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How this 28-year-old’s pandemic cookie business became a celebrity favorite

July 6, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — When Lara Adekoya started baking cookies at the start of the pandemic, she never anticipated that a year later, celebrities like Issa Rae, Jenna Dewan, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Melissa Benoist and Lena Waithe would be lining up to order from her Los Angeles business, Fleurs et Sel.

“What I’m doing is reaching beyond just the backyard,” Adekoya, 28, told ABC News’ Good Morning America. “It’s refreshing to have their support, because these are people that now know who I am, and they know that I make really great cookies.”

Her Hollywood clientele isn’t just limited to celebrities either. The business owner has catered to Amazon Studios, A24, the Oprah Winfrey Network, HBO’s Insecure set and, most recently, National Geographic. But even though Fleurs et Sel has quickly risen as a business that’s only a year old, its success is anything but a fluke — Adekoya said she hustled to make a name for herself.

“I’m customer-obsessed and social media-driven, and I use those skills to create community through my cookies,” the baker of Nigerian and Japanese descent said. “I hope that my voice transcends communities and transcends different cultural groups so people know that we, as young Black women, we are capable of doing so many things.”

Adekoya’s venture started when she was laid off during the pandemic as a designer shoes salesperson at Nordstrom. Like many Americans, the pandemic prompted her to reimagine her career goals. According to a survey by Prudential, 50% of workers admitted that the pandemic made them rethink their careers, and another study by Microsoft found that 41% of employees are considering leaving their current employer this year.

Despite the career change, Adekoya said her job at Nordstrom was invaluable to the success of Fleurs et Sel because of the work values and connections she built there.

“The key to me working in designer shoes was building relationships, because in order to be successful, my work was strictly commission driven, so it was up to me to make money — I wasn’t going to be there and not hustle,” she said.

Two important relationships she cultivated there were with female entrepreneurs Aderiaun Shorter and event planner Mindy Weiss, the latter who is known in Hollywood for throwing lavish parties for the Kardashians, Justin Bieber, Ciara and many others. When Adekoya started sharing her baking hobby on social media, her two former Nordstrom clients were the first to buy cookies and promote her. That’s when her idea for Fleurs et Sel really kicked off.

“I got a new entire following, and I was introduced to a new crowd that I would have never otherwise been exposed to,” Adekoya said. “Aderiaun and Mindy are both self-made women entrepreneurs, and they were both instrumental in mentoring me as a woman entrepreneur in this new space.”

The women’s support helped leverage Adekoya’s presence on social media, which in turn exposed her to high-end clientele. Adekoya credits community word-of-mouth and digital promotion for the social media craze of Fleurs et Sel.

“When I have encountered the celebrities, they too have shared their excitement and love for Fleurs et Sel on social media,” the baker said. “They are part of our online community, and they have helped strengthen and solidify our reach and success.”

Adekoya’s time at Nordstrom also came full circle when she was invited by Rick Caruso, the real estate mogul behind L.A.’s premiere shopping center, The Grove, to do a pop-up event right across from the Nordstrom where she used to work.

“They’ve had Lululemon, Yves Saint Laurent, they had Skims most recently, big names,” the businesswoman said. “They’re not housing just anyone, not anyone can just have a pop-up there.”

The pop-up event at The Grove was so triumphant, the event sold out in two hours.

“Hundreds of people were there for me and the cookies, and [Caruso’s team] was like ‘Whoa,’” Adekoya said. “It was the first day, and I had a line from the pop-up all the way to the valet, and I sold out in two hours.”

Selling out of popular treats like the bae bar or the vanilla bean sugar cookie might be easy for Adekoya, but creating the products comes with a lot of work and sacrifice. The baker said she’s no stranger to staying up past midnight or waking up at 4 a.m. to fulfill orders from her Culver City kitchen.

“It’s challenged me to be very organized. I have to be — I’m the only person behind Fleurs et Sel,” she said.

