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As states drop COVID-19 restrictions, some experts warn it’s premature to declare victory

February 17, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — After months of unrelenting surges, COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations are falling rapidly across the United States, a welcome reprieve for many Americans, who are hoping that the decline will herald the beginning of the end of a difficult two years and a return to a much-awaited normalcy.

Although COVID-19 infections remain at levels comparable to prior peaks, with an average of 147,000 new cases still reported each day, politicians across the country, sensing the public pandemic fatigue, are eagerly moving to lift restrictions.

In just the last week, governors in 11 states and Washington, D.C., have announced an end to their statewide masking policies and other mitigation measures. Federal agencies and local jurisdictions are also moving to cut down on publicly available COVID-19 data.

Although health experts agree the COVID-19 decline is encouraging, many are urging caution not to declare victory prematurely out of fear of a potential viral resurgence. Many experts are also expressing concern over declining data availability.

“While we are in a much better place than we were a month ago, we still have to apply caution. Opening too quickly can lead to unnecessary increases in transmission that will only prolong the current surge and potentially accelerate the pace of a new variant,” said Dr. John Brownstein, an epidemiologist at Boston Children’s Hospital and an ABC News contributor.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is also remaining vigilant, advising Americans to keep their masks on, particularly in areas of high or substantial transmission, despite contradictory messaging from state leaders.

“We are looking at all of our guidance based not only on where we are right now in the pandemic, but also on the tools we now have at our disposal, such as vaccines, boosters, tests and treatments and our latest understanding of the disease,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky told reporters Wednesday during a White House COVID-19 briefing, adding that the agency could “soon” deliver updated mitigation guidance.

“We want to give people a break from things like mask-wearing, when these metrics are better, and then have the ability to reach for them again should things worsen,” Walensky said.

However, despite encouraging downward trends of new cases, hospitalization totals and deaths rates remain high, she added.

Across the country, about 80 million Americans are still unvaccinated, and more than half of those who are eligible to receive a booster shot have yet to do so, according to federal data.

Some health experts are concerned that the accuracy of COVID-19 case counts is potentially underestimated, given the increasing availability of home tests, which are rarely reported to health authorities.

“In addition to asymptomatic or mild cases, which can go unrecognized by infected people who do not get tested, positive rapid home tests are also not being counted,” Dr. Maureen Miller, professor of epidemiology at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, told ABC News. “There are also an unknown number of people who chose not to get tested, because they can either not afford to be infected because they don’t get paid if they’re sick or they don’t want to know or believe that they have contracted COVID-19.”

‘This is not the time to let our guard down’

Nearly two years into the pandemic, there is a feeling of exhaustion among Americans over the need to wear masks and other mitigation measures.

“If you really want to get the epidemic behind you, put it in the rearview mirror, just saying you’re done with COVID — you may be done with COVID, but COVID is not done with the United States, nor is COVID done with the world. We’ve got to do what it takes to get it to be done,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to the White House, said during an appearance on MSNBC on Tuesday. “We’re not out of the woods yet.”

Health experts believe that though these frustrations are valid, the benefits to keeping these measures in place for a bit longer would be beneficial in preventing another resurgence.

“This is not the time to let our guard down. Pulling back on restrictions has to be incredibly nuanced and based on robust data produced at the local level,” Brownstein said.

The issue of when is the right time to end mitigation measures remains complicated, particularly given the understanding from scientists that this virus will never be fully eradicated.

“Does that mean we have to wear masks for the rest of our lives? No, because we don’t usually design interventions that last forever, particularly ones that are not well tolerated,” said Dr. Jennifer Nuzzo, lead epidemiologist for the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.

It is important to consider feasibility and implementation issues, given how tired people are of the pandemic and the willingness of the public to continue to adhere to certain measures, Nuzzo said, adding that it is important for health officials to determine when is a decent time to relax mandates.

Miller told ABC News she feels strongly the time to lift restrictions is not now.

“Removing mask requirements is a huge mistake,” Miller said. “I understand the urge to not want to wear masks anymore. I hate wearing a mask. I do it anyway. Although cases are decreasing, every state in the United States has elevated levels COVID-19 spread. Not one state is on track for containment. That means there has to be preventive mechanisms in place to slow the spread, and the subsequent hospitalizations and deaths.”

Health experts are particularly concerned about individuals who are residually at risk, those who are immunocompromised and children under 5, particularly because about one-third of Americans are not fully vaccinated.

