(WASHINGTON) — Vice President Kamala Harris will announce the administration’s EV Charging Action Plan on Monday to fast-track a nationwide charging network for electric vehicles.
The plan outlines steps for how federal agencies, such as the Department of Energy and the Department of Transportation, can support the president’s EV goals. Biden said he would like half of all new vehicle sales to be electric by 2030.
EVs currently make up 2% of the U.S. market. Sales of electrified vehicles — pure battery electric vehicles, hybrids and plug-in hybrids — accounted for 10.4% of total vehicle sales in the third-quarter of 2021, according to Kelley Blue Book, an all-time high. The best-selling EV in the U.S. is Tesla’s Model Y.
A joint office will be set up between the Energy and Transportation agencies to leverage resources and build the nationwide network, according to the administration. Industry insiders argue that a million DC fast chargers — which allow drivers to recharge 80% of a vehicle’s battery in 30 minutes — are needed to reach Biden’s EV targets. There are currently fewer than 46,000 EV public charging sites in the U.S., according to Department of Energy data.
Creating a convenient, national charging infrastructure will build public confidence in EVs, according to the administration, which is focusing efforts on adding charging stations in rural, disadvantaged and hard-to-reach locations.
The DOT will also publish guidance no later than Feb. 11, 2022, for how cities and states can strategically deploy EV charging stations as part of this network. Meeting the needs of disadvantaged and rural communities and bringing on private investment are also important for achieving an electric future, the administration said. By May, the DOT will “publish standards for EV chargers in the national network to ensure they work, they’re safe and they’re accessible to everyone, according to the White House.
Moreover, the DOT and DOE will work directly with U.S. automakers on EV charging manufacturing, assembly, installation and maintenance to “drive domestic competitiveness and create good-paying, union jobs.”
General Motors has plans to unveil 30 new electric vehicles by 2025, including the Cadillac Lyriq SUV and an all-electric Silverado truck. Ford said it plans to increase production of EVs to 600,000 units globally by 2030, making it the second-largest producer of EVs after Tesla.
President Joe Biden’s $1 trillion infrastructure package includes $7.5 billion toward a nationwide network of 500,000 EV charging stations by 2030.
(NEW YORK) — As rescue workers combed miles of splintered houses and commercial buildings for survivors and the dead in Kentucky and seven other states devastated by a string of tornadoes, stories of horror and resilience emerged on Sunday.
Sunday services were held in the parking lot of a Kentucky church that stood no more. A man who was buried alive with co-workers in a collapsed candle factory spoke of how he defied death. And an overwhelmed fire chief in one of the hardest-hit towns cited hazards facing his crews as they geared up for another day of searching through the rubble, hoping to find someone still alive.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said at least 50 people were killed in western Kentucky, and the death toll from what he described as “the most devastating tornado event in our state’s history” could exceed 100.
“To the people of America, there is no lens big enough to show you the extent of the damage here in Graves County, or in Kentucky. Nothing that was standing in the direct line of this tornado is still standing,” Beshear said during a Sunday afternoon news conference with U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Deanne Criswell, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The governor said no one has been recovered alive since 3:30 p.m. on Saturday.
He said the swarm of tornadoes left damage in 18 different counties and destroyed thousands of homes, as the death toll in four counties has surpassed double digits.
“I think the best that we can hope for would be the 50 (deaths). But I think it’s going to be significantly worse than that,” Beshear said. “Remember, we’re still finding bodies.”
He said at least 300 state National Guard members have been deployed across the state to help in the search for survivors.
Dr. Grant Fraser, an emergency department physician at TriStar Greenview Regional Medical Center in Bowling Green, told ABC News that the 22-bed hospital was quickly inundated with patients in the storm’s immediate aftermath.
“They had severe, severe injuries — crush injuries to their head, chest, spinal injuries, multiple penetrating injuries,” Fraser said of the patients. “So, there’s a combination of both tornado and flying objects penetrating people. Blunt force trauma, walls, ceilings that have fallen on people with severe crush injuries.”
In Mayfield, Kentucky, a worker in a candle factory that was flattened by a twister as he and more than 100 other workers were inside, told ABC News it was unfathomable he made it out alive.
Dakota, a worker at the Mayfield Consumer Products candle factory, recalled the moment the tornado hit the facility, ripping off the roof and sending debris raining down on him and his colleagues.
