(CAIRO) —A man attempting to demolish one of four ancient sphinxes adorning the Tahrir square in Cairo was caught by security personnel, an eyewitness reports.
“I and my friends were in Tahrir when we saw someone climbing up to the head of one of the sphinxes. He was wielding a big hammer and shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ before starting to hit it,” Abdallah Elbarawy, a 22-year-old law student at Cairo University, told ABC News.
“He was then captured by security guards, who took him away,” Elbarawy said.
Local media said the man, who was not identified, was being questioned.
An antiquities ministry source told ABC News that no damage was sustained to any of the sphinxes.
Last year, Egypt relocated the four ram-headed sphinxes to Tahrir in the heart of Cairo from the southern city of Luxor — a move criticized at the time by many archaeologists, who feared the artifacts could be damaged because of their exposure to air pollution and heat in the congested square.
The sphinxes were previously located in a courtyard behind the first pylon of the famed Karnak temple in Luxor.
After being transferred to Tahrir, the sphinxes were kept in wooden crates before being unveiled last April, shortly before Egypt held a procession for 22 royal mummies from the iconic square. They lie beneath a 90-tonne obelisk that dates back to the era of famous New Kingdom pharaoh Ramses II.
Egypt said it will soon re-open the Grand Avenue of Sphinxes, a 3,000-year-old road that connects Karnak Temple with Luxor Temple, to the public after completing excavation and restoration works in the ancient pathway.
The avenue is flanked by hundreds of ram-headed sphinxes, similar to the ones that were moved to Tahrir.
(NEW YORK) — Eight Nigerians have been charged in the U.S. with running widespread internet scams for at least a decade from their base of operation in Cape Town, South Africa, federal prosecutors in New Jersey announced Wednesday.
The suspects, who were arrested in Cape Town and are awaiting extradition, have suspected ties to a transnational organized crime syndicate originating in Nigeria known as Black Axe.
From 2011 through 2021 the defendants allegedly ran schemes that involved their telling victims in the United States false narratives about traveling to South Africa for work and needing money after a series of unfortunate and unforeseen events, according to the indictment.
Other Americans fell victim to the defendants’ romance scams, believing they were in romantic relationships with someone using an alias and, when requested, the victims sent money and items of value to South Africa, the indictment said.
“The Co-conspirators often used aliases not only of the purported love interest of a victim, but also of other people involved in that person’s life, including a purported child, a business partner, or a friend, to bolster the perceived legitimacy of the stories portrayed, as a part of the Romance Scam or Advance Fee Scheme and to further induce the victims to send money on behalf of the purported love interest,” the indictment said.
Federal prosecutors quoted messages the defendants allegedly sent to victims, in one instance seeking a loan to fix a crane for a construction project:
“Honey, i don’t know how you will take this, i hate doing it but i have no other option, with profound sense of sadness and disgrace i am begging you to please loan me the balance, if possible a little bit more for upkeeping, i promise i will reimburse you once they come for inspection and give me the part-payment and that cannot be more than sometime next week.”
Sometimes victims were allegedly convinced to open financial accounts in the United States that the conspirators would then be permitted to use themselves to launder money.
Internet-based scams like the ones described in the indictment cost victims $600 million in 2020, according to the FBI.
“If you continue to be able to have a scheme that works you’re going to keep going back to it,” said George Crouch, special agent-in-charge of the FBI’s Newark Field Office.
He said the schemes allegedly perpetrated by the Nigerians charged this week were particularly insidious because they played on people’s emotions.
“Widowers, widows, divorcees, they really target those folks in a vulnerable state, pulling at their heart strings, all with the intent of separating them from their money,” Crouch told ABC News in a phone interview.
“Americans are too often victimized by criminal organizations located abroad who use the internet to deceive those victims, defraud them of money, and, many times, persuade the victims to wittingly or unwittingly assist in perpetuating the fraudulent schemes,” acting U.S. Attorney Rachael Honig said. “The public should be on guard against schemes like these.”
The defendants are charged with wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy and aggravated identity theft.
