(NEW YORK) — Daniel Goldman, the former federal prosecutor who served as counsel to House Democrats in the first impeachment investigation of former President Donald Trump, announced Tuesday he will run for New York attorney general.
His announcement came in a two-minute video in which he cast himself as a public servant with a deep commitment to civil rights and equal justice.
Goldman told ABC News he decided to run because “democracy is under attack” and hoped to use the “broad authority” of the New York Attorney General’s Office to fight back.
“It started with Trump and now continues with Trumpism,” Goldman said. “There is a swath of the country that no longer believes in free and fair elections.”
Goldman joins what is expected to be a crowded and diverse field now that the current occupant, Letitia James, has announced a run for governor. Fordham Law professor Zephyr Teachout and state Sen. Shelley Mayer have announced their candidacies. State Sen. Mike Gianaris, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez and Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz are also said to be considering runs.
If elected, Goldman pledged to use the power of the office to uphold voting rights, reproductive rights and to fight the effects of climate change. While there is not always a legal avenue for the state attorney general in those pursuits, Goldman told ABC News “there is a pulpit and perch of a national relevance” and “vast authority within the attorney general’s office in upholding one standard of law.”
Recent occupants of the office, including the incumbent James and her predecessors Andrew Cuomo and Elliot Spitzer, used it as a springboard. Goldman spoke of no such ambitions.
“I’m doing this because I want to be the people’s lawyer,” he said. His decision to run became firm after Cuomo resigned as governor and James was rumored to be exploring a run for the office.
Goldman said he would work to make voters understand his “lifelong calling” as a champion of civil rights and criminal justice reform
Goldman, 45, is married with five children and lives in Manhattan. He was a history major at Yale and earned a law degree at Stanford before two judicial clerkships and a 10-year stint at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, where he prosecuted organized crime and securities fraud. Then there was the 2019 role that made him a familiar face on television: lead prosecutor in Trump’s first impeachment.
“Impeachment is the highest profile and most well-known moment of my career in public service but it demonstrates I’m unafraid, aggressive and will fight for what I believe is right,” Goldman said.
(NEW YORK) — Amazon will pay a $500,000 settlement related to California’s “right-to-know” labor law after state regulators alleged the retail giant failed to adequately notify warehouse workers and local health agencies of COVID-19 case numbers.
“As our nation continues to battle the pandemic, it is absolutely critical that businesses do their part to protect workers now — and especially during this holiday season,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement. “That’s why California law requires employers to notify workers of potential workplace exposures and to report outbreaks to local health agencies.”
Bonta said the judgement, which remains subject to court approval, will help ensure Amazon meets the state’s requirement for workers.
“Bottom line: Californians have a right to know about potential exposures to the coronavirus to protect themselves, their families, and their communities,” Bonta added. “This judgment sends a clear message that businesses must comply with this important law. It helps protect us all.”
California’s so-called “right-to-know” law, AB 685, requires that employers notify workers of COVID-19 cases at their worksites, provide employees with information on coronavirus-related benefits and protections, share their disinfection and safety plans and report COVID-19 cases to local health agencies.
The settlement requires Amazon to update COVID-19 notification policies and take further specific actions to help workers, according to Bonta’s office. It also requires Amazon to notify its tens of thousands of warehouse workers in California of new COVID-19 cases in their workplace and pay $500,000 toward enforcement of California’s consumer protection laws.
Barbara Agrait, an Amazon spokesperson, told ABC News the settlement is solely related to a technicality specific to California state law involving employee coronavirus-related notifications. She said no problems were identified with Amazon’s protocols for notifying employees who might have been in close contact with an affected individual.
“We’re glad to have this resolved and to see that the AG found no substantive issues with the safety measures in our buildings,” Agrait said in a statement. “We’ve worked hard from the beginning of the pandemic to keep our employees safe and deliver for our customers — incurring more than $15 billion in costs to date — and we’ll keep doing that in months and years ahead.”
She added that Amazon remains focused on being transparent with local health authorities. Moreover, Agrait said Amazon supports worker vaccinations and the company has hosted more than 1,800 free on-site vaccination events at Amazon facilities across the U.S.
Last October, Amazon released an analysis of data on all 1,372,000 Amazon and Whole Foods Market frontline employees across the U.S. employed from March 1 to Sept. 19, 2020. The company said that 19,816 employees had tested positive or been presumed positive for COVID-19 during that time.
