(NEW YORK) — The megadrought that has plagued the West for several decades is not only expected to persist, but drought conditions will also likely intensify and expand east, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
About 55% of the continental U.S. is experiencing drought conditions, which will likely worsen in the Great Plains, particularly the central and southern Plains, such as Texas and Oklahoma, NOAA scientists said during a monthly climate call Thursday.
These areas will be experiencing extreme fire danger on Friday as conditions are worsened by the arid landscape and ground fuel that allows wildfires to explode. The region will likely see well below the average precipitation as the summer months approach, according to NOAA.
Many places in the West have been experiencing drought for three consecutive years without any significant recovery in sight.
California and Nevada are already breaking records for dryness this year, after they both had their driest period of January through March on record. This is the time of year that the region typically receives the most rain and snow, making the statistic all the more concerning, the scientists said. California’s snowpack is currently at 30% of its average.
So far in 2022, California has only received 15% of its normal precipitation. In 2021, California received 65% of its normal precipitation during this same period.
This year will likely be among the top 10 warmest on record, according to NOAA. Globally, March was sixth warmest on record, and record warm March temperatures were observed across 5% of the global area, according to NOAA.
In Antarctica, where summer just transitioned to fall, one station reached its highest temperature ever recorded, and temperatures at one point were up to 70 degrees above average, the scientists said.
Research indicates that climate change is contributing to the extent, severity and duration of the drought in the Western U.S. The drought is likely to cost the U.S. billions of dollars in 2022, the scientists said.
(NEW YORK) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Thursday that the public health agency is looking into a cluster of hepatitis cases among children.
According to a press release, the federal agency is studying nine hepatitis cases in Alabama “of unknown origin in children ranging in age from 1 to 6 years old, all of whom were previously healthy.” The children have also tested positive for adenovirus infection, which most commonly causes respiratory illness, but depending on the type, can cause gastrointestinal infection in children.
How significant is this national health alert?
The rise in hepatitis cases in the U.S. mirrors an increase in cases among youths in the U.K.
“It falls under the category of the fact that the CDC is actively engaged in non-COVID surveillance and this is a perfect example of that,” ABC News’ chief medical correspondent Dr. Jen Ashton told Good Morning America.
“Hepatitis — that umbrella term for inflammation of the liver — can be caused by viruses but it can also be caused by toxins, medications. [It’s] very unusual to see it in this pediatric population,” Ashton added.
Should parents be concerned?
Parents should be aware that there are cases where children are getting sick and if they notice symptoms or suspect a case of hepatitis or liver inflammation, they should consult their child’s pediatrician immediately.
“At this point, this is rare. It’s just something CDC is keeping an eye on,” Ashton said.
What causes hepatitis?
Hepatitis viruses are the most common cause of hepatitis in the world, including hepatitis A, B, and C, but they’ve been ruled out in the Alabama cluster. Researchers at the CDC suspect that the adenovirus infections may have caused the pediatric hepatitis cases and are still working to find out more information.
What are the symptoms of hepatitis?
Hepatitis symptoms include jaundice or yellowing of the skin and eyes, abdominal pain, nausea, or vomiting, dark-colored urine, or pale bowel movements.
What can parents do?
The CDC recommends that children receive vaccinations for hepatitis A and B. There is currently no vaccine available for hepatitis C.
(WASHINGTON) — The Russian Foreign Ministry on Thursday indefinitely barred 29 more Americans from entering Russia, including Vice President Kamala Harris, Washington Post columnist David Ignatius and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, in what it said was retaliation for “ever-expanding anti-Russian sanctions” by the United States.
Addressing the latest Russian sanctions at Thursday’s press briefing, State Department spokesperson Ned Price — who was also targeted — said it was “nothing less than an accolade to have earned the ire of a government that lies to its own people, brutalizes its neighbors, and seeks to create a world where freedom and liberty are put on the run — and if they had their way, extinguished.”
“Similarly, it is a great honor to share that enmity with other truth-tellers,” Price added, naming his counterparts, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby and White House press secretary Jen Psaki, “as well as a number of journalists who have done incredible work, sharing the jarring, bloody truth of Russia’s actions in Ukraine.”
In a release, the Russian Foreign Ministry cited the 29 individuals sanctioned Thursday as people who “form the Russophobic agenda.”