“The most frightening aspect of removing masking requirements … is the expectation that only the unvaccinated should continue to mask. The unvaccinated are the least likely to wear masks when requirements are in place,” Miller added. “Removing masking requirements ensures that infectious people will encounter susceptible people in greater numbers — with no protections in place to prevent infection. I would expect to see the number of cases rise.”

A drop in data availability

The pullback in the reporting of COVID-19 data by both the federal and state governments is also of great concern to epidemiologists, who have been using the data to help track the course of the pandemic and guide mitigation decision-making.

Since the beginning of the delta surge, dozens of states have ended daily virus data reports. In addition, last month, the Department of Health and Human Services ended the requirement for hospitals to report several key COVID-19 metrics, including a daily total of the number of COVID-19 deaths, the number of emergency department overflow and ventilated patients and information on critical staffing shortages.

“There’s no reason that we should be turning off data streams. Not only does it hamper our current response, but it will leave us more vulnerable to any future waves,” Dr. David Dowdy, an infectious disease epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, told ABC News.

The curtailment of COVID-19 data stems from “political decisions to downplay the pandemic and the availability of rapid home tests with no requirement to report data to health authorities,” Miller said, adding that available data for hospitalization and deaths still “provide the most compelling evidence that COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc around the country.”

Nuzzo stressed that the most effective and efficient way to track the virus is by having a deliberate, active surveillance plan and consistently monitoring and testing certain subsets of the population across the country in order to determine the frequency with which people are getting infected, as well as who is getting infected.

Analyses of wastewaters, sequencing and data pertaining to infections, hospitalizations and deaths are all critical strategies in understanding the epidemiology of COVID-19, and whether or not it is changing. Each source of data is important, Nuzzo said, because they all “tell you something slightly different, so you kind of need them all in order to add it all up to help you triangulate your way to the truth.”

Not the last one

When exactly the nation will transition from a pandemic to an endemic phase is still up for debate. According to scientists, although the virus will never be fully eradicated, eventually, people will have gained enough immune protection from vaccines or from natural infection that there will be less transmission with milder infections and fewer hospitalizations and deaths, potentially, exhibiting similarities to the flu.

However, for now, many health experts stress that it is critical that Americans remain vigilant, because, as demonstrated by the rapid emergence and spread of the delta and omicron variants, there could still be highly transmissible mutations of the virus, leading to another significant surge.

“Though many might declare victory on the pandemic, we are clearly very far from where we want to be right now, especially with billions of people yet to be vaccinated and the threat of a new variant looming,” Brownstein said.

Nuzzo added that Americans have to be open to the possibility of having to reverse course, and reimplement restrictions.

“Now, some people would argue that means we should never lift the recommendations because people won’t want to go back,” Nuzzo said, likening the use of constant restrictions to a building with no fire that has a fire alarm going off all day. People will ignore the alarm, she stressed, thus, there is some value in giving people a break and then bringing back masks and other measures, if necessary.

Ultimately, she said, COVID-19 will not be the last pandemic the globe will face.

“We need to build and maintain your social habits, so that we can continue to get people to act,” Nuzzo said. “People are weary, and will they be ready to go through something again? Or will they just say, ‘Forget it. I’m done’? I think that we need to kind of replenish the trust.”

Republicans pitch return to ‘normalcy’ in efforts to roll back COVID precautions

February 17, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Republican lawmakers, capitalizing on the growing national pushback on COVID-19 precautions, are amping up their efforts to implement a return to “normalcy,” proposing a flurry of legislative activity aimed at rolling back several Biden administration precautions.

The Biden administration’s pandemic exit strategy has been tested in recent weeks as Democratic governors in multiple states preempted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and rolled back masking requirements. While the CDC said Wednesday it would deliver updated guidance “soon,” Republicans are stepping on the gas and hoping to demonstrate that their party is delivering “normalcy” by rolling back restrictions leading up to midterms the GOP says will serve as a referendum on President Joe Biden’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Capitol Hill, Republicans are increasingly turning their attention toward slashing government-mandated pandemic precautions. GOP Leader Mitch McConnell has been at the forefront of the charge, giving multiple speeches this month declaring the pandemic “endemic” and noting that many Americans are eager to return to their lives unencumbered by pandemic-related restrictions.

“American families deserve normalcy,” McConnell said during remarks on the Senate floor Monday. “They deserve it now.”

Because of the way these GOP legislative challenges are being brought, several are guaranteed a vote on the Senate floor.

Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., filed a challenge to existing vaccine mandates imposed by the Biden administration using a procedural tool called the Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to overturn rules created by federal agencies and only requires 51 votes to pass the Senate. Challenges to federal rules made with this tool must be brought to a vote.