“We were toward the back, toward the bathrooms. And then the top of the building got ripped off,” Dakota, who asked that his last name not be published, told ABC News. “And then we told everyone, ‘Get down!’ I started pushing people under the water fountain. We were trapped.”
Dakota said he and a co-worker used a fire hydrant to prop up the water fountain, which they never thought they’d have to use as a life-saving shelter, until they had no other choice. He said that they stayed put under the fountain for two hours, listening to the swirling winds and screams of colleagues from other areas of the torn-apart factory.
“We were able to dig our way out,” Dakota said. “And then, after we got out, we started pulling the rest of our team out. And then, we were able to get first responders to the areas that were needed. I found people — broken legs, pulling them out. Some were non-responsive. It was rough.”
Beshers said that about 40 people were rescued at the candle factory. The company’s CEO, Troy Propes, told ABC News Sunday night that eight workers were confirmed dead, 94 have been located and eight remain unaccounted for. At the time of the storm, 110 workers were inside the factory.
He noted that many employees were not able to communicate after the storm because of communication and power issues, which is why it took officials some time to confirm their safety.
Lora Capps was on her tenth day on the job at the candle factory when the storm hit.
She told ABC News she and a janitor took shelter in a bathroom and they fell into a hole in the ground under the debris. The janitor did not make it, according to Capps.
“He kept saying, ‘I can’t breathe,’ and I said, ‘I’m trying.’ I want his family to know I tried my best. I said, ‘Just go be with God, and I’ll probably be following you,'” she told ABC News.
Capps said three men with flashlights found her and helped her to safety. Later, she was reunited with her son, who searched the debris.
But Capps said she is still left waiting to find out who of her co-workers survived.
“This is going to traumatize me for the rest of my life,” she said.
Mayfield Fire Chief Jeremy Creason told Good Morning America that emergency crews faced another day of challenges, calling the ongoing search operation at the candle factory “a very complicated rescue situation.”
“We’ve got a lot of heavy equipment, a lot of personnel. We’re dealing with tons of steel and metal that’s twisted and mangled … chemicals, and there’s just a lot going on on that scene,” Creason said on Sunday.
He described the rescue operation as “one of the most difficult situations that I’ll probably — that we’ll probably — ever face in our life.”
But even while surrounded by the devastation, Creason expressed hope.
“This is going to leave a mark on our community,” Creason said. “But you know, we’ll rebuild. We’ll bounce back. I have a very resilient group of first responders that I get the pleasure to serve with every day. And I couldn’t be more proud of them. And over the next few months and years, you’re going to see our community do the same thing. We’ll come back stronger than we were before.”
Chief Justice John Minton of the Kentucky Supreme Court confirmed that a district court judge, he identified as Brian Crick, was among those killed in the Western Kentucky tornado outbreak.
“This is a shocking loss to his family, his community and court system, and his family is in our prayers,” Minton said in a statement.
Minton added that a tornado caused heavy damage to the Graves County Courthouse in Mayfield.
Elsewhere in Mayfield, a parking lot prayer and communion service was held at the First Christian Church, one of three churches in downtown Mayfield that were destroyed or heavily damaged in the storm.
Milton West, the senior minister at First Christian, told congregants in attendance, “This is a necessary gathering.”
“I am convinced and I know how heartbroken you are,” West said during the service. “There aren’t words that I can say to take that feeling away.”
He informed the congregation of one artifact from the church that survived.
“Despite the fact that our sanctuary is demolished, the central place where we gather, a communion table survived. It is undamaged and unscathed,” West said. “We think that speaks volumes and what it says to us more than anything else is that we will always have a table to gather around and that because it survived, we know in our hearts that everyone is welcome around that table.”
There were at least 40 reported tornadoes across nine states between Friday night and early Saturday morning, cutting multiple paths of destruction across Kentucky, Arkansas, southern Illinois, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee, Indiana and Ohio.
The National Weather Service on Sunday classified the tornado as an EF-3. The NWS estimated the tornado’s maximum width to be about three-quarters of a mile wide.
The twister that wrecked the Amazon facility in Edwardsville, Illinois, was also an EF-3 with peak winds up to 155 mph, according to the NWS. Two other EF-3 tornadoes were reported, one in Defiance, Missouri, and the other in Bowling Green, which packed winds of up to 150 mph.
A tornado that touched down in Hopkins County, Kentucky, derailed a 27-car freight train. Rescue workers said one train car picked up by the twister landed on a house 75 yards from the train tracks.
