(WASHINGTON) — The House panel investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection sent a letter to former House Speaker Newt Gingrich Thursday seeking information and records related to what it said were his conversations and communications with former President Donald Trump’s team before and after the attack on the Capitol.
In its letter, the committee said it had obtained emails from Gingrich, an influential Republican, to Trump advisers Jared Kushner and Jason Miller offering talking points and direction for television ads about election fraud in December of 2020.
The panel specifically said those communications were sent after Trump’s voter fraud allegations “were shown to be false.”
“The goal is to arouse the country’s anger through new verifiable information the American people have never seen before[.] . . . If we inform the American people in a way they find convincing and it arouses their anger[,] they will then bring pressure on legislators and governors,” Gingrich wrote in an email, according to the panel.
In its letter, the committee said Gingrich repeatedly emailed then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows before and after the attack with questions about coordination of a push to send fake electors to the Electoral College and letters from state legislators regarding the electors — including after the mob was cleared from the Capitol.
“On the evening of January 6th, you continued to push efforts to overturn the election results. You emailed Mr. Meadows at 10:42 p.m., after the Capitol had been cleared of rioters and members of Congress had returned to finish certifying the election results, and asked, ‘[a]re there letters from state legislators about decertifying electors[?]'” the committee wrote.
“Accordingly, you appear to have been involved with President Trump’s efforts to stop the certification of the election results, even after the attack on the Capitol.”
The committee requested a voluntary interview with Gingrich the week of Sept. 19.
“A full and accurate accounting of what happened on January 6th is critical to the Select Committee’s legislative recommendations. And the American people deserve to understand the relevant details of what led to the attack,” the panel wrote.
The committee has previously sought information from aides to Gingrich who did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
In December 2020, the committee said, Gingrich emailed senior Trump aides urging the campaign to run national television ads promoting the conspiracy theory that Georgia election workers smuggled suitcases full of ballots into State Farm Arena.
Senior Justice Department officials at the time, including former Attorney General Bill Barr, told the committee and said publicly that they investigated this and other claims of election fraud, and found no merit to them.
“We looked at the tape, we interviewed the witnesses,” former acting deputy attorney general Richard Donoghue told the committee about his conversation with former President Trump about the claims. “I said, ‘No sir, there is no suitcase. You can watch the video over and over. There is no suitcase.'”
The letter to Gingrich, a prominent Trump ally, is a reminder of the House committee’s work while much of the national attention is on the unprecedented FBI raid on Trump’s Florida residence as part of an investigation into his handling of classified documents after leaving the White House.
The panel is expected to resume public hearings at some point this month after already publicly interviewing several former Trump administration officials and rioters.
(JACKSON, Miss.) — Residents of Jackson, Mississippi, are facing a clean water shortage, days after Gov. Tate Reeves announced a major pump at the city’s main water treatment facility was damaged. The city’s mayor says the current water crisis is a result of years-long issues.
The damage to the O.B. Curtis Water Treatment plant happened after the city experienced a high level of flooding due to heavy rainfall over the last week, leaving the city without enough safe water for people to use.
The damaged facility resulted in a total loss or near-total loss of water pressure throughout Jackson and other areas in Hinds County that receive water from the plant.
A new pump arrived and was installed at the facility on Wednesday, Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba said. But Reeves said on the same day that there is a tremendous amount of work to be done on the plant and the boil water notice in the city will continue until further notice.
Record flooding over the weekend caused water to fill up the Barnett Reservoir in central Mississippi. Flooding crested on Monday when water levels were measured at a peak of 35.37 feet, just below the major flood stage of 36 feet. Water levels above 28 feet are considered flood stage. The water has since been receding.
On Monday, Reeves said the city is using backup pumps, but until the problem is fixed, residents will not have reliable running water and the city will not be able to produce enough water for serious needs, including fighting fires and flushing toilets. A second water treatment facility, J.H. Fewell, is also experiencing an insufficient number of certified operators, according to the Mississippi Department of Health’s emergency order.
According to Lumumba, the city has been experiencing “a constant state of emergency” for the last two years when it comes to its water supply. Even when there isn’t low water pressure or the city has not issued a boil water notice, the crisis continues, he said during a press briefing Tuesday.
“I have said on multiple occasions, that it’s not a matter of if our system would fail. But a matter of when our system will fail,” Lumumba said.
The Pearl River area in Jackson experienced severe flooding in 2020 when water levels crested at 36.67 feet.
Staffing shortages, system issues and numerous equipment failures have all contributed to the overall failure of the water plant, according to Lumumba.
“This is a set of accumulated problems based on deferred maintenance that has not taken place over decades,” Lumumba said.
In an interview on ABC News Live Tuesday, Lumumba said the current crisis stems from up to 30 years of deferred maintenance and a lack of capital improvements to the system.