Marshall’s effort would repeal Biden’s vaccine mandate for health care workers, many of whom are required to be vaccinated under current rules for Medicare and Medicaid workers.

It won’t be the first time that Republicans have used this tool to force a vote on vaccine mandates onto the floor. In December, the Senate voted 52-48 to repeal Biden’s vaccine mandate on private business owners with over 100 employees, after Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., led a separate Congressional Review Act effort.

The Supreme Court ultimately overturned that vaccine mandate. And though the Senate-backed bill was never brought up for a vote in the House, the Senate vote demonstrated some bipartisan desire to curb federal pandemic restrictions. Two Democrats joined with Republicans to pass that vaccine mandate repeal, and it’s possible Marshall’s effort, or a separate pandemic restriction challenge spearheaded by Sens. John Thune, R-S.D., and John Boozman, R-Ark., using the same procedural tool, could enjoy similar across-the-aisle support.

Thune and Boozman are challenging a rule from the Department of Health and Human Services that requires young children in Head Start programs, which are funded by the federal government, to always wear masks, even during outdoor play.

“Not only is this decision to police schoolyard activities yet another affront to parents’ rights by the Biden administration, even worse is nothing about this nationwide policy is based on science or common sense,” Thune said in a statement.

This challenge comes just days after Pfizer announced that the Food and Drug Administration postponed its review of the Pfizer vaccine for children 5 and under. While COVID-19 has not had as severe an impact on young children as adults, the latest omicron surge hit children harder than previous variants largely because of their unvaccinated status. The CDC still recommends indoor masking for unvaccinated people, including children over 2.

Still, the effort has support from McConnell and a large swath of the Republican conference.

“Parents and kids need a swift end to pandemic disruptions that ignore the incredibly low risk to children,” McConnell said Wednesday.

GOP-led pushback on pandemic restrictions will likely consume Senate floor time as early as Thursday.

Several Republican lawmakers are demanding votes on amendments to a government funding bill that must pass by Friday to prevent a government shutdown. Two of the amendments they’re insisting on are aimed at rolling back pandemic precautions.

Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz’s amendment, which seeks to pull federal funding for schools if mask mandates remain in place for children, is expected to be one of the amendments voted on.

“It ought to be a choice of the parents whether a child should be vaccinated, and it shouldn’t be a government bureaucrat forcing kids to be vaccinated,” Cruz told ABC News Wednesday.

A Lee amendment that bans federal funds from being used to implement any remaining federal mask mandates is also expected to receive a vote.

Separately, Republicans are pushing to end the national state of emergency declaration on COVID-19, led by a resolution introduced by Marshall.

The administration renewed the state of emergency declaration for the eighth time late last month. Doing so allows federal funding for pandemic relief to continue.

But Marshall, echoing the sentiments of many of his GOP colleagues, said an end to the declaration could help the nation transition to a world where COVID-19 is a reality of life.

“It’s clear we need a new approach to COVID as we learn to live with it,” Marshall said in a statement. “That new approach starts with putting an end to the COVID national state of emergency.”

Senators introduce bill to limit harmful effects of social media on young people

February 17, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Legislators on Wednesday introduced a bipartisan bill aimed at protecting children from the potentially harmful impacts of social media.

The bill, sponsored by Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., came as Congress held five hearings on the dangers of social media for children and teens aged 16 or younger in recent months, including one at which a whistleblower who testified against Facebook — now Meta — about internalized documents that showed the tech giant prioritized profits over the mental well-being of children.

While the senators would not comment on the likelihood of the bill passing, they emphasized during a press conference on Wednesday that there is bipartisan support for it in the House and the Senate.

“What we’re doing in this bill is empowering those children and their parents to take back control,” Blumenthal said.

The Kids Online Safety Act of 2022 includes five major elements:

Social media companies would be required to provide privacy options, the ability to disable addictive features and allow users to opt-out of recommendations like pages or other videos to “like.” It would also make the strongest privacy protections the default.
The bill would give parents tools to track time spent in the app, limit purchases and help to address addictive usage.
It would require social media companies to prevent and mitigate harm to minors, including self-harm, suicide, eating disorders, substance abuse, sexual exploitation and unlawful products for minors, like alcohol.
Social media companies would be required to use a third party to perform independent reviews to quantify the risk to minors, compliance with the law and whether the company is “taking meaningful steps to prevent those harms.”
Social media companies would be required to give kids’ data to academic and private researchers. The scientists would use that data to do more research on what harms children on social media and how to prevent that harm.

