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CDC director overrules panel on Pfizer boosters for frontline workers

September 24, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(ATLANTA) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has endorsed an independent advisory panel’s recommendation for seniors and other medically vulnerable Americans to get a booster shot of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, six months after their second dose.

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC, also partially overruled her agency’s advisory panel in a notable departure by adding a recommendation for a third dose for people who are considered high risk due to where they work, such as nurses and teachers — a group which the panel rejected in its recommendation. Some panelists said that without further data, they weren’t comfortable with automatically including younger people because of their jobs.

In a statement announcing her decision late Thursday, Walensky pointed to the benefit versus risk analysis she had weighed, and data rapidly evolving.

“In a pandemic, even with uncertainty, we must take actions that we anticipate will do the greatest good,” Walensky said. “While today’s action was an initial step related to booster shots, it will not distract from our most important focus of primary vaccination in the United States and around the world.”

With Walensky’s final sign-off, booster shots will now quickly become available for millions more Americans at pharmacies, doctors’ offices and other sites that offer the Pfizer vaccine as soon as Friday.

The CDC’s independent advisory panel voted unanimously on Thursday to recommend Pfizer boosters for people aged 65 and older, along with long-term care facility residents and people as young as 18, if they have an underlying medical condition.

People younger than 49, however, should only get that third dose if the benefits outweigh the risks, the panel said — a personal consideration to discuss with their doctor.

Walensky’s endorsement at least in part buttons up what has become a seething scientific debate after the Biden administration announced “boosters-for-all” ahead of any reviews from the regulatory bodies, or their independent groups. While the White House’s political appointees had endorsed Biden’s timeline, some of their career scientists and advisers vehemently objected to the incomplete data they were being asked to assess.

Ahead of Thursday’s vote, Walensky addressed the panelists and thanked them for “leaning in” to the complex issue at hand and “trying to put the pieces together.”

“You’re tasked with difficult decisions, weighing the risks and benefits extrapolating from sometimes a wealth and sometimes a paucity of data available,” Walensky said, but reminded them that despite the complex and contentious debate they share the goal of pulling the nation out of the pandemic.

“We all recognize that the science and data of COVID-19 are moving faster than any data we’ve ever seen before. And while I recognize a tremendously heavy lift of the past year, we all know that the pace is unlikely to let up anytime soon,” she added. “We will continue this dialogue, you will have more data to review and more recommendations to make and I will be here with you.”

Not every panelist was excited about the idea of boosters, insisting the vaccines still provide remarkable protection and that it was unvaccinated Americans who remained most at risk.

“I feel like we’re putting lipstick on hogs. This is not going to solve the pandemic,” said Dr. Keipp Talbot, a voting panel member and infectious diseases professor at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.

The panel’s vote narrowed Wednesday’s authorization from the Food and Drug Administration, which did agree to make the shots available to frontline workers.

The vote also followed weeks of a contentious back and forth among top health experts over who should get a booster dose and when — and whether it’s still premature to be asking the question.

Scientists agreed that while vaccine protection is waning slightly, on the whole, vaccines are still working to dramatically reduce the risk of hospitalization. And many feared endorsing booster doses for most would imply vaccines are no longer working.

“I feel that we’re getting too much ahead of ourselves and that we have too much hope on the line with these boosters,” said voting member Dr. James Loehr of Cayuga Family Medicine in Ithaca, New York. “Having said that, you shouldn’t let the perfect be in the way of the good.”

Panelists initially pushed back on the proposals that American adults, 18 to 64, who are at risk for severe COVID-19 infection due to underlying medical conditions, or due to their occupation and setting receive a Pfizer booster dose. Many members stressed that in order to truly “move the dial” on the pandemic, more people need to complete the initial vaccination series.

“I think two and three are fraught with peril,” said member Dr. Oliver Brooks, chief medical officer of Watts HealthCare Corporation in Los Angeles, California. “They’ll be superfluous and they’ll create great inequities and problems within the implementation, so I’m really concerned about the data for boosters in general.”

One repeated sticking point for the CDC’s panelists during deliberations on Thursday: the still-open question over whether boosting with mixed vaccines might be permitted — since for those who received the Moderna or Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, there is no third dose protection currently available.

The FDA’s vaccine chief, Dr. Peter Marks, addressed the CDC’s panelists ahead of Thursday’s vote and acknowledged their frustrations.

“I think we understand at FDA the relative urgency here of trying to have a solution for anyone who has been vaccinated with any of the authorized or approved vaccines,” Marks said. “Unfortunately, we’re not in a place right now which I can give you an exact timeline, but I can tell you that we will proceed with all due urgency to try to get there as rapidly as possible.”

Jan. 6 select committee sends first subpoenas to former Trump aides, advisers

September 24, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot issued its first subpoenas Thursday to four former senior Trump administration officials, including former President Donald Trump’s longest-serving aide and last chief of staff.