Adekoya has managed to thrive beyond the pandemic to establish herself as a legitimate force in the cookie industry. She’s working on two new flavors coming later this summer, including a vanilla chai cookie, and will continue expanding Fleurs et Sel.

“I’m a multicultural woman, and look at what I’m doing — and especially during this time, with all of these cultural and social movements, it is so amazing to have this much support and this diverse of an audience,” she said. “Everyone’s here for the cookies, but also to share in community.”

Surfside building collapse latest: Rescuers brave the elements as Tropical Storm Elsa approaches

July 6, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Eva Marie Uzcategui Trinkl/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

(SURFSIDE, Fla.) — At least 28 people, including three children, have been confirmed dead and 117 others remain unaccounted for since a 12-story residential building partially collapsed in South Florida’s Miami-Dade County last month.

The partial collapse occurred around 1:15 a.m. on June 24 at the Champlain Towers South condominium in the small, beachside town of Surfside, about 6 miles north of Miami Beach. Approximately 55 of the oceanfront complex’s 136 units were destroyed, according to officials. Since then, hundreds of first responders have been carefully combing through the pancaked layers of debris in hopes of finding survivors.

The part of the building that remained standing was cleared of any people or pets before it was demolished on Sunday night, due to concerns about its structural integrity. However, it was too dangerous for surviving residents to enter the building to retrieve their belongings, officials said.

“Obviously it wasn’t worth that risk,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said during a press conference in Surfside on Monday. “We cannot lose any more people.”

The massive search and rescue mission is now in its 13th day, as teams are able to operate at full capacity and search in areas that were previously inaccessible. At least four more bodies have been recovered from the wreckage since the demolition.

“The heavy equipment is now able to move around the site as needed,” Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said at the press conference. “The looming threat of that building, the dangerous situation where debris could fall down is now eliminated.”

Burkett told reporters that the search and rescue operation will continue 24 hours a day until everyone is pulled from the rubble. But the hope that more people would be found alive appeared to be fading, as no survivors have been discovered in the debris since the morning of the partial collapse. Among those recently found dead was the 7-year-old daughter of a Miami firefighter.

Meanwhile, 190 people who were living or staying in the condominium at the time of the disaster have been accounted for and are safe, according to Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, who has stressed that the figures are “very fluid.”

Video released by the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue on Monday night showed crews working atop the pile, braving the elements as Tropical Storm Elsa approached the Sunshine State.

The incoming storm, which has weakened from a hurricane, initiated the discussion about demolishing the rest of the building and fast-tracked the process, according to Burkett. Elsa made landfall in Cuba on Monday and by early Tuesday, the storm’s center was about 50 miles west of Key West, according to the National Weather Service.

The cause of the partial collapse to a building that has withstood decades of hurricanes remains unknown and is under investigation.

Built in the 1980s, the Champlain Towers South was up for its 40-year recertification and had been undergoing roof work — with more renovations planned — when it partially collapsed, according to officials.

A structural field survey report from October 2018, which was among hundreds of pages of public documents released by the town of Surfside late Sunday, said the waterproofing below the condominium’s pool deck and entrance drive was failing and causing “major structural damage to the concrete structural slab below these areas.”

A slew of lawsuits against the Champlain Towers South Condo Association have already been filed on behalf of survivors and victims, alleging the partial collapse could have been avoided and that the association knew or should have known about the structural damage. A spokesperson for the association told ABC News they cannot comment on pending litigation but that their “focus remains on caring for our friends and neighbors during this difficult time.”

The association’s board released a statement last Friday saying its surviving members “have concluded that, in the best interest of all concerned parties, an independent Receiver should be appointed to oversee the legal and claims process.”

“We know that answers will take time as part of a comprehensive investigation,” the statement continued, “and we will continue to work with city, state, local, and federal officials in their rescue efforts, and to understand the causes of this tragedy.”

Child drowning risk continues to increase, new report warns

July 6, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Child drownings are on the rise, according to a new report, and experts warn that the pandemic has also put kids at an increased drowning risk this year.