(NEW YORK) — The United States has been facing a COVID-19 surge as the more contagious delta variant continues to spread.
More than 730,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 while over 4.9 million people have died from the disease worldwide, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.
Just 66.8% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the CDC.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Oct 21, 8:53 am
CDC panel hours away from vote on Moderna, J&J boosters
A CDC committee is meeting Thursday to discuss and vote on booster shots for the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, as well as if people can mix and match their booster doses.
On Wednesday evening, the FDA authorized Moderna and J&J boosters for some people and allowed for the mixing and matching booster doses.
The next step of the process is for the CDC panel to deliberate and ultimately vote on whether to recommend those boosters, and whether to allow mixing and matching. The CDC panel vote is expected around 4:30 p.m.
After the panel vote, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky will make the final decision, likely within one day. The panel’s vote is nonbinding and the CDC is not required to follow the panel’s recommendations.
Boosting for eligible Moderna and J&J recipients would be able to start once Walensky gives the greenlight.
The FDA has made it clear that there is no preferred booster vaccine for the mixed dosage, but the CDC panel on Thursday is likely to discuss available data on what booster blend might offer the strongest immunity.
Oct 21, 1:01 am
US delivers 200M vaccine doses globally: White House
The U.S. has now donated and delivered 200 million COVID-19 vaccines globally, according to a White House official.
The figure is part of 1.1 billion doses President Joe Biden has pledged to more than 100 countries around the world.
“These 200 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have helped bring health and hope to millions of people, but our work is far from over,” Samantha Power, administrator for the U.S. Agency for International Development, which is assisting in the global vaccine effort, said in a statement. “To end the pandemic, and prevent the emergence of new variants, as well as future outbreaks within our nation’s borders, we must continue to do our part to help vaccinate the world.”
The Biden administration has received criticism for getting Americans booster shots while many around the world have yet to get one. Though the White House has insisted the U.S. can provide boosters to its citizens while funneling doses overseas — and working to increase vaccine production abroad.
Oct 20, 10:09 pm
US deaths estimated to continue to fall in weeks ahead, though thousands more lost
Forecast models used by the CDC are predicting that weekly COVID-19 death totals in the U.S. will likely continue to drop in the weeks to come, though thousands of Americans are still expected to lose their lives to the virus.
The model expects approximately 18,000 deaths to occur in the next two weeks, with a total of around 757,000 deaths recorded in the U.S. by Nov. 13.
The ensemble model estimates that 19 states and territories of the U.S. have a greater than 50% chance of having more deaths in the next two weeks compared to the past two weeks, and that four states and territories (Alaska, Nebraska, Ohio and American Samoa) have a greater than 75% chance of an increase over the next two weeks.
Oct 20, 5:21 pm
FDA authorizes booster shots for Moderna, J&J vaccines
The FDA authorized booster shots for the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines for some populations Wednesday.
Moderna’s vaccine can be administered at least six months after the second dose for people ages 65 and up and those ages 18 through 64 who either are at high risk of severe COVID-19 infection or have occupational exposure to the virus, the FDA said.
The J&J booster can be administered at least two months after the single-dose shot to those ages 18 and up, the agency said.
The FDA, which authorized Pfizer’s booster dose last month, also said it will allow people to mix booster doses.
(BENTON HARBOR, Mich.) — A water main break in Benton Harbor, Michigan, has resulted in a city-wide loss of water pressure that has shuttered schools and upended businesses on Thursday.
The rupture in the major artery for the city’s water supply — which officials warned can allow disease-causing bacteria to enter the tap water — comes as the predominately Black community was already told not to drink the city’s water due to a crisis of toxic lead that residents have been grappling with for years.
The mounting issues afflicting Benton Harbor’s drinking water have raised allegations of environmental injustice in the town where some 45% of residents live in poverty and 85% are Black, according to most-recent Census data. It has also shined a harsh spotlight on the real-world impacts of the nation’s dilapidated infrastructure as lawmakers in the nation’s capital are mulling over the Biden administration’s “Build Back Better” infrastructure plans.
