Cars sit at the Madigan Gate at the Joint Base Lewis McChord March 12, 2012 in Fort Lewis, Washington. Stephen Brashear/Getty Images
(THURSTON COUNTY, Wash.) — A military helicopter on a routine training flight crashed late Wednesday in a rural area near Joint Base Lewis–McChord in Washington state, officials said.
“This remains a developing situation, and no additional details are available at this time,” Scot Keith, a JBLM garrison public affairs officer, told ABC News.
The helicopter crashed at about 9 p.m. local time, Keith said.
A U.S. Army spokesperson said the helicopter was on a “routine training flight,” with air traffic controllers losing touch with the aircraft, indicating that something may have gone wrong.
Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders said officials have been able to locate the crash site but have been “unable to continue rescue efforts as the scene is on fire and is starting to overheat their footwear.”
Initial reports said the crash may have occurred near Summit Lake, the sheriff’s office said.
“We have been advised that the military lost contact with a helicopter in the area, and we are working closely with JBLM to deploy any resources needed to assist,” the base’s public affairs office said in a social media post.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
ABC News’ Luis Martinez contributed to this report.
Police sources say a decomposing body was located in a Tesla in a tow yard in Hollywood, California, Sept. 8, 2025. KABC
(LOS ANGELES) — A Los Angeles home where D4vd had been living was searched overnight, law enforcement sources told ABC News on Thursday, as authorities investigate the death of a teenage girl whose body was found in the trunk of a Tesla registered to the 20-year-old singer.
A search warrant was executed at a home in Hollywood Hills that the singer does not own but had been staying at, the sources said.
The development came after the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner on Wednesday identified the female body discovered last week in the trunk of a towed Tesla registered to the singer as 15-year-old Celeste Rivas. The teen, from Lake Elsinore in Riverside County, was reported missing last year, investigators confirmed to ABC News.
The body was discovered in the trunk of the Tesla on Sept. 8, two days after it had been towed from a Los Angeles street, police sources said.
The circumstances of how she died and ended up in the front trunk are unclear, investigators told ABC News.
The cause of death is still being determined.
The Los Angeles Police Department’s Robbery-Homicide Division is leading the death investigation. The case is not a homicide investigation because authorities do not yet know how she died, law enforcement sources told ABC News.
The case relies on the medical examiner determining a cause of death, which is proving difficult, the sources said.
No arrests have been made.
The Los Angeles Police Department told ABC News on Thursday that they are following up on leads in the case as they try to move the investigation forward.
Police responded to an impound lot in Hollywood on Sept. 8 “for a foul odor coming from a vehicle,” Los Angeles police said.
Authorities located a body in the front trunk of the Tesla that was in a state of decomposition, LAPD sources said.
The victim was about 5-foot-1 with wavy black hair and was wearing a tube top, black leggings, a yellow metal bracelet and metal stud earrings, according to the medical examiner. She also had a tattoo on her right index finger that said “Shhh…”
The vehicle is registered to David Anthony Burke, known professionally as D4vd, according to a senior LAPD source. It is one of several vehicles owned by the singer, with many different people using any of the vehicles at any given time, the source added.
ABC News reached out to his representative and lawyer for comment but did not receive a response.
D4vd, who first went viral on TikTok, where he has 3.8 million followers, released his debut album in April. The singer, known for his indie, R&B and alt-pop sound, has been on tour since August. The tour’s stop in Seattle on Wednesday was canceled, with shows next set for San Francisco on Friday and Los Angeles on Saturday.
Sunset at the Burning Man festival on Sunday, September 3, 2023. Kathy Baird/The Washington Post via Getty Images
(PERSHING COUNTY, Nev.) — Nearly three weeks after a Burning Man attendee was found dead in a pool of blood at the annual event in Nevada, officials said they have located what is believed to be the murder weapon, according to the Pershing County Sheriff’s Office.
Vadim Kruglov, 37, from Russia, was found dead at the event on Aug. 30 at approximately 9:14 p.m., the sheriff’s office said.
On Wednesday, officials said they are in possession of a knife they believe was the murder weapon used to kill Kruglov.
The fatal injury appears to have been caused by a single stab wound to the victim’s neck using the alleged weapon, officials said.
Efforts are still underway to identify the suspect, with officials saying they have received hundreds of tips since the start of the investigation.