“We’ve had hotter summers, colder winters and more precipitation each year and it’s taking a toll on our infrastructure. And so we need the support to not only create sustainability and equity in our system, but to also weatherize our system,” Lumumba said.
The current crisis happened because the facility was receiving flood water, that changed the overall composition of the water making it difficult to treat and potentially dangerous, he said. The plant therefore needed more time to treat the water, which is why residents were experiencing little water pressure and less water supply.
Officials are flushing bad water out of the system and attempting to do critical maintenance and emergency repairs, but Reeves warned Wednesday that there will be future interruptions, saying they are unavoidable at this point.
A chemical imbalance at the plant on Wednesday also forced officials to shut down part of the plant. While there were some improvements made, the plant is still facing an electrical and mechanical problem, Jim Craig, the director of health protection at the state’s Department of Health, said Wednesday.
Sludge at the bottom of the water basins at the plant is also a huge issue, Craig said.
To solve the ongoing crisis, Lumumba said that it could cost billions of dollars, “far beyond the city’s reach” to fix or replace the water plant. The city has put in millions of dollars already towards the system, but it will likely fall short, said the mayor.
“The residents of Jackson are worthy. They are worthy of a dependable system, and we look forward to a coalition of the willing that will join us in the fight to improve this system that has been failing for decades,” said Lumumba on Tuesday.
The governor has declared a state of emergency and activated the National Guard. The state has set up water distribution sites to hand out drinkable and non-drinkable water to residents in the meantime, opening up seven new sites on Thursday.
Reeves also requested an emergency federal declaration for the water crisis, which was approved by President Joe Biden.
ABC News’ Ahmed Hemingway, Rahma Ahmed, William Gretsky, Victoria Arancio and Melissa Griffin contributed to this report
Christina House/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — Fewer Black and Hispanic Americans have gotten a first or second COVID-19 vaccine booster compared to people of other races and ethnicities, new federal data finds.
The CDC report also found that booster coverage was highest among white and Asian Americans.
Fewer Black and Hispanic Americans have gotten a first or second COVID-19 vaccine booster compared to people of other races and ethnicities, new federal data finds.
The report, published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Thursday, looked at the share of eligible Americans aged 5 and older who’ve received a primary booster and those aged 50 and older who’ve received a second booster.
As of Aug. 5, 2022, about half of the eligible U.S. population has received a first booster and one-third has gotten a second booster.
Among eligible Black Americans, 42.9% have received a first booster dose and 28.1% have received a second booster. Hispanic Americans had even lower percentages at 37.3% of those eligible with a first booster and 24.4% with a second booster.
By comparison, white and Asian Americans had much higher percentages. Data showed 54.7% of eligible white people had a first booster and 36.6% of those eligible had a second booster.
Meanwhile, 58.5% of eligible Asian Americans had a first booster and 36.1% were given a second booster.
Also found in the CDC report to have lower booster coverage were younger Americans, regardless of race or ethnicity.
However, when looking at the racial and ethnic breakdown of boosters among children between ages 5 and 11, 9.8% of eligible Black children and 10.4% of Hispanic children had received a booster.
About twice as many eligible white and Asian children were boosted, at 17.7% and 20.6%, respectively.
“This is once again an indication that this pandemic has exposed incredible disparities, first in access to testing, treatment and vaccines,” said Dr. John Brownstein, an epidemiologist at Boston Children’s Hospital and an ABC News contributor. “Now, certain populations are not getting access to important, life-saving boosters.”
Brownstein said one reason for the low percentages, especially with the second booster, may be because of the innovative methods used to vaccinate people earlier in the pandemic that have since disappeared.
“There was a huge drive to get people that primary series and meeting people where they were with pop-up sites and drive-through vaccination, and much of that infrastructure has gone away,” he said. “We’re now relying on more traditional measures, like pharmacies and primary care.”
Research has shown people of color are more likely to live in pharmacy deserts with less geographic access to primary care physicians.
“They may mean some populations get left behind and unfortunately, that often means minorities,” Brownstein added.
The authors wrote understanding what is contributing to lower booster coverage and addressing interventions “is crucial to ensuring equitable access to COVID-19 vaccination.”
Brownstein said increasing uptake is even more vital as autumn approaches with colder weather and more people heading indoors increasing the risk of COVID-19 infection.
“There is urgency to try to figure this out ahead of a surge,” he said. “We expect emergence of a new variant and as we see limited masking and full mobility, that increases the risk.”
“Some minority populations will feel the impact the greatest. We have a new opportunity with a new booster to avoid getting to a point with unnecessary hospitalizations and deaths among Black and Hispanic Americans,” Brownstein continued.
Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — The Justice Department’s Tuesday night court filing in its ongoing investigation into classified documents stored at former President Donald Trump’s Florida estate included previously unreleased details about the probe — but perhaps none were as revealing as an FBI photograph of documents recovered from Trump’s personal office during the bureau’s August 8 raid.
Since the FBI’s search of Mar-a-Lago, some members of Trump’s team have downplayed the documents he kept at the resort as keepsakes that contained little sensitive information. But the photo released by Justice Department appears to refute those claims, showing document after document clearly labeled Secret and Top Secret.
In a court filing Wednesday evening, attorneys for Trump criticized the photo and its inclusion in the brief the government filed opposing Trump’s request for a special master to review the retrieved documents.
“The Government’s Response gratuitously included a photograph of allegedly classified materials, pulled from a container and spread across the floor for dramatic effect,” the filing said. “The Government pretends these are not historically important moments, telling this Court that not only does it object to a Special Master, but that the Movant should have no opportunity to challenge any aspect of this behavior and decision-making.”
While portions of the FBI photo are redacted, a close review of the image reveals new clues about the kind of classified materials the former president was continuing to hang onto even after the Justice Department had issued a subpoena for their return.
Classified cover sheets
The photo shows numerous documents on the floor of Trump’s personal office, including colored-coded cover sheets baring classification markings in big, bold lettering.
“An examination of these cover sheets alone tells you a lot,” Douglas London, a 34-year CIA veteran, told ABC News regarding the DOJ photo. “As the most important intelligence customer, it should be no surprise that the president receives the most sensitive information — and that’s reflected in these documents.”
The markings on the cover sheets include “TOP SECRET/SCI,” which refers to Sensitive Compartmented Information classified as national intelligence “concerning or derived from intelligence sources,” according to a separate document from the Director of National Intelligence reviewed by ABC News. This material may come from allies or informants, or from spying or eavesdropping.
A cover sheet near the bottom center of the photo also appears to show a “HCS-P/SI/TK” classification marking. HCS-P refers to HUMINT Control System, which is “designed to protect intelligence information derived from clandestine human sources, commonly referred to as “human intelligence.” SI, or Special Intelligence, refers to a Sensitive Compartmented Information control system “designed to protect technical and intelligence information derived from the monitoring of foreign communications signals by other than the intended recipients,” according to the FBI.
London, who is also the author of “The Recruiter: Spying and the Lost Art of American Intelligence,” said, “If HCS is on the cover sheet, it means at least some of that information was drawn from human sources. And HCS-P is sensitive even by human source standards.”
“Without being melodramatic, anything that helps an adversary identify a human source means life and death,” he said. “People’s lives are truly at stake.”
There is also a handwritten marker next to the document that reads “2A,” which appears to refer to “Item 2A” on the property receipt that was given to Trump’s lawyers following the search. On the receipt, “Item 2A” is described as “Various classified/TS/SCI documents.”
Dates on documents
Even though the contents of the documents can’t been seen in the photo, the dates on some documents are visible. While it’s not clear how or if the dates correlate to the classified information, they could provide potential clues regarding what Trump was publicly dealing with at the time.
Two documents with a “limited access” marker appear to be dated Aug. 26, 2018. While little else about those documents is visible, it’s known that in August 2018, Trump was in the thick of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into contacts between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia.
The day before Aug. 26, Trump, posting on Twitter, unloaded on Muller and then-attorney general Jeff Sessions, who had by then recused himself from the Russia probe, according to records maintained by The American Presidency Project by UC Santa Barbara.
One month prior to that, Mueller had indicted 12 Russian military intelligence officers for hacking and releasing Democratic emails during the 2016 campaign.
In addition, days before Aug. 26, 2018, Trump’s former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, was found guilty on eight counts of tax fraud.
Aug. 26, 2018, was also the day after Sen. John McCain died.
A separate document shown in the photo bears the date May 9, 2018, which is the same day Trump gave a speech announcing he was withdrawing the United States from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
On that same day, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang, which led to Trump announcing that Pompeo would be returning to the U.S. with three Americans who had been released from prison in North Korea.
“I’m very honored to have helped these great folks, but the true honor is going to be if we have a victory in getting rid of nuclear weapons,” Trump said standing on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews. “We have a meeting scheduled in a very short period of time. We have the location set. We’ll see if we can do something that people did not think was going to happen for many, many years.”
Trump ended up meeting with Kim the following month at a summit in Singapore, after which Trump announced that North Korea was no longer a nuclear threat to America. However North Korea resumed constructing new missiles the following month.
(WASHINGTON) — A federal judge has sentenced former New York Police Department officer Thomas Webster to 10 years in prison for assaulting officers outside the Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot.
The sentence is the longest prison term yet for a defendant in the Justice Department’s criminal investigation of Jan. 6, but short of the 17.5 years prosecutors had sought for Webster.