The committee is seeking documents and depositions from Dan Scavino — Trump’s caddy-turned-social media guru and senior White House aide — former chief of staff Mark Meadows, conservative activist Steve Bannon and Kash Patel, who was the chief of staff for the acting defense secretary on Jan. 6.

In the letters, the panel said it was seeking information about Trump’s actions before, during and after the Capitol riot regarding his campaign to overturn the election results.

The committee is demanding records be delivered by Oct. 7, and for all four witnesses to appear for closed-door depositions on Oct. 14 and 15.

“The Select Committee has reason to believe that you have information relevant to understanding the important activities that led to and informed the events at the Capitol on January 6, 2021,” Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., wrote in letters to Bannon and Scavino.

The panel’s members have vowed to move aggressively to obtain documents and records from witnesses in Trump’s orbit, many of whom have a history of stonewalling congressional investigators.

“That is a concern, but we have additional tools that we didn’t before, including a Justice Department that may be willing to pursue criminal contempt when people deliberately flout the compulsory process,” Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., told reporters Thursday about the possibility of Trump aides defying congressional investigators.

Trump, in a statement, pledged to fight the subpoenas “on executive privilege and other grounds,” though not every recipient was a White House or administration official.

Meadows, who was Trump’s last chief of staff, was close to Trump before, during and after Jan. 6, and was involved in efforts to challenge the election results — participating in Trump’s call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger when he repeatedly urged him to reverse the presidential election results.

A Meadows aide declined to comment on the subpoena and whether Meadows would cooperate.

Patel, a former GOP congressional aide who worked in the Trump National Security Council before joining the Pentagon, was involved in security preparations for the Jan. 6 counting of the electoral vote on Capitol Hill and mobilizing the response to the riot, according to the committee, citing records obtained from the Defense Department.

Bannon, who remained an outside adviser to the president after helping to lead his first presidential campaign and a short stint in the White House, was at a meeting at the Willard Hotel where lawmakers were encouraged to challenge the election results, the committee claimed in its letter.

He was quoted as saying, “All hell is going to break loose tomorrow,” the panel wrote in its letter, citing a Jan. 5 episode of his podcast, “War Room.”

Scavino, Trump’s longest-serving aide and one of his fiercest defenders on social media, was with Trump before and after rioters stormed the Capitol, the committee claimed in its letter, citing reporting from Peril, the new book by Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Robert Costa.

He also used his Twitter feed to promote the Jan. 6 demonstration in Washington in support of Trump. Some attendees of that event outside the White House later marched on the Capitol and stormed Congress as lawmakers attempted to officially affirm the election results.

EPA moves to reduce super-polluting greenhouse gases

September 24, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The Environmental Protection Agency announced a new rule Thursday to reduce super-polluting greenhouse gases commonly used in air conditioners and refrigerators as part of the cooling process.

This is a major leap forward in the Biden administration’s plan to combat climate change despite the president’s $3.5 trillion reconciliation package, which includes an overhaul on climate policy, facing broad opposition from Republicans in Congress.

These greenhouse gases, known as hydrofluorocarbons or HFCs, have an impact on warming the climate that is hundreds to thousands of times greater than the same amount of carbon dioxide, senior Biden administration officials said in a call with reporters Wednesday.

The rule creates a legal requirement for companies and manufacturers to reduce HFCs and was first proposed in May under the 2020 American Innovation and Manufacturing Act, or AIM. The AIM Act requires the EPA to phase down the production and consumption of HFCs, manage the gases and their substitutes as well as facilitate the transition to new greener technologies.

Included in the new rule is the creation of a climate protection program that will phase down the production and consumption of HFCs by 85% within the next 15 years.

It’s expected the phase down will reduce emissions by the equivalent of 4.5 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide by 2050. According to the EPA officials, that’s equal to nearly three years of emissions from the U.S. power sector.

Reducing HFCs is part of the Biden administration’s efforts to reduce the effects of climate change while also generating jobs, a key sticking point of his climate policy initiatives.

“This actually reaffirms what President Biden always says when he thinks about climate, he thinks about jobs,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan told reporters Wednesday. “Because this administration knows what’s good for the environment is also good for the economy. Transitioning to safer alternatives and more energy-efficient cooling technologies is expected to generate more than $270 billion in cost savings and public health benefits by the year 2050.”

The EPA estimated that by the end of next year, the annual net savings of reducing HFC emissions will be $1.7 billion.

The rule also establishes an allowance and trading program to reduce HFCs. In accordance with the AIM Act, companies need an allowance to produce or import any HFCs or HFC-related products. The agency will have the allocation amounts distributed to each company by Oct. 1, according to Joseph Goffman, EPA acting assistant administrator.

According to the EPA, along with five other agencies, it will work to prevent the illegal importation and production of HFCs in the U.S. by creating an interagency task force.