The night Kruglov’s body was found, the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office said a deputy was alerted by another participant that there was a man “lying in a pool of blood,” with officials “immediately” responding to the campsite.
Once at the scene, officials found a “single white adult male lying on the ground, obviously deceased,” according to authorities.
Officials said they interviewed “several participants in the immediate area.”
On Sept. 3, officials identified the victim as Kruglov and notified his family in Russia.
One of Kruglov’s friends, Sofia, said this was his first time attending the event, according to a statement from Burning Man.
“We want Vadim to be remembered as the talented, bright, and inspiring human being that he was. Let his memory remain as a creator, a dreamer, and a man who gave love,” his friend said, according to a statement from Burning Man.
Burning Man said in a statement they are “cooperating with law enforcement” and that the event — in collaboration with Secret Witness of Northern Nevada — is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest for Kruglov’s murder.
Pershing County Sheriff Jerry Allen told ABC News earlier this month the investigation is made more difficult by the fact that Black Rock City, Nevada — where the event is held — is a temporary city that disappears once attendees have left.
Because Kruglov’s death happened in such a remote location in the desert, cellphone service is nonexistent in most areas, so video and surveillance evidence is not as available as it would be elsewhere, officials said.
Along with Kruglov’s murder, officials said Wednesday there were 44 arrests at this year’s Burning Man, ranging from possession of a controlled substance and assault with a deadly weapon to domestic battery, sexual assault and burglary.
(WASHINGTON) — Washington, D.C.’s top elected leaders on Thursday warned that President Donald Trump’s federal law enforcement surge has undermined public trust and threatened the city’s autonomy, even as they pressed Congress to help the District rebuild its police force and fill critical judicial vacancies.
Mayor Muriel Bowser, Council Chairman Phil Mendelson and Attorney General Brian Schwalb told the House Oversight Committee that while crime rates have fallen to 30-year lows, the city still needs long-term federal support, not armed National Guard patrols. All three leaders urged Congress to fund new facilities, confirm judges, and back efforts to restore the Metropolitan Police Department’s ranks to nearly 4,000 officers.
Both Mendelson and Schwalb criticized the effectiveness and legality of the federal surge.
“As the nation’s capital, public safety in the District has always required a strong working partnership with federal law enforcement, regardless of who is in the White House,” Schwalb said. “Declarations of emergency and unilateral federal actions, taken without coordination or advance warning, do not promote long-term public safety.”
“Sending masked agents in unmarked cars to pick people up off the streets; flooding our neighborhoods with armed national guardsmen untrained in local policing; attempting a federal takeover of our police force — none of these are durable, lasting solutions for driving down crime,” the D.C. attorney general added. “In fact, this threatens to destroy critical trust between local communities and police, which is essential to effective, efficient policing and prosecution.”
Mendelson called the emergency declaration “a manufactured crime crisis to justify an intrusion on the District’s autonomy.”
At a time when violent crime is at the lowest rate we’ve seen in 30 years, there is no federal emergency that the District needs the president to address,” he said, adding that National Guard troops lack law-enforcement training and have instead been “picking up trash and doing landscaping.”
Schwalb also pushed back against claims that juveniles offenders are not being prosecuted. He said his office brought charges in 84% of all violent youth cases last year, which included more than 90% of homicides, 87% of carjackings and 86% of gun cases.
All three officials urged Congress to help address longstanding vacancies on the D.C. courts and to fund a new psychiatric residential treatment facility for youth.
Marking the upcoming 250th anniversary of the U.S., Bowser said, “We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the nation’s capital to be the safest and most beautiful it’s been at any point in its history, not just for our residents, but for the millions of Americans who will come to Washington, D.C., to celebrate our country’s heritage.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(LONDON) — President Donald Trump is meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the latter’s official country residence on Thursday, the second day of a historic second state visit to the U.K., which saw Trump hosted by the royal family at Windsor Castle on Wednesday.
The two leaders held a bilateral meeting at Chequers, the prime minister’s estate in Buckinghamshire north of London.
They also participated in a reception with business leaders, where they announced a new science and technology partnership between the two nations in order to bolster technological innovation in both countries.
“We’re taking the next logical step with a historic agreement on science and technology partnerships, and this will create new government, academic and private sector cooperation in areas such as AI, which is taking over the world,” Trump said.