(NEW YORK) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 764,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
Just 68.9% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Latest headlines:
-Pfizer asks FDA for COVID-19 pill authorization
-21 states see at least 10% jump in daily cases
-US sees increase in pediatric cases for 2nd week in a row
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Nov 16, 2:10 pm
Pfizer asks FDA for COVID-19 pill authorization
Pfizer has asked the Food and Drug Administration to authorize its COVID-19 pill, the company announced in a press release Tuesday.
Both Merck and Pfizer are working on pills that appear very effective at keeping patients out of the hospital, according to the companies.
The Merck medication could be FDA authorized, recommended and available by the end of the year. The FDA’s advisory committee is slated to discuss the Merck application on Nov. 30.
Authorization for Pfizer is not expected until early next year.
ABC News’ Sony Salzman
Nov 16, 1:59 pm
21 states see at least 10% jump in daily cases
The U.S. daily case average has surged to more than 80,000 — a 27% jump in three weeks, according to federal data.
Over the last two weeks, 21 states have seen at least a 10% uptick in daily cases: Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin.
Last week marked the first national increase in total hospitalizations in nearly 10 weeks, according to federal data. There are now more than 48,000 patients with COVID-19 currently receiving care, up by about 3,000 patients from a week ago.
Twelve states (and Washington, D.C.) have seen an increase of 10% or more in hospital admissions over the last week: Alaska, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, South Dakota, Vermont and Wisconsin.
ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos
Nov 16, 12:01 pm
DC to lift indoor mask mandate on Monday
Washington, D.C., will lift its indoor mask mandate on Monday.
“Instead of following a blanket mandate, residents, visitors, and workers will be advised to follow risk-based guidance from DC Health that accounts for current health metrics and a person’s vaccination status,” Mayor Muriel Bowser’s office said in a statement
Private businesses can still require masks.
Masks will still be required in places including public transportation, schools, childcare facilities and nursing homes.
ABC News’ Beatrice Peterson
Nov 16, 11:36 am
Times Square reopening to vaccinated revelers for New Year’s Eve
Times Square is reopening this New Year’s Eve after being closed last year due to the pandemic.
Revelers must bring proof of full vaccination and a photo ID.
“This has been a heroic city fighting through COVID. We are turning the corner. We’ve got a lot to celebrate. It’s going to be a big moment in Times Square on New Years Eve,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said, ABC New York station WABC-TV reported.
(NEW YORK) — Over 1 foot of rain pummeled the Pacific Northwest in five days, bringing rivers into major flood stages and flooding roads and neighborhoods.
In Whatcom County, Washington, in the northwest part of the state along the Canadian border, about 500 people were displaced Monday due to flooding, the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office said.
In Bellingham, in Whatcom County, the flooding and mudslides closed Interstate 5 overnight.
Flooding also shuttered Highway 5 in British Columbia, with one official calling the conditions “a disaster waiting to happen.”
High winds — with gusts up to 77 mph — toppled trees and knocked out power. An 18-wheeler was nearly knocked off a bridge.
Tuesday morning, the rain and snow showers will begin to taper off, with conditions improving by the afternoon. But major river flooding will still be an ongoing threat, and a flood watch remains in effect through Tuesday afternoon in parts of western Washington.
Three rivers are in major flood stage: Bogachiel, Nooksack and Skagit. The Skagit River in Mount Vernon is expected to rise to a crest of 37.6 feet by Tuesday afternoon, topping the 1990 record crest of 37.4 feet.
A winter weather advisory is also in effect; over 1 foot of snow possible in the highest elevations — above 1,500 feet — in western Washington.
Although nearly the entire western U.S. is in a drought, western Washington is the only area that is drought-free. Seattle has seen rain every day this month and parts of western Washington have received 40 inches of rain in the last 30 days.
The Pacific Northwest will dry out over the next few days, before more rain arrives later this week.
(NEW YORK) — Julius Jones has spent the past 20 years fighting for his life on death row, but on Friday a federal appeals court rejected his final appeal.
As of now, Jones will be executed this week on his scheduled execution date of Nov. 18 unless the Oklahoma governor decides to grant him clemency.
In September, the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board recommended commuting Jones’ sentence to life in prison with the possibility of parole to Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt.
The decision still remains with Stitt, who said in September in a news release that he was waiting to make a decision based on the clemency hearing.
“I am not accepting the Pardon and Parole Board’s recommendation to commute the sentence of Julius Jones because a clemency hearing, not a commutation hearing, is the appropriate venue for our state to consider death row cases,” Stitt said in a Sept. 28 press release.