Benton Harbor Mayor Marcus Muhammad tweeted Thursday morning that the burst in the 89-year-old water main “is taking longer than expected to address.”
“The contractors are still working on getting the water level down in order to repair the water main,” Muhammad added. “Thank you for your patience and understanding. We will continue to provide you with updates.”
The water main break occurred Wednesday afternoon and resulted in a “system-wide loss of water pressure across the city,” according to a statement from the Berrien County Health Department, urging residents “not to drink the water until further notice.”
“City water customers have previously been recommended to use bottled water, and should continue to use bottled water for cooking, drinking, making ice, brushing teeth, washing dishes, rinsing foods, and mixing powdered infant formula at this time, as well as after water is restored,” the statement added. “After the water pressure is restored, residents should flush the water taps for 5 minutes before using the water for washing hands, showering or bathing.”
The statement said these precautionary actions are being taken not because of the elevated levels of lead that has already been detected in the water, but “due to the potential for bacteria to enter the water supply after a loss of water pressure.”
County officials did not say what caused the break.
Free bottled water is being made available to Benton Harbor residents. Muhammad said in a second tweet Thursday that a YMCA in the area was offering its facilities to residents for showers.
Meanwhile, the Benton Harbor Area Schools Superintendent Andraé Townsel said in a letter to parents and caretakers posted on the school system’s website that six local schools will not have class on Thursday due to the water main break. He added that they anticipate school resuming on Friday.
The latest crisis comes just days after Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer visited Benton Harbor, and issued a new call for the state legislature to provide an additional $11.4 million investment needed to help expedite the replacement of lead pipes and service lines in the city.
Elevated levels of lead have been detected in the Benton Harbor’s water system since at least 2018, according to a Natural Resources Defense Council petition filed last month to the Environmental Protection Agency on behalf of local advocacy groups and residents.
Residents continue to live with “significant and dangerous levels of lead contamination three years after the contamination was first discovered with no immediate solution in sight,” the petition states, calling it an “environmental justice” issue.
Frustration among residents has mounted in recent months, in part due to what they see as delayed responses from the state and local government.
“Three years of this is ridiculous,” Rev. Edward Pinkney, a local faith leader told the local news outlet MLive, after a water handout organized by the state’s department of health ran out of water bottles 30 minutes after it was supposed to start earlier this month. Rev. Pinkney said he and his grassroots organization have been passing out 2,000 cases of water per month on their own dime since 2019.
(NEW YORK) — Attorneys for Ghislaine Maxwell, the alleged accomplice of deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, are set to appear before a federal judge Thursday afternoon to argue that prospective jurors for her criminal trial should be questioned individually and privately to ensure she receives a fair trial by an “open-minded jury.”
The extraordinary measures are necessary, Maxwell’s lawyers contend, to effectively screen for potential bias and for exposure to a “tsunami” of publicity about the high-profile sex-trafficking case.
“This case amplifies the likelihood that jurors will be more apprehensive and constrained to respond openly and honestly in open court within earshot of other jurors, members of the public, and the media,” Maxwell attorney Bobbi Sternheim wrote in a court filing last week.
The proposal from Maxwell’s defense team, which federal prosecutors oppose, would be a departure from typical procedure in the Manhattan federal court where her trial is scheduled. In most instances, a judge conducts screenings of groups of prospective jurors in open court after consulting with prosecutors and defense counsel about the questions to be posed.
In a court filing last week, prosecutors contended that Maxwell had presented “no persuasive reason” to depart from the “well-established practice.”
“The Court should ask most questions in open court and ask sensitive questions, such as those that relate to sexual abuse and media exposure, at sidebar,” wrote Assistant U.S. Attorney Alison Moe.
But Maxwell’s lawyers argue those conventional procedures are “inadequate” to ferret out potential bias and prejudice because of the sensitive nature of the charges and the “intense negative media coverage” about Maxwell and Epstein “in every conceivable form.”
“The negative publicity has been so pervasive, vitriolic, and extreme that Ms. Maxwell has been demonized in the press,” Sternheim wrote.