Starmer said the deal involves investments from multiple science and technology companies, totaling $204 billion across the Atlantic, creating 15,000 jobs in the next decade. He added that the deal includes investments from American companies such as Microsoft, Citigroup, Boeing, Amazon and Blackstone, and British companies such as BP, GSK, Rolls Royce and AstraZeneca.
Trump and first lady Melania Trump departed Windsor Castle earlier Thursday with a farewell ceremony involving King Charles III and Queen Camilla.
They were then greeted by Starmer and his wife, Victoria, at Chequers with bagpipes blaring in the background.
Asked by ABC News how his night at the castle was, Trump replied, “It was great, thank you.”
Trump and Starmer will hold a press conference at 2:20 p.m. local time — 9:20 a.m. ET. Multiple pressing global issues may be on the agenda. Among them are Russia’s ongoing full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s growing threat to NATO’s eastern flank and the war in Gaza, where Israel’s offensive on Gaza City is expanding as the two leaders meet.
Trump’s visit comes after Starmer and other European leaders traveled to the White House to meet with Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy just after Trump’s summit in Alaska with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Since that meeting, during which allies expressed optimism of a path forward on security guarantees, no progress has materialized.
Trump and the first lady are expected to leave London at just after 5 p.m. local time. They are expected to arrive back at the White House by 8:10 p.m. ET.
On Wednesday, Trump was greeted at Windsor Castle by the royal family and an elaborate military reception. Meanwhile, a crowd of thousands gathered in central London to protest Trump on Wednesday. Many of the protesters held anti-Trump signs and Palestinian flags.
During a tour of Windsor Castle, the Trumps laid a wreath on the tomb of Queen Elizabeth II during a service at the castle’s chapel, then spoke with the children before taking a tour of the chapel.
Later, the Trumps attended a state banquet, with other guests including Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman, Rupert Murdoch, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
During his remarks at the state banquet, King Charles focused on the special relationship between the U.S. and the U.K., saying that “our people have fought and died together for the values we hold dear.”
“The ocean may still divide us, but in so many ways we are now the closest of kin,” he said.
At the end of his remarks, Charles proposed a toast to Trump and the first lady.
Trump then spoke, thanking Charles and saying he had worked to preserve his nation’s history, uplifted the poor and supported soldiers.
Trump also mentioned the Prince and Princess of Wales, saying it was nice to see them, saying that Kate was “healthy” and “beautiful.”
The president mentioned a few of the United Kingdom’s most significant historical accomplishments and said the U.K. laid the groundwork for law and liberty. Trump said the bond between America and the United Kingdom is irreplaceable.
“Together, we must defend the exceptional heritage that makes us who we are, and we must continue to stand for the values and the people of the English-speaking world, and we do indeed stand for that,” Trump said.
Trump praised Charles as a “great gentleman and a great king” as he departed Windsor Castle.
ABC News’ Michelle Stoddart, Zoe Magee, Isabella Murray, Lalee Ibssa, Joseph Simonetti and Ivan Pereira contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — Recent arrests involving migrants who were brought to the country as children are raising concerns among some immigrant rights and legal advocates that the Trump administration is disregarding protections provided by an Obama-era program.
An “Enforcement Tracker” organized by a coalition of immigrant rights advocacy organizations, called “Home is Here,” tallies up at least 18 cases where recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program have been deported or are at risk of being deported after being detained by immigration authorities since President Donald Trump took office.
“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” said Juliana Macedo do Nascimento, a spokesperson for United We Dream, a member of the coalition. “We know there are many more and that this administration is just really breaking the promise that the US government made to these people to protect them from deportation.”
ABC News got an exclusive look at the tracker, which the group plans to publicly release during a press conference with members of Congress on Thursday.
DACA, which began under President Barack Obama in 2012, provides deportation protections for people who were brought to the U.S. as children, allowing them to stay in the country and work legally on a two-year, renewable term. Recipients must pass a background check and submit biometric information to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Some of the people included on the organization’s list have no criminal records, according to their lawyers. Others do have criminal histories, ranging from traffic infractions to domestic abuse charges, but advocates say in many cases they do not rise to the level of excluding someone from the program, and did not previously prevent recipients from being protected by the program or from renewing their status.