On Nov. 1, the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board voted to recommend clemency for Jones in a 3-1 favor. As of Tuesday, Stitt hasn’t publicly announced a decision.
“Nightline” spoke to Jones’ family in September. Jones’ mother, Madeline Davis-Jones, said the parole board’s decision instilled renewed hope for her son’s survival and called the news “magical.”
“I’m still in shock, because it’s not over, you know? We still have so much ground [to] cover,” Jones’ sister, Antoinette Jones, said. “I don’t know. I can’t explain it, but it was a good feeling.”
Antoinette Jones said her brother was calm when he heard the parole board’s recommendation, as he knows work still has to be done to secure his freedom.
“He said, ‘I’m good. I’ll be even better when I get out and I can hug y’all and we can start helping change the world,'” Antoinette Jones said. “It was a relief. I could breathe a little bit easier.”
Jones’ sister remains hopeful that he will be freed, and said she can picture justice for her brother.
“Julius being able to feel the sun on his skin, the natural sun on his skin. It looks like him having no chains [on] when he gets to go outside,” she said. “It looks like freedom.”
Julius Jones was 19 years old when he was arrested for the 1999 murder of Oklahoma businessman Paul Howell, and sentenced to death in 2002. What followed were decades of public scrutiny and relentless work from his legal team.
“We think Julius was wrongfully convicted and that Oklahoma is at risk of executing an innocent man,” Jones’ attorney, Amanda Bass, said.
Now 41 years old, Jones has spent most of his life behind bars. Even after so many years, his sister and mother have yet to give up hope.
Before he was in prison, friends and teachers knew Jones as a champion high school basketball player who attended the University of Oklahoma on an academic scholarship.
That all changed in 1999 when Howell, 45, was shot in his family’s driveway after a car-jacking in the wealthy suburb of Edmond, Oklahoma.
Howell’s GMC Suburban went missing and his sister, Megan Tobey, was the only eye-witness.
“Megan Tobey described the shooter as a young black man wearing a red bandana, a white shirt, and a stocking cap or skullcap. She was not able to identify the shooter’s face because it was covered,” Bass told ABC News in 2018.
Two days after Howell was killed, police found his Suburban parked in a grocery store parking lot. They learned later that a man named Ladell King had been offering to sell the car.
King named Chris Jordan and Julius Jones to investigators and said the two men had asked him to help them sell the stolen Suburban.
“Ladell was interviewed by the lead detectives in this case. He told the police that on the night of the crime, a guy named Chris Jordan comes to his apartment. A few minutes later, according to Ladell King, Julius Jones drives up,” attorney Dale Baich told ABC News in 2018.
King accused Jordan of being the driver and claimed that he and Jones were looking for Suburbans to steal, but it was Jones who shot Howell.
“Both Ladell King and Christopher Jordan were directing police’s attention to the home of Julius Jones’ parents as a place that would have incriminating items of evidence,” Bass said.
Investigators found a gun wrapped in a red bandana in the crawl space of Jones’ family home. The next day, Jones was arrested for capital murder.
Jones’ attorneys say the evidence police found could have been planned by Jordan. They say Jordan had stayed at Jones’ house the night after the murder, but Jordan denied those claims during the trial.
In the years since, Jones’ defense team has argued that racial bias and missteps from his then public-defense team played a role.
Jones’ team has submitted files to the parole board that they said proved his innocence, including affidavits and taped video interviews with inmates who had served time in prison with Jordan. They said they allegedly heard Jordan confess to Howell’s murder.
In a statement to ABC News, Jordan’s attorney, Billy Bock, said that “Chris Jordan maintains his position that his role in the death of Paul Howell was as an accomplice to Julius Jones. Mr. Jordan testified truthfully in the jury trial of Mr. Jones and denies ‘confessing’ to anyone.”
Jordan served 15 years in prison before he was released.
In 2020, Jones’ story was thrown back into the spotlight when unlikely legal ally Kim Kardashian drew public attention to his case. Kardashian, who is studying to take California’s bar exam, has been vocal on the issue of the death penalty and prison reform and has campaigned to free a number of men and women who were incarcerated.
“Kim Kardashian, I felt like maybe one of my sorority sisters … she was down to earth,” Davis-Jones said.
Antoinette Jones said Kardashian put in the effort to help her brother.