In the 1990s, the value of seizures of refrigerants at the U.S.-Mexico border were second only to marijuana, according to the advocacy group Environmental Investigation Agency.

Stephen Yurek, the president and CEO of the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute, a policy group that represents the interests of manufacturers, said the institute has supported the rule since the beginning.

“It’s great for U.S. industry which are the innovators of the new products. It’s great for the economy for jobs and that, but it’s also great for the environment,” Yurek said. “It’s a win-win for everybody.”

Climate advocates welcome the rule as well and that the Biden administration is moving forward to fulfill the requirements of the AIM Act, but some said this is just a starting point.

“It’s now imperative to adopt additional rules that ensure a swift transition to new technologies and full lifecycle management of these gases,” Christina Starr, senior policy analyst at the Environmental Investigation Agency, said in a statement.

Danielle Wright, the executive director of the North American Sustainable Refrigeration Council, which works to promote the transition to natural refrigeration agents such as ammonia, said there is no doubt that this rule is an important first step.

But the key about the rule is that it is a phase down, not a phase out, she said. It does not create a cost-effective pathway for companies to transition to the gases that have the lowest impact on the climate: natural refrigerants. Switching to these alternative gases for refrigeration and cooling would be the equivalent of switching to electric cars, according to Wright.

“In order to make that an economically viable decision, you need really strong policy,” Wright said. “And so this policy is not strong enough to create those economically viable market conditions. It’s still an environmental win, but we’re not going as far as we could,” she said.

By finalizing this rule, the U.S. will be in line with key components of the Montreal Protocol’s Kigali Amendment — an international agreement aimed at reducing the production of HFCs.

However, the U.S. has not ratified the Kigali Amendment to officially join the treaty, and the White House has yet to send the amendment to the Senate for ratification.

When asked by reporters when the president would send the amendment to the Senate, national climate adviser Gina McCarthy said she did not have a date for when that will happen.

Nonetheless, the EPA is calling this rule a historic step towards reducing the effects of climate change by implementing pollution regulations across multiple industries.

“This is a very proud moment for the EPA, and more importantly for the American people,” Regan said.

With Julius Jones’ execution date looming, family refuses to give up hope

September 24, 2021September 23, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(OKLAHOMA) — Julius Jones, who has spent the past 20 years on death row, has never been closer to freedom, despite the fact that last week, his execution date was set for Nov. 18.

The Oklahoma Parole Board voted 3-1 to commute Jones’ sentence to life in prison with the possibility of parole, and now, the final decision on his fate remains in the hands of Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt.

Jones’ mother, Madeline Davis-Jones, told “Nightline” the news is “magical.”

“I’m still in shock, because it’s not over, you know? We still have so much ground [to] cover,” Jones’ sister, Antoinette Jones, said. “I don’t know. I can’t explain it, but it was a good feeling.”

Antoinette Jones said her brother was calm when he heard the parole board’s recommendation, as he knows work still has to be done to secure his freedom.

“He said, ‘I’m good. I’ll be even better when I get out and I can hug y’all and we can start helping change the world,'” Antoinette Jones said. “It was a relief. I could breathe a little bit easier.”

Jones’ sister remains hopeful that he will be freed, and said she can picture justice for her brother.

“Julius being able to feel the sun on his skin, the natural sun on his skin. It looks like him having no chains [on] when he gets to go outside,” she said. “It looks like freedom.”

Julius Jones was 19 years old when he was arrested for the 1999 murder of Oklahoma businessman Paul Howell, and sentenced to death in 2002. What followed were decades of public scrutiny and relentless work from his legal team.

“We think Julius was wrongfully convicted and that Oklahoma is at risk of executing an innocent man,” Jones’ attorney, Amanda Bass, said.

Now 41 years old, Jones has spent most of his life behind bars. Even after so many years, his sister and mother have yet to give up hope.

Before he was in prison, friends and teachers knew Jones as a champion high school basketball player who attended the University of Oklahoma on an academic scholarship.

That all changed in 1999 when Howell, 45, was shot in his family’s driveway after a car-jacking in the wealthy suburb of Edmond, Oklahoma.

Howell’s GMC Suburban went missing and his sister, Megan Tobey, was the only eye-witness.

“Megan Tobey described the shooter as a young black man wearing a red bandana, a white shirt, and a stocking cap or skullcap. She was not able to identify the shooter’s face because it was covered,” Bass told ABC News in 2018.

Two days after Howell was killed, police found his Suburban parked in a grocery store parking lot. They learned later that a man named Ladell King had been offering to sell the car.

King named Chris Jordan and Julius Jones to investigators and said the two men had asked him to help them sell the stolen Suburban.

“Ladell was interviewed by the lead detectives in this case. He told the police that on the night of the crime, a guy named Chris Jordan comes to his apartment. A few minutes later, according to Ladell King, Julius Jones drives up,” attorney Dale Baich told ABC News in 2018.