Mayorkas and Criswell toured the devastated areas of Kentucky on Sunday and pledged all the help state residents will need to recover and rebuild.
Beshears said that more than $2.5 million in donations have poured in from across the country to help devastated communities and pay for funeral costs.
President Joe Biden declared that a state of emergency in Kentucky on Saturday and ordered federal assistance to support the local response efforts.
On Sunday night, he updated his declaration, making federal funding available to affected individuals in the counties of Caldwell, Fulton, Graves, Hopkins, Marshall, Muhlenberg, Taylor and Warren. He also made it possible for residents to get assistance, such as grants for temporary housing or business repairs.
“We want to focus today and the next day on life-saving. We really want to make sure that we find anybody who’s still might be trapped in the rubble across all of these states,” Criswell said Sunday morning on ABC’s This Week.
Criswell added, “But then it’s going to be a long recovery and we really need to focus on how we’re going to help these communities with their immediate needs, their immediate sheltering needs and the long-term housing needs that are going to be really needed to help these communities and these families rebuild.”
ABC News’ Victor Oquendo, Reena Roy, Marcus Moore, Joshua Hoyos and Daniel Peck contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.3 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 797,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
About 60.8% of the population in the United States is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Dec 13, 5:29 am
Omicron appears to spread faster and weaken vaccines, WHO says
The omicron variant appears to have a “growth advantage” over the delta variant, the World Health Organization said in a technical brief released Sunday.
“It is spreading faster than the delta variant in South Africa where delta circulation was low, but also appears to spread more quickly than the delta variant in other countries where the incidence of delta is high, such as in the United Kingdom,” the WHO said in the brief, which was dated Friday. “Whether omicron’s observed rapid growth rate in countries with high levels of population immunity is related to immune evasion, intrinsic increased transmissibility, or a combination of both remains uncertain. However, given the current available data, it is likely that omicron will outpace the delta variant where community transmission occurs.”
Meanwhile, preliminary findings from South Africa suggest omicron may cause less severe illness than delta, and all cases of omicron reported in Europe to date have been mild or asymptomatic. But the WHO said “it remains unclear to what extent omicron may be inherently less virulent” and that “more data are needed to understand the severity profile.”
The WHO also noted that “there are limited available data, and no peer-reviewed evidence, on vaccine efficacy or effectiveness to date for omicron.” However, preliminary evidence, and the considerably altered antigenic profile of the variant’s spike protein, suggests a reduction in vaccine efficacy against infection and transmission associated with omicron.
“There is some preliminary evidence that the incidence of reinfection has increased in South Africa, which may be associated with humoral (antibody-mediated) immune evasion,” the WHO said.
The diagnostic accuracy of routinely used polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test and antigen-based rapid diagnostic test (Ag-RDT) assays does not appear to be influenced by omicron. Therapeutic interventions for the management of severe or critical COVID-19 symptoms associated with omicron are also expected to remain effective, according to the WHO.
“However, monoclonal antibodies will need to be tested individually, for their antigen binding and virus neutralization and these studies should be prioritized,” the WHO added.
Dec 13, 4:37 am
South Africa’s president tests positive for COVID-19
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is receiving treatment for “mild COVID-19 symptoms” after testing positive for the virus on Sunday, his office said in a statement.
Ramaphosa, 69, began feeling unwell earlier Sunday after leaving a state memorial service in Cape Town in honor of Frederik Willem de Klerk, South Africa’s last apartheid president and a Nobel laureate, who died last month. Ramaphosa, who is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, was experiencing “mild” symptoms and a test confirmed he was infected, according to his office. The statement didn’t say whether he has the omicron variant, which was discovered by scientists in southern Africa last month and is spreading rapidly.
Ramaphosa is self-isolating in Cape Town and is being monitored by the South African Military Health Service. He has delegated all his responsibilities to Deputy President David Mabuza for the next week, his office said.
Last week, Ramaphosa traveled with a delegation to four West African nations. He and the members of the South African delegation were all tested for COVID-19 in each of the countries during their trip. They returned to South Africa on Dec. 8, after testing negative in Senegal. Ramaphosa tested negative again upon arriving in Johannesburg that day, according to his office.
The statement advised people who had contact with the South African president on Sunday to watch for symptoms or to get tested for COVID-19.