Second gentlemen Doug Emhoff, White House chief of staff Ron Klain, ABC News Anchor George Stephanopoulos, LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky and Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan were also included on the so-called “stop list.”
Last month, Russia also sanctioned President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and all 398 members of Congress from entering the country.
(WASHINGTON) — The United States Army has announced new policies to expand soldiers’ and their family’s health.
The 12-part directive expands previous policies such as allowing paid medical leave for pregnancies and pregnancy losses for soldiers and/or their spouses. It also creates new policies such as ones addressing soldiers and spouses going through fertilization treatment.
Army Secretary Christine Wormuth signed the Army’s Parenthood, Pregnancy and Postpartum directive 2022-06 on Thursday.
“It’s recognizing that in 2022, we have all different kinds of families going through all different kinds of life issues, and we can really take care of our families so we can retain our soldiers,” Maj. Sam Winkler said during a roundtable at the Pentagon on Thursday.
These changes stemmed from a grassroots movement within the Army and a Facebook group called The Army Mom Life, which has 8.2 thousand members.
One of those members is Staff Sgt. Nicole Pierce. Pierce worked with a committee at the Army headquarters to review the branch’s policies on pregnancy, parenthood and postpartum.
Pierce pushed for the Army to acknowledge the need for soldiers to have medical leave for parents who may have a miscarriage or a stillbirth.
Pierce had her first pregnancy in 2016. Unfortunately, it ended in a miscarriage. Pierce was expected to return to work two days later.
“I actually ended up asking my doctor, ‘hey, can I get a little bit more time. I just lost my child. My whole life just changed before my eyes. Can I get a little bit more time?’ And my doctor actually came back and said there were no complications with your surgery, so no you can’t have more time,” Pierce said during a roundtable.
She ended up using her vacation days to take two weeks off “to be able to process and mourn the loss of my family and the future I thought I was going to have,” Pierce explained.
Now, soldiers are allowed paid medical leave when either themselves or their spouse have a baby, a miscarriage or a stillbirth. The Army is the first U.S. branch to allow male soldiers the time to grieve after a pregnancy loss. Soldiers in the Reserve Components are also now given paid parental leave.
In addition, the Army is allowing parents to be excused up to a year after a birth, adoption or long-term foster care placement from working more than a regular shift. This includes deployment, field training, temporary duty assignments, etc.
Pierce also pushed to remove a rule that did not allow expecting soldiers to attend or complete the necessary class to be promoted. Now, the new directive will help prevent soldiers who have children from falling behind in their careers due to pregnancy.
She had her first child in 2019, but it set her back in her classes to be promoted since she was not allowed to be in them. She was back in the field working four months postpartum, and that was when she found out she was pregnant again. She had her second child in 2020 but was not able to get a spot in the class required to get a promotion until March 2021.
“I’m very excited that I can sleep better at night knowing that other moms will not have to go through the same things that I had to go through,” Pierce said.
Some other new policies coming from the directive include pregnant soldiers are now eligible to apply and compete for Active-Duty Operational Support tours (domestic tours). Soldiers also cannot be immediately released from active duty (REFRAD) after becoming pregnant.
Previous policies are being expanded to include allowing lactation breaks for lactating soldiers every 2-3 hours for at least 30 minutes in specific spaces that are not just restrooms. This policy is in place for as long as a soldier is lactating, for up to two years.
Right now, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends babies drink exclusively breast milk for the first six months and then a mix of breast milk and other foods for at least the first year. The directive takes these new guidelines into consideration.
The directive also extends Postpartum Body Composition (height/weight requirements) Exemptions from 6 months to a year, extends Physical Fitness Testing Exemptions for during and a year after their pregnancy.
Soldiers are also now excused from wearing service uniforms during pregnancy and up to one year postpartum. Before, soldiers had to have their uniforms altered or buy completely new uniforms. Now, soldiers can wear a combination of Army Combat Uniforms and maternity uniforms.
Another new policy now in place impacts soldiers who either themselves or their spouse is undergoing fertility treatment. Now, a soldier will be able to stay at their current base for one year, with the ability to extend for another year while they or their spouse pursues fertility treatment.
Army leaders will receive additional education and training for the following all of the new procedures, family planning and resources available.
The U.S. Army has more than 400,000 parents. That includes 29,000 single fathers, outnumbering the number of single mother soldiers by three-to-one.