King accused Jordan of being the driver and claimed that he and Jones were looking for Suburbans to steal, but it was Jones who shot Howell.

“Both Ladell King and Christopher Jordan were directing police’s attention to the home of Julius Jones’ parents as a place that would have incriminating items of evidence,” Bass said.

Investigators found a gun wrapped in a red bandana in the crawl space of Jones’ family home. The next day, Jones was arrested for capital murder.

Jones’ attorneys say the evidence police found could have been planned by Jordan. They say Jordan had stayed at Jones’ house the night after the murder, but Jordan denied those claims during the trial.

In the years since, Jones’ defense team has argued that racial bias and missteps from his then public-defense team played a role.

Jones’ team has submitted files to the parole board that they said proved his innocence, including affidavits and taped video interviews with inmates who had served time in prison with Jordan. They said they allegedly heard Jordan confess to Howell’s murder.

In a statement to ABC News, Jordan’s attorney, Billy Bock, said that “Chris Jordan maintains his position that his role in the death of Paul Howell was as an accomplice to Julius Jones. Mr. Jordan testified truthfully in the jury trial of Mr. Jones and denies ‘confessing’ to anyone.”

Jordan served 15 years in prison before he was released.

In 2020, Jones’ story was thrown back into the spotlight when unlikely legal ally Kim Kardashian drew public attention to his case. Kardashian, who is studying to take California’s bar exam, has been vocal on the issue of the death penalty and prison reform and has campaigned to free a number of men and women who were incarcerated.

“Kim Kardashian, I felt like maybe one of my sorority sisters … she was down to earth,” Davis-Jones said.

Antoinette Jones said Kardashian put in the effort to help her brother.

“She sat down and she broke down my brother’s case. That means that she actually did the work,” Jones said. “She did the work to go back and check certain things, to point out certain things.”

“The fact that she told me that she was able to go see my brother, it was almost like she took a piece of him and brought it to us and then we could feel like he was there with us,” Jones added.

But despite all the efforts, Julius Jones’ execution date is still in place.

His family said they have to just wait to see if Stitt will agree with the parole board’s recommendation and commute Jones’ November death sentence. Three members of the Pardon and Parole board were appointed by the governor, a fact that gives Davis-Jones some hope.

“I’d like for [Stitt] to do the right thing, because the truth will set you free,” Davis-Jones said. “But most of all, being in leadership, I know sometimes it’s hard … to make decisions, [but] you have to try to make the right decisions.”

CDC advisory panel votes to recommend Pfizer boosters for people 65 and older

September 24, 2021September 23, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s independent advisory panel has unanimously voted to recommend booster doses of Pfizer’s COVID vaccine for people aged 65 and older, along with long-term care facility residents, at least six months after their second dose.

The panel also voted to recommend booster doses for people between the ages of 50 and 64 years old who have underlying medical conditions, at least six months out from their second dose.

This recommendation roughly follows — but is slightly more specific — than authorization Wednesday night from the Food and Drug Administration, greenlighting the third shot for anyone 65 or older, as well as for people as young as 18, if they have a medical condition that puts them at risk of severe COVID-19 or if they work a frontline job that makes it more likely that they would get infected.

The vote also follows weeks of contentious back and forth amongst top health experts over who should get a booster dose and when — and whether it’s still premature to be asking the question. However, advisory panelists ultimately voted to recommend the booster shot, informed by data showing the gradually waning immunity from the vaccine impacting the elderly and high risk groups.

Gabby Petito case shines spotlight on other missing person cases

September 24, 2021September 23, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — The national spotlight on Gabby Petito’s disappearance has given families of other missing persons hope that they too can amplify their stories and find loves ones.

Petito made headlines after she went missing on a cross-country road trip with her boyfriend earlier this month. A body found over the weekend near Grand Teton National Park was confirmed to be hers on Tuesday. The coroner said she died by homicide, but the cause of death is pending final autopsy results.

Petito is just one of thousands reported missing each year — the FBI had over 89,000 active missing persons at the end of 2020.

Her case also highlighted racial disparities in coverage of such cases as 45% of missing persons last year were people of color, according to the FBI’s National Crime Information Center.

The Petito case also has become a point of heartbreak for other families, including the sister of Maya Millete, a California mother missing since January.

“I know the circumstances of Gabby’s case are different but it just brought back a lot of pain,” Maricris Droualillet told ABC San Diego affiliate KGTV.

Michael Alcazar, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and a former New York Police Department detective, told ABC News the Petito case became a national frenzy because she seemed familiar to them.

“I think people see her as someone in their family, perhaps their child or they might see themselves as Gabby, a girlfriend or daughter,” Alcazar said. “I think it’s like a ‘damsel in distress’ syndrome. That’s just the culture in America — we want to protect the females.”

Her case, Alcazar added, showed the “value of social media posts and how it propelled this case nationally,” and how other people may jump on the trend to “put pressure on law enforcement to utilize their manpower to solve these cases that have been going on for months.”