“It was really hard for people to access swimming lessons last year,” Dr. Ben Hoffman, chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Injury, Violence and Poison Prevention, told ABC News’ Good Morning America. “And from what I understand this year, it still remains challenging, because things have booked up pretty early.”

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recently found an increase in pool- or spa-related fatal drowning incidents among children under age 15. There were a total of 404 fatalities in 2018, compared to 395 in 2017 and 392 in 2016.

While there was a decrease in non-fatal injuries in 2020 — 5,800 injuries related to pool or spa submersions in children under 15 compared to the 6,300 in 2019 and 6,400 in 2018 — the report states that the decrease was likely due to COVID-19, which saw the shutdown of public spaces nationwide.

Now, with the country reopening, experts say that we could see those numbers rise once again.

“Year over year, we’ve almost doubled our drownings, unfortunately,” Dr. Patrick Mularoni, a pediatric emergency physician at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, said.

Of those reported fatal drowning incidents between 2016 and 2018, 75% involved children under age 5, and 83% occurred at residential pools.

Last June, Emily Friske was isolating with her family in Valley Center, California, when her daughter Addie wandered off to the family pool. Friske later found Addie in it, on her side and not breathing.

“It’s every parent’s worst nightmare,” Friske told Good Morning America.

A former EMT, Friske and her husband, Jordan, performed CPR on Addie until an ambulance arrived.

“I thought, ‘This can’t be happening to us,'” Friske said.

Addie didn’t have a pulse for 20 minutes, and doctors worried she would have brain damage as a result, but she was awake within 24 hours. Her pediatrician called her recovery “miraculous” and told the family that doing CPR made all the difference.

“Please learn CPR,” Friske urged other families.

Learning CPR is among the CPSC’s top advice for how families can visit the pool safely this summer, particularly as experts warn that the pandemic has only increased the risk of drownings for children.

“As we enter the summer months, parents and caregivers must be mindful of the pandemic’s impact on their children’s swimming ability and water safety skills,” Robert Adler, the CPSC acting chairman, said in a statement.

Other advice from the CPSC includes never leaving a child in or near water unattended and installing proper barriers around a pool.

“Make sure that you designate someone to keep an eye on the children in and around the water each and every time,” Nychelle Fleming of the CPSC said.

But chiefly among these tips is making sure children know how to swim.

“As pools start to open up, I think it’s very important for parents to sign their children up for swim classes and get those kids learning how to swim,” Mularoni said.

Four additional bodies found after remaining building demolished in Surfside, Florida

July 5, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(SURFSIDE, Fla.) — Search and rescue teams have recovered four additional bodies in the pile of rubble from a collapsed building in Surfside, Florida, following the demolition of the remaining building, according to officials.

First responders were able to search in areas previously inaccessible due to the instability of the portion of Champlain Towers South that still stood following the partial collapse on June 24, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava told reporters at a press conference Monday morning.

Three bodies were recovered in the morning and an additional body was found in the afternoon, according to officials.

The death toll now stands at 28, with 117 still unaccounted for, Levine Cava said. The newly accessible areas were likely where a lot of the master bedrooms were located, where people were sleeping, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told reporters.

While the demolition was critical to expanding the search for bodies closer to the standing building, it was also necessary as Tropical Storm Elsa approached the U.S. with winds that “could have brought it down in a matter that could not have been as controlled or predicted,” the mayor said.

The demolition went “exactly as planned,” and the building fell away from the pile that collapsed, Levine Cava said.

“Only dust landed on the existing part,” she said.

Crews received the “all-clear” about an hour after the demolition started around 10:30 p.m. Sunday, and first responders resumed the search by 1 a.m.

Levine Cava emphasized that search and rescue crews “took every action we possibly could” to search for pets that remained in the building prior to the demolition. Multiple full sweeps of the building, which included searches in hiding places such as closets and under beds, were conducted “at great risk to first responders,” the mayor said.