“She sat down and she broke down my brother’s case. That means that she actually did the work,” Jones said. “She did the work to go back and check certain things, to point out certain things.”
“The fact that she told me that she was able to go see my brother, it was almost like she took a piece of him and brought it to us and then we could feel like he was there with us,” Jones added.
But despite all the efforts, Julius Jones’ execution date is still in place.
His family said they have to just wait to see if Stitt will agree with the parole board’s recommendation and commute Jones’ November death sentence. Three members of the Pardon and Parole board were appointed by the governor, a fact that gives Davis-Jones some hope.
“I’d like for [Stitt] to do the right thing, because the truth will set you free,” Davis-Jones said. “But most of all, being in leadership, I know sometimes it’s hard … to make decisions, [but] you have to try to make the right decisions.”
(NEW YORK) — With COVID-19 infection rates steadily increasing across the country, a growing list of states are now moving ahead of federal authorization, to recommend booster shots for all residents 18 years or older, six months after receiving their second COVID vaccine dose.
Last week, Pfizer formally asked the Food and Drug Administration to allow all Americans over the age of 18 to be eligible for booster shots.
However, in recent weeks, leaders from seven states — Arkansas, California, Colorado, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York and West Virginia — have moved to formally and informally endorse the expansion of booster shots to all adult residents who are at least six months out of their second Pfizer or Moderna vaccine.
At this time, booster shots are recommended by federal agencies for anyone over the age of 18 who has received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, two months after receiving their first dose. Moderna and Pfizer recipients are encouraged to get a booster shot six months after receiving their second dose, if they are over the age of 65, have an underlying medical condition or are at high risk for exposure.
Earlier this fall, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice was the first state legislator to call for all residents regardless of their age or status of underlying condition, to receive a booster.
“I think that is absolutely the message that I’ve been trying to get out to people,” Justice reiterated on Monday. “I absolutely believe that if you’re 18 years of age, you can get your booster shot.”
On Monday, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson adjusted state policy recommendations to green light boosters for adults, adding that the current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations on boosters are “somewhat confusing and limiting.”
Two states — Colorado and New Mexico — which have seen significant increases in COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations have gone as far as to sign executive orders, urging all fully vaccinated adults to get boosters once they meet the six- or two-month thresholds, given the high risk for exposure and transmission in those states.
“We want to ensure that Coloradans have every tool they need to protect themselves from this deadly virus and to help reduce the stress on our hospitals and health care workers,” Colorado Gov. Jared Polis wrote.
The concerns over high transmission have also pushed other officials to pull the trigger on booster shots for all adults.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said on Monday that she is “strongly encouraging all New Yorkers who live or work in a high-risk setting to get the booster,” and in New York City, Health Commissioner Dr. Dave Chokshi, announced during a press conference on Monday that he is issuing a Commissioner’s Advisory to all health care providers to allow boosters for all adults.
Last week, in California, Health Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly also announced that he was encouraging residents to “absolutely” sign up to get a booster shot.
With winter holidays just weeks away, and millions of Americans expected to travel and gather with family members, some officials say the expansion of boosters is now more critical than ever.
“We think this is a big step we can take with the holidays coming up. We need as many people boosted as possible. It’s that simple,” New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said on Monday during a press conference.
Murphy signaled that he would likely formally support boosters for all adults, adding that “if you’re in doubt, get the darn booster.”
To date, more than 30 million people nationwide have received an additional dose of a COVID-19 vaccine since early August, according to federal data.
(LARIMER COUNTY, Colo.) — A small fire has sparked mandatory evacuations in a popular Colorado ski resort town as wind gusts threaten to fan the flames.
The Kruger Fire broke out Tuesday morning near Kruger Rock in Larimer County, just outside Estes Park, a mountain town with about 6,000 residents, fire officials said. The fire had reached 20 acres before 9 a.m., according to the Estes Valley Fire Protection District.
Red flag warnings have been issued throughout Colorado over high wind gusts topping 40 mph. Videos posted to social media show the fire crowning, indicating the possibility that it could spread quickly.
Last year, Estes Park was wedged between the two largest fires in state history– the East Troublesome Fire and the Cameron Peak Fire — but a snowstorm in October 2020 halted the fires in their tracks.
The neighborhoods of Little Valley Drive, Hermit Park and Uplands of Fish Creek Road were ordered to evacuate on Tuesday morning.
Additional information was not immediately available.