“President Ramaphosa says his own infection serves as a caution to all people in the country to be vaccinated and remain vigilant against exposure,” his office said in the statement. “Vaccination remains the best protection against severe illness and hospitalization.”
(NEW YORK) — At least 34 people across five U.S. states have been confirmed dead after a swarm of tornadoes tore through communities across the South and the Midwest over the weekend.
There were at least 40 tornadoes reported across nine states between Friday night and early Saturday morning — unusual for December in the United States. Kentucky was the worst-hit state, with at least 20 confirmed fatalities, according to local officials.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear warned Sunday that the death toll from what he described as “the most devastating tornado event in our state’s history” could exceed 100, but then later said the tally might be closer to 50. Two of his relatives were among those killed.
Beshear said at least 300 members of the Kentucky National Guard have been deployed across the state to help remove debris and search for survivors as well as victims.
“We are still hoping for miracles,” the governor told ABC News’ David Muir on Sunday. “We are finding people and every single moment is incredible.”
“This is going to take years to rebuild,” he added.
Among the dead were eight night-shift workers at a candle factory in Mayfield, a city of about 10,000 people in western Kentucky. There were 110 employees inside the Mayfield Consumer Products facility when a tornado closed in late Friday night. Ninety-four workers have been accounted for, while eight remain missing, Mayfield Consumer Products CEO Troy Propes told ABC News.
One of the survivors, Kyanna Parsons, recalled hunkering down at the candle factory with her coworkers when the tornado hit. She said she felt a gust of wind and her ears popped. The lights flickered before going out completely and the roof of the building suddenly collapsed, she said.
“Everybody just starts screaming,” Parsons told ABC News on Sunday.
“I definitely had the fear that I wasn’t gonna make it,” she added. “It’s a miracle any of us got out of there.”
Mayfield Mayor Kathy Stewart O’Nan said she was at the scene of the destroyed factory the following morning. She saw first responders from Louisiville, Kentucky’s largest city, more than 200 miles away, “who had already gotten there, who had got in their trucks as quick as they could and come to help us.”
“The offers from all over the United States are overwhelming,” O’Nan told ABC News’ Robin Roberts on Monday. “We are so blessed with the state and federal support.”
The mayor said her city lost its sewage treatment plant and a water tower, in addition to many homes and businesses. Mayfield still has no power, natural gas or flowing water, according to O’Nan.
“The immediate needs of our city people and our responders are being met with just wonderful donations,” she said. “But our infrastructure is damaged so severely that getting that up and running is our absolute greatest priority at this time.”
O’Nan, who lives about four blocks from the center of the city’s downtown area, said she knew from watching the news last week that this storm would be “different.”
“This was not a storm that us Kentuckians like to go out on the porch and watch roll by,” she said.
When the tornado touched down on Friday night, O’Nan said she took shelter in the basement of her home and waited there until she heard it pass overhead.
“That is a horrifying sound that I hope I never hear again,” she said.
A few minutes later, O’Nan said, she got a call from the city’s fire chief saying the couldn’t get the firetrucks or ambulances out of the bay at the fire station, because the doors wouldn’t open. He ultimately had to attach a chain to his truck to pry the doors wide so firefighters and emergency workers could be deployed out into the field, according to O’Nan.
“To watch them work tirelessly as they have during the last two days so far has just been heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time,” the mayor said.
“When I’m ever asked what’s the greatest asset of our community, it is always our people,” she added. “We’ve had small tragedies before and every time immediately the people bond together. I’ve seen that so much now, but we’re joined by so many people from all across the commonwealth, all across the United States.”
Meanwhile, six people were killed in Illinois, where a tornado hit an Amazon facility. Four others were killed in Tennessee. There were two deaths reported in Arkansas and another two in Missouri, according to local officials.
A tornadic supercell left an extraordinarily long path of destruction — about 200 miles long — as it swept across four states on Friday night. It was unclear whether the storm involved one or multiple violent tornadoes that moved along the path.
On average, there are 69 tornado-related fatalities in the U.S. each year, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The deadliest tornado on record to hit Kentucky occurred on March 27, 1890. There were 76 deaths.
U.S. President Joe Biden declared a state of emergency in Kentucky on Saturday, ordering federal assistance to support the local response efforts. On Sunday night, Biden updated the declaration, making federal funding available to affected individuals in the Kentucky counties of Caldwell, Fulton, Graves, Hopkins, Marshall, Muhlenberg, Taylor and Warren. He also made it possible for residents to get assistance, such as grants for temporary housing or business repairs.
