(SAN JOSE, Calif.) — Federal prosecutors have rested their nearly 11-week case against Elizabeth Holmes, the former Theranos CEO accused of misleading investors to bankroll her one-time multibillion-dollar Silicon Valley start-up despite no evidence its blood-testing technology could perform as promised.
“The United States rests,” Prosecutor Jeff Schenk told the court Friday morning.
Holmes’ defense team is expected to call witnesses before the case goes to the jury. She was charged with 10 counts of wire fraud — one of which was dropped — and two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
The 37-year-old faces decades in prison if convicted. She has pleaded not guilty to all charges related to Theranos, which received hundreds of millions of dollars from investors by claiming its breakthrough technology could quickly diagnose a variety of diseases from a few drops of human blood.
The government called 29 witnesses to the stand, starting in early September, including former U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis, a former Theranos board member who said he was in the dark about the technology’s shortcomings.
Prosecutors also questioned investors, including white-shoe lawyer Dan Mosley, whose long-time client Henry Kissinger was on the Theranos board and introduced him to Holmes. Mosley personally invested $6 million and put Holmes in touch with many of his wealthy clients, such as the Waltons, the family behind Walmart; the Coxes, the billionaires behind Cox Enterprises; and the DeVoses, the Amway heirs and family of former Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos.
Jurors also heard from former Theranos employees who gave insight into the company’s labs and other dealings, and patients who described receiving purportedly inaccurate Theranos test results after getting blood drawn at various Walgreens locations.
Prosecutors concluded their case with testimony from journalist Roger Parloff, who wrote a 2014 cover story on the ascending Silicon Valley CEO for Fortune Magazine.
ABC News spoke to Parloff for “The Dropout” podcast in 2019.
“I got caught up in this woman’s story,” Parloff told ABC News at the time. “I began to drink the Kool-Aid. … I think I asked the right questions. I just got the wrong answers.”
The reporter recorded around 10 hours of interviews with Holmes, excerpts of which the government played in court on Thursday.
Santa Clara Law Professor Ellen Kreitzberg, who has sat through much of the trial, said the government likely ended with Parloff because his article was seen by many of the investors, and the jury got to hear the statements Holmes made to him in her own voice.
“That can be very powerful,” Kreitzberg said.
It’s unclear whether Holmes will testify. Kreitzberg said the defense likely will think “long and hard” before offering her up as a witness.
“From a lawyer’s perspective, I just can’t imagine that they want to put her on the stand,” she told ABC News. “There are too many questions and documents that are not easily explained.”
ABC News’ Victoria Thompson and Taylor Dunn contributed to this report.
(KENOSHA, Wisc.) — A Wisconsin jury has acquitted Kyle Rittenhouse on all charges in his homicide trial.
The 18-year-old fell to the ground after hearing the verdict.
Rittenhouse pleaded not guilty to two felony counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety, first-degree reckless homicide and first-degree intentional homicide and attempted first-degree intentional homicide, claiming he shot three men, two fatally, in self-defense during a 2020 protest.
A charge of violating a curfew that was imposed during the protests in Kenosha was dropped during the trial.
The charges stemmed from the fatal shootings of Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, and a shooting that left 27-year-old Gaige Grosskreutz wounded.
During his testimony, Rittenhouse said he shot all three men with an AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle in self-defense.
“I didn’t intend to kill them. I intended to stop the people who were attacking me,” Rittenhouse repeatedly said, at one point breaking down and sobbing on the witness stand.
The chaos in Kenosha unfolded on Aug. 25, 2020, after protests erupted over a police officer shooting of Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man. Riots, vandalism and looting broke out, prompting an online call for armed “patriots” to come to the city to protect lives and property.
Rittenhouse, who was then 17, answered the call to help, his attorney, Mark Richards, said. Rittenhouse, who said he was a nursing student at Arizona State University and a former firefighter EMT cadet, claimed during his testimony that his primary purpose for going to downtown Kenosha on the night of the shootings was to provide first aid to people in need.
The prosecutors’ case hinged heavily on multiple videos showing Rittenhouse shooting the unarmed Rosenbaum as well as Huber, who allegedly struck him with a skateboard twice.
Video also captured Rittenhouse shooting Grosskreutz, a trained paramedic, in the right bicep after Grosskreutz approached him with a loaded pistol.