The pressure could prompt police to reprioritize cases or recruit more help, as in Petito’s case, which got FBI assistance.

He pointed to the cracking of the case of a 4-year-old girl who was murdered in 1991. Dubbed Baby Hope for 22 years, she finally was identified as Anjelica Castillo. The case went cold but was reopened in 2013, finally solved through a tip.

“On his 20th anniversary, our Chief Joseph Reznick put up more posters regarding the Baby Hope case,” Alcazar explained. “I think we might have posted it in our Crime Stoppers kit. That’s how we finally were able to identify Baby Hope — somebody 20 years later called in a tip. That was through social media.”

Here’s a snapshot of families pushing forward with their own missing cases, hoping to find a break:

Jelani Day

In Illinois, a search was launched for Jelani Day, a 25-year-old graduate student at Illinois State University last seen on Aug. 24, according to the Bloomington Police Department. A body found near the Illinois River was identified as Day on Thursday after this story was initially published, Bloomington Police announced.

“Currently the cause of death is unknown, pending further investigation, and toxicology testing,” the police said in a statement.

He was reported missing Aug. 25 by his family and an ISU faculty member. He had not shown up to class the past several days before he disappeared, police said in a statement.

A missing persons post seeks Julian Day, a Illinois State University grad student.

Day was captured on surveillance footage entering a retail store called “Beyond/Hello” in Bloomington around 9 a.m. on Aug. 24, wearing a blue Detroit Lions baseball hat, a black T-shirt with a Jimi Hendrix graphic, white and silver shorts, and black shoes with white soles.

Police found his vehicle, a white 2010 Chrysler 300, two days later in a wooded area concealed by trees. Inside, cops found the clothing he was seen wearing in the video footage but no other sign of him.

Bloomington Police said in a Sept. 5 statement that a search team found an unidentified body off the south bank of the Illinois River. The LaSalle County Coroner’s Office initially said the identification process could take a few weeks.

Day’s heartbroken mother, Carmen Bolden Day, pleaded for him to be found.

“I shouldn’t have to beg, I shouldn’t have to plead, I shouldn’t have to feel that there is a racial disparity … I want these people that have their resources to realize this could happen to them,” she said on “Good Morning America.”

Anyone with information about Jelani Day is asked to contact BPD Detective Paul Jones at 309-434-2548 or at Pjones@cityblm.org

Daniel Robinson

A 24-year-old geologist, Daniel Robinson, went missing outside Buckeye, Arizona, three months ago. The Buckeye Police Department said in an update last week that the search is ongoing.

Robinson was last seen June 23 after leaving a job site near Sun Valley Parkway and Cactus Road, and he didn’t tell anyone where he was going, police said.

His jeep was found turned over in a ravine on July 19, 4 miles from where he was last seen, officials said. The airbags in the car had deployed and initial evidence indicated Daniel was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident. Officials found clothes, his cell phone, wallet and keys.

A missing persons post seeks Daniel Robinson, a 24-year-old geologist who disappeared near Buckeye, AZ on June 23.

Later in July, a human skull was found south of where the Jeep was recovered, but it was determined that it didn’t belong to Daniel, police said. No other remains were found.

Investigators have used ATVs, cadaver dogs and a drone and a helicopter to search for Robinson. His family has organized their own searches in the scorching desert.

Robinson’s father, David Robinson, traveled 2,000 miles from South Carolina to Arizona to help search for his son.

“I’m not leaving,” he told ABC Phoenix affiliate KNX. “I’m not leaving until I find my son.”

Anyone with information that can help solve this case is urged to call the Buckeye Police Department non-emergency number at 623-349-6400.

Lauren Cho

Lauren Cho, a 30-year-old from New Jersey also known as “El”, was last seen leaving a residence around 5 p.m. on June 28 in Yucca Valley in California, police said in a statement. She hasn’t been seen or heard from since then.

She had moved to California from New Jersey eight months earlier.

A missing persons poster seeks Lauren Cho who went missing June 28 in Yucca Valley, Calif.

On Tuesday, the Morongo Basic Sheriff’s Station announced that investigators from the Specialized Investigations Division, experts in homicides and suspicious deaths, are assisting in the search effort, investigating leads and working with Cho’s family and friends.

Detectives with the Morongo Basin Station have executed a search warrant in the 8600 block of Benmar Trail, where she was last seen reportedly walking away from the residence, and conducted aerial searches of a remote mountain terrain nearby.

Anyone with information regarding the search for Ms. Cho is urged to contact Detective Edward Hernandez or Sergeant Justin Giles, Specialized Investigations Division, at (909) 387-3589. You may remain anonymous by contacting the We-Tip hotline at 800-78-CRIME (27463) or www.wetip.com.

Maya Millete

Meanwhile in California, family members of Maya Millete, a married Chula Vista mother of three, are still searching for her after more than eight months after she was last seen.