ABC News’ Patrick Doherty, Matt Foster, Jakeira Gilbert, Max Golembo, Will Gretsky and Will McDuffie contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden is facing significant skepticism from the American public, with his job approval rating lagging across a range of major issues, including new lows for his handling of crime, gun violence and the economic recovery, a new ABC/Ipsos poll finds.
As the White House confronts rising and widespread concern about inflation, Americans are especially negative on how the Biden administration is managing this issue.
More than two-thirds of Americans (69%) disapprove of how Biden is handling inflation (only 28% approve) while more than half (57%) disapprove of his handling of the economic recovery. Partisan splits for inflation show expected negativity in Republican views (94% disapproving), but the survey also reveals weaknesses from Biden’s own party with only a slim majority of Democrats (54%) approving. Biden’s orbit is also hemorrhaging independent voters, with 71% disapproving of his handling of inflation.
The ABC/Ipsos poll, which was conducted by Ipsos in partnership with ABC News using Ipsos’ KnowledgePanel, reveals these rocky ratings for Biden at a time when the bulk of Americans name inflation and paying everyday bills as a top concern. Concern about inflation has eclipsed worry about the coronavirus pandemic, according to recent polls from Monmouth and AP-NORC, as Republicans continuously spotlight rising prices at the gas pump and the grocery store as a key issue for the upcoming midterm elections — likely to be a referendum on Biden’s performance.
These low job assessments in areas of high public concern have led to a new low in Biden’s overall approval rating, measured by FiveThirtyEight at 43%.
The findings show Biden slightly above water in one sector: his handling of COVID-19. A slim majority (53%) of Americans approve of Biden’s handling of the pandemic. Even so, Biden’s COVID approval rating is now numerically at its lowest point in ABC/Ipsos polling since he took office, another warning sign for what might be a tough battle to maintain majorities in the U.S. House and Senate.
The White House has expanded federal COVID-19 mitigation efforts as the delta and omicron variants spur stricter vaccination and mask requirements across the country.
Biden has stood by his politically controversial decision to require vaccinations for federal employees and all contractors, a move affecting millions of workers in the public and private sectors. The decision, challenged by state GOP lawmakers, was recently blocked by a U.S. District Court. That said, a bare majority of Americans (51%) are on Biden’s side regarding vaccine mandates, and 7 in 10 Americans believe that mask mandates should remain the same or be more strict.
Biden also sees lagging support for his handling of rising rates of violence in many places across the county. As the national murder rates see historic jumps, only a little more than 1 in 3 Americans (36%) approve of Biden’s handling of crime, down from 43% in an ABC News/Ipsos poll in late October. Similarly, approval of Biden’s handling of gun violence is 32%, down from 39% in the October poll. That figure shrinks among nonpartisans with only 1 in 4 independents approving of Biden’s work on gun violence.
A slim majority of Americans (51%) disapprove of Biden’s handling of climate change. But a large majority of Democrats (81%) approve on this issue, despite some grumbling from progressives that the administration has not done enough. Soon after assuming office, Biden issued a series of executive orders in an attempt to reduce greenhouse emissions and pause new oil and gas leasing on federal property.
Biden’s recent two-hour video call with Russian President Vladimir Putin did not appear to have impressed the American public. This poll finds that most Americans (55%) disapprove of how Biden is handling relations with Russia. Further, only 38% of Americans trust Biden to negotiate on America’s behalf with Putin, which is down from 49% in an ABC News/Ipsos poll in June.
This ABC News/Ipsos poll was conducted using Ipsos Public Affairs’ KnowledgePanel® Dec. 10-11, 2021, in English and Spanish, among a random national sample of 524 adults. Results have a margin of sampling error of 5.0 points, including the design effect. Partisan divisions are 29-25-36%, Democrats-Republicans-independents. See the poll’s topline results and details on the methodology here.
ABC News’ Dan Merkle and Ken Goldstein contributed to this report.
(BAYTOWN, Texas) — One person is dead and 14 are injured — three critically — after a shooting in Baytown, Texas, officials said.
A gunman opened fire on a crowd participating in a celebration of life in the area, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to ABC’s Texas station, KTRK.