ABC News’ Jeffrey Cook contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — Several dozen New York City sanitation workers have been accused of submitting falsified vaccination cards to satisfy the city’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate, and they’ve been suspended without pay, according to a city official.
The city’s Department of Investigation is looking into the allegations, with spokesperson Diane Struzzi adding: “DOI is aware of allegations involving the issuance of bogus vaccination cards and declines further comment.”
New York City’s Sanitation Department also is investigating the situation in coordination with the DOI, according to Sanitation Department spokesman Joshua Goodman.
“These are very concerning allegations and we take them very seriously,” Goodman said. “Getting vaccinated is important to public health, and we do not tolerate anyone faking something that is a requirement of city employment.”
Over 87% of the department’s roughly 10,000 employees are either fully or partially vaccinated, according to ABC New York station WABC-TV.
“Anyone found to have faked their vaccination will be suspended without pay,” Goodman added.
The employees allegedly submitted real CVS cards listing that they had received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine, but, upon verifying, officials realized CVS hasn’t administered the J&J vaccine since May.
Employees allegedly lied about taking the J&J dosage because it was easier to fake receiving a single shot. The cards all came from the same CVS in southern Brooklyn but were distributed to multiple sanitation garages.
As of now, the accused sanitation workers are facing up to three works of suspension without pay.
(KENOSHA COUNTY, Wis.) — In a trial that began with the judge playing Jeopardy with prospective jurors, Kyle Rittenhouse participated in a game-show-style process on Tuesday of randomly selecting the 12 jurors to decide his fate.
Just after 10 a.m., the 18 members of the Kenosha County, Wisconsin, Circuit Court panel who heard evidence in the nationally televised trial of the 18-year-old had their juror numbers written on pieces of paper and placed in a metal raffle drum, which a clerk spun with the crank of a handle.
Judge Bruce Schroeder then instructed Rittenhouse to draw six numbers from the tumbler in a process that is a standard practice in Wisconsin. The teenager, seated at the defense table and dressed in a blue suit, reached in and pulled out six numbers one at a time.
A clerk then read aloud the numbers of jurors No. 11, 58, 14, 45, 9 and 52 who will serve as alternates during the deliberations conducted by the remaining panelists.
The alternates were immediately instructed to follow a bailiff into a back room as Schroeder gave the rest of the jury final instructions.
“All right, members of the jury, it is for you to determine whether the defendant is guilty or not guilty of each of the offenses charged,” Schroeder said.
After telling the jurors to send notes through the bailiff if they need to communicate with him, Schroeder said, “All right folks, you can retire to consider your verdicts.”
Schroeder then asked the alternate jurors to return to the courtroom. Quoting Shakespeare, the judge said, “Parting, as they say, is such sweet sorrow.”
“You’ve been wonderful jurors, and we couldn’t have asked for a higher quality jury, better jurors, more attentive jurors, more prompt jurors,” Schroeder said to the alternates.
He explained that there have been “rare instances” in high-profile cases where alternate jurors have been restored to the jury deliberating after being dismissed.
“That is conceivable in this case. It’s not likely. In fact, it’s quite unlikely, but it’s possible,” Schroeder told the alternates.
He asked them to adhere to his order not to discuss the case with anyone and to continue to avoid media reports about the trial. He also asked them to stick around the court in case they are needed.
The trial initially began with 20 jurors, but one was removed for health concerns and another was dismissed after acknowledging in court that he told a tasteless joke to a deputy sheriff about Jacob Blake, the 29-year-old Black man paralyzed in a Kenosha police shooting that set off days of violent protests that led up to the shootings Rittenhouse claims he committed in self-defense.
Rittenhouse has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree reckless homicide, first-degree intentional homicide, attempted first-degree intentional homicide and two felony counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety.
If convicted on all felony charges, Rittenhouse faces a sentence of life in prison.
Prior to closing arguments on Monday, Schroeder instructed the jury that they will be allowed to consider lesser charges against Rittenhouse if the panel decides the prosecution failed to meet its burden to prove the original charges.
Schroeder also granted a defense motion to dismiss a charge of possession of a dangerous weapon by a person under 18 after the prosecution agreed that the rifle Rittenhouse used in the shooting did not meet the required standard of an illegal short-barreled rifle under the law.
The charges stem from the fatal shootings of Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, and a shooting that left 27-year-old Gaige Grosskreutz wounded during an Aug. 25, 2020, protest in Kenosha.