“The social media platforms have proven they are not going to regulate themselves. Because of that, we have put the effort into how do we make certain that this is a safer environment,” Blackburn said Wednesday.

Dr. Dave Anderson, clinical psychologist at the Child Mind Institute, said the bill marks the sensible intersection of tech and public policy.

“I think politicians are taking what we know from the science and saying, ‘How do we build in these safeguards?'” Anderson said.

He said social media algorithms have evolved to show children only more of what they are interested in rather than a variety of viewpoints and that marks a dangerous change for children with mental health issues.

Meta, which owns Instagram and Facebook, had no comment on the legislation, but a spokesperson pointed to the company’s announcement in December that it is taking a stricter approach to recommendations for teens, including nudging them toward different topics if they have been dwelling.

A Snap Inc. spokesperson said the company spends a tremendous amount of time and resources to protect teenagers and has tools that allow kids to report concerning behavior and turn off location services, as well as resources for parents.

TikTok updated its policies on Tuesday to “promote safety, security, and well-being on TikTok,” according to a press release written by TikTok Head of Trust and Safety Cormac Keenan.

TikTok and Twitter did not respond to ABC News’ request for comment.

New GOP governor signs bill ending mask mandates in Virginia schools

February 17, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(RICHMOND, Va.) — Virginia’s newly elected Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed a law Wednesday that ends mask mandates in public schools throughout Virginia and lets parents opt out of their children from wearing masks, despite conflicting local mandates, without providing a reason or getting an exemption.

The law prevents school districts from adapting policies using the infection and hospitalization data of a particular area and prevents school boards from enacting policies that Youngkin’s critics say could be safest for their community.

Youngkin, who signed an executive ordering barring mask mandates on the day he was inaugurated in mid-January — but that several school districts challenged in court — rushed to deliver on his campaign promises to end the mandates and affirm what he said are the rights of parents in education.

At his request that it be treated as an emergency, Republican lawmakers quickly passed an amendment to a just-passed measure requiring school board compliance no later than March 1, instead of the bill’s original effective date of July 1, when students would already be out of school.

The law also bars online learning options, preventing schools from enacting hybrid systems, and requires schools be open for in-person learning five days a week.

Youngkin’s signature comes as school board meetings have increasingly become political battlegrounds over COVID mandates and as an increasing number of states controlled by Democrats have let indoor mask mandates expire this month, including California, New York, Delaware and Nevada.

“In the last week, we have seen Democrat-led states…move away from universal mask mandates in schools,” Youngkin said in a statement last week. “I am pleased that there is bipartisan support for doing the same in Virginia. This shows that when we work across the aisle, we put Virginians first. I look forward to signing this bill when it comes to my desk.”

Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Delaware, Connecticut and Oregon will stop requiring masks in the next few weeks, leaving it up to individual school districts to decide if students should wear them or not. While Texas, Utah, Florida, and Oklahoma are banning requirements altogether at a state level.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention currently recommends that all children ages 2 and older wear masks indoors regardless of vaccination status.

Trump family friend Ken Kurson pleads guilty to cyberstalking

February 17, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Ken Kurson, the former editor of the New York Observer who was pardoned by then-President Donald Trump before he left office, pleaded guilty Wednesday to two state-level misdemeanors for allegedly spying on his former wife’s computer.

Kurson, a friend of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner who also helped manage Rudy Giuliani’s unsuccessful presidential campaign in 2008, was arrested in 2020 on federal charges that alleged a “pattern of stalking and harassment against three victims,” including one he blamed for the dissolution of his marriage, according to prosecutors.

He was pardoned by Trump in January 2021 but re-arrested on state charges in August.

On Wednesday, he pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors — including attempted computer trespass — that accused him of surreptitiously installing spyware on his ex-wife’s computer from his work computer at the Observer in 2015.

“I believe we have a disposition today,” Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Alona Katz said during an appearance in Manhattan criminal court.

If Kurson leads a “law-abiding life” for a year and performs 100 hours of community service, he can withdraw his plea and have the charges reduced to lesser violations, Katz said.

“It is acceptable to him, your honor,” defense attorney Marc Mukasey told the court.

Authorities learned of Kurson’s alleged stalking in 2018 during a background check he underwent after Trump nominated him for a spot on the board of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

He was pardoned by Trump after his 2020 arrest, but seven months later then-Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance indicted him on state charges.

“We will not accept presidential pardons as get-out-of-jail-free cards for the well-connected in New York,” Vance said in a statement at the time the charges were announced in August.