KTRK spoke to HCSO’s sergeant, who said a mother was holding a vigil for her son who was killed at his home a couple weeks ago, when an unknown suspect drove down the road shooting rounds into the crowd.
“@HCSOTexas units responded to 1403 N Market Loop. Preliminary info: a large crowd gathered for a celebration of life. A vehicle approached and someone from the vehicle began shooting into the crowd. At least 8 people sustained injuries; 7 are non-fatal, but one has been,” Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez tweeted.
“Update to shooting on N. Market Loop: told the number of wounded individuals is now up to 14; 1 has been pronounced deceased, 3 being taken by Lifeflight in critical condition, and the remaining ones are said to have non/fatal injuries,” he later added.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
ABC News’ Marilyn Heck contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.3 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 797,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
About 60.8% of the population in the United States is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Dec 13, 5:29 am
Omicron appears to spread faster and weaken vaccines, WHO says
The omicron variant appears to have a “growth advantage” over the delta variant, the World Health Organization said in a technical brief released Sunday.
“It is spreading faster than the delta variant in South Africa where delta circulation was low, but also appears to spread more quickly than the delta variant in other countries where the incidence of delta is high, such as in the United Kingdom,” the WHO said in the brief, which was dated Friday. “Whether omicron’s observed rapid growth rate in countries with high levels of population immunity is related to immune evasion, intrinsic increased transmissibility, or a combination of both remains uncertain. However, given the current available data, it is likely that omicron will outpace the delta variant where community transmission occurs.”
Meanwhile, preliminary findings from South Africa suggest omicron may cause less severe illness than delta, and all cases of omicron reported in Europe to date have been mild or asymptomatic. But the WHO said “it remains unclear to what extent omicron may be inherently less virulent” and that “more data are needed to understand the severity profile.”
The WHO also noted that “there are limited available data, and no peer-reviewed evidence, on vaccine efficacy or effectiveness to date for omicron.” However, preliminary evidence, and the considerably altered antigenic profile of the variant’s spike protein, suggests a reduction in vaccine efficacy against infection and transmission associated with omicron.
“There is some preliminary evidence that the incidence of reinfection has increased in South Africa, which may be associated with humoral (antibody-mediated) immune evasion,” the WHO said.
The diagnostic accuracy of routinely used polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test and antigen-based rapid diagnostic test (Ag-RDT) assays does not appear to be influenced by omicron. Therapeutic interventions for the management of severe or critical COVID-19 symptoms associated with omicron are also expected to remain effective, according to the WHO.
“However, monoclonal antibodies will need to be tested individually, for their antigen binding and virus neutralization and these studies should be prioritized,” the WHO added.
Dec 13, 4:37 am
South Africa’s president tests positive for COVID-19
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is receiving treatment for “mild COVID-19 symptoms” after testing positive for the virus on Sunday, his office said in a statement.
Ramaphosa, 69, began feeling unwell earlier Sunday after leaving a state memorial service in Cape Town in honor of Frederik Willem de Klerk, South Africa’s last apartheid president and a Nobel laureate, who died last month. Ramaphosa, who is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, was experiencing “mild” symptoms and a test confirmed he was infected, according to his office. The statement didn’t say whether he has the omicron variant, which was discovered by scientists in southern Africa last month and is spreading rapidly.
Ramaphosa is self-isolating in Cape Town and is being monitored by the South African Military Health Service. He has delegated all his responsibilities to Deputy President David Mabuza for the next week, his office said.
Last week, Ramaphosa traveled with a delegation to four West African nations. He and the members of the South African delegation were all tested for COVID-19 in each of the countries during their trip. They returned to South Africa on Dec. 8, after testing negative in Senegal. Ramaphosa tested negative again upon arriving in Johannesburg that day, according to his office.
The statement advised people who had contact with the South African president on Sunday to watch for symptoms or to get tested for COVID-19.
“President Ramaphosa says his own infection serves as a caution to all people in the country to be vaccinated and remain vigilant against exposure,” his office said in the statement. “Vaccination remains the best protection against severe illness and hospitalization.”
(NEW YORK) — At least 22 reported tornadoes ripped across six states overnight, devastating communities and killing dozens of people, including over 70 in Kentucky, during what is typically a quieter time in the United States for the storms.
Tornadoes can happen any time of year, though the greatest threat is typically in spring and summer, according to the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, with the peak season on the earlier side for more southern states. So far this year, the days that reported the highest number of tornadoes were in March, May and July, a National Weather Service tally shows.
