(WASHINGTON, D.C.) — With researchers across the globe trying to accurately pinpoint the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic, President Joe Biden ordered Wednesday for U.S. intelligence agencies to “redouble their efforts” in pinpointing how the virus passed onto humans.
In addition, the president wants U.S. agencies to ask “specific questions for China.”
President Biden noted a report researching if the pandemic was cased by human contact with an infected animal or from a lab incident in China provided inconclusive results. Because of that, he has ordered a second report to be completed in 90 days to “bring us closer to a definitive conclusion.”
In a public statement, the president said, “As of today, the U.S. Intelligence Community has ‘coalesced around two likely scenarios’ but has not reached a definitive conclusion on this question.”
“Here is their current position: ‘while two elements in the IC leans toward the former scenario and one leans more toward the latter – each with low or moderate confidence – the majority of elements do not believe there is sufficient information to assess one to be more likely than the other,” he added.
The theory that the virus was created in the the Wuhan Institute of Virology and somehow escaped is a popular theory among Republicans, as it was pressed by former President Donald Trump and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
President Biden’s order joins the growing global dissatisfaction with how the World Health Organization and China are conducting research to identify the virus’ origin.
COVID-19 adviser Andy Slavitt said of the renewed push, “”We need to get to the bottom of this, and we need a completely transparent process from China. We need the WHO to assist in that matter. We don’t feel like we have that now.”
(NEW YORK) — Here are today’s In Crisis headlines:
George Floyd’s family meets with Biden, lawmakers on policing reform
President Biden met with the family of George Floyd at the White House Tuesday for over an hour on the one-year anniversary of Floyd’s death, as well as with key lawmakers involved in policing reform negotiations. The path forward on Capitol Hill for the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act remains unclear, but negotiators say they’ve made progress and expressed optimism this week about its prospects. Biden himself said he was “optimistic” lawmakers would reach an agreement on policing reform sometime after Memorial Day. Outside the White House, attorney Benjamin Crump, who represents the Floyd family, said Biden told them he’s not looking for a “rushed” reform bill. The Floyd family returned to Capitol Hill later to meet separately with Democratic Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey and South Carolina Republican Senator Tim Scott, the latter of whom declared lawmakers are “making progress” on the legislation and promised the family that legislation would be named after Floyd.
Manhattan district attorney convenes special grand jury in Trump probe
The Manhattan District Attorney’s office has convened a special grand jury that could decide whether an indictment is warranted against former President Donald Trump or his eponymous company, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News. The DA has used previously empaneled grand juries during the investigation into the way Trump properties are valued to obtain loans or lower tax bills. However, if there are going to be criminal charges, the special grand jury is the one that would make that determination. Empaneling a special grand jury suggests the case has reached an advanced stage, but as yet there have been no charges filed. Potential witnesses have been contacted in recent weeks about appearing before the special grand jury, the sources told ABC News. Trump has insisted he runs a clean business and has called the investigation a “witch hunt.”
COVID-19 numbers
Here’s the latest data on COVID-19 coronavirus infections, deaths and vaccinations.
Latest reported COVID-19 numbers globally per Johns Hopkins University
Global diagnosed cases: 167,898,407
Global deaths: 3,487,458. The United States has the most deaths of any single country, with 590,994.
Number of countries/regions: at least 192
Latest reported COVID-19 numbers in the United States per Johns Hopkins University
There are at least 33,166,902 reported cases in 50 states + the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam. This is more than in any other country.
U.S. deaths: at least 590,994. California has the greatest number of reported deaths in the U.S., with 62,986.
U.S. total people tested: 460,952,396
The greatest number of reported COVID-19 cases in the U.S. is in California, with 3,779,998 confirmed cases out of a total state population of 39.51 million. This ranks third in the world after England, which has 3,899,813 cases, and Maharashtra, India, which leads the world with 5,626,155 reported cases. Texas is second in the U.S., with 2,946,817 confirmed cases out of a total state population of 29 million.