“Illegal aliens who claim to be recipients of DACA are not automatically protected from deportations,” a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said in a statement. “DACA does not confer any form of legal status in this country. Any illegal alien who is a DACA recipient may be subject to arrest and deportation for a number of reasons, including if they’ve committed a crime.
2016 charge cited in arrest of Texas dad On Aug. 13, Paulo Gamez Lira, a resident of El Paso, Texas, was pulling into his mother’s driveway when he was suddenly surrounded by several federal agents.
In a video taken by a security camera at his mother’s driveway, obtained by ABC News, a federal agent can be heard asking Gamez Lira to turn off the engine and to not resist.
The agents “some masked and at least one armed with a handgun, approached the vehicle and roughly pulled Mr. Gamez Lira from the driver’s seat,” a filing in U.S. District Court in New Mexico stated. “Although Mr. Gamez Lira did not resist, the men injured Mr. Gamez Lira’s shoulder during the arrest.”
His children can be heard screaming and crying in the video.
When his wife, Alejandra, who asked that ABC News not use her last name, learned of his arrest, she said she didn’t believe it at first.
“I felt like my whole world stopped for a moment, and I didn’t know really what to do,” she told ABC News.
After his arrest, court records state Gamez Lira was transported to a Port of Entry in El Paso, Texas, for processing and transferred to an ICE facility despite telling the arresting agents that he is a DACA recipient.
Gamez Lira, according to court filings, was brought to the U.S. from Mexico as an infant and has lived nearly his entire life in the El Paso area. He applied for DACA shortly after it became available in 2012 and since then, has been able to the renew his grant of deferred action.
The DACA recipient has three children, including a 3-month old daughter who suffers from medical issues and spent the first month and a half of her life in the neonatal intensive care unit, according to his wife.
“There was no day that he wouldn’t be there with her and with me … It’s been pretty hard for all of us,” she said.
In 2016, court filings indicate Gamez Lira was charged with possession of marijuana but ultimately pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct after the charges were reduced.
Gamez Lira’s attorneys said they have not located records of his conviction in that case. “Such a conviction, if it exists, is nearly ten years old. Together with four dismissed traffic citations on Mr. Gamez Lira’s record, this history presented no barrier to his DACA eligibility and repeated renewals,” the attorneys wrote.
In a statement, DHS confirmed Gamez Lira was arrested on Aug. 13, calling him a “criminal illegal alien, with a previous arrest for marijuana possession.”
Gamez Lira has been held at the Otero County Processing Center in New Mexico since his arrest and is now facing removal proceedings.
DACA and crime: What the law says According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website, someone is ineligible for DACA if they have been convicted of a felony, a “significant” misdemeanor or are “otherwise deemed to pose a threat to national security or public safety.” Applicants are also prohibited from traveling out of the country without authorization and they must continuously live in the U.S. since they submitted their most recent application.
Since applicants go through the renewal process every two years, immigration experts say that those with active status have already been screened by the government and given protection from deportation.
“If the person’s application revealed everything it was supposed to and they were granted DACA, you don’t get to second guess that conclusion later on because you want to,” said Thomas A. Saenz, president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF). “You should only risk losing DACA if something new happens, if you have a new criminal conviction that was not revealed in your application or discovered in your application when it was granted.”
Attorney: Uber driver took wrong turn before arrest
Another case highlighted by advocates involves a Los Angeles Uber driver who was hired to drop off passengers near the San Ysidro Port of Entry in San Diego on May 31 when he was detained by Border Patrol agents after making a wrong turn, according to his attorney.
The Uber driver, Erick Hernandez, missed an exit near the port of entry and was unable to take the following one because it was blocked by an accident, according to immigration attorney Valerie Sigamani.
“The next exit after that was Mexico,” Sigamani told ABC News.
Hernandez was taken into custody despite explaining to officers that he had accidentally entered into Mexico and is now being accused of attempting to re-enter the country illegally, Sigamani said.
Hernandez is facing a possible deportation to his home country of El Salvador, which he fled 20 years ago when he was 14, the attorney said.
Uber did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
“In the past, when situations have happened like this, DHS has been amenable, they have been open to negotiation, they have been open to understanding and having mercy,” Sigamani said. “At the moment it’s extremely difficult to negotiate with DHS.”
The attorney said Hernandez has no criminal record that would disqualify him from the program.