In areas of the building that were not accessible, ladders were used to place live animal traps on balconies, and doorways were opened to give pets the means to escape if they were able to, Levine Cava said. Drones with thermal imaging were also used.

“We went to truly great lengths to take every step that we could,” she said.

Levine Cava described the decision to collapse the entire apartment building as “devastating,” acknowledging the “great tragedy” for the surviving residents of the building, in addition to those who lost loved ones.

“To lose your home and all your belongings in this manner is a great loss as well,” she said.

Officials said it was too dangerous for survivors to enter the building to retrieve their belongings, DeSantis said.

“Obviously it wasn’t worth that risk,” he said. “We can not lose any more people.”

FEMA has been successful in signing families up for assistance, and the city has raised millions of dollars from donations around the world to assist survivors as well, Levine Cava said.

Although the forecast for Tropical Storm Elsa has the center of the storm on the west coast of Florida, there will still be intermittent heavy rain and localized flooding as well as strong gusty winds and the possibility of tornadoes in the region, which could still affect search efforts, said Robert Molleda, warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service South Florida.

ABC News’ Rachel Katz contributed to this report.

11-year-old boy dead, 3 injured after raft overturns on water ride at amusement park

July 5, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(ALTOONA, Iowa) — A boy is dead and another child is in critical condition after a raft overturned on a water ride at an amusement park.

The accident occurred at 7:35 p.m. local time on Saturday at Adventureland Park in Altoona, Iowa, when a boat on the Raging River ride overturned with six riders on it, according to a statement from the amusement park.

Three of the passengers were rushed to hospitals in critical condition while a fourth passenger suffered minor injuries, the Altoona Police Department said in a statement.

Eleven-year-old Michael Jaramillo died on Sunday as a result of his injuries, police said. Another juvenile was still in critical condition as of Monday afternoon, according to the police.

“Altoona Fire and Police were on the property and responded immediately,” Adventureland Park in its initial statement on Saturday night. “We want to thank them as well as Des Moines, Ankeny, Bondurant, Pleasant Hill and Delaware Township Emergency Services for their fast response … Our thoughts are with the affected families at this time.”

Adventureland Park said the ride had been inspected the day before and “was found to be in good working order” at the time of the accident. The Raging River ride will remain closed for more inspection.

The park released a second statement on Sunday night about the death of an injured rider.

“Adventureland is saddened to learn of the passing of one Guest involved in the Raging River accident on the evening of 7/3/21,” the statement said. “This investigation is ongoing and the ride remains closed. Adventureland is working closely with both the State and local authorities, and would like to thank them again for their efforts. At this time, we ask for your thoughts and prayers for the Guest and their family, as well as for our team members who were onsite.”

This is reportedly not the first fatal accident to have taken place in connection with the Raging River ride at Adventureland Park.

According to the Des Moines Register, 68-year-old Adventureland Park employee Steve Booher died in 2016 while working on the ride. He was helping riders get out of the rafts at the end of the ride and fell onto the conveyor belt, suffering a fractured skull along with a major brain injury, the paper reported. Booher died four days later.

Iowa’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration subsequently fined the theme park $4,500, according to the Des Moines Register — the maximum the agency could assess for that type of violation.

An investigation into Saturday’s incident is ongoing and the ride will remain closed during that time.

Pope Francis ‘alert and breathing on his own’ after colon surgery

July 5, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Pope Francis is recovering after undergoing a planned surgical operation for diverticular stenosis, which is an intestinal procedure on the colon.

“His Holiness Pope Francis is in good general condition, alert and breathing on his own,” said a statement released by the Holy See Press Office on Monday.

The surgery lasted about three hours and involved a hemicolectomy — which is the removal of part of the colon, the statement said. The Holy See also said Monday he is expected to stay at the hospital for about a week barring any complications.

The surgery was done on the evening of July 4 after the Pope was hospitalized Sunday afternoon at the Policlinico A. Gemelli hospital in Rome, according to a previous statement.