During his testimony on Thursday, Rittenhouse said he shot all three men with an AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle in self-defense after they each attacked him.
“I didn’t intend to kill them. I intended to stop the people who were attacking me,” Rittenhouse repeatedly said, at one point breaking down and sobbing on the witness stand.
(NEW YORK) — The rate of babies born premature in the United States has declined for the first time in six years, but experts warn it is not a cause for celebration, as a maternal and infant health crisis still exists.
Preterm birth rates in the U.S. decreased 0.1% from 10.2% in 2019 to 10.1% in 2020, according to a report published Monday by the March of Dimes, a nonprofit organization focused on improving the health of pregnant people and babies.
Even with the decrease, the U.S. — where 1 in 10 babies are born premature — maintained a “C-” grade for its preterm birth rate, according to the report.
And the report also found preterm births increased over the past year for Black and American Indian/Alaskan Native people, who are up to 60% more likely to give birth prematurely as compared to white women.
“I think it’s really important to understand that around the issue of premature birth, we still have significant issues around health and equity, and we still have far too many women who are more likely to give birth prematurely than others,” said Stacey D. Stewart, president and CEO of March of Dimes. “So we don’t see this report card as a reason to really celebrate.”
“It just means that we have a lot more work to do, especially in the communities that are most impacted,” she said.
In addition to increases this year, the the rate of preterm birth for Black people has increased by nearly 8% since 2014, and by 11% for American Indian/Alaskan Native people, according to March of Dimes.
Preterm, or premature birth, is any birth that happens before 37 weeks of pregnancy have been completed, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Babies born premature have higher rates of death and disability including breathing problems, cerebral palsy, feeding difficulties, developmental delays and vision and hearing problems, according to the CDC.
What causes a pregnant woman to deliver early is not always known, but risk factors include everything from a history of preterm birth to stress and substance abuse to socio-economic factors like being over the age of 35, having a low income and being Black, according to the CDC.
An emerging area of research has grown in recent years to look at why a pregnant person’s race, especially Black and American Indian/Alaskan Native, plays a role, according to Mirella Mourad, MD, a maternal fetal medicine specialist and co-director of the Preterm Birth Prevention Center at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center.
“We are just starting to delve into understanding why women of color are at increased risk, where before it was just a risk factor,” she said. “Now we can with confidence say that discrepancies in socio-economic status or baseline health, education level, do not explain the entire picture.”
Mourad continued, “That’s kind of a good conclusion face to reach, so that we can focus on other factors and things that have recently become a big focus, like areas of racism-related stress and institutional systemic racism.”
In addition to race, March of Dimes’ report card also showed disparities in preterm birth rates based on where people live.
The rates of preterm births increased in 13 states, with Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, West Virginia and Puerto Rico earning an “F,” meaning they had a preterm birth rate of 11.5% or more.
Only the state of Vermont earned an “A” grade with a preterm birth rate of 7.7%.
Overall, the southern states, Appalachia and pockets of western states have higher levels of vulnerability, according to the March of Dimes.
Stewart said the report card looks at social vulnerability, like where a person lives, because they can contribute to maternal health, which also plays a role in preterm birth.
“We know that how any of us live, the social determinants of health, are primary determinants in our health overall,” she said. “So whether or not mothers have access to health care, whether or not they live in safe neighborhoods, have access to good nutrition, have access to health care, if those things are lacking, those issues can certainly increase the risk of a mother’s health declining and sometimes lead to premature birth.”
This year’s report card — released annually in November, National Premature Awareness Month — also looked for the first time at low-risk C-sections, defined by the March of Dimes as one that takes place when a pregnant person is at least 37 weeks pregnant and has not given birth before.
The low-risk C-section rate in 2020 in the U.S. was 25.6%, according to the report, around 10 points above the maximum of what the World Health Organization (WHO) considers the ideal rate for C-section births.
“We included information about low-risk C-sections as as a way of thinking about the overall state of maternal health,” said Stewart, noting that C-sections are associated with increased risk of maternal morbidity and increased rates of NICU admission.
“The fact that the U.S. is considered the most dangerous developed nation in the world in which to give birth is very shocking and surprising to a lot of people,” said Stewart. “One of the reasons we want to make sure that people have this information from the report card is to shine a brighter light on the fact that we have a lot of issues in this country, still even the wealthiest country in the world, with respect to maternal and infant health.”
“It requires a lot more attention and awareness and action to make sure that every mom and every baby is healthy,” she said.