The DOJ had previously released harrowing officer body camera footage that showed Webster, 56, assaulting law enforcement.
The sentencing in D.C. court comes after a jury found Webster guilty on six charges, including assaulting a police officer, in May.
Webster was found guilty of assaulting D.C. Metropolitan Police Department officer Noah Rathbun, who testified during the trial.
According to testimony and video of the riot, Webster, clad in a bulletproof vest and waving a Marine Corps flag, pushed toward the front of the crowd and yelled at Rathburn to “take your s— off!”
Video shows Webster swing a metal flagpole and breaking apart bike racks that were acting as a police perimeter. As Rathbun backed away, Webster tackled him and then pulled at the officer’s gas mask. Rathbun testified that he began to choke on his chin strap as Webster pulled at the mask. Video shows that Rathbun hit Webster’s face while trying to push him away.
During the trial, Webster claimed that Rathbun had provoked the fight and that he pulled at Rathbun’s mask as a form of self-defense.
Webster was convicted of assaulting, resisting or impeding an officer using a dangerous weapon; civil disorder; entering and remaining in restricted grounds with a dangerous weapon; engaging in physical violence in restricted grounds with a dangerous weapon; and engaging in an act of physical violence on Capitol grounds.
During his sentencing, Webster was given three years of supervised probation and ordered to pay $2,060 in restitution.
Judge Amit Mehta chose to apply a 4-level enhancement because Webster was wearing body armor. This alone added 30 months to the minimum sentence he could have received.
Mehta described Webster as an ordinary American, a public servant in the NYPD and the Marine Corps, who “lost everything in a split second.”
While making a statement during his sentencing hearing, Webster wept, saying he should have never come to D.C. on Jan. 6. He said he was overwhelmed and frustrated by his emotions and political rhetoric and should have known to turn away but did not have the courage to do so. He also apologized to Rathbun.
Webster, of the village of Florida, New York, served in the Marine Corps from 1985 to 1989 and as an NYPD officer from 1991 to 2011.
“As a former Marine and retired police officer, Thomas Webster could readily see the growing dangers to law enforcement when he and other members of the mob targeted the Capitol on January 6th,” U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves said in a statement Thursday. “He chose to escalate the situation, brutally going on the attack. Today’s sentence holds him accountable for his repeated attacks of an officer that day.”
Webster’s lawyers had argued that Webster’s years of service, “exceptional character,” “impeccable conduct” as a uniformed police officer and “love and devotion to his country” warranted a less severe sentence than the DOJ sought.
(WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.) — The DOJ and lawyers for former President Donald Trump faced off in a Florida court Thursday on whether there should be a special master review of the documents seized at Mar-a-Lago.
Lawyers for the Justice Department and former President Donald Trump faced off in a Florida courtroom Thursday over whether there should be a judge-ordered independent review of the documents the FBI seized last month at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
Trump’s lawyers had said the third-party review was needed to deal with matters involving potentially privileged materials, including both attorney-client and executive privilege.
But the Justice Department has said a previously-established “filter team” has already finished its review of potentially attorney-client privilege materials that were seized in the raid. They have also urged Judge Aileen Cannon to reject any claims by Trump of executive privilege over the items, noting that his status as a former president means he has no right to continue to possess the documents.
At the end of Thursday’s hearing, Judge Cannon said she would not be ruling from the bench and would enter a written order in due time. She did not give a timeline.
But she indicated she is seriously considering appointing a “special master” to review the documents seized from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club, an order that would put on hold investigators’ review of the materials.
Cannon, a federal judge nominated by Trump, indicated that if she were to appoint a special master it would not have an impact on the current ongoing assessment by the intelligence community.
The judge asked to hear from one of the lawyers on the government’s filter team that has already gone through the documents. The filter team has not shared what it has deemed to be potentially privileged with investigators.
During the arguments, Trump lawyer Jim Trusty equated Trump’s refusal to return documents to the National Archives and Records Administration to an “overdue library book,” adding that the ongoing dispute with the Archives “has been transformed into a criminal investigation.”
Christopher Kise, who was just recently added to Trump’s legal team, referenced the “significant lack of trust between the parties” and said that the “temperature is very high,” telling the judge that there is a “public lack of faith” in the Justice Department and “real or perceived lack of transparency.”
“We need respectfully to lower the temperature of both sides. We need to take a deep breath,” Kise told the judge.
“This is not a case about some Department of Defense staffer stuffing military papers” in a bag and sneaking out in the middle of the night, Kise said, arguing the documents Trump had in his possession were presidential records in the possession of the president of the United States.
Justice Department lawyer Jay Bratt took issue with that, saying , “He is no longer the president and because he was no longer the president he did not have the right to take those documents.”