Millete, 39, disappeared on Jan. 7 without a trace.

Droualillet, Millete’s sister, said the attention of the Petito case has become a painful reminder of Maya’s unknown whereabouts.

“I know Chula Vista police are working very hard, but the urgency we see in this case is heartbreaking,” Droualillet told KGTV.

A missing persons poster seeks Maya Millete, a mother-of-three who disappeared from Chula Vista California in January.

The Chula Vista Police Department is working with the San Diego County District Attorney’s office, the FBI and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.

On July 22, Larry Millete, Maya’s husband, was named a person of interest in the case.

The Chula Vista Police Department said its interviewed 79 individuals and written 64 search warrants for residences, vehicles, cell and electric devices, and social media data in the case in a statement published Sept. 9.

Anyone who may have any information regarding May’s disappearance is asked to please contact San Diego County Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477 or the CVPD at 619-691-5151.

More than a year after George Floyd’s killing, Congress can’t agree on police reform

September 24, 2021September 23, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Talks of bipartisan police reform legislation in Congress are officially over as Republicans and Democrats can’t agree on key issues.

Democrats, after more than a year of negotiations, made a final offer, but despite “significant strides,” said Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., there weren’t any more concessions to be made.

“I just want to make it clear that this is not an end — the efforts to create substantive policing reform will continue,” Booker told reporters at the Capitol.

“It is a disappointment that we are at this moment,” Booker continued, adding that having participation from nation’s largest police union and the International Association of Chiefs of Police shows that “this is a bigger movement than where we were just a year or two ago.”

Lead Republican negotiator Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., said he’s concerned about high crime rates in some cities.

“When you’re talking about making progress in the bill, and your definition of progress is to make it punitive — or take more money away from officers if they don’t do what you want them to do — that’s defunding the police,” Scott told ABC News. “I’m not going to be a part of defunding the police.”

More than a year after the start of a racial reckoning in the United States, the movement to address brutality and racism in policing continues to dominate political discourse.

George Floyd’s death prompts reform

The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act was introduced in June 2020, very soon after Floyd, a Black man, was killed by then-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin during an arrest. Floyd was accused of using a fake $20 bill at a local store.

Chauvin pinned Floyd on the ground, with his knee on the back of Floyd’s neck and upper back until he went unconscious. Videos taken by bystanders sparked a national movement against police brutality and racism, and legislators, including Rep. Karen Bass, D-Calif., and Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, sought to answer calls for justice and end the current system of policing.

The Justice in Policing Act aimed to establish a national standard for policing practices, collect better data on police use of force and misconduct, ban the use of tactics such as no-knock warrants, and limit qualified immunity, which protects officers against private civil lawsuits.

It passed the House in March on a party-line vote, but the Republican-majority Senate didn’t move it forward. The legislation was reintroduced in 2021.

Senate Republicans also proposed a reform bill in June 2020, but Democrats blocked it, saying it didn’t do enough.

The Justice Act proposed using federal dollars to incentivize police departments to ban controversial practices, like the chokehold that killed Floyd, make lynching a federal hate crime, increase training and enforce the use of body cameras. The effectiveness of no-knock warrants also was to be studied.

Democrats and Republicans agree on ‘framework’

In summer 2021, both sides settled on a shared “framework” from which to pursue legislation.

“After months of working in good faith, we have reached an agreement on a framework addressing the major issues for bipartisan police reform,” Scott, Booker and Bass said in a joint statement. “There is still more work to be done on the final bill, and nothing is agreed to until everything is agreed to. Over the next few weeks we look forward to continuing our work toward getting a finalized proposal across the finish line.”

Many Republicans said they believed the proposed legislation put law enforcement under attack, while most Democrats held firm in holding accountable officers accused of abusing suspects.

Qualified immunity

Both sides still agreed to pursue change, but qualified immunity quickly became a sticking point for Republicans, and it ultimately led to the legislation’s demise.

Qualified immunity protects officers in cases where they’ve been individually accused of violating a person’s civil rights.

Some congressional Republicans said they feared a rise in frivolous lawsuits if qualified immunity were to be eradicated, but officers still would’ve had the same constitutional protections, and civil cases still would’ve been reviewed by courts before moving forward.

Sources told ABC News that Scott would get on board with a proposal if police unions could agree on a plan, but they’ve been very reluctant to do so.

Two police unions, the Fraternal Order of Police and the International Association of Chiefs of Police, were involved in negotiations with legislators. Though they came close to an agreement with Booker, other police unions such as the National Association of Police Organization, spoke out against Booker’s proposals because they weren’t included in earlier discussions.

Now, it’s back to square one. Booker said he and Congressional Democrats will find other pathways to achieving extensive police reform , but those pathways likely won’t include Republican colleagues.

Vice President Kamala Harris, who was in the Senate at the start of these negotiations, denounced Republican efforts to quash reform.