(NEW YORK) — Walmart, Target and Macy’s say they are finding ways to bring products to shelves in time for the holiday season even though supply chain issues are still impacting the economy and other companies.
All three companies boasted strong numbers and good sales in their respective third quarter earnings calls this week. The news comes at a time when some U.S. ports are still congested and warehouses are stuffed to the brim.
There are signs of progress, with imports down about 25% at the port of Los Angeles, the port’s executive director, Gene Seroka, said Tuesday. However, there are still tens of thousands of empty cargo containers that need to be moved from the port, continuing delays.
The remaining vessels in port are mostly smaller and belong to a mix of retailers both large and small, Phillip Sanfield, director of media relations for the Port of LA, told ABC News.
The Biden administration last month announced that the port would begin running 24 hours a day, but that has yet to happen. Nevertheless, big retailers are predicting a successful holiday season.
“The holiday season is here, and we’re ready,” said Walmart CEO Doug McMillon. “We continue to have momentum. Sales were strong throughout the third quarter and we’ve seen a good start to the fourth quarter.”
Walmart said that its U.S. inventory is up 11.5% ahead of the holiday season as it was able to meet customer demand. Similar sentiments were echoed by Macy’s, as the company also discussed its response to the ongoing logistics crisis.
“We don’t expect to be materially impacted by supply chain issues during the critical holiday shopping season,” Jeffrey Gennette, Macy’s CEO, said on an earnings call this week.
How are they doing it?
These retailers seem to be side-stepping supply chain woes by rerouting ships to less-used ports, hiring new workers, unloading cargo during off-hours and switching to airfreight in some cases.
“We’re adding more than 30,000 permanent positions across our supply chain network to support the growth we expect to continue delivering in the fourth quarter and beyond,” said Brian Cornell, chairman and CEO of Target. “The team continues to work around significant port delays, diverting shipments to less-congested entry points and relying on airfreight in certain cases.”
Walmart is also rerouting deliveries; the company is adding extra lead times to orders and chartering their own ships.
These companies may be outrunning supply chain issues, but experts say that’s because they can afford the extra cost.
“I think that just with all the disruption that we’ve had, we’ve realized how quickly we can pivot and come up with new solutions. Sometimes those new solutions are expensive,” said Brandon Isner, head of retail research at CBRE, an American commercial real estate services and investment firm. “It’s true that bigger, mass-market retailers, they’re using their clout with carriers and suppliers to acquire as much product as possible in advance of the holiday season.”
Can other companies manage to do the same?
Many of these solutions, according to Isner, are too expensive and not cost-effective for smaller businesses. The options for creating a new supply chain from producer to consumer becomes easier as pockets get deeper and economies of scale get larger.
“They [larger retailers] have the ability to reroute profits to make sure they get delivery where smaller institutions don’t necessarily have that type of logistics capabilities,” said Steven Ricchiuto, U.S. economist for bank-holding company Mizuho.
In one example, Ricchiuto said a large retailer may opt to transport their items differently to avoid supply chain clogs.
“Typically putting freight on airplanes is more expensive than putting it on boats,” said Ricchiuto. “But in an environment in which you are restricted on one side of the equation and prices have gone up enough, suddenly it becomes more realistic to go the more expensive route.”
Could inflation help the supply chain?
All of this comes at a time when the U.S. economy is experiencing abnormal levels of inflation — the highest in 30 years.
“I do think that these production issues are getting themselves worked out, in part because of higher prices,” said Gus Faucher, the chief economist of PNC Financial Services. “Higher prices give businesses an incentive to sell more to consumers, so not only do they have higher values for volumes, but they’re getting more for their services and goods that they sell.”
Higher prices due to inflation may seem like an unlikely savior in fixing supply chain issues, but the rising costs present challenges as well.
“The cost of their workforce is up, the costs of getting products there is up, energy costs are up,” said Isner. “Some retail executives say that, ‘Yes, they’re definitely going to pass costs onto the consumers,’ but others have said, ‘No, they’re just going to eat the costs.’ … We can probably make an educated guess that it’s the larger companies.”
For retail shoppers and American families, all of this signals a warm welcome to the holiday season, according to the Biden administration.