“They aren’t his,” Bratt said, referring to the seized documents.
“They have put forth no evidence that there was any disregard for the former president’s rights,” Bratt said.
He told the judge the appointment of a special master would hinder their investigation. He said that doing so could give people access to the documents who didn’t have a right to see them — in other words, back in the hands of the former president.
Bratt said investigators would have no idea where they would be stored and the documents would be given back to people who don’t have the right to access them.
(NEW YORK) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky signed off on newly-updated COVID-19 booster shots Thursday night, giving the final clearance shots to be administered soon after.
The new booster shots have been updated to target two different COVID strains in one shot — the current omicron subvariants, BA.4 and BA.5, which make up 99% of new cases in the U.S., and the original strain of COVID-19.
This is the first time current COVID-19 vaccines have had a major upgrade. In the future, experts expect the vaccines could be updated periodically to match current strains — akin to the way the flu shot is slightly different each year.
Walensky urged eligible Americans to get the shot.
“The updated COVID-19 boosters are formulated to better protect against the most recently circulating COVID-19 variant. They can help restore protection that has waned since previous vaccination and were designed to provide broader protection against newer variants,” she said in a statement.
Public health officials directed the vaccine companies to create a bivalent vaccine — a vaccine that targets two different strains — in the hopes that the compilation will provide broader protection against COVID this fall and winter, as infections could rise with flu season, the cold weather and more time indoors.
The Pfizer bivalent booster will be available to everyone over 12, while the Moderna bivalent booster will be available to everyone over 18.
Earllier Thursday, the panel of CDC advisors publicly reviewed the data before taking the vote. Thirteen members approved the measure while one voted no and there was some debate ahead of the vote over the lack of available data.
In order to roll the vaccines out by next month and offer people protection this fall and winter, the companies submitted data to U.S. Food and Drug Administration without full clinical trial data.
Some members of the CDC panel were concerned about the precedent that it set to recommend a vaccine without data from human trials.
“Ultimately, I really don’t want to establish a precedent of recommending a vaccine that we don’t have clinical data for,” Dr. Pablo Sanche said.
Other members said they were comfortable with the risk-benefit analysis.
“I just would like to remind the committee that every year we use influenza vaccines that are based on new strains, without clinical studies being done. This is what we do every year,” Dr. Melinda Wharton said.
Appointments could ramp up in earnest after the holiday weekend.
The U.S. government has purchased about 171 million shots, between contracts with Pfizer and Moderna.
Both bivalent vaccines are authorized for use two months after people have received either their primary vaccine series or their last booster shot.
The Moderna vial will have a dark blue cap and a label with a gray border, while the Pfizer vial will have a gray cap and a label with gray border.
The CDC’s vote came a day after the FDA issued its emergency use authorization for the updated booster shots.
“It is matched to what is currently circulating. And the hope here is that by increasing the amount of antibodies we have to that particular variant, we will restore the kind of protection that we had when we first saw these vaccines launched in the late part of 2020, early part of 2021 where we had very good protection against symptomatic disease,” Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, told reporters in a press conference on Wednesday morning.
“We don’t know for a fact yet whether we will get to that same level — but that is the goal here. And that is what we believe the evidence that we’ve seen helps point to,” Marks said.
Marks also emphasized that it’s not only about boosting antibodies to beef up immediate protection, but about working toward annual shots rather than boosters every few months.
He said he’s hopeful that rolling bivalent boosters out now will tamp down an incoming winter wave and “hopefully bring us the protection we need through October, November, December to prevent yet another way that shuts down things like holiday plans.”
Marks was hesitant to give an exact timeline on when the shots would be authorized for people under 12, but said he expected more data in a few months.
“I can’t promise an exact timing, but we expect to start seeing … that drop down into the younger age ranges within the next one to two months,” Marks said.
“And so as we get submissions from the companies, we will act on them with all due diligence, because we’re aware that there are, particularly in the slightly older age ranges of children, some children that are coming due for boosters,” he said.
Currently, everyone over the age of five is eligible for a booster shot five months after their primary vaccine series. People who are over the age of 50 or immunocompromised can get a second booster dose four months after their first booster.
Should the CDC director sign off, people who are under 50 and have gotten their first booster could now get a second. But anyone who hasn’t gotten a booster shot at all could also get the bivalent booster as their first booster — something officials urged.
“Regrettably, only about half of eligible Americans have received their first booster dose,” Dr. Bob Califf, FDA commissioner, told reporters in the same press conference.
“CDC data indicate that those who are up to date on their vaccines have a 13-fold lower risk of dying from COVID compared to those with no vaccination, and a three-fold lower dose of dying than those who only had one booster compared to two. So this is a remarkable opportunity to improve our life expectancy and reduce the toll of mortality in our population,” Califf said.