Latest reported COVID-19 vaccination numbers in the United States
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports a total of 359,004,955 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been distributed in the U.S. Of those, 287,788,872 doses have been administered, with 164,378,258 people receiving at least one dose and 131,078,608 people fully vaccinated, representing 49.5% and 39.5% of the total U.S. population, respectively. The Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines each require two doses to be effective. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine requires a single dose to be effective.
White House touts 50% COVID-19 adult population full vaccination rate
The White House COVID-19 Task Force is taking a victory lap, announcing that 50% of the adult U.S. population is now fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The latest numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show 50% of the population aged 18 and older is fully vaccinated, a total of 129,054,480 people. Additionally, the White House said 25 states and the District of Columbia have fully vaccinated 50% or more of their adult population, while nine states have recently crossed the threshold of 70% of adults who’ve received at least one shot. Currently, 61.6% of the total 18+ adult U.S. population has received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, according to the CDC. Dr. Ashish Jha told ABC’s Good Morning America Wednesday, “We have never done this in the history of America. No country has gotten this many people vaccinated this quickly.”
CDC updates COVID-19 deaths projection
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has updated their forecast of COVID-19 deaths, currently projecting the U.S. will see a total of 596,000 to 606,000 fatalities by the week ending June 19. The previous forecast was for a total of 594,000 to 604,000 by the week ending June 12. The forecast represents a continued decrease in the number of daily COVID-19 deaths. Data compiled by Johns Hopkins University puts the current total number of U.S. coronavirus deaths at 590,994.
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Tuesday that half of U.S. adults — 129 million people over 18 — are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
In adults over 65 years old, that number rises to 73 percent — or 40 million individuals.
Even more promising, nearly half of all Americans of all ages, that’s 164 million people, have obtained at least one dose of the vaccine.
In nine states, 70 percent of their population over the age of 18 — Connecticut, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Rhode Island and Vermont — are fully vaccinated.
At least 25 states — including Washington, D.C. — have reported at least half of the adult population being given at least one COVID-19 dose.
The Food and Drug Administration approved of vaccines to anyone over 16 in mid-April and, at the start of May, allowed the Pfizer vaccine to be administered to children over the age of 12.
Those under 12 are still ineligible for the vaccine pending further study.
“The progress that we have made … is due to all of you who have gotten vaccinated, who have contributed not only to your health but to mine and my family’s and my friends’ and yours, and the health of people who can’t get vaccinated because of their medical condition,” COVID-19 adviser Andy Slavitt said during a White House coronavirus response team briefing on Tuesday. “You’ve contributed to our country.”
Tonight, ABC News is marking the one-year anniversary of George Floyd’s death with the special After Floyd: The Year that Shook the World – A Soul of a Nation Special.
The one-hour special will be hosted from Minneapolis by daytime talk show host Tamron Hall and GMA3: What You Need to Know co-anchor T.J. Holmes.
It features in-depth interviews with Floyd’s family, civil rights attorney Ben Crump, civil rights leader and founder and president of National Action Network Rev. Al Sharpton, How to Get Away with Murder and Insecure actor Kendrick Sampson and more. Singer Aloe Blacc will also deliver a moving performance.
Holmes tells ABC Audio he hopes people will watch the special and embrace whatever emotion they might be feeling.
“Whatever it is, just feel,” he says, recounting the advice of his friend and colleague Dr. Jennifer Ashton. “Because you can’t heal unless you feel. So if people watch it and you come out of it feeling very hopeful, great. If you come out of it feeling angry, that’s fine. If you come out of it with whatever emotion, that’s O.K.”
“But I encourage everybody to just…whatever the year has been for you and whatever you take out of looking back at the year, just feel — and that’s O.K.,” he adds.
After Floyd: The Year that Shook the World – A Soul of a Nation Special airs tonight at 10 p.m. ET on ABC. It can be viewed the next day on demand and on Hulu.
In an effort to get more people vaccinated against COVID-19, United CEO Scott Kirby tells ABC News his company launched a sweepstakes that could win you free flights for a year.
“Your Shot To Fly” is simple: any new or existing members of United’s MileagePlus loyalty program who uploads their vaccination records to the airline’s mobile app or website between today and June 22 will be entered to win a round-trip flight for two, in any class, anywhere in the world the airline flies.