“In short, families have seen an increase in real disposable income, and stores and restaurants have the supplies to drive this recovery,” Brian Deese, the director of the White House’s National Economic Council, said Tuesday.
“Today’s data show that even as we work to address the real challenge that elevated inflation from supply chain bottlenecks poses from Americans’ pocketbooks and outlook, the economy is making progress,” Deese said in response to Walmart’s successful third quarter and forecast for the holiday season.
Economists say the American supply chain could look different once the country emerges from the pandemic in a growing economy. Even though prices are more stable at larger retailers, there could be a rise across the board as the economy continues to heat up.
“We’re going to be looking more and more for alternative paths and alternative distribution systems at the end of the day. We’re going to wind up with a much more complex network,” said Ricchiuto. “Does that mean we’re going to pay a higher cost? To some extent we are, and we’re going to pay them permanently.”
(NEW YORK) — With a winter virus surge lurking and no readily available vaccines, Thanksgiving 2020 was very different for most families. This year, expectations are much higher.
But even this year, a recent uptick in COVID-19 cases means public health experts are still urging caution. Health professionals still agree that getting vaccinated is the single best a person can do to protect themselves and their loved ones — especially unvaccinated children.
“Vaccines are only as efficacious as the number of people that get them. So a good time to remind people to get their COVID vaccines if they’re still holding out,” said Dr. Molly Fleece, an infectious disease doctor at the University of Alabama in Birmingham. “What we do not want to see this year is a so-called twin-demic, where we have peaks of influenza as well as COVID during our holiday season.”
Layering different protective measures is the best overall strategy, experts told ABC News. Dr. Anne Liu, an infectious disease and allergy specialist at Stanford University, advises people “to not rely just on vaccination, but to also be thoughtful about when to implement masking and rapid testing.”
Dr. Leana Wen, a former Baltimore health commissioner, said she’s asking family members to limit activities that could potentially expose them to COVID-19 in the days leading up to Thanksgiving.
“We are asking everybody to reduce their overall risk for the three- to five-day period before, and we’re all taking a rapid test the morning of,” she added.
Another option is testing.
“Testing ahead of time does make a low-risk situation with all vaccinated people even lower risk,” said Dr. Paul Sax, clinical director of infectious diseases at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “I especially recommend it if someone at the gathering is older or potentially immunocompromised.”
There are multiple types of COVID-19 tests, including PCR tests, rapid tests and antibody tests. Infectious disease experts agreed that an antibody test, which looks for traces of a prior infection or prior vaccination in your blood, isn’t going to be a helpful way to protect your family over the holidays. Instead, opt for a PCR test, if you have time to wait for the results, or, a rapid test — less accurate, but faster.
“PCR test is obviously the best,” said Dr. Marc Siegel, director of infectious diseases at George Washington University. Unfortunately, during times of high demand these tests can be hard to take or results are delayed. Sax suggests that if a person is asymptomatic, doing a rapid antigen test the day before and the day of the gathering would be reasonable in lieu of a PCR test.
Once gathered, experts also suggest paying attention to ventilation. Weather permitting, have parts of gatherings outdoors helps decrease risk. It’s admittedly easier in some states.
“We’re going to actually have it outside — it’s supposed to be 65 and sunny on Thanksgiving day,” said Dr. George Rutherford, a doctor and infectious disease researcher at the University of California, San Francisco. “Plus, we can get a lot more people at the table because we can string tables together.”
But there are still options for those in colder climates.
“Even in a cold environment, it’s possible to open up a window,” said Siegel. “You might be losing some of the heat, but at least opening up a window on each side of the room to allow some room air to circulate.” Using air filters is another consideration, Sax added.
If possible, those with prior vaccinations should get their boosters before the holiday, experts said.
Ultimately, between rapid testing, better knowledge of COVID-19 transmission and the mass availability of vaccines, this year’s holiday season has the potential to be more joyous than last year’s.
Lauren Joseph, a student at Stanford Medical School, and Jacob Warner, an internal medicine resident at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, are contributors to the ABC News Medical Unit.
(NEW YORK) — The number of fliers this year will approach pre-pandemic levels, according to the Transportation Security Administration. However, experts said staffing shortages and a storm on the horizon threaten to disrupt Americans’ holiday plans.