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is praying for the current pope’s recovery, the retired pope’s secretary said Monday on Italian TV channel Mediaset.

Earlier Sunday, Pope Francis announced that he will visit Slovakia in September after a brief stop in the Hungarian capital of Budapest.

It will be the Pope’s second trip outside Italy this year after trips planned in 2020 were cancelled due to COVID-19.

Evacuations ordered as Tumbleweed Fire spreads in Southern California

July 5, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(LOS ANGELES) — A quick-moving brush fire in Southern California has prompted evacuations for those living along Interstate 5.

The Tumbleweed Fire sparked shortly before 2 p.m. near Gorman, California, about 70 miles northwest of Los Angeles, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

By 8 p.m., the fire had exploded to nearly 1,000 acres along the I-5 corridor. It is currently only 10% contained.

The fire was fueled by high winds, gusting between 18 and 25 mph, according to the National Weather Service.

Evacuations were ordered near the Hungry Valley Recreation Area, and two firefighters suffered minor injuries in the blaze, according to the fire department.

No structures have been damaged or destroyed in the fire.

A decades-long mega-drought and scorching temperatures driven by climate change have created tinderbox conditions for wildfires on the West Coast.

The exact cause of the fire is unknown.

Another brush fire that sparked nearby on Sunday, the Dulce Fire near Agua Dulce, about 45 miles north of Los Angeles, was 100% contained at 12 acres.

At least three other fires sparked elsewhere in the state Sunday, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

How to make returning to the office less painful

July 5, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — While some tech companies, such as Twitter and DropBox, have said that employees may work remotely forever, many companies are planning a partial or full return to the office this summer or fall.

For other workforces, that transition is already in swing. Among adults who are employed at least part-time, 61% say they currently work from a location outside their home, 19% are exclusively remote and 21% work partially from home and partially from another location, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation survey published in June.

For those making the switch from fully remote to in-person or hybrid work, the key to a successful re-entry is staying true to the spirit of the word “transition,” experts say.

“What transition really means is that we need to ease into it,” said Dr. Victor Carrión, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral Sciences at Stanford University. “There’s going to be this impetus to completely return back to normal, but the reality is that life is different now,” he said. “We not only want to be resilient, but we want to be adaptive.”

Instead, workers and bosses should approach the transition period as a different animal than either working from home or pre-pandemic office work. It’s a chance incorporate the best parts of each and synthesize them into a better model of work, as well as process trauma from the pandemic that led to remote work in the first place. Workforces that skip the synthesis and processing steps may do so at their peril.

“There’s a human impulse right now to suppress and move on and return to normality,” said Ezra Bookman, a New York-based ritual designer who consults for companies and communities. “I think that that’s part of the energy that we’re receiving from leadership. That’s the very American way of dealing with trauma: suppress and move on.”

One tool for processing that trauma and creating a tangible transition back to the office could be creating a ritual around it, Bookman explained, but cautioned against a topdown approach that doesn’t engage with why employees might be hesitant to return to work in the first place. Rituals aren’t likely to have much effect if leaders aren’t modeling vulnerability, treating workers as individuals and engaging with their concerns. “I think that what leadership does in this moment is going to be super, super important,” he said. “No ritual is going to magically change the imbalance of power and the fact that employers are not listening to their employees,” he said.

With all that in mind, there are practical steps workers and bosses can take to make the process easier for everyone, as well as a guide to creating a personal or collective back-to-office ritual.

Step 1: Go slow

“People who jump too fast may find themselves feeling exhausted very quickly,” Carrión warned. He recommended gradual re-entry as opposed to heading back to the office five, or even three days a week.

“If your goal is to be in the office four days a week and you’re unsure about the delta variant and only feel good going one day a week, go one day a week,” he said. “Once you’ve dealt with that, you can work toward your goal.” During that transition period, self-care is equally as important as it was during the height of the pandemic. Get a good night’s sleep. Eat well. Exercise. Avoid leaning on alcohol or drugs as coping mechanisms. Remember that everyone had different pandemic experiences and it’s okay to go at your own pace.