Russia-Ukraine live updates: Separatist forces claim ‘large-scale’ shelling in Donbas

February 17, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — The United States continues to warn that Russia could invade Ukraine “any day” amid escalating tensions in the region, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken telling ABC News Wednesday the U.S. has seen “no meaningful pullback” of Russian forces and that Russian President Vladimir Putin Putin could “pull the trigger” at any point.

More than 150,000 Russian troops are estimated to be massed near Ukraine’s borders, U.S. President Joe Biden said Tuesday, as U.S. officials have urged all Americans to immediately leave Ukraine.

While Putin and the Kremlin claim that Russia has started to withdraw some troops from near Ukraine’s borders, ABC News has learned Putin had told his military forces to be ready to invade by Wednesday. It remains unclear whether he has made a decision to attack his neighbor. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, meanwhile, celebrated a national “day of unity” Wednesday.

Russia has denied it plans to invade and has demanded the U.S. and NATO bar Ukraine from joining the military alliance.

Here’s how the news is developing Thursday. All times Eastern:

Feb 17, 6:25 am
Russia to respond to US on NATO security guarantees

Russia will soon formally respond to the written answers that the United States sent earlier to Moscow’s demands for security guarantees that NATO not enlarge, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Thursday.

The U.S. government, at Russia’s insistence, sent written responses to two draft treaties the Kremlin published demanding guarantees that Ukraine will never join NATO and that the military alliance pull back its infrastructure from Eastern European countries that joined after the Cold War. Washington rejected those guarantees as non-starters but offered to discuss some confidence-building measures.

Lavrov was quoted by Russian state media on Thursday as saying that Moscow is planning to send its formal response “today” and that it will be published “several hours after.”

However, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told reporters Moscow was “still working on” its response and that the reply would not be sent Thursday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said his government will continue to insist on discussing its key demands alongside any of the other issues.

Feb 17, 5:50 am
Ukraine accuses Russia-backed separatists of shelling kindergarten

Ukraine accused Russia-backed separatist forces of shelling a village controlled by Ukrainian government troops and hitting a school there early Thursday.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine said separatists fired upon the southeastern village of Stanytsia Luhanska. The head of the community’s local administration confirmed to ABC News that they were under heavy fire on Thursday morning.

The firing has since ceased, the official told ABC News.

Footage released by Ukrainian media shows a hole blown in the wall of a kindergarten. Meanwhile, pro-Russian accounts on social media posted the footage without context, suggesting it was in a separatist-held area and calling it fake.

Russia-backed separatist authorities in eastern Ukraine have accused the Ukrainian military of a major escalation and of preparing for a full-scale offensive. The reports are headline news in most Russian media.

Feb 17, 5:32 am
Russia-backed separatists claim ‘large-scale’ shelling in Ukraine

Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine claimed a significant deterioration along the front line with Ukrainian government forces on Thursday, accusing Ukraine of launching “large-scale” shelling of civilian areas in the breakaway regions.

Fears that Russia might use such claims as a pretext to launch an invasion remain high, with Thursday’s allegations out of the ordinary. The Ukrainian government has denied any intention to launch an offensive on the separatist-held areas.

Local authorities in the self-declared Donetsk and Luhansk people’s republics, in an area of southeastern Ukraine known as the Donbas, accused Ukrainian government forces of shelling nine population centers, using large caliber mortars that are banned by a ceasefire.

The separatists’ military forces issued “emergency statements” Thursday alleging that “the situation along the line of contact has substantially worsened” in recent days. Rodion Leshchenko, a political advisor to the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic, accused Ukraine of launching a “massive provocation,” allegedly firing 200 times into Donbas.

For the past few weeks, Russian propaganda and the separatists in Donbas have been laying the groundwork to accuse Ukraine of launching an offensive, claiming that the Ukrainian government has been massing its forces and also alleging to have found evidence of atrocities. Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier this week that he believes “genocide” has occurred in Ukraine.

Russian aircraft buzz US Navy patrol planes, get within 5 feet, Pentagon says

February 17, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Amid tensions over a possible invasion of Ukraine, Russian aircraft intercepted U.S. Navy patrol planes in an “unprofessional” manner three separate times over the weekend, in one incident coming within five feet of an American plane, U.S. officials said Wednesday.

The Boeing-made U.S. P-8A aircraft are designed for anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare as well as intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions, according to the Navy.

“The U.S. flight crews were flying in international airspace over the Mediterranean Sea at the time of these intercepts,” DOD spokesman Capt. Mike Kafka said in a statement Wednesday.

CNN was first to report a close encounter between U.S. and Russian aircraft.