“One of the things folks have not accounted for is that conditions have changed,” Willis Orlando, senior product operations specialist at Scott’s Cheap Flights, told ABC News. “If you’re checking in for a flight and it’s an international flight, airline agents now have to check many more layers of documentation depending on where you’re going. So those lines are going to take longer. Add to that lingering staffing shortages and you have a recipe for long lines and delays.”
Here’s what you need to know about the best and worst times to travel:
Sunday after Thanksgiving projected to be busiest travel day of year
The TSA is prepping for a busy Thanksgiving travel period — with travel volumes expected to reach 2019 pre-pandemic levels. The agency said it expects the Sunday after Thanksgiving to be the busiest travel day of the year — with an estimated 2.4 million passengers on Nov 28. It expects 2-2.1 million passengers on Nov. 23, 24, 27, and 29.
Despite a looming vaccine mandate on Monday for all TSA agents, the agency insists it’s “confident” that it has the staffing needed to manage the holiday travel crush.
But experts still recommend heading to the airport early next week.
“Don’t count on fast check-in lines,” Orlando said. “Get there two hours before a domestic flight and two and a half or three hours before an international flight. It’s better to get there early and be prepared than to get there late and be sorry.”
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport will be busiest US airport
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International will be the busiest airport on Thanksgiving weekend, with 154,000 departing seats on Wednesday, Nov. 24, according to travel booking app Hopper.
Atlanta is followed by Dallas Fort Worth International Airport and Los Angeles International Airport as the second and third busiest airports, with 103,000 and 101,000 passengers expected respectively.
All three airports are expected “to be really busy” on Wednesday morning, Hopper Economist Adit Damodaran told ABC News.
“The Wednesday before Thanksgiving — Nov. 24 — will be the busiest travel day to depart at most airports across the U.S., especially in the morning,” Damodaran said.
Majority of Americans will drive to their destination over Thanksgiving.
AAA predicts 53.4 million people will travel on the roads and in the skies for the Thanksgiving holiday, which is up 13% from 2020. This year’s forecast marks the highest single-year increase in Thanksgiving travelers since 2005, bringing travel volumes close to pre-pandemic levels in 2019, according to AAA.
Of those 53.4 million, AAA says a majority of them, 48.3 million, will hit the road.
Worst time to drive is Wednesday afternoon.
Data from analytics company INRIX shows that anytime after noon all the way through 8 p.m. Wednesday will see the most congested roads.
The Sunday after Thanksgiving could have some traffic jams as well from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.
In Atlanta, congestion during peak times will reach a high of 340% over normal, in New York a whopping 482% and in Los Angeles — 385%.
If you are driving, experts said to also be mindful you might be paying more at the pump than you’re used to at $3.35 per gallon.
“We’re just cents away from the highest Thanksgiving gas prices ever recorded,” Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said in a press release. “With global oil demand surging this year as the pandemic has eased, we find ourselves in unfamiliar territory – some of the highest Thanksgiving gas prices on record.”
(WASHINGTON) — It was a question that plagued Joe Biden’s presidential campaign: Could a 77-year-old man — who at age 78 would be the oldest person ever to assume the presidency — handle the rigors of the job?
Candidate Biden acknowledged it was legitimate for Americans to question his fitness for office.
“The only thing I can say is watch. Watch! Check my energy level, determine whether I know what I’m talking about,” he told voters during the 2020 campaign.
Now, on Friday, nearly a year into his term, Biden is getting his first physical as president at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.
It comes the day before he turns 79.
“Later this morning, the President will travel to Walter Reed Medical Center for his routine annual physical. We will provide more details after he arrives at Walter Reed,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in an early morning statement.
To date, the most recent physical and medical report was one his campaign released in December 2019: a three-page summary that declared Biden “a healthy, vigorous, 77-year-old male, who is fit to successfully execute the duties of the presidency.”
At the time, Biden was said to be under treatment for four different conditions: non-valvular atrial fibrillation — a type of irregular heart rhythm, hyperlipidemia — higher concentrations of fats or lipids in the blood, gastroesophageal reflux and seasonal allergies.
The most notable health incidents in Biden’s past were the two cranial aneurysms he suffered in 1988.
Since winning the presidency, Biden suffered a fractured foot after falling while chasing his dog Major at his Wilmington, Delaware, home last Thanksgiving. He had to wear a walking boot for the injury, and was said to be “healing as expected,” according to scans from a follow-up appointment in December.