“It’s going to be different for different people,” Carrión said.

Step: 2: Acknowledge the pandemic

Part of returning to the office should include reflecting on why we left in the first place, experts say. Holding a moment of silence for those who died of COVID-19 is one potential place to start. Depending on the size of your organization that moment of silence could be with the whole company or just with your team. Bookman suggested pausing and reflecting for 3.9 minutes, in honor of the 3.9 million people who have died worldwide from the virus.

“That gives people permission to say we’ve acknowledged, we’ve made space, we’ve recognized the loss of life,” Bookman said.

Step 3: Create a ritual

Acknowledging COVID as a group is a good springboard for a ritual Bookman calls a “litany of losses.”

Either as group, or individually, people can write down everything they’ve lost over the past year. It can be helpful to read that list aloud or have someone witness it, Bookman said, but you could also do this exercise alone.

“Write down every single thing that you’ve lost and then hold onto that paper until you don’t want it anymore. Until you’re ready to let go.” Then Bookman recommends getting rid of the paper in an intentional and symbolic way. You could burn it, bury it, put it out to sea or use any other method that speaks to you and isn’t part of your regular routine. “Something more than putting it in the recycling bin,” Bookman advised. “It doesn’t mean that the all those things magically go away and suddenly you’re fine with it, but it does give you a different point in your psychological map.”

Carrión recommended a different twist on a litany of losses: writing down your experiences over the past year to incorporate them into your memory and build a personal narrative around them. “If we don’t, some experiences may not be processed and they may continue to be in our brain, nagging us and getting in the way of our functioning,” he said.

“It is very important as we transition we don’t forget the year that has passed.”

Tips for managers and team leaders: One size does not fit all

Making Carrión and Bookman’s advice a reality requires a flexible and empathetic employer, they both acknowledged.

“People feel very differently about returning to work, and they’re all occupying the same space again,” Bookman explained. Some may have had the best year of their lives and spent more time with their kids, he noted. Others, who lost family members or friends or had their marriages fall apart, are still grieving. Still others may have been totally isolated and crave socialization.

Carrión seemed to agree.

“I think managers need to be very sensitive about the differences between individuals. They can not think that there is one solution or formula for everyone,” Carrión said. “They may have to tailor approaches to different individuals and create environments in the workplace that are supportive and promote coping and self-care.”

As for employees, if you can do so safely, speak up about your concerns and needs. “I really want to encourage people to not be chill,” Bookman said. “This moment to be direct, to be brave. Chances are everyone else in the room is feeling similarly and will feel relieved that someone is stepping up to advocate for a smarter, healthier, more real, honest and authentic return to work.”

Three additional bodies found after remaining building demolished in Surfside, Florida

July 5, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(SURFSIDE, Fla.) — Search and rescue teams have recovered three additional bodies in the pile of rubble from a collapsed building in Surfside, Florida, following the demolition of the remaining building, according to officials.

The death toll now stands at 27, with 118 still unaccounted for, Levine Cava said. The newly accessible areas were likely where a lot of the master bedrooms were located, where people were sleeping, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told reporters.

The demolition went “exactly as planned,” and the building fell away from the pile that collapsed, Levine Cava said.

“Only dust landed on the existing part,” she said.

Crews received the “all-clear” about an hour after the demolition started around 10:30 p.m. Sunday, and first responders resumed the search by 1 a.m.

“We went to truly great lengths to take every step that we could,” she said.

“To lose your home and all your belongings in this manner is a great loss as well,” she said.

Officials said it was too dangerous for survivors to enter the building to retrieve their belongings, DeSantis said.

“Obviously it wasn’t worth that risk,” he said. “We can not lose any more people.”

FEMA has been successful in signing families up for assistance, and the city has raised millions of dollars from donations around the world to assist survivors as well, Levine Cava said.