The incidents all happened in the same general area of the eastern Mediterranean over several days, a U.S. official told ABC News. The official said it is unclear whether there was any connection with large-scale Russian naval exercises being held there.

The U.S. has used diplomatic channels to raise its concerns to Russian officials, Kafka said.

“While no one was hurt, interactions such as these could result in miscalculations and mistakes that lead to more dangerous outcomes,” he added.

“The U.S. will continue to operate safely, professionally and consistent with international law in international waters and airspace,” Kafka said. “We expect Russia to do the same.”

Russia-Ukraine live updates: Russia adds as many as 7,000 troops, US official says

February 16, 2022 by WDNY Radio

More than 150,000 Russian troops are estimated to be massed near Ukraine’s borders, U.S. President Joe Biden said Tuesday, as U.S. officials have urged all Americans to immediately leave Ukraine.

Russia has denied it plans to invade and has demanded the U.S. and NATO bar Ukraine from joining the military alliance.

Latest headlines:
-Russia has added as many as 7,000 troops in last few days, White House official says
-UK’s top military intel officer says Russian buildup continues
-Russian troops in ‘firing positions’: State Dept.
-Biden holds call with German Chancellor Scholz
-Ukriane’s Zelenskyy addresses nation on ‘unity day’
-Moscow claims concern Kyiv preparing for attack against Donbas

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern.

Feb 16, 8:51 pm
Harris to meet with Ukrainian president in Munich this week

Vice President Kamala Harris this week will make one of her most significant foreign policy trips since taking office, heading to Germany to lead the U.S. delegation at the Munich Security Conference — where she will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

“We are in a very decisive moment,” a senior administration official told reporters as Harris prepared to lead the U.S. delegation, calling it a “resounding signal that engagement with our allies and partners is an absolutely critical part of our overall diplomacy in our approach to this situation.”

During the Wednesday night call, senior administration officials said the tensions with Russia will be a major focus of the vice president’s time abroad, with her schedule featuring a “series of high-stakes, high-level diplomatic talks.”

Harris’ most notable meeting will be with the Ukrainian president on Saturday.

“That’ll be a real opportunity to underscore our commitment to Ukraine sovereignty and territorial integrity and to further coordinate the diplomatic efforts that have been underway to provide economic, and defensive security in Ukraine,” an official said.

Harris is also expected to meet with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and the leaders of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.

She will deliver keynote remarks at the conference, where she is expected to address the situation on Ukraine’s borders — touching on diplomatic, military and economic coordination of allies.

“The vice president will underscore how that unity is a source of strength that will allow us to respond quickly and severely to any further Russian aggression,” an official said.

ABC News’ Molly Nagle

Feb 16, 7:24 pm
Russia has added as many as 7,000 troops in last few days, White House official says

Russia has increased its presence along the Ukrainian border by as many as 7,000 troops in the last few days, with some arriving Wednesday, a senior White House official told ABC News.

The assessment comes a day after the Russian government said it has started to withdraw some troops from near Ukraine’s borders.

The official didn’t comment on the total number of Russian forces currently along the border.

President Joe Biden said Tuesday that Russia has “more than 150,000 troops encircling Ukraine and Belarus and along Ukraine’s border.” It’s unclear if that number includes any of the new troops cited by the official.

Private satellite imaging company Maxar on Wednesday released over two dozen new images from the last 48 hours that continue to show Russia’s heightened military activity in Belarus, Crimea and western Russia.

They include images that show a new 20-strong attack helicopter unit deployed in Belarus, a field hospital in Belarus and a pontoon bridge that has appeared across a river in Belarus, four miles from Ukraine’s border.

At least three of the images indicate some troops have departed or are preparing to depart, according to Maxar, though it’s unclear where the troops are going.

ABC News’ Mary Bruce and Patrick Reevell

Feb 16, 6:11 pm
Biden holds call with German Chancellor Scholz

President Joe Biden had a secure call Wednesday afternoon with German Chancellor Scholz, according to the White House, ahead of Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveling to Germany on Thursday for the Munich Security Conference.

The two leaders “reaffirmed their commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity” and “underscored the importance of continued transatlantic coordination on diplomacy and deterrence measures,” the White House said.

Scholz visited the Kremlin and met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Monday. The German chancellor has said that war is “unimaginable” and shouldn’t be an option since Ukraine has not formally requested to join NATO, as Russia demands it be barred from doing so.

“That is why it is somewhat peculiar to observe that the Russian government is making something that is practically not on the agenda the subject of major political problems,” Scholz said earlier this week.

“That is, after all, the challenge we are actually facing. That something that is not at all an issue now is being made an issue,” he said.