To help these families, the Army will now require soldiers with children to be given at least three weeks’ notice ahead of time for duty requirements outside of normal duty hours when they have a Family Care Plan.
“We want to normalize parenthood,” Winkler said. “We really think that normalizing parenthood will not only retain our best soldiers but also really help us in recruiting the best talent out there that is available to the force.”
(NEW YORK) — As millions take to the skies each day and airlines forecast what could be the most profitable summer ever, Americans should prepare for higher prices, more cancellations, and smaller airports losing all scheduled flight service.
Never before have U.S. airlines been more desperate for pilots. The massive pilot shortage affects not only the airlines but also the millions who fly each year.
Prepare for higher fares
U.S. airlines hope to add 13,000 pilots just this year, but America produces only between 5000 and 7000 pilots annually, according to United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby. With fewer pilots, supply will be limited and ticket prices will continue to climb with demand.
“The pilot shortage for the industry is real and most airlines are simply not going to be able to realize their capacity plan because there simply aren’t enough pilots, at least not for the next five plus years,” Kirby said. “The other really large airlines will also probably be able to attract enough pilots, but for anyone else, I just don’t think it’s mathematically possible to meet the pilot demand for the capacity plans that are out there.”
The U.S. will lose about half of its pilots to retirement in the next 15 years, according to the Regional Airline Association. American Airlines expects more than 5,000 of its 15,000 pilots to retire in the next seven years.
Earlier this month, American Airlines announced it would begin busing passengers from smaller cities to its hub in Philadelphia. JetBlue will cut its spring and summer flight schedule by 10 percent. In an earnings call Thursday, United’s Kirby said its regional partners have grounded 150 planes because of the pilot shortage.
“The airlines are underwater and trying to breathe through a straw,” American 737 Captain and Union spokesperson Dennis Tajer told ABC News. “Airlines are poaching each other’s pilots. It’s stunning the level of aggression.”
Mark Stinson is in flight school in Florida and still at least a year away from being qualified to join an airline, but the 31-year-old already has two job offers with regional airlines. Stinson says despite not having earned his commercial pilots license, one airline has offered to allow him to accrue vacation time the moment he signs a contract.
“The airlines are so hungry that they are taking just about anyone into these programs, and after pilots build enough hours they are applying directly into the majors,” Stinson says referring to the nation’s largest airlines. “Two of our instructors got hired directly with Spirit Airlines and will be going to training here shortly. They only have about 2 years’ experience. It’s insane. They will be airbus pilots in no time.”
American says it’s hiring 50-70 pilots each week in 2022, more than at any time in its history. United plans to hire more than 2000 pilots this year. United, Delta, American and Southwest pay among the highest salaries in the industry with United’s most senior pilots earning roughly $450,000 annually.
“The pilot shortage is real and it is grave. Larger airlines are able to recruit, but midsize and smaller airlines are having problems. Regional airlines, the airlines that operate the 50 to 75 seat airplanes that we see many airlines operate to small towns, they are really struggling and airlines have had to scale back or drop service to a lot of smaller communities,” Henry Harteveldt, president of travel analytics firm Atmosphere Research told ABC news.
Airline recruiters under extreme pressure to find pilots
Envoy Air, a wholly owned subsidiary of American Airlines, tells applicants they can earn up to $182,000 a year if a candidate promises to stay for at least two years and is certified to fly its Embraer regional jets.
“They’re reaching out to me, sending me emails. They don’t care. They just want to see that, you know, you’re getting your flight hours. They’ll do an interview with you and ask you a few HR questions, but then they just offer you the job automatically. So that’s how much in need they are of pilots,” Stinson said.
Why a shortage?
For several reasons: The FAA mandates pilots retire at 65, fewer pilots leaving the military, high cost and lengthy training times, and thousands of early retirements at the start of the pandemic.
During the second half of the 20th century, the military pumped out far more pilots than it does today; and now many of those pilots are rapidly approaching retirement. Obtaining a commercial pilot’s license today can easily cost between $80,000 and $170,000.
To help offset the shortage, United Airlines recently opened its own flight school, Aviate Academy. United plans to train 5000 pilots by 2030 and will subsidize training costs in return for a commitment to flying for the company.