Feds warned last spring of spike in violence and extremism during pandemic: Memo

July 5, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — While COVID-19’s surge has ebbed, violence is on the rise across the United States.

There has been a rash of gun violence in what President Joe Biden called an “epidemic,” including several public mass shootings, increases in incidents in major metropolitan areas and an uptick in road rage clashes.

While dramatic declines in levels of coronavirus have engendered new hope and optimism for some, the effects of the pandemic and the measures taken to combat it linger, simmering tensions brought to a boil and manifesting themselves in anger, and in some cases, violence, experts say.

Federal authorities saw that swell in violence spurred on by COVID’s hardships coming — before the pandemic even got into full swing.

An internal Department of Homeland Security memo obtained by ABC News from spring of 2020 warned that the emotional, mental and financial strain exacerbated by the new coronavirus pandemic combined with social isolation — especially if prolonged — may “increase the vulnerability of some citizens to mobilize to violence.”

“The outbreak of Covid-19, and government’s response to it, have intensified concerns that could accelerate mobilization to violence with extended periods of social distancing,” the memo reads, noting such isolation is a “known risk factor” in inciting violent extremism, along with “financial stress and work disruptions, including unexpected unemployment and layoffs” also “increasing.”

Even as the nation and globe was locking down, the memo, which has not been previously reported, urged agency partners to develop an “action plan” for when communities begin to return to “normal” activities, predicting “the increase in mass gatherings, combined with the lengthy social isolation and other life stressors,” may create environs churned up by COVID, and ripe for violent upheaval.

When reached by ABC News regarding these early warnings, DHS declined comment.

As a tentative reopening got underway in May, DHS Secretary Mayorkas established the Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships, and a domestic terrorism branch in the Department’s Office of Intelligence & Analysis, aimed at shoring up the Department’s “whole-of-society approach” to thwarting extremisim and other targeted violent acts in the U.S.

Attorney General Merick Garland announced a ‘renewed commitmen’t and multi-pronged Justice Department effort to reduce violent crime through community engagement, targeted enforcement, and interagency collaboration.

Violent crime has “spiked since the start of the pandemic over a year ago,” President Biden said in late June, announcing a range of actions and federal support towards targeting gun violence.

“And as we emerge from this pandemic with the country opening back up again, the traditional summer spike may even be more pronounced than it usually would be,” Biden said.

Pandemic a ‘tipping point’

It wasn’t just federal officials sounding the alarm last year. Doctors — including psychologists — say the pressure of the pandemic may be exacerbating acts of violence and aggression.

“COVID has been a tipping point,” Dr. Aimee Harris-Newon a clinical psychologist in Chicago who focuses on wellness and preventive care. “On top of too much chronic stress, the impact of all this trauma… now everything is starting to leak out.”

And some experts say psychological stressors were already mounting prior to the pandemic.

“We were already in a weakened condition when the pandemic hit — class divisions, overt racism, partisanship, a really poor social support infrastructure — so if you think about the effect of the pandemic on an ‘epidemic’ of shootings — it’s like the immune system of the United States was already suppressed,” Jeffrey Butts, director of the research and evaluation center at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, told ABC News.

“The social, psychological and economic distress in our country has surpassed people’s ability to cope, and there hasn’t been enough support,” added Dr. Marni Chanoff, a psychiatrist and founder of the integrative wellness group at McLean Hospital. “There is no road map on how to navigate this time.”

‘COVID turned up the volume’

When Mohammed Abdelmagied heard loud bangs near his Times Square kebab and hot dog stand the last Sunday in June, he thought it was firecrackers — someone celebrating an early Fourth of July, or maybe freedom from COVID-19.

It wasn’t: it was gunfire: something he never expected in the area where he’s worked for 13 years — a heavily policed place where shootings have been relatively rare.

“I turn my face to the square, I heard everything but I didn’t see nothing,” Abdelmagied, 46, told ABC News.

Two shootings in two months at the Crossroads of the World have brought a flood of police to the area, in a city that until recently had become a model of safety in major metropolitan areas. These flares of gunfire aren’t only in New York, nor have they remained only within city limits across the country.