That’s what makes the latest activity so rare, experts say.
“Something like this is an unusual event for the month of December. It’s typically our quietest month for tornadoes, especially in Kentucky,” ABC News meteorologist Rob Marciano told “Good Morning America” on Saturday.
It’s unclear if climate change could play a role in the activity, he said.
“There’s no evidence that climate change has any impact on the strength of severe storms or tornadoes,” he said. “That said, to get a tornado this strength and magnitude or length — in December — is incredibly rare.”
An average of 24 tornadoes were reported in the U.S. during the month of December from 1991 to 2010, according to data from NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center. Last year, there were 30 preliminary tornado reports in December.
At least 22 tornadoes alone were reported Friday night through Saturday morning in Arkansas, Kentucky, Illinois, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee. A powerful supercell thunderstorm traveled more than 200 miles, from Arkansas to Kentucky, and likely spawned several massive tornadoes.
Kentucky is combing through the wreckage of likely the deadliest tornado system in state history, with at least four tornadoes reported in western Kentucky.
Among the at least 70 people killed in western Kentucky, dozens were at a candle factory in Mayfield, according to Gov. Andy Beshear.
“This has been the most devastating tornado event in our state’s history,” Beshear said during a press briefing Saturday. “And for those that have seen it, what it’s done here in Graves County and elsewhere, it is indescribable. The level of devastation is unlike anything I’ve ever seen.”
At least two people also were killed in southern Illinois, when an Amazon distribution warehouse in Edwardsville was ravaged by a tornado, officials said.
In Arkansas, two people were reported dead from a tornado, according to Gov. Asa Hutchinson.
The deadliest tornado in Kentucky history was March 27, 1890, when 76 people died, according to the National Weather Service. Beshear said he anticipates the current death toll will exceed 100.
In more recent memory, Kentucky’s only recorded F5 tornado killed more than 30 people on April 4, 1974.
One of Kentucky’s most violent storms to have occurred later in the year was a multiple-vortex tornado that destroyed over 150 buildings in Hopkins County on Nov. 15, 2005, according to NWS. No fatalities were reported.
ABC News’ Kelly McCarthy and Dan Peck contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — Since the first case of the new Omicron variant was detected last month, early anecdotal reports indicate people infected seem to be experiencing mild illness — leading some scientists to wonder if this version of the virus could be less dangerous than prior variants.
But scientists have cautioned it’s too soon to know for sure.
It “looks less severe in really early data,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky told ABC News Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton in an interview from CDC headquarters in Atlanta. “We’re certainly following and very interested in disease severity.”
Omicron was dubbed a “variant of concern” due to its many mutations. As a result, scientists are scrambling to determine if these changes lead to increased transmissibility or weakened response from vaccines. The World Health Organization said several studies are underway and that more information will emerge in the following days to weeks. Preliminary studies show that the Pfizer vaccine may be less effective against the Omicron variant, but, again, more research is needed.
Early clinical data from researchers in South Africa hint that the virus may cause less severe COVID-19 infections. The South African Medical Research Council has reported that very few hospitalized patients with the Omicron variant have required supplemental oxygen or were admitted to an ICU.
Dr. John Brownstein, an epidemiologist and professor with the Department of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, said that preliminary results are “very encouraging.”
The U.S reported its first Omicron case on Dec. 1 in California. Many subsequent cases in the U.S. have happened among younger, healthier and vaccinated people who already are less likely to become very sick from COVID-19. But there are still too few people with Omicron to draw meaningful conclusions about whether the variant itself causes a more mild illness, experts told ABC News.
With an increase in the number of cases, Brownstein said scientists “will be able to characterize the [variant] better.” This information will aid public health officials in establishing better guidelines and preventative measures.
If it turns out Omicron is more transmissible but less severe than other variants, some experts said that could bode well overall — perhaps signaling the virus will still circulate among people but become less life-threatening.
“I think Omicron may represent the first step in adaptation that you want to see, which is that it’s more contagious and less virulent,” said Dr. Paul Offit, an infectious disease pediatrician.
Even with all eyes on the Omicron variant, experts are reminding the public that the Delta variant remains the predominant circulating strain in the United States, where it’s still responsible for more than 99% of cases. Among best practices for avoiding all variants, officials continue to recommend vaccinations, obtaining booster shots as soon as eligible and following mask-wearing guidelines.