“We learned that Senate Republicans chose to reject even the most modest reforms. Their refusal to act is unconscionable,” Harris said in a statement. “Millions of people marched in the streets to see reform and accountability, not further inaction. Moving forward, we are committed to exploring every available action at the executive level to advance the cause of justice in our nation.”

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said President Joe Biden was disappointed.

“In the coming weeks,” she said, “our team will consult with members of Congress, the law enforcement, civil rights communities and victims families to discuss a path forward, including potential executive actions the president can take to ensure we live up to the American ideal of equality and justice under law.”

Utah city will investigate police response to Gabby Petito, Brian Laundrie dispute

September 24, 2021September 23, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(UTAH) — The city of Moab, Utah, will launch an investigation into the Moab City Police Department’s handling of an incident involving Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie on Aug. 12.

The city said in a statement that the department’s police officers “have been both praised and criticized for their response and their resolution of the incident involving Ms. Petito and Mr. Laundrie.”

Cops had responded to a call to Grand County Dispatch about a possible domestic dispute between Petito and Laundrie. Body camera footage of that incident was later shared showing Petito visibly distraught.

“At this time, the City of Moab is unaware of any breach of Police Department policy during this incident. However, the City will conduct a formal investigation and, based on the results, will take any next steps that may be appropriate,” the city said in a statement to ABC News.

Moab City Police Chief Bret Edge said, “The police department will identify an unaffiliated law enforcement agency to conduct the formal investigation on our behalf.”

Moab city officials said, “we recognize how the death of Ms. Petito more than two weeks later in Wyoming might lead to speculation, in hindsight, about actions taken during the incident in Moab.”

The city said that the police department “has clear standards for officer conduct during a possible domestic dispute and our officers are trained to follow those standards and protocol.”

An outside party filed a request with the police department asking for a formal investigation into the Aug. 12 incident, Edge said in a statement.

Edge said the department welcomes the investigation and if the probe identifies areas for improvement, “we will take that information to heart, learn from it, and make changes if needed to ensure we are providing the best response and service to our community.”

Body camera images from the Aug. 12 incident show Petito and Laundrie talking to an officer after her 2012 Ford Transit was pulled over by Moab police. In one image, she appears to be crying while sitting in the back of a police vehicle.

The couple told police they were arguing and that Petito had slapped Laundrie, according to the police report. The couple also stated to police that Laundrie did not hit Petito.

In a statement earlier this week, Moab police said that “insufficient evidence existed to justify criminal charges” in that incident.

Petito told police she suffers from severe anxiety and other medical conditions, which were redacted from the police report, and that the couple’s argument had been building for days. Police labeled the incident as a “mental/emotional break” rather than a domestic assault, according to the police report.

The incident took place about two weeks before she last spoke with her family.

Petito, 22, disappeared during a cross-country trip with Laundrie and was reported missing by her parents on Sept. 11 after they hadn’t heard from her in two weeks.

Authorities confirmed Tuesday that a body discovered Sunday in the Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming belonged to Petito.

Now a search is underway for Laundrie, 23, around North Port, Florida. Investigators said he returned to his home on Sept. 1 without Petito but had her 2012 Ford Transit.

He has been named as a “person of interest” in the case. He hasn’t been seen since Tuesday, Sept. 14, police said.

Shooting reported at Kroger grocery store near Memphis: Police

September 24, 2021September 23, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(TENNESSEE) — Police are responding to a shooting at a Kroger grocery store near Memphis, Tennessee.

Memphis police said its officers are helping secure the scene in Collierville, about 30 miles from Memphis.

Memphis Police Officers are on the scene of a shooting at Kroger located at 240 New Byhalia Road in Collierville, TN to support Collierville PD. MPD is assisting with securing the perimeter and scene.

— Memphis Police Dept (@MEM_PoliceDept) September 23, 2021

COVID-19 live updates: CDC advisory panel expected to vote on Pfizer booster within hours

September 24, 2021September 23, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — The United States has been facing a COVID-19 surge as the more contagious delta variant continues to spread.

More than 681,000 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. The average number of daily deaths in the U.S. has risen about 20% in the last week, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The U.S. is continuing to sink on the list of global vaccination rates, currently ranking No. 45, according to data compiled by The Financial Times. Just 64% 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:

Sep 23, 3:21 pm

More than 26 million Americans potentially eligible for booster next week

Pending the CDC panel’s recommendations and the CDC director’s sign-off, more than 26 million Americans could soon be eligible for a third Pfizer dose. This includes 13.6 million adults 65 and older and 12.8 million adults ages 18 to 64 who completed their primary series at least six months ago. Of those 18 to 64, anyone who is considered “high risk” could be eligible for an additional dose.

To date, more than 220 million Pfizer doses have been administered in the U.S.