In a statement, a DHS spokesperson identified Hernandez as an “illegal alien from Mexico” and said he “self-deported and then tried to illegally re-enter the U.S.” However, Sigamani said he’s from El Salvador.
In a statement written from detention, Hernandez said having DACA gave him a sense of pride and that he at one point considered joining the military to further give back to the U.S. However, since his arrest, Hernandez says he has felt discriminated against.
“You feel disappointed and sad because you’ve overcome so many things, and then they tell you goodbye,” Hernandez said in a statement written in Spanish. “It’s discrimination. We are more careful than U.S. citizens because they don’t have to fear losing DACA. We focus on working hard, studying, and staying out of problems. We want to get ahead in life.”
Arrest at a car wash during LA crackdown
Another case cited by advocates involves a man who worked at a car wash just outside Los Angeles, who was arrested in early June as President Donald Trump deployed the National Guard to Los Angeles to clamp down on crime and illegal immigration.
Attorney Roxana Muro says it took Javier Diaz Santana a few moments to realize what was happening as agents descended at his workplace, because he’s deaf and communicates through sign language.
“He had just finished his lunch break and was on his way to go wash a car when, because he is deaf, he did not hear the commotion going on around him, employees running all over the place,” Muro said. “So when he did see the chaos, he started to run as well, but I don’t know that he entirely knew why he was running.”
Muro said Diaz-Santana was unable to communicate with officers that he had DACA and was detained.
Diaz-Santana, who has been in the country since he was about 5 years old, was quickly transported to a detention facility in Texas where he was held for over 20 days before being released on bond, Muro said.
During his time in detention, Muro said Diaz-Santana could not effectively communicate his status to ICE personnel. In 2013, Muro says DHS initiated removal proceedings against him because of a failed asylum application, but the court administratively closed the case since he had DACA. But now, she says the government has reopened that case in an attempt to deport him to Mexico.
In a statement, the DHS spokesperson said ICE staff provided Diaz Santana with a communications board and an American sign language interpreter.
“The facts are this individual is an illegal alien,” the spokesperson said. “This Administration is not going to ignore the rule of law.”
(NEW YORK) — Ahead of a key meeting amongst the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) vaccine advisors — now with 12 members hand-picked by health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr. — doctors, health officials and advocates are raising alarms that the panel could reverse a decadeslong guideline of vaccinating infants against hepatitis B at birth.
On camera on Wednesday, Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, a doctor specialized in treating liver diseases and chair of the Senate committee that oversees the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), said the American people should not have confidence in the advisory panel’s decision if they recommend against the birth dose of the hepatitis B vaccine.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) is scheduled to meet Thursday to discuss the hepatitis B vaccine recommended at birth, a shot that decades of research has shown is safe and has virtually eliminated hepatitis B among babies in the United States.
At the last ACIP meeting in June, the advisory panel casted doubt about the necessity of the hepatitis B shot recommended at birth to all babies, comments that sparked concern among physicians.
In testimony on Wednesday, ousted CDC Director Susan Monarez said she was fired because she refused to rubber-stamp future changes Kennedy wished to make to the childhood vaccine recommendations, without a careful review of the evidence herself.
On Thursday, ACIP plans to discuss the hepatitis B birth dose and is expected to vote on a new recommendation, according to a draft of the meeting agenda.
Doctors and advocates told ABC News that the hepatitis B birth dose is still an essential recommendation and delaying it may lead to gaps in insurance coverage, growing health disparities, confusion and an increase in preventable hepatitis B infections.
Doctors call the hepatitis B vaccine ‘one of the cornerstones’ of prevention In a Senate hearing on Wednesday, Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy praised the success of the recommendation to give babies a hepatitis B vaccine at birth.
“Before 1991, as many as 20,000 babies, babies, were infected with hepatitis B in the United States of America, and that changed when the hepatitis B vaccine was approved for newborns,” Cassidy said.
“Now fewer than 20 babies per year get hepatitis B from their mother. That is an accomplishment to make America healthy again, and we should stand up and salute the people that made that decision, because there’s people who would otherwise be dead if those mothers were not given that option to have their child vaccinated.”
“The hepatitis B birth dose is one of the cornerstones of our hepatitis B prevention policy,” Dr. Sean O’Leary, an infectious disease specialist and chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics committee on infectious diseases, said in a press briefing following the last ACIP meeting in June.