Bernadette Baker M.D., a family medicine resident physician with Emory School of Medicine, is a contributor to the ABC News Medical Unit. Sony Salzman is the unit’s coordinating producer.
(NEW YORK) — On Sunday, Eric Zemmour, a former journalist and far-right political pundit with tough views on immigration had his first campaign rally as candidate for the French presidential election. Zemmour announced the creation of his own political party, “Reconquête,” or “Reconquest,” which had already garnered 20,000 supporters in two days, according to French media outlet, BFMTV.
During his televised speech,violence broke out between Zemmour’s supporters and protesters from the organization SOS Racism. Sixty-two people were arrested according to French paper Le Parisien, including some members of SOS racism. Zemmour was also attacked by a protester in the crowd, The Associated Press reported.
Zemmour, who presents himself as a right-wing political outsider, has been referred to by some as the “French Trump,” with a political playbook full of controversial comments and attacks on the press. “For months our meetings have bothered journalists, annoyed politicians and driven mad the left,” he said at Sunday’s meeting.
The candidate exists outside traditional political parties, and uses rhetoric that even Marine Le Pen and the National Rally — the far-right party in France, formerly called the National Front — stay away from.
Zemmour has been fined for hate speech. In 2011, he was fined 10,000 euros for claiming on TV that “most drug dealers are black and Arab,” and in 2018 he was ordered to pay 3,000 euros for stigmatizing comments about a Muslim “invasion” of France, The Telegraph and other outlets reported.
“He is the only one in France to use the theory of “great replacement … even Marine Le Pen does not use that term,” said Jean Yves Camus, a political scientist and director of the Observatory for Political Radicalism, adding: “for Zemmour, the French population has been changed, and French people are now a minority on their own land.”
The theory of great replacement is an idea among France’s political far-right that French people will become minorities in their country after being replaced by immigrants.
If elected, Zemmour has said he wants to deport all immigrants convicted of crimes and incarcerated in French prisons back to their countries of origin, and take away social benefits for foreigners and immigrants who do not yet have French nationality. He also has espoused making immigrants prove they know the French language and are ready to assimilate to French culture.
Similarly to Trump, Zemmour is seen as someone who appeals to a part of the French population that is anxious about the future. “He is speaking to a French society that is particularly anxious, the most pessimistic nation in Europe … but this country is not doing so bad,” Camus said.
Zemmour’s economic plan is considered more liberal than Le Pen’s say experts who spoke with ABC News, and focuses more on the free market and the simplification of French bureaucracy, something that the experts say is appealing to upper-class voters.
But the comparison to Trump is an imperfect one, because of Zemmour’s long-standing ingratiation with the French elite. “Zemmour has the elites, Le Pen has the people,” said Nicolas Lebourg, a historian and specialist of far-right movements.
For Camus, the fact that Zemmour was a journalist for a mainstream newspaper, Le Figaro, and has been seen on television by voters for the past few decades puts him at an advantage from Marine Le Pen who cannot get out of the shadow of her father, Jean Marie Le Pen and the National Front’s extremist history.
“[Zemmour] was seen as someone on the right, resolutely conservative on the questions of identity and immigration, but he does not have a far-right history like Marine Le Pen,” says Camus.
Zemmour’s tough stand on immigration include his plans, if elected, he says to reduce the amount of immigrants and asylum seekers who are allowed to enter the country each year, and would only admit those willing to “assimilate,” although he is not clear on how he would measure assimilation. A recent report from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) shows that France’s population is composed of only 13% immigrants, less than its neighbors such as Germany.
Zemmour has also suggested reviving an 1803 law which was abolished in 1993 requiring parents to only give their children historically and traditionally French names.
Meanwhile, Zemmour has presented himself as a model for successful integration. “I am a Jewish man from Algeria who grew up in the Paris banlieue, and whose family heritage and readings transformed into a French man of land and ancestors,” he wrote in his latest book, “France Has Not Said its Last Word.”
A strong critic of the American “melting pot” approach to immigration, Zemmour often uses America as an anti-model. “[Zemmour] … thinks everything wrong in France is an import of everything that is wrong in America,” says Lebourg.
At an October 2020 rally in Versailles, Zemmour described “woke” culture as a plot to make “white, heterosexual, Catholic” men feel “so full of guilt” that they willingly abandon their “culture and civilization.”
