
5. Beacons of Magic
Four icons at Walt Disney World theme parks will transform at night into Beacons of Magic.
Cinderella Castle, Tree of Life, The Hollywood Tower Hotel, and Spaceship Earth will all come to life with their own “EARidescent” glow.
6. ‘Disney Fab 50 Character Collection’ Sculptures
In honor of the park’s 50th anniversary, 50 golden sculptures have been spread across the four Walt Disney World theme parks.
These sculptures feature characters from Timon and Pumba from The Lion King to Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse.