The CDC currently says a timely administration of a hepatitis B vaccine is essential to help prevent transmission of the virus from mother to child at birth. While efforts to test for this virus during pregnancy have improved detection, cases can still be missed, or documentation may be inaccurate or incomplete.
Doctors and public health experts said that the hepatitis B shot is currently recommended for all babies at birth because the risk if a baby is missed is too high.
“A child that is infected at birth has a 90% chance of going on to develop chronic active hepatitis B. Of those children, of those 90%, 25% of them will then go on to die of the disease,” O’Leary said.
The first hepatitis B vaccine was licensed in 1981, and the ACIP recommended a vaccine dose universally for all babies in 1991. The hepatitis B birth dose “acts as a safety net, reducing the risk for perinatal transmission when the [hepatitis B] status of the parent is either unknown or incorrectly documented at delivery,” the CDC said.
“Because the stakes were so high, because you’re so much more likely to get cirrhosis or liver cancer if you get this virus as a young child, that’s why [there’s a] birth dose,” Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center and professor of pediatrics in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, told ABC News. “We did a dramatic job of virtually eliminating the disease in young kids.”
Doctors say a risk-based hepatitis B vaccine strategy didn’t work in the past Before 1991, hepatitis B shots were only given to infants considered high risk; however, this strategy missed many cases.
“Four to five decades of implementation science shows us that risk-based vaccine recommendations in this case, don’t work,” Chari Cohen, DrPH, MPH, president of the Hepatitis B Foundation, told ABC News.
“We were not very good at identifying all kids at high risk as there were other factors for which we were not accounting and because of imperfections in the system,” Dr. Gary Freed, a professor of pediatrics, health management and policy at the University of Michigan, told ABC News.
“To make sure no high-risk infants were missed, a universal hepatitis B vaccine strategy was adopted,” Freed told ABC News.
In 1999, there was a temporary pause in the universal recommendation, in favor of a risk-based recommendation for a brief period that year. At least one child in Michigan died of hepatitis B infection that year, who was missed, according to a CDC MMWR report, due to improper documentation.
Cohen said the birth dose doesn’t just protect babies from getting the virus from their mother but protects babies from getting it through close contacts who may not know they are infected.
“You only have 24 hours to save a baby from getting Hepatitis B if they’re born to a positive mom. However, you’re also trying, trying to prevent early childhood exposure, especially among families who don’t know that there’s a family member or a caregiver that has hepatitis B,” Cohen said.
Dr. Su Wang, a primary care doctor and person living with chronic hepatitis B who is a spokesperson for the Hepatitis B Foundation, knows how easily people can get missed from both sides of the healthcare system.
“We certainly cannot count on our system in the U.S., the way it is, our broken healthcare system to actually even identify those who are at risk, much less those who don’t have an identified risk. You just couldn’t imagine all the different ways that people can fall through the cracks,” Wang said.
“It’s a huge burden on somebody to have to have [hepatitis B] for the rest of their life, especially if it starts in childhood,” Wang said. “You could prevent all that with a simple vaccine.”
Wang learned she was living with hepatitis B when she tried to donate blood in college and later found out that she likely contracted the virus from a family member when she was a baby.
“This does happen, household transmission,” Wang said. “When I think about my case, I think the birth dose is something that would have helped me.”
Ending the recommendation may also worsen health disparities On Tuesday, American health insurers pledged to cover the cost of all vaccines based on previous recommendations by the ACIP that were in place as of Sept. 1. While this may protect access for many kids with private health insurance, it may leave a critical gap for kids who rely on no-cost vaccines through the Vaccines for Children Program (VFC), if the recommendation is reversed.
The CDC said over half of all American kids were eligible for shots through the VFC program in 2023. If ACIP no longer recommends a hepatitis B shot at birth, a majority of these kids may lose access.
“Fifty percent of newborns who are going to be eligible for Vaccines for Children may not have the vaccine any longer available to them,” Michaela Jackson, MS, program director of prevention policy for the Hepatitis B Foundation, told ABC News. “Policy changes can seem very, very small on the surface, but they have long-reaching impacts on the ground.”
Hepatitis B rates have improved but remain a ‘silent epidemic’ The recommendation for all babies to get the hepatitis B shot at birth has virtually eliminated this disease in young kids, but the virus still remains a “silent epidemic” in the U.S., Offit said.
Before universal vaccination at birth, it was estimated that 200,000-300,000 new hepatitis B infections occurred annually in the U.S. from 1980-1991 and over 1 million people were living with chronic hepatitis B infection, who were potentially infectious to others.
CDC data shows that there were at least 2,214 reports of acute hepatitis B cases in the U.S. in 2023, which corresponds to an estimated 14,400 acute infections with the virus, after adjusting for unrecognized or underreported infections. There were over 17,000 newly reported chronic hepatitis B cases and nearly 1,800 hepatitis B-related deaths that year.
It’s estimated that up to 2.4 million people are living with chronic hepatitis B in the U.S., many asymptomatic and unaware of their diagnosis.
“There’s a lot more hepatitis B in this country than we people realize. Risk is much higher than people know it is,” Cohen said.
The virus is contagious and spreads through contact with blood or body fluids from a person infected with the virus, according to the CDC. A person can be asymptomatic for many years and spread the infection.
There are medications people can take to slow down the virus, but there’s no cure.
“Until we have a cure for Hepatitis B, it is critically important to prevent it,” Cohen said.
The Hepatitis B Foundation has voiced grave concern that the recommendation for universal hepatitis B vaccination at birth will be reversed by the current ACIP.
“For decades, the birth dose recommendation has prevented thousands of Americans from a devastating and life-threatening illness. It is a critical part of our nation’s strategy to eliminate hepatitis B and protect the health of future generations,” the foundation said in a statement in June.
The organization called for a “zero-tolerance policy for perinatal hepatitis B transmission in the U.S.”
“We cannot allow a preventable, cancer-causing virus to destroy more lives. The health of our children and the integrity of our public health system deserve better,” the statement said.
In a letter to the ACIP ahead of Thursday’s meeting, the pharmaceutical company Merck, which makes one of the FDA-approved hepatitis B vaccines that can be given at birth, said 330 million doses of its shot have been distributed worldwide since its approval in 1986 and “have been evaluated in over 30 clinical studies enrolling approximately 13,000 participants.
Among these studies, 12 post-approval studies included 3,646 neonates, newborns, infants and children.”
“The safety profile of RECOMBIVAX HB has been well established and closely monitored for more than 35 years. Merck remains vigilant in monitoring scientific literature, healthcare reports and other data sources to ensure the continued safety of RECOMBIVAX HB,” Merck said.
Wang said $0.20 per shot could prevent a lifetime of suffering. “It’s not just a liver disease, you know, it affects your life completely.”
(LONDON) — President Donald Trump will meet with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the latter’s official country residence on Thursday, on the second day of a historic second state visit to the U.K. which saw Trump hosted by the royal family at Windsor Castle on Wednesday.
The two leaders will hold a bilateral meeting at Chequers, the prime minister’s estate in Buckinghamshire north of London.
Trump and first lady Melania Trump are expected to depart Windsor Castle at 10:30 a.m local time — 5:30 a.m. ET — with a farewell ceremony involving King Charles III and Queen Camilla.
Trump and Starmer are expected to meet at 11:15 a.m. local time. They will then hold a press conference at 2:20 p.m.
Multiple pressing global issues may be on the agenda. Among them are Russia’s ongoing full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s growing threat to NATO’s eastern flank and the war in Gaza, where Israel’s offensive on Gaza City is expanding as the two leaders meet.
Trump’s visit comes after Starmer and other European leaders traveled to the White House to meet with Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy just after Trump’s summit in Alaska with Russian President Putin.
Since that meeting, during which allies expressed optimism of a path forward on security guarantees, no progress has materialized.
Trump and the first lady are expected to leave London at just after 5 p.m. local time. They are expected to arrive back at the White House by 8:10 p.m. ET.
On Wednesday, Trump was greeted at Windsor Castle by the royal family and an elaborate military reception. Meanwhile, a crowd of thousands gathered in central London to protest Trump on Wednesday. Many of the protesters held anti-Trump signs and Palestinian flags.
During a tour of Windsor Castle, the Trumps laid a wreath on the tomb of Queen Elizabeth II during a service at the castle’s chapel, then spoke with the children before taking a tour of the chapel.
Later, the Trumps attended a state banquet, with other guests including Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman, Rupert Murdoch, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
During his remarks at the state banquet, King Charles focused on the special relationship between the U.S. and the U.K., saying that “our people have fought and died together for the values we hold dear.”
“The ocean may still divide us, but in so many ways we are now the closest of kin,” he said.
At the end of his remarks, Charles proposed a toast to Trump and the first lady.
Trump then spoke, thanking Charles and saying he had worked to preserve his nation’s history, uplifted the poor and supported soldiers.
Trump also mentioned the Prince and Princess of Wales, saying it was nice to see them, saying that Kate was “healthy” and “beautiful.”
The president mentioned a few of the United Kingdom’s most significant historical accomplishments and said the U.K. laid the groundwork for law and liberty. Trump said the bond between America and the United Kingdom is irreplaceable.
“Together, we must defend the exceptional heritage that makes us who we are, and we must continue to stand for the values and the people of the English-speaking world, and we do indeed stand for that,” Trump said.
(LONDON) — President Donald Trump will meet with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the latter’s official country residence on Thursday, on the second day of a historic second state visit to the U.K. which saw Trump hosted by the royal family at Windsor Castle on Wednesday.
The two leaders will hold a bilateral meeting at Chequers, the prime minister’s estate in Buckinghamshire north of London.
Trump and first lady Melania Trump are expected to depart Windsor Castle at 10:30 a.m local time — 5:30 a.m. ET — with a farewell ceremony involving King Charles III and Queen Camilla.
Trump and Starmer are expected to meet at 11:15 a.m. local time. They will then hold a press conference at 2:20 p.m.
Multiple pressing global issues may be on the agenda. Among them are Russia’s ongoing full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s growing threat to NATO’s eastern flank and the war in Gaza, where Israel’s offensive on Gaza City is expanding as the two leaders meet.
Trump’s visit comes after Starmer and other European leaders traveled to the White House to meet with Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy just after Trump’s summit in Alaska with Russian President Putin.
Since that meeting, during which allies expressed optimism of a path forward on security guarantees, no progress has materialized.
Trump and the first lady are expected to leave London at just after 5 p.m. local time. They are expected to arrive back at the White House by 8:10 p.m. ET.
On Wednesday, Trump was greeted at Windsor Castle by the royal family and an elaborate military reception. Meanwhile, a crowd of thousands gathered in central London to protest Trump on Wednesday. Many of the protesters held anti-Trump signs and Palestinian flags.
During a tour of Windsor Castle, the Trumps laid a wreath on the tomb of Queen Elizabeth II during a service at the castle’s chapel, then spoke with the children before taking a tour of the chapel.
Later, the Trumps attended a state banquet, with other guests including Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman, Rupert Murdoch, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
During his remarks at the state banquet, King Charles focused on the special relationship between the U.S. and the U.K., saying that “our people have fought and died together for the values we hold dear.”
“The ocean may still divide us, but in so many ways we are now the closest of kin,” he said.
At the end of his remarks, Charles proposed a toast to Trump and the first lady.
Trump then spoke, thanking Charles and saying he had worked to preserve his nation’s history, uplifted the poor and supported soldiers.
Trump also mentioned the Prince and Princess of Wales, saying it was nice to see them, saying that Kate was “healthy” and “beautiful.”
The president mentioned a few of the United Kingdom’s most significant historical accomplishments and said the U.K. laid the groundwork for law and liberty. Trump said the bond between America and the United Kingdom is irreplaceable.
“Together, we must defend the exceptional heritage that makes us who we are, and we must continue to stand for the values and the people of the English-speaking world, and we do indeed stand for that,” Trump said.
Patrick Connolly/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
(ORLANDO, Fla.) — A visitor at Universal’s Epic Universe theme park in Florida became unresponsive in the middle of a roller coaster ride and later died at the hospital, park officials said.
The incident took place on Wednesday night when the person, whose name hasn’t been released, was riding the Stardust Racers roller coaster at the Universal Orlando Resorts park and became unresponsive in the middle of the ride, according to a statement from Universal Orlando Resorts.
The person was taken to the hospital when the ride stopped and was later declared dead, park officials said.
“We are devastated by this event and extend our sincerest sympathies to the guest’s loved ones,” said Universal Orlando Resorts. “We are fully committed to cooperating with this ongoing investigation.”
As a precaution, Stardust Racers will remain closed while the investigation, which is being conducted by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, is underway, park officials said.
The sheriff’s office has not commented on the investigation.