Feb 16, 5:10 pm
UK’s top military intel officer says Russian buildup continues

British Army Lt. Gen. James Hockenhull, chief of defense intelligence, said Wednesday that the U.K. has also not seen evidence that Russia is withdrawing substantial forces from near Ukraine, matching comments from NATO and U.S. officials.

“We have not seen evidence that Russia has withdrawn forces from Ukraine’s borders. Contrary to their claims, Russia continues to build up military capabilities near Ukraine,” Hockenhull said in a rare public statement.

“This includes sightings of additional armored vehicles, helicopters and a field hospital moving towards Ukraine’s borders. Russia has the military mass in place to conduct an invasion of Ukraine,” he said.

Russian units that are supposedly pulling back appear to actually be returning to their home bases that are already located next to Ukraine. Security analysts say that Russia appears to simply be shuffling its forces for the time being, while more continue to arrive.

France’s Foreign Minister Jean Yves Le Drian in the French Senate Wednesday also said, for now, they are unable to say whether Russian troops are withdrawing or rotating but that Russia has all the elements in place for an attack.

ABC News’ Matt Seyler, Patrick Reevell and Anna Rabe

Prosecutor requests investigation into Purdue cop shown holding down Black student in snow

February 16, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Tippecanoe County prosecutor Patrick Harrington is calling for the Indiana State Police to investigate an alleged incident caught on video that showed a Purdue University police officer with his elbow pressed against the neck and face of a Black student in the snow.

Purdue student Adonis Tuggle told ABC News he and his girlfriend were driving to his apartment from Purdue’s recreational center on Feb. 4 when they began to have a “disagreement.” He said they pulled over and were arguing on the side of the road when Purdue University police officer Jon Selke and other officers arrived.

Officers were called to the south side of the campus after a bystander made an “urgent” call to police saying it appeared a woman was being held against her will, Purdue University police chief John Cox said in a statement.

According to Tuggle, 24, their argument was over a “minimal topic,” and the police did not need to get involved.

“Officer Jon Selke arrived on the scene and he was automatically on go-mode just assuming it’s a threat or a dangerous situation, when in actuality, it was just a couple having a disagreement, which isn’t anything uncommon,” Tuggle told “Good Morning America.”

Tuggle said his girlfriend tried to tell Selke the situation was under control and that he was her boyfriend, but Selke told her to “shut the —- up,” according to Tuggle.

He said this escalated the situation.

“That’s when I stepped forward in front of my girlfriend to take over the conversation, and I told Officer Selke, ‘OK, so don’t tell my girlfriend to shut the —- up. There’s no need to be disrespectful,” Tuggle said.

Tuggle said Selke then grabbed his arm, threw him against his girlfriend’s truck and punched him. The two eventually fell into the snow. This is when Tuggle’s girlfriend, who has asked ABC News not to be named, begins to record the altercation.

In the video, Tuggle can be heard saying “stop it, please” and “you’re choking me” while his girlfriend asks Selke to get off of him and taps him. Selke then tells Tuggle’s girlfriend that he will tase her if she touches him again. The video ends once more officers arrive at the scene.

Neither campus police nor Selke responded to ABC News’ request for comment.

The one-minute video of the incident has been shared across social media, sparking outcry and debate on and off Purdue’s campus.

“All you have to do is watch the video. What has changed in America is everyone has a cell phone. Everyone has a camera, so if it’s an officer with his knee on George Floyd’s neck or an officer at Purdue University with his elbow in Adonis’ neck, that’s brutality and that has to stop,” the Tuggle’s attorney, Andrew M. Stroth said.

Tuggle was arrested and charged with resisting arrest. He paid his $250 bond and was released after an hour in the Tippecanoe County jail. Tuggle said shortly after the incident he temporarily experience a lot of pain in his shoulder and his joints.

Cox said in a statement on Feb. 9 that “no physical injuries were suffered in the incident.”

The Indiana State Police will independently review all evidence associated with the police call and response, including all available video evidence, witness statements, and police reports, Purdue said in a statement.

The evidence and results of the investigation will then be sent to Harrington, who will then decide whether to press charges.

Cox said campus police conduct an internal review whenever an officer uses force during an arrest. Cox said Selke was put on leave until further notice after the officer received death threats. It is unclear if the leave is paid or unpaid.

Tuggle’s family asked for an independent investigation before the prosecutor’s request. Stroth said the family wants Selke to be held accountable for his handling of the situation and for all body camera footage and evidence to be released publicly.