Major U.S. cities have been rocked by spates of gun violence over the past few months, part of an already rising trend which did not stop during lockdown, but has become more visible as the country reopens.

“Shortly after a resumption of ‘normal’ life,” the memo from spring of 2020 says, tensions already brewing, then exacerbated during the pandemic, may provide an opportune moment for violent extremism, and violent attacks.

Not including suicides, more than 19,400 people died by gun violence in 2020, up from roughly 15,440 in 2019, and far past the rates in years prior, according to Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit research group.

In 2021, there have already been more than 10,000 gun violence deaths — with nearly six months left to go.

“Covid turned up the volume,” and has fomented a disintegration of social connections and norms, Butts said.

“Then we see some of these horrible shootings — the actual magnitude of the increase is undeniable,” Butts added.

It’s not just gun violence on the rise: acts of aggression on airplanes have also hit new highs — and not only more flight disruptions, but more violent ones as well.

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a record number of potential violations of federal law in unruly passenger cases — identifying more than 490 cases this year so far where passengers potentially broke the law by “interfering with the duties of a crew member.” That’s more than double the amount of cases investigated in 2020; and more than two and a half times the amount in 2019.

Airlines have now reported more than 3,200 reports of disruptive passengers to the FAA this year; the vast majority — more than 2,400 — involve people who refused to wear a mask.

In a Homeland Security Threat Assessment released in October 2020, authorities also underscored concerns arising from COVID-19’s impact, where “anti-government and anti-authority violent extremists could be motivated to conduct attacks in response to perceived infringement of liberties and government overreach as all levels of government seek to limit the spread of the coronavirus that has caused a worldwide pandemic.”

Isolation effect

While social media helped maintain personal connections during quarantine, it can also be quite alienating, experts say — and present an opportunity for online radicalization.

In addition, pandemic job loss can be both heavy financial and psychological burdens.

And the unprecedented loss of life and loved ones to the virus, with more than 600,000 deaths in the U.S. alone, has taken an unspeakable toll, experts say.

Isolating factors like these can increase the risk of engaging — or attempting to engage — in violent extremism, according to the DHS memo.

“These risks are likely to become more widespread as public health measures are expanded — or the timeframe for maintaining social distancing increases,” the memo warned, underscoring the research-backed “need to build social links and bridges to prevent social isolation, which in turn, reduces the risk of radicalization to violence.”

Social distancing has been key to stopping the virus’ spread — but after more than a year of being fearful of anyone near potentially being infected, experts point out that self-preservation may have amplified feelings of mistrust in our communities.

“Someone who’s coming towards you on the sidewalk, and you’d think, you’re spraying your droplets at me!” Butts said. “People were afraid. More so than before, we had to see other people as a potential deadly threat.”

Americans are also still reeling from the economic and emotional blow dealt by COVID-19, despite the ebb of infection, and signs of improvement in the labor market, according to Pew polling this spring; those most vulnerable to the virus have also borne the brunt of its financial fallout.

Breaking the cycle

Tensions boiling over across the U.S. have fed what’s becoming a vicious cycle difficult to break; experts worry, that residual anxiety and collective trauma may outlast the pandemic itself.

“That kind of mental and emotional wear and tear doesn’t go away,” Butts continued. “All the harm that results will be festering for some time. That’s a huge concern.”

As some Americans’ anger about the state of the nation abates from where it was during the summer 2020 COVID surge — experts urge vigilance about what that receding rage might leave in its wake.

Even as the nation prepares to celebrate the Fourth of July and some measure of freedom from COVID, federal authorities are raising concerns about the possibility of domestic terror and violence, including mass shootings, as the 2021 summer season gets into full swing.

Whatever the new normal might be, Chanoff notes getting there will take time.

“The human spirit is resilient and the human capacity to heal is enormous,” Chanoff said. “But without support, I think that these things will likely continue to rise.”

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