Sep 23, 12:40 pm

CDC advisory panel expected to vote on Pfizer booster within hours

The CDC’s independent advisory panel is set to vote around 3 p.m. ET on which Americans are eligible now for a Pfizer booster.

After the vote, CDC director Rochelle Walensky is expected to weigh in with her official endorsement. The CDC is not bound by the panel’s recommendations but usually follows it. State officials may also implement their own criteria.

The FDA granted authorization Wednesday to the following groups: Anyone 65 or older as well as people as young as 18 if they have a medical condition that puts them at risk of severe COVID-19 or if they work a frontline job that makes it more likely that they would get infected. After authorization Wednesday night, the FDA’s acting commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock said some of the groups that could be classified as front-line workers are health care employees, teachers and grocery store staffers, as well as people in prisons and homeless shelters.

Sep 23, 10:49 am

West Virginia, Montana case rates doubled in last month as Alaska sees record highs

Alaska currently has the country’s highest case rate, followed by West Virginia, Wyoming, Kentucky, Montana and South Carolina, according to federal data.

West Virginia and Montana have seen their case rates double over the last month. In Alaska, case metrics are at record highs, according to federal data.

Hospital admissions are down by about 12.5% in the last week, with improvements in Florida, Mississippi and Louisiana, according to federal data.

Seven states, however, have less than 10% ICU availability: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Oklahoma and Texas.

Even highly vaccinated states are experiencing shortages. One central Massachusetts health system, UMass Memorial Health, is running low on critical care beds following the admission of an influx of COVID-19 patients in recent weeks.

Sep 23, 8:21 am
Team USA to require COVID-19 vaccination at future Olympic and Paralympic Games

The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee said it will require every member of its delegation to be vaccinated against COVID-19, starting this year.

According to a new policy posted on Team USA’s website, a COVID-19 vaccine mandate will take effect on Nov. 1 for “all employees, athletes, contractors and others,” unless they obtain a medical or religious exemption prior to accessing U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee facilities.

On Dec. 1, that mandate will “extend to all Team USA delegation members or hopefuls for future Games.” Individuals on the long list for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing must submit proof of full COVID-19 vaccination by this date or have received an exemption in order to participate in the upcoming Games, according to the policy, which was dated Sept. 21.

“The health and well-being of our Olympic and Paralympic community continues to be a top priority,” Team USA says on a webpage detailing the new requirement. “This step will increase our ability to create a safe and productive environment for Team USA athletes and staff, and allow us to restore consistency in planning, preparation and optimal service to athletes.”

Sep 23, 6:38 am
COVID-19 hospitalizations reach another all-time high in Iowa for 2021

More people are currently hospitalized with COVID-19 in Iowa than at any other point
this year so far, according to weekly data released by the Iowa Department of Public Health on Wednesday.

The data shows that there are now 638 people hospitalized with the disease statewide, up from 578 last week. Although the figure is nowhere near Iowa’s peak of more than 1,500 in mid-November last year, it’s the highest number of COVID-19 hospitalizations that the Hawkeye State has recorded since December.

Sep 22, 7:48 pm
FDA authorizes Pfizer booster dose for those who are 65 and up, high-risk

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has authorized a third booster dose of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for people who are 65 and older or at high risk of severe COVID-19, the agency announced Wednesday.

The dose is authorized to be administered at least six months after the second shot. High-risk recipients must be at least 18 years old.

The announcement comes days after a similar recommendation from FDA advisers.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s advisory board is scheduled to vote on booster recommendations Thursday.

Sep 22, 6:04 pm
Florida letting parents choose whether to quarantine asymptomatic, close-contact children

The Florida Department of Health issued an emergency rule Wednesday that lets parents choose whether to quarantine their children if they are deemed a close contact of someone who tested positive for COVID-19.

In such cases, parents can let their children “attend school, school-sponsored activities, or be on school property, without restrictions or disparate treatment, so long as the student remains asymptomatic,” the emergency rule stated.

The move is the state’s latest to empower parents when it comes to coronavirus measures in schools. In July, Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an executive order giving parents the choice of whether to send their kids to school with masks, setting off an intense back-and-forth between the state and districts that mandated masks in the weeks since.

DeSantis touted the new “symptoms-based approach” during a press briefing Wednesday.

“Quarantining healthy students is incredibly damaging to their educational advancement,” he said. “It’s also incredibly disruptive for families all throughout the state of Florida.”

At least one superintendent in Florida has spoken out against the new quarantine rule.

“I find it ironic that the new state rule begins with the phrase ‘Because of an increase in COVID-19 infections, largely due to the spread of the COVID-19 delta variant,'” Carlee Simon, superintendent of Alachua County Public Schools, said in a statement posted to Twitter Wednesday.

“In fact, this rule is likely to promote the spread of COVID-19 by preventing schools from implementing the common-sense masking and quarantine policies recommended by the vast majority of health care professionals, including those here in Alachua County,” she added.

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