Thirty pairs of tickets will be given out throughout the month of June, Kirby says.
What’s more, on July 1, United will choose five randomly selected entrants to the sweepstakes to win the grand prize of travel for a year “for themselves and a companion — also in any class of service, anywhere in the world United flies.”
The airline is not only touting its cooperation with the Biden Administration’s initiative to get as many Americans vaccinated as possible, but also showcasing that United is the only U.S. airline to which COVID-19 vaccination and testing results can be directly uploaded through its app and website.
(NEW YORK) — Here are today’s In Crisis headlines:
Today is the one-year anniversary of George Floyd’s murder
Today marks one year since 46-year-old George Floyd, a Black man, died beneath the knee of white former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin during an arrest for allegedly passing a counterfeit $20 bill at a convenience store. Video from the arrest shows Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck for nine minutes and 29 seconds, while Floyd repeatedly protested, “I can’t breathe.” Chauvin and three other officers involved in the arrest were fired soon after and criminally charged in Floyd’s death. On April 20, 2021, Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter and will be sentenced June 16. The other three officers involved face trial on state charges in 2022 and also face prosecution on federal civil rights charges before then. Floyd’s death drew worldwide attention to racial injustice and police use of force.
A “Celebration of Life and Remembrance” in Floyd’s honor will be held today in Powderhorn Park in Minneapolis. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is also calling for state residents to observe nine minutes and 29 seconds of silence, equal to the length of time Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck. President Biden is also scheduled to meet privately today with Floyd’s family, including his daughter, sister and brothers.
The House passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act in March, which aims to increase law enforcement accountability by ending no-knock warrants, banning chokeholds, creating a national registry for police misconduct and seeking to end qualified immunity for police officers. However, it has yet to be considered in the Senate, where it would need support from at least 10 Republicans to pass. Democrats and the GOP have yet to reach consensus over the qualified immunity issue, which would make it easier for civil lawsuits to be brought against police officers. President Biden set a goal of today to get the bill signed into law, a deadline the White House this week admitted would not be met.
COVID-19 numbers
Here’s the latest data on COVID-19 coronavirus infections, deaths and vaccinations.
Latest reported COVID-19 numbers globally per Johns Hopkins University
Global diagnosed cases: 167,367,952
Global deaths: 3,475,201. The United States has the most deaths of any single country, with 590,697.
Number of countries/regions: at least 192
Latest reported COVID-19 numbers in the United States per Johns Hopkins University
There are at least 33,144,178 reported cases in 50 states + the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam. This is more than in any other country.
U.S. deaths: at least 590,697. California has the greatest number of reported deaths in the U.S., with 62,949.
U.S. total people tested: 460,189,835
The greatest number of reported COVID-19 cases in the U.S. is in California, with 3,778,555 confirmed cases out of a total state population of 39.51 million. This ranks third in the world after England, which has 3,897,815 cases, and Maharashtra, India, which leads the world with 5,602,019 reported cases. Texas is second in the U.S., with 2,944,309 confirmed cases out of a total state population of 29 million.
Latest reported COVID-19 vaccination numbers in the United States
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports a total of 357,250,475 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been distributed in the U.S. Of those, 286,890,900 doses have been administered, with 163,907,827 people receiving at least one dose and 130,615,797 people fully vaccinated, representing 49.4% and 39.3% of the total U.S. population, respectively. The Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines each require two doses to be effective. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine requires a single dose to be effective.
US surpasses 590,000 COVID-19 deaths
The U.S. has now surpassed 590,000 total reported deaths from COVID-19. As of Tuesday morning, data compiled by Johns Hopkins University showed at least 590,697 people had died from the coronavirus since the first case was reported in the U.S. in January 2020. That number remains the highest death rate of any other country, and accounts for about 17% of global fatalities. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is currently forecasting a total of 594,000 to 604,000 COVID-19 deaths will be reported in the U.S. by the week ending June 12. And though the numbers are declining, the U.S. also continues to lead the world in total reported COVID-19 infections, with 33,144,178 as of Tuesday morning, accounting for 19.8% of global cases.