Pilot fatigue
As travel demand rapidly increased in the months following the release of vaccinations, many airlines scheduled more flights than they could staff. Since last summer, we’ve seen multiple airline meltdowns.
“The airline management teams are trying to fly more than they have pilot staffing for,” American Capt. Dennis Tajer said. “We are seeing more fatigue reports than we’ve ever seen.”
Pilots from all major airlines have complained that their duty days are unpredictable, often running hours longer than scheduled and sometimes not knowing what day they will arrive back home. At Southwest, pilots say it’s not uncommon to arrive in a destination only to find out there is no hotel available.
“We are human beings and this is pressuring the margin of safety,” Tajer said.
Last week, pilots at Southwest wrote a letter to management about the more than 300% increase in pilot fatigue calls. If a pilot tells the airline he or she is fatigued, the pilot is automatically removed from the flight with no questions. This often results in delays and cancellations.
“Fatigue, both acute and cumulative, has become Southwest Airlines’ number-one safety threat,” the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, told airline management in a recent letter.
Delta Air Lines pilots echo that message and have begun picketing at airports.
‘We are being pushed to our limits’
“We’ve flown record amounts of overtime during the pandemic to help Delta operate its schedule and get our passengers safely to their destinations. In many cases, pilots are flying long after their day or trip was supposed to end. Delta cannot continue to operate the schedule at redline with no room for error,” Capt. Jason Ambrosi, chairman of the Delta Master Executive Council of the Air Line Pilots Association said in a statement. “We are being pushed to our limits as Delta tries to add back flying and capture revenue.”Delta, Southwest, and American all responded, saying they constantly evaluate their schedules and that safety is their highest concern.
“We continuously evaluate our staffing models and plan ahead so that we can recover quickly when unforeseen circumstances arise, and the resilience of the Delta people is unmatched in that regard. Pilot schedules remain in line with all requirements set by the FAA as well as those outlined in our pilot contract,” a Delta spokesperson said in a statement to ABC News.
Southwest told ABC News it has revised its flight schedule to better match pilot supply.
“The increase is expected, as it’s common to experience an elevated level of fatigue calls during irregular operations and in March, the industry faced weather and airspace delays that resulted in disruptions across the network. The March increase in Pilot fatigue calls is a result of the system working as designed, allowing Crew to determine if they are too fatigued to fly,” Southwest wrote in a statement.
Solutions?
There are no quick fixes. Scott Kirby told investors that United plans to hire at least half the 5000 new pilots each year, adding it will be at least five or six years before there might be relief for the mid-size and regional airlines.
“Pilots salaries are higher than ever, and there’s never been a better time to be a commercial airline pilot,” Faye Malarkey Black, the President and CEO of the Regional Airline Association said in an interview with ABC News. “I will say we’ve made the grass on the other side of the fence very, very green. This is an attractive career with a really high ROI on the training dollar. The problem is, if you can’t get over the fence, it doesn’t matter how green the grass is on the other side, you can’t access it.”
Student loans can be difficult to obtain and expensive, making it impossible for some aspiring pilots. “You’re allowed to use a student loan to cover flight training, but it’s not enough. Student loan is capped in an undergraduate environment, and it doesn’t come close to covering the actual cost of a flight training degree,” Malarkey Black explained. Airline trade groups are lobbying for fundamental policy changes to ensure any aspiring pilot has the ability to attend flight school. For now there is no legislation on the table.
Bottom line
Consumers should expect higher fares, fewer flights, and more cancellations in the coming years.
However, If you are looking for a lucrative career and ready to put in the time and money, you likely won’t have a problem finding a job as an airline pilot.
(PHILADELPHIA) — Health officials in Philadelphia voted Thursday evening to drop the city’s indoor mask mandate, just days after the requirement officially went back into effect on Monday.
“Due to decreasing hospitalizations and a leveling of case counts, the city will move to strongly recommending masks in indoor public spaces as opposed to a mask mandate. Given the latest data, the Board of Health voted tonight to rescind the mandate,” a representative from Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney’s office told ABC News on Thursday.
It is still unclear exactly when the mandate will officially be lifted.
Philadelphia first ended its mask mandate in the beginning of March before reinstating it a little over a month later. The new mask mandate that went into effect Monday required masks in all indoor public spaces, including schools, childcare settings, businesses, restaurants, and government buildings.