Private and individual questioning “would encourage potential jurors to answer questions more completely and honestly because the jurors would not be influenced by (or influence) the answers given by fellow jurors or fear embarrassment in giving an honest response,” Sternheim added.
Maxwell’s defense team also is asking the court to permit her lawyers and prosecutors to question each potential juror individually for up to three minutes after the court concludes its inquiries.
Late Wednesday, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and a coalition of 17 media organizations registered objections to the proposed secrecy surrounding the jury selection process, known as “voir dire.”
“Voir dire is a critical stage of criminal proceedings, and the public interest in favor of access to voir dire is correspondingly weighty,” RCFP attorney Katie Townsend wrote in a letter to U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan, who’s overseeing Maxwell’s case.
The media coalition, which includes ABC News, argued that a proposed jury questionnaire that was filed under seal last week by Maxwell’s attorneys — without government objection — should be made part of the public record. Maxwell’s lawyers contend the documents should remain sealed “to avoid media coverage that may prejudice the jury selection process.”
“Such conclusory speculation cannot overcome the deeply rooted presumption of openness applicable to voir dire,” Townsend argued. “The defense’s request to seal provides the Court with no basis on which to make the specific factual findings required to conceal voir dire, including the parties’ joint juror questionnaire, from the public.”
Maxwell, 59, has pleaded not guilty to charges that she “assisted, facilitated and contributed” to Epstein’s abuse of four minor girls from 1994 to 2004. Prosecutors allege Maxwell befriended the young girls and helped to put them at ease, knowing that they would eventually be sexually abused by Epstein.
Maxwell’s lawyers have argued in court filings that federal prosecutors pursued charges against her as a “substitute” for Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York federal jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
Jury selection is set to begin in Maxwell’s case on Nov. 15, with the trial scheduled to open two weeks later.
(NEW YORK) — First lady Dr. Jill Biden is speaking out about two causes close to her heart: access to community colleges and breast cancer awareness.
In a new interview with Good Morning America co-anchor Robin Roberts, Biden, a professor of writing at Northern Virginia Community College, said she plans to continue to advocate to make community colleges more accessible to more Americans.
Tuition-free community college was included in President Joe Biden’s social-spending package, but it is now reportedly one of the latest big-ticket items to be dropped from the package.
When asked by Roberts what she would say to families who were hopeful about the prospect of free community college access, the first lady replied, “I would say we’re not giving up. We are not giving up. This is round one. This is year one. I’m going to keep going.”
Biden, the country’s sole first lady to hold a job outside the White House, said she is also committed to another cause important to her — making sure breast cancer screenings are accessible to all Americans.
During the coronavirus pandemic, many doctors saw a drop in cancer screenings due to limited non-essential, in-person visits and patients opting to put off routine examinations — including annual cancer screenings — to curb risky face-to-face interactions.
The number of screening and mammograms given to people in the U.S. fell by as much as 80 percent during the pandemic, according to research published in July in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Now, Biden is making it her mission to make sure people do not miss their screenings.
“We were afraid of the pandemic, afraid of the virus, but now I think that we’ve moved on a little bit and people are vaccinated,” Biden said. “We have to make sure that we have to get the message out.”
Urging people to get mammograms, Biden continued, “The next thing you have to do today is call your doc and get in there and get your screenings. If you go get that mammogram and they catch it early, you have a fighting chance.”
Why breast cancer research matters to the first lady
For Biden, who has been advocating for breast cancer research since the early 1990s, her fight for breast cancer prevention and awareness is personal.
“I had four friends who were diagnosed with breast cancer at the same time,” Biden said. “Unfortunately, we lost one of those friends, and I was so upset. I thought, what can I do? There has to be something. I thought, I know education inside and out, and so let’s start to educate people.”
Biden started to spread the message about breast cancer awareness in schools.
“I went into all the schools in Delaware and we taught them about early detection and breast health and the importance of good habits,” said Biden, whose husband served as a Democratic senator from Delaware for several decades. “Not only that, then they went home and sort of spread the word. When your kids say it, you do it, you know?”
Detecting breast cancer early
Biden spoke to