“The video from body-worn cameras will be made available, as will all findings and evidence from the internal review when complete,” Cox said in a statement.

Tuggle’s mother, Cornelia Dawson, said after watching the video, she doesn’t understand how the situation escalated.

“The only thing I’m thinking is, ‘I’m missing something.’ He had an argument and then and then what? None of it makes sense,” Dawson told “GMA.”

Dawson sent a letter to Purdue University President Mitch Daniels after the incident, asking for him to bring justice to Tuggle and to ensure that incidents like this don’t happen to any other student. She said she’s disappointed after being a Purdue supporter for so long.

“Like a lot of parents, I was walking around feeling proud. He’s at Purdue, prestigious Purdue. I became an ambassador. I bought the mugs. I had T-shirts, so I’m still in disbelief,” she said.

Purdue University said it “welcomes the prosecutor’s action and believes it to be a positive step, having previously requested an independent review by the ISP,” according to a press release.

“There are no subjects Purdue takes more seriously than campus safety, student well-being, and proper police conduct,” Daniels said in a statement on Feb. 10.

He said Purdue asked for not only a review from the ISP, but also the Purdue Police. Once both reviews are done, Daniels said all findings will be released.

Tuggle said he has interacted with police officers before and is often fearful of what could happen if a situation were to escalate.

“Like most Black males in America, especially out here in Indiana, when I see the police, unfortunately I get uncomfortable,” he said. “I get on guard trying to make sure, ‘OK, let me make sure everything’s OK, my ID information’ whatever that it is so hopefully things can go smoothly.”

Stroth is grateful that Tuggle is safe after the incident.

“He was injured and he was traumatized, and it’s serious, but thank God the outcome is different than others that we see every month in America,” he said.

Police response to mall fight prompts outrage, investigation into treatment of Black teen

February 16, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — A viral video of police responding to a fight between two teenagers at the Bridgewater Commons Mall in New Jersey over the weekend has drawn outrage and prompted an internal investigation over the officer’s apparent treatment of the Black teenager.

The video, which was taken by a bystander, appears to show the two teens arguing and then they begin to throw punches at each other. Shortly after, two Bridgewater Township police officers arrived at the scene and broke up the altercation. However, only the Black teenager, who was identified as an eighth grader named Kye, was handcuffed after being thrown to the ground, the video showed.

“They basically tackle me to the ground and then the one – the male officer put his knee in my back and then he starts putting me in cuffs,” Kye told ABC News station WABC in New York, in an interview that aired Tuesday night. “And then the female officer came over and put her knee on my upper back too and started helping putting cuffs on me. And while [the other teenager] was just sitting down on the couch watching the whole thing.”

In the video, the female officer sits the other teen who exchanged punches on the sofa and then appears to put her knee on Kye’s neck as she assists the male officer in handcuffing him.

The other teenager involved in the fight, who has not been identified by ABC News, was not handcuffed.

The Bridgewater Township Police Department told ABC News in a statement that police have asked the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office to assist in an internal investigation of the incident.

“We recognize that this video has made members of our community upset and are calling for an internal affairs investigation,” police said, urging anyone with additional videos of the incident to share them with law enforcement.

Frank Roman Jr., deputy chief of the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office, told ABC News in a statement that the incident is being investigated by the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Internal Affairs Unit.

Troy Fischer, the senior general manager of the Bridgewater Commons Mall, told ABC News that after the fight, both teenagers were “immediately banned from our property for the next three years.” He directed further questions about the incident to police.

Kye told WABC-TV that the fight allegedly started after the high schooler picked on Kye’s friend, who is a 7th-grader.

“My friend was arguing with the older kid and so I kind of just jumped into a fight, and since he’s older, he was on top of me and he’s bigger,” Kye said. “I was just confused and mad about it.”

Kye’s mother, Ebone Husain, told WABC that she wants as many people to watch the video as possible.

Asked what she wants to see happen, Husain said that she wants the officers to “become unemployable.”

Amid the outrage, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy responded to the incident in a tweet on Tuesday evening.

No-knock warrants in Minnesota under scrutiny after fatal police shooting

“Although an investigation is still gathering the facts about this incident, I’m deeply disturbed by what appears to be racially disparate treatment in this video,” he wrote. “We’re committed to increasing trust between law enforcement and the people they serve.”

Bridgewater Township Mayor Matthew Moench also released a statement responding to the incident.

Moench said that he is “completely confident that the Prosecutor’s review will be impartial, objective and thorough” and urged the public not to jump to conclusions before the investigation is complete.

ABC News’ William Gretsky and Ben Stein contributed to this report.

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