“I sincerely wish we didn’t have to do this again. I wish this pandemic was over just as much as any of you but I am very worried about our vulnerable neighbors and loved ones,” Health Commissioner Cheryl Bettigole said during a press conference when the new mandate was first announced April 11. “My hope that our actions today will slow the spread of COVID and help us avoid seeing our ERs, once again, gets so crowded, that people can’t get timely care when they need it.”
The abrupt shift comes just hours after Kenney had defended the decision to reinstate the city’s mask mandate during a Thursday interview with Washington Post Live.
“Our health professionals recommended that we do a mandate again, because their data have shown that mandates get people to wear them more than just highly recommended,” Kenney said in the interview. “Our case counts were 240% higher than they were when we got rid of the mask mandate a month ago. … Our belief is that wearing masks again will tamp down the case counts and hospitalizations … and allow us … to get back to more normalcy.”
The city’s mask mandate had drawn sharp criticism from some residents, with some local business owners going as far as to file a lawsuit against the city in an effort to overturn the requirement.
When asked about the pushback, Kenney insisted that he believes wearing a mask is the “simplest” action someone can take to keep their community safe.
“The mask issue … has become such a politicized issue. It’s the most simplest thing you can do to keep yourself safe and to keep people safe. And the politicization of this issue … has just made everyone crazy about it. It’s not a big burden to wear a mask,” Kenney told Washington Post Live. “I’m sad to say that this nation has devolved into a selfish bunch who want what they want for themselves and are sometimes not willing to help each other out as Americans.”
(WASHINGTON) — GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on Friday will become the first member of Congress to publicly testify under oath about the events surrounding the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
Monday night, a federal judge allowed a legal challenge by a group of Georgia voters to move forward as they seek to disqualify Greene from running for reelection, citing her alleged role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
The voters argue a provision of the Constitution’s 14th Amendment known as the “disqualification clause” prevents Greene from holding federal office.
Passed shortly after the Civil War, the Disqualification Clause bars any person from holding federal office who has previously taken an oath to protect the Constitution — including a member of Congress — who has “engaged in insurrection” against the United States or “given aid or comfort” to its “enemies.”
An avid supporter of former President Donald Trump, Greene has denied any involvement in the attack and said she is appealing.
Judge Charles Beaudrot will preside over Friday’s hearing and witnesses will also be called to testify.
The time frame for the judge to render his decision on whether or not Greene should remain on the ballot is tight. Early voting for the Georgia primary begins May 2 and the primary itself is on May 17.
In an interview Tuesday with ABC News affiliate WTVC, Greene called the legal challenge a “scam.”
“All I did was what I’m legally and allowed to do by the Constitution as a member of Congress, and that was I objected to Joe Biden’s Electoral College votes from a few states,” Greene said.
Greene also said she was a “victim” on Jan. 6.
Mike Rasbury, one of the voters challenging Greene’s eligibility to run for reelection, said in a statement that Greene “took an oath of office to protect democracy from all enemies foreign and domestic … However, she has flippantly ignored this oath and, based on her role in the January 6 insurrection, is disqualified under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution from holding any future public office.”
Rasbury will be in the courtroom when Greene testifies.
Ron Fein, a lawyer representing the voters and legal director of Free Speech For People, told ABC News in an email that the Georgia “voters who filed this lawsuit have a right to have their challenge heard” and that he looks forward to questioning Greene under oath.
James Bopp, Greene’s attorney, told ABC News Tuesday that the challenge to Greene is “absurd” and that it shouldn’t be up to judges to decide who represents Georgia’s 14th Congressional District.
Bopp also represents GOP Rep. Madison Cawthorn, who is facing a similar challenge against his reelection from a group of voters in North Carolina.
Cawthorn’s lawsuit to dismiss the challenge to his reelection is set for oral arguments May 3 before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Richmond, Virginia.
Speaking on Fox News Monday night, Greene told host Tucker Carlson that Democrats are trying to keep her name off the ballot, maintaining she had nothing to do with the attack on the Capitol.
“I have to go to court on Friday and actually be questioned about something I’ve never been charged with and something I was completely against,” Greene said.
The challenges against Greene and Cawthorn are part of a larger legal effort to prevent anyone allegedly involved in the events surrounding Jan. 6 — or who supported it — from running for reelection.