Biden named Dr. Kevin O’Connor as his White House physician shortly after taking office.
O’Connor has served as Biden’s primary care physician since 2009, when he was appointed physician to the then-vice president. Biden chose him for the new role due to their long history and personal relationship, according to a White House official.
Questions about fitness for office are far from exclusive to Biden — President Donald Trump, who was the oldest president elected before Biden, also faced questions about his mental and physical fitness.
Trump faced particular scrutiny for the first physical of his administration in January 2018, which his then-White House physician, Dr. Ronny Jackson, said went “exceptionally well.”
He came under fire for his effusively rosy outlook on Trump’s health while briefing reporters afterward.
In other recent administrations, physicals have generally been conducted within a president’s first year in office.
President George W. Bush got a physical in August 2001, and was found to be “fit for duty” with “every reasonable expectation that he will remain fit for duty for the duration of his Presidency.”
President Barack Obama received his first physical in office just over a year into his presidency, in February 2010. He also was found to be in “excellent health,” although doctors told hi to stop smoking.
(WASHINGTON) — Candidate Biden acknowledged it was legitimate for Americans to question his fitness for office.
“The only thing I can say is watch. Watch! Check my energy level, determine whether I know what I’m talking about,” he told voters during the 2020 campaign.
Now, on Friday, nearly a year into his term, Biden was getting his first physical as president at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.
It comes the day before he turns 79.
Biden waved to reporters as he arrived at the hospital.
The White House revealed that for some of the exam he will be under general anesthesia and briefly transfer power to Vice President Kamala Harris.
“This morning, the President will travel to Walter Reed Medical Center for a routine physical. While he is there, the President will undergo a routine colonoscopy, ” press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement.
“As was the case when President George W. Bush had the same procedure in 2002 and 2007, and following the process set out in the Constitution, President Biden will transfer power to the Vice President for the brief period of time when he is under anesthesia. The Vice President will work from her office in the West Wing during this time,” she said.
Psaki added that, later Friday afternoon, the White House will publicly release a written summary of the president’s physical.
To date, the most recent physical and medical report was one his campaign released in December 2019: a three-page summary that declared Biden “a healthy, vigorous, 77-year-old male, who is fit to successfully execute the duties of the presidency.”
At the time, Biden was said to be under treatment for four different conditions: non-valvular atrial fibrillation — a type of irregular heart rhythm, hyperlipidemia — higher concentrations of fats or lipids in the blood, gastroesophageal reflux and seasonal allergies.
The most notable health incidents in Biden’s past were the two cranial aneurysms he suffered in 1988.
Since winning the presidency, Biden suffered a fractured foot after falling while chasing his dog Major at his Wilmington, Delaware, home last Thanksgiving. He had to wear a walking boot for the injury, and was said to be “healing as expected,” according to scans from a follow-up appointment in December.
Biden named Dr. Kevin O’Connor as his White House physician shortly after taking office.
O’Connor has served as Biden’s primary care physician since 2009, when he was appointed physician to the then-vice president. Biden chose him for the new role due to their long history and personal relationship, according to a White House official.
Questions about fitness for office are far from exclusive to Biden — President Donald Trump, who was the oldest president elected before Biden, also faced questions about his mental and physical fitness.
Trump faced particular scrutiny for the first physical of his administration in January 2018, which his then-White House physician, Dr. Ronny Jackson, said went “exceptionally well.”
He came under fire for his effusively rosy outlook on Trump’s health while briefing reporters afterward.
In other recent administrations, physicals have generally been conducted within a president’s first year in office.
President George W. Bush got a physical in August 2001, and was found to be “fit for duty” with “every reasonable expectation that he will remain fit for duty for the duration of his Presidency.”
President Barack Obama received his first physical in office just over a year into his presidency, in February 2010. He also was found to be in “excellent health,” although doctors told hi to stop smoking.
(WASHINGTON) — House Democrats passed their roughly $1.75 trillion social and climate spending package on Friday morning, even as Republicans successfully delayed a final vote.
The vote on passage of the “Build Back Better Act” fell largely along party lines at 220-213.
As the vote crossed the threshold to pass, Democrats started applauding on the floor and chanting “Build Back Better!”
Rep. Jared Golden of Maine was the only Democrat to oppose the package, signaling opposition to a provision to raise the federal tax deduction for state and local taxes that could benefit high-earning homeowners. Democrats could afford to lose three votes and still pass the legislation. Not a single Republican supported it.
The social spending bill would generate the largest expansion to the social safety net in 50 years and contains $555 billion for climate and clean energy investments. It would reduce the cost of some prescription drugs, extend the child tax credit, expand universal preschool and includes electric-vehicle tax credits, paid leave, housing assistance and dozens more progressive priorities.
Now that it’s passed the House, the Senate is expected to amend the proposal in the coming weeks after the Thanksgiving recess as Democratic Sens. Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin have not committed to the package in its current form.
Since Democrats plan to pass the measure through reconciliation, a lengthy budget process that would not require them to have any Republican support since Democrats have a narrow majority in both chambers, the legislation — months in the making — still has a long way to go, including back to the House, before it would even hit Biden’s desk.
Overnight, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., took to the floor for more than eight hours to rail against the bill and Democrats’ agenda, breaking a record previously held by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for longest House floor speech, knocking Democrats off their plans to approve the measure late Thursday evening, in a show to his conference that he’s fighting for the GOP on his quest to become speaker.
“I know some of you are mad at me and think I have spoken too long, but I’ve had enough. America has had enough,” he said, rallying his conference after a week of intraparty tensions over his leadership as the party seeks to recapture the House.
When Pelosi took the floor on Friday morning ahead of a full floor vote, she took a swipe at McCarthy’s lengthy speech.
“As a courtesy to my colleagues, I will be brief,” she said, wearing an all-white suit to mark the occasion. Pelosi said Democrats are “proud to pass this legislation under President Joe Biden.”
Earlier Thursday, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that the total Democratic package would add $160 billion to the national deficit over the next 10 years, an assessment requested by some moderate Democrats ahead of any vote to send the Build Back Better Act to the Senate.
Democratic leaders, progressives and most moderates have rallied around the package they said would make historic investments in fighting climate change, lower prescription drug prices, expand Medicare coverage and provide universal pre-kindergarten.
“Those of us who serve on this date will be able to tell our children and grandchildren we were there when the Congress passed one of the most transformational bills in the history of the Congress,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said on Thursday.
Republicans, meanwhile, assailed Democrats over the scope and cost of the package — given President Joe Biden’s initial pledge that it would cost “zero dollars” — and predicted it would further fuel inflation ahead of Thanksgiving.
Speaking through the night on the House floor, McCarthy repeatedly likened Biden to President Jimmy Carter, the one-term Democratic president who presided over inflation and rising gas prices in the late 1970s. Republicans repeatedly said Democrats were overstating their mandate from the 2020 election and argued that a Republican victory in the Virginia gubernatorial race earlier this month signaled unease with Democrats’ spending plans.
“Nobody elected Joe Biden to be FDR,” McCarthy said.
The tone of floor debate was acrimonious, with tensions between Republicans and Democrats still running high after Democrats voted to censure Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., for posting a provocative cartoon video showing him killing Ocasio-Cortez and attacking Biden.
McCarthy was heckled repeatedly by Democrats over the course of his speech, and lawmakers shouted at each other from across the chamber.
“No one’s listening!” Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, shouted at McCarthy at one point.
As Republicans and Democrats flitted in and out of the chamber and wandered around to stretch their legs, McCarthy riffed on everything from foreign policy and not being able to afford a Tesla, to the 1984 film “Red Dawn” and China’s development of hypersonic missiles. He also lamented that former President Donald Trump did not win a Nobel Peace Prize for brokering the Abraham Accords.
Democrats mocked McCarthy’s speech on social media, while Republicans cycled in and out of the chamber to fill the seats immediately behind the California Republican in a show of support.
Pelosi at a press conference on Thursday expressed confidence that with control of Congress hanging in the balance ahead of the midterm elections less than a year away, Democrats will be able to successfully sell their work to the American people — and do so more effectively than they did in 2010 after the passage of the Affordable Care Act, due, in part, to Biden using the “bully pulpit.”
Democratic members of Congress are also planning to hold 1,000 events before the end of the year to make clear to Americans what’s in Biden’s infrastructure plans.
“The messaging on it will be immediate, and it will be intense, and it will be eloquent, and it will make a difference,” Pelosi said.
Giving remarks in Woodstock, New Hampshire, on Tuesday, Biden endorsed Pelosi’s timeline to pass part two of his infrastructure agenda this week.
“I’m confident that the House is going to pass this bill. And when it passes, it will go to the Senate,” Biden said. “I think we’ll get it passed within a week.”
McCarthy blasted Pelosi at his press conference on Thursday and said the reconciliation bill will “be the end of their Democratic majority.”
While the already-passed bipartisan infrastructure law itself and its individual components — rebuilding and repairing bridges, ports and roads, expanding broadband internet, and more — are widely popular, a new ABC News/Washington Post poll shows Americans aren’t giving Biden credit for championing the law and getting it through Congress. The president’s approval rating is at an all-time low at 41%.
Pelosi on Thursday tried to defend Democrats’ “Build Back Better” proposal from criticism over a key tax provision that has angered some in the caucus. Some moderates and leading progressives have criticized plans to undo a cap on the state and local tax (SALT) deductions — a reversal of Republicans’ 2017 tax law — popular in California, New York and New Jersey, given that the change would benefit wealthy suburban property owners.
The change would allow taxpayers to deduct up to $80,000 in state and local taxes from their federal tax returns after Republicans imposed a $10,000 cap on federal deductions four years ago.
A recent analysis from the Tax Policy Center found the SALT cap increase would primarily benefit the top 10% of income-earning Americans. About 70% of the tax benefit would go to the top 5% of earners, who make $366,000 a year or more, the analysis said.
“That’s not about tax cuts for wealthy people. It’s about services for the American people,” Pelosi said. “This isn’t about who gets a tax cut, it’s about which states get the revenue they need to help the American people.”
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said at her briefing Thursday that the White House was “comfortable” with the SALT cap increase being included in the version of the “Build Back Better” bill on which the House is expected to vote — but she wouldn’t say the president’s excited it.
“This is a part of the bill that the president — that has been proposed, that is important to key members, as you all know,” Psaki said. “That’s why it’s in the package. The president’s excitement about this is not about the SALT deduction. It’s about the other key components of the package. And that’s why we’re continuing to press for it to move forward.”
ABC News’ Trish Turner and Mariam Khan contributed to this report.
(SMITHSBURG, Md.) — Four people were pronounced dead following an attempted traffic stop in Maryland, as a manhunt was underway in the state for two former police officers who were considered armed and dangerous. On Thursday night, police confirmed two of the deceased were the former officers.
Three passengers were pronounced dead at the scene in Smithsburg late Thursday afternoon, including a female driver, an adult man and one child, according to Maryland State Police.
A fourth passenger, another child, was medevacked to a local hospital and pronounced dead, police said.
All four appeared to have been shot, Elena Russo, a spokesperson for Maryland State Police, said during a press briefing. The car had run off the road and hit a fence line, she said.
Maryland State Police said in a statement later Thursday that they were able to identify the deceased individuals.
The woman in the front seat of the car was Tia Bynum, 35, a former Baltimore County police officer. She was pronounced dead on the scene by emergency medical service personnel. “Bynum was wanted by the Baltimore County Police Department and considered armed and dangerous,” they said. The man in the back seat was identified as Robert Vicosa, 41, also a former police officer. He was also pronounced dead on the scene and was previously wanted for committing multiple felony crimes in Pennsylvania and Maryland.
“Police believe the two juveniles located in the back seat were Vicosa’s children,” the police department said. One was pronounced dead at the scene and the other was transported by police to Meritus Medical Center in Hagerstown, where she was also pronounced dead.
Both adults and both children have been transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore for autopsy, police said.
“This is a complex incident. It is going to take time,” Russo said. “We are really working hard to understand what occurred.”
Russo would not confirm Thursday afternoon if the deadly incident was related to the manhunt for former Baltimore County police officers Vicosa and Bynum, who were being sought for an alleged kidnapping and armed robbery that occurred Wednesday in Baltimore County, Maryland. Vicosa has also been accused of stealing a car in York County, Pennsylvania, and fleeing with his two young daughters earlier this week.
Russo did say that investigators believe the Smithsburg incident is potentially related to two incidents in Maryland and Pennsylvania.
“The Pennsylvania State Police were attempting a traffic stop on a car that matched the description of a suspect vehicle involved in an incident in Baltimore County,” Russo said.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan appeared to reference the incident in a statement on Twitter Thursday night, calling it a “horrific tragedy.”
“We are grieving tonight over the unfathomable loss of two innocent children in what is clearly a horrific tragedy and heinous crime,” he said. “Maryland State Police have begun what will be a thorough investigation into today’s events.”
Authorities began searching for Vicosa after he allegedly held a woman at gunpoint at a home in York County, stole her car and fled with his two daughters, ages 6 and 7, police in York County said. The stolen car was found in Red Lion, Pennsylvania, police said.
On Wednesday afternoon, Vicosa and Bynum allegedly committed a kidnapping and robbery in the Cockeysville, Maryland, area, the Baltimore County Police Department said.
Vicosa was allegedly armed with a semi-automatic handgun, police said, adding that his daughters were present during the robbery.
The suspects allegedly carjacked a man and forced him to drive them, before releasing the victim unharmed, Baltimore County Police Chief Melissa Hyatt said.
Baltimore County police said Vicosa was fired in August for several disciplinary violations, according to records obtained by Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, ABC affiliate WHTM. Police said Bynum, who was in the criminal investigations bureau, is currently suspended and stripped of police powers.
Vicosa and Bynum were believed to have been “armed with at least one handgun and possibly several semi-automatic rifles,” police said in a public alert Thursday morning.
Hyatt began her remarks at a news conference Thursday morning with a personal plea to Bynum.
“Our priority is the safety and well-being of [Vicosa’s daughters] Giana and Aaminah. Please get these two innocent and precious children to a safe location,” Hyatt said. “We want to work with you on a safe and peaceful resolution.”
She urged both suspects to “peacefully surrender to authorities.”
(NEW YORK) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.1 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 768,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
Just 68.9% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Nov 19, 6:35 am
Austria to enter full lockdown, make vaccination mandatory
Austrian Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg announced Friday that the country will go into a full nationwide lockdown to curb a fourth wave of COVID-19 infections.
“We do not want a fifth wave,” Schallenberg warned.
The lockdown will begin Monday and last for at least 10 days before the situation is reassessed. If the number of new COVID-19 cases has not dropped significantly, the lockdown can be extended to a maximum of 20 days.
Under the restrictions, people will be told to work from home, non-essential shops will close and public gatherings will be canceled. Schools will remain open for students who require in-person learning, but parents have been asked to keep their children at home if possible.
COVID-19 vaccination will also become mandatory by law in Austria, starting on Feb. 1.
It’s the first country in Europe to make COVID-19 vaccines compulsory and the first to reimpose a full lockdown this winter, as the continent grapples with rising infections.
The Austrian government had initially imposed a nationwide lockdown only for the unvaccinated that began last Monday.
Nov 18, 9:11 pm
Masks cut COVID-19 incidence by 53%, new analysis finds
Mask-wearing cuts COVID-19 incidence by 53%, according to a new analysis that pooled results from multiple studies.
The analysis, published Thursday in the medical journal The BMJ, found that mask-wearing, social distancing and hand-washing were all effective in reducing the spread of COVID-19.
The bulk of the studies included in the analysis were conducted before mass vaccinations. The researchers, who were from several universities in Australia, Scotland and China, said that more studies are needed to understand the effectiveness of these public health measures in the context of widespread vaccination coverage.
-ABC News’ Guy Davies, Esra Demirel and Sony Salzman
Nov 18, 2:19 pm
Northeast, Midwest see biggest jump in cases, hospitalizations
The Northeast and Midwest are seeing the largest jump in cases and hospitalizations, according to federal data.
Twenty-seven states have seen at least a 10% jump in daily cases over the last two weeks: Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, New York City, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont and Wisconsin.
Eighteen states have seen at least a 10% increase in hospital admissions over the last week: Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, South Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday signed legislation that prohibits private employer vaccine mandates and says employers that violate the ruling will be fined.
The legislation also states educational institutions can’t require students to be vaccinated; school districts can’t have face mask policies or quarantine healthy students; and families can “sue violating school districts.”
“Nobody should lose their job due to heavy-handed COVID mandates,” DeSantis, a Republican, said in a statement.