Unlike the original vaccines and boosters, these new shots will not go through a lengthy clinical trial process where thousands of Americans are dosed with the vaccines to test their safety and long-term effectiveness. However, federal health officials stress that these new shots will still be just as safe as the original vaccines because the underlying vaccine platform, mRNA, is the same, and has been through many varying clinical trials.
Part of that review was an evaluation of a clinical study of a different updated booster shot that vaccine companies had made during an earlier omicron wave. The clinical trial of that booster shot, which targeted the BA.1 variant and the original strain of COVID, was considered relevant enough to the bivalent vaccines targeting the BA.4/BA.5 variant and the original strain of omicron.
Officials also said that the decision not to use time-consuming clinical trials for each new shot is a strategic move, in an effort to keep vaccines up to date with the rapidly evolving variants — a process that will likely mimic how the flu vaccine is altered each year.
“If we waited for all the proof to come in, the wave will have already passed us by and the damage will have been done,” Califf said.
“It’s fair for people to raise questions. But this really is the best consensus that we have among the experts that this is the best way to go,” he added.
Marks also repeatedly defended the data FDA used to make this authorization — clinical trial data on a bivalent vaccine that targeted a different omicron subvariant and the original COVID-19 strain, making it very similar to this booster shot that targets the BA.4 and 5 subvariant along with the original COVID-19 strain — as well as real world data of millions of people who have gotten the mRNA vaccines and boosters globally.
“I think we’re pretty confident that what we have is very similar to the situation that we’ve done in the past with influenza strain changes where we don’t do clinical studies for them in the United States,” Marks said.
“We know from the way the vaccine works, and from the data that we have, that we can predict how well our vaccine will be working,” he added.
ABC News’ Anne Flaherty contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — NASA kicked off Monday its plan to send an unmanned space capsule into the moon’s orbit, marking the initial launch in an ambitious plan to establish a long term presence on the moon for scientific discovery and economic development.
The space capsule, called Artemis I, will travel for roughly 40 days — reaching as close as 60 miles from the moon, and then 40,000 miles above the moon when orbiting over its dark side — before landing in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego.
After the launch was scrubbed, the next attempt will occur Sept. 3.
Sep 01, 6:57 PM EDT
Artemis launch attempt still a-go for Saturday
The Artemis I launch attempt is still planned for Saturday from 2:17-4:17 p.m. ET, NASA officials said during a press conference Thursday.
“We’re comfortable with our risk posture,” Artemis mission manager Mike Serafin said. “That said, there’s no guarantee that we’re going to get off on Saturday, but we’re going to try.”
If not Saturday, the next launch attempt would be Monday from 5:12 p.m.-6:42 p.m. ET, officials said. Tuesday could also be an option, after which the next earliest launch attempt would be Sept. 19, Serafin said.
Sunday is no longer a backup option because the spacecraft would fly into an eclipse scenario, which would not allow it to get the power it needs from the sun.
If the launch is Saturday, the mission will be 37 days long, with the splashdown on Oct. 11, Serafin said.
-ABC News’ Gio Benitez and Meredith Deliso
Aug 30, 7:40 PM EDT
Artemis not launching Friday due to weather, NASA says
NASA officials said the Artemis I new launch date that was initially scheduled for Friday had to be moved due to bad weather.
The weather is 60% no go for Friday but looks to be more favorable Saturday.
“Looking forward to Saturday, weather would be a little bit different than what we experienced yesterday,” Mark Berger, launch weather officer with the U.S. Space Force’s 45th Weather Squadron, said during a media briefing Tuesday. “We will have a fairly strong onshore flow, and so that does favor showers and possibly a few thunderstorms moving in from the coast during the morning and early afternoon hours.”
He added, “I’m optimistic that we’ll have at least some clear air to work with during the afternoon to count on Saturday.”
The window for launch on Saturday kicks off at 2:17 p.m. ET and ends at 4:17 p.m. ET. If need be, the launch can be pushed back to Monday.
If the launch does not occur by Monday, Artemis I will have to roll back to the Vehicle Assembly Building and won’t be able to launch until later in September.
This is because the flight termination batteries, which allow Artemis to be blown up if it veers off course, run low after 25 days.
-ABC News’ Gio Benitez and Gina Sunseri
Aug 30, 7:05 PM EDT
Problem with Artemis engine may have actually been faulty sensor: Officials
The issue with an engine on Artemis I that led to the launch on Monday being scrubbed may not have been an engine issue at all.
NASA officials said Monday that engine three did not chill down to a temperature of 500 degrees Rankine, or 40 degrees Fahrenheit, which is needed for ignition, compared to the other three engines.
However, John Honeycutt, manager of the Space Launch System Program from Marshall Space Flight Center, said the problem may have actually come from a faulty sensor, rather than the engine not cooling down enough.
“I think we’ve got enough data to put the story together but we’ve still got to go put the pieces together,” Honeycutt said Tuesday.
Aug 30, 6:23 PM EDT
NASA moves Artemis launch date to Saturday
NASA officials announced Tuesday that they’ve moved the launch of Artemis I to Saturday.
Mike Sarafin, Artemis mission manager, told reporters during a media briefing that the mission management team met earlier in the day and agreed on the new date.
“We agreed on what was called option one, which was to operationally change the loading procedure and start our engine chill down earlier,” he said.
One of the reasons for the scrub on Monday was because engine three did not cool down enough to the point needed for ignition, he explained yesterday.
“We also agreed to do some work at the pad to address the leak that we saw and we also agreed to move our launch date to Saturday, September the 3rd,” Sarafin added. “We are going to reconvene the mission management team on Thursday, September the 1st, to review our flight rationale and our overall readiness.”
Aug 29, 1:21 PM EDT
NASA administrator says launch scrubs are normal
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said it’s normal for launches to be scrubbed after the Artemis I launch was delayed Monday for multiple reasons.
“I am very proud of this launch team. They have solved several problems along the way and they got to one that needed time to be solved,” he told reporters.
“I want to say, understand that scrubs are just a part of this program on the space flight,” Nelson said.
Nelson spoke about the seventh mission of Space Shuttle Columbia, which he flew in January 1986.
“We scrubbed four times on the pad,” Nelson said.
He added, “It was the better part of a month and, looking back, after the fifth try got off to a perfect mission. It would have not been a good day had we launched on any one of those four scrubs. So when you’re dealing in a high-risk business and spaceflight is risky, that’s what you do.”
Aug 29, 2:11 PM EDT
Engine does not need to be replaced on Artemis, NASA says
NASA officials said there is no sign one of the engines needs to replaced on the Artemis I rocket after the launch was scrubbed.
During a media briefing Monday, Mike Sarafin, Artemis mission manager, told reporters engine three did not cool down enough to the point needed for ignition.
“Do we need to remove and replace an engine? There is no indication we are at that scenario at this point,” he said.
Aug 29, 1:51 PM EDT
NASA breaks down details behind Artemis launch scrub
NASA officials on Monday offered more details behind the decision to postpone the Artemis I launch.
Mike Sarafin, Artemis mission manager, explained engine three was not cooling down enough to the temperature needed before ignition.
“I don’t recall exactly where the engines were but engines one, two and four were pretty close to that. Three was not getting there,” he told reporters during a media briefing Monday afternoon.
Sarafin said there were other issues earlier in the day including tanking — filling the rocket with liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen — being delayed for about an hour after the Kennedy Space Center went into a lightning alert as well as a hydrogen leak, although both were resolved.
“So the combination of not being able to get engine three to reach chill down and then the vent valve issue that they saw at the inner tank really caused us to pause today and we felt like we needed a little more time,” he said.
Sarafin added that he is hopeful about the second launch opportunity on Sept. 2.
“There is a non-zero chance we have a launch opportunity on Friday,” he said.
“But we need time, we really need time to look at all the all the information, all the data and, you know, we’re gonna play all nine innings here and we’re not ready to give up yet,” Sarafin continued.
Aug 29, 1:21 PM EDT
NASA administrator says launch scrubs are normal
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said it’s normal for launches to be scrubbed after the Artemis I launch was delayed Monday for multiple reasons.
“I am very proud of this launch team. They have solved several problems along the way and they got to one that needed time to be solved,” he told reporters.
“I want to say, understand that scrubs are just a part of this program on the space flight,” Nelson said.
Nelson spoke about the seventh mission of Space Shuttle Columbia, which he flew in January 1986.
“We scrubbed four times on the pad,” Nelson said.
He added, “It was the better part of a month and, looking back, after the fifth try got off to a perfect mission. It would have not been a good day had we launched on any one of those four scrubs. So when you’re dealing in a high-risk business and spaceflight is risky, that’s what you do.”
Aug 29, 10:20 AM EDT
VP Harris praises NASA team behind Artemis launch
Vice President Kamala Harris praised the NASA team behind the Artemis I mission after the launch had to be scrubbed Monday due to an engine problem.
Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff had been visiting the Kennedy Space Center before the launch was postponed.
The scrubbed launch was “about showing the great work that happens here,” Harris told reporters.
“These exceptional public servants, these exceptional skilled professionals who have the ability to see what is possible and what has never been done before. How exciting is that?” she said.
According to a White House official, Harris and Emhoff will continue with their visit under a revised itinerary.
“She met with astronauts at NASA Operations Support Building II and will proceed to a tour of Artemis II and Artemis III hardware as planned. The Vice President will gaggle following the tour and then depart,” the official said.
Aug 29, 9:40 AM EDT
‘We don’t launch until it’s right,’ says NASA administrator
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson defended the scrubbing of the Artemis I launch, saying the launch shouldn’t take place until the team is sure it’s ready.
“We don’t launch until it’s right,” he said during an interview on NASA TV Monday morning.
“There are certain guidelines. And I think it’s just illustrative that this is a very complicated machine, a very complicated system, and all those things have to work, and you don’t want to light the candle until it’s ready to go,” he said.
Nelson said the engineers will continue to “stress” and “test” the rocket to make sure it’s ready by the next attempt, which is Sept. 2.
Earlier in the day, Nelson had welcomed several Biden administration officials, including Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff, to the Kennedy Space Center ahead of the launch.
He said the vice president has been briefed and the White House will continue to receive regular updates.
Aug 29, 8:48 AM EDT
NASA scrubs Artemis I launch
NASA announced a few minutes after Artemis I was initially scheduled to lift off that the launch has been scrubbed.
Engineers said the problem came from a liquid hydrogen line that was not chilled enough inside one of the rocket’s four core-stage engines, which needs to occur before they can be ignited.
The next attempt will occur on Sept. 2.
Aug 29, 8:31 AM EDT
Artemis launch delayed due to storms, rocket troubleshooting
Artemis I will likely not be launching at 8:33 a.m. ET as originally planned after NASA ran into several delays in its preparation to send it into space.
The process of tanking, which includes filling the rocket’s core stage with liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen, was delayed due to some passing storms and lightning in the area, NASA said.
Moreover, a leak was discovered in the hydrogen fuel line, which NASA quickly resolved. The leak concentration was “at an acceptable level,” NASA said.
Engineers also discovered a potential crack in the inner stage flange, which connects two of the rocket’s cylinders.
The countdown clock is currently paused at T-40 and the launch can go as late as 10:33 a.m. ET If that window passes, the next attempt at launch will be Sept. 2.
(NEW YORK) — High-speed internet is coming to the high seas, as Royal Caribbean announced it would implement Elon Musk’s Starlink internet on all its ships.
The company said the technology will “improve and enable” high-bandwidth activities such as video streaming and video calls on its sailings. It also said the connectivity will “make it easier for guests and crew to remain connected to work, family and friends – no matter where they are in the world.”
Starlink — a constellation of satellites in low Earth orbit launched by SpaceX — was created to bring internet access to underserved areas of the world. The project boasts high-speed, low-latency internet.
Deployment will begin “immediately” and completed by the first quarter of 2023, Royal Caribbean said.
“This technology will provide game-changing internet connectivity onboard our ships, enhancing the cruise experience for guests and crew alike,” Jason Liberty, president and chief executive officer of Royal Caribbean Group, said in a press release.
The news comes after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) authorized SpaceX to provide satellite internet to vehicles in motion earlier this summer.
(LOS ANGELES) — At least seven firefighters were injured in a raging wildfire in southern California, officials said Wednesday night.
The Route Fire in Castaic has burned over 5,208 acres with 12% containment as of Thursday morning, the Los Angeles Fire Department said.
Authorities previously reported the fire at 4,600 acres and 0% contained as of late Wednesday night.
Of the seven firefighters that have suffered heat-related injuries, five were taken to the hospital for care, the Los Angeles Fire Department said.
“The folks out there are just taking a beating. We did have eight heat-related events today. Six people were transported. I believe their condition is all good,” Los Angeles County Fire Department Deputy Chief Tom Ewald said at a press conference Wednesday.
Units were dispatched to the fire around noon Wednesday, when the fire was only about 60 acres, the Los Angeles Fire Department said.
As units arrived to the scene, officials closed the northbound Interstate 5 just before 1 p.m., with the southbound lanes closing shortly thereafter.
The major roadway was reopened, but two lanes remain closed at Templin Highway to Lake Hughes Road as of Thursday morning, according to authorities.
Fifteen aircraft, including three with night vision capabilities, were also used to fight the fire, which has destroyed two outbuildings and a truck, Ewald said.
Evacuations were ordered for Paradise Mobile Estates and all structures south of Templin Highway along Upper Ridge Route Road, authorities said. Residents in that area were ordered to evacuate to the north, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
The Los Angeles County Police Department, which is working alongside the Santa Clarita Valley police, said its priority is to help assist with evacuations, be it people, livestock or vehicles.
There are currently two shelters available to residents, one in West Ranch High School and one in Frazier Mountain High School, officials said. Small animals can be taken to Castaic Animal Shelter.
The fire rages as southern California braces for a major heat wave this week, with much of the region under excessive heat warnings on Thursday. Los Angeles is projected to reach into the triple digits throughout the weekend, according to the National Weather Service.