Similar challenges are being brought against GOP Reps. Paul Gosar and Andy Biggs of Arizona and theoretically could be brought against Trump if he decides to run for office again in 2024.
According to the CPSC, Best Buy has received 68 reports from U.S. consumers and 36 reports from Canadian consumers of the air fryer or air fryer ovens catching fire, burning or melting.
These include seven reports of minor property damage and two reports of injuries, including an injury to a child’s leg.
Consumers are advised to immediately stop using the recalled product and return it to Best Buy for a refund in the form of a store credit, Best Buy said. The company said it is also contacting known purchasers directly to arrange returns.
(COVINGTON, Ga.) — A small plane crashed in the lot of a General Mills plant in Georgia shortly after takeoff Thursday evening, killing all aboard, authorities said.
The plane took off from the Covington Municipal Airport around 6:45 p.m., Covington Police Department Captain Ken Malcom said during a press briefing.
Witnesses told police it appeared that the aircraft, believed to be a Cessna twin-engine propeller plane, was having trouble gaining altitude and that it sounded like there was engine trouble.
Malcom said the plane then suddenly veered and crashed into the lot of the General Mills plant, located about a mile from the airport. The plane went down in an isolated area that stored tractor-trailers, some of which caught fire, he said.
There were no survivors, Malcom said. It is unclear how many people were aboard the plane, and police are working to determine who the victims are, he said.
No one was injured on the ground, according to Malcom, who noted that many lives were potentially saved since the plane didn’t crash directly into the plant.
Fire personnel was still working to put out the fire at the scene several hours after the crash.
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the incident.
ABC News’ Darren Reynolds contributed to this report.
(DULUTH, Minn.) — A family of four, including two children, were fatally shot while sleeping in their Minnesota home in what police believe to be a murder-suicide incident, authorities said.
The suspected gunman, a relative of the family, was found dead in the home from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, Duluth Police Department Chief Mike Tusken said.
“It’s just a sad day,” a visibly shaken Tusken said during a briefing on the incident Thursday.
“In 32 years, we haven’t seen anything like this, when we’ve had four victims of a homicide,” he said.
The victims were publicly identified by police following next-of-kin notification as Riana Lou Barry, 44; Sean Christopher Barry, 47; Shiway Elizabeth Barry, 12; and Sadie Lucille Barry, 9.
Duluth police had responded to the home in the East Hillside neighborhood shortly after noon on Wednesday, stemming from a request for a welfare check in neighboring Hermantown regarding an individual experiencing a mental health crisis.
A family member had provided the Hermantown Police Department with a message the suspect allegedly sent to them and later posted on social media indicating that he intended to harm himself and other family members, authorities said.
Hermantown police were unable to locate or make contact with the suspect, identified as 29-year-old Brandon Taylor Cole-Skogstad. They provided Duluth police with the address of the Duluth home owned by the suspect’s aunt and uncle, authorities said. Duluth police had also received information that the suspect had access to a weapon, Tusken said.
Duluth police who responded to the home heard what they believed to be a single gunshot as they knocked on the door, authorities said.
After securing the scene, police initially used robots and drones to search the premises, though the devices were unable to enter all the rooms, Tusken said. A room-by-room search by a tactical team found the victims in their beds dead from apparent gunshot wounds, he said. A family dog was also found dead, he said.
A 9mm handgun was found near the suspect, the chief said.
A 911 call history search did not indicate any prior concerns involving Cole-Skogstad, police said.
“This is a tragedy for Minnesota, a tragedy for, certainly, the city of Duluth and for this community,” said Tusken, who added that he hopes getting the facts out will provide some “closure and healing.”
No further details were provided amid the ongoing investigation.
Duluth City Council President Arik Forsman told reporters he knew the family, who was known for selling Girl Scout cookies at an East Hillside church.
“No family or community should have to go through what has been happening over the last 24 hours,” he said. “It’s hard to put into words the sadness that I feel as a councilor, as a Duluthian and as a father.”
“That was compounded when the names were released, because these folks were my neighbors in Lakeside,” he continued.
Duluth Mayor Emily Larson said the incident is “deeply painful” for the community.
“As a parent and member of a family, it is wrenching to consider what the Barry family might be feeling,” she said in a statement. “There is only loss to every part of this story. To the Barry family: our community mourns with you and we share in your pain. Because your loss is our community’s loss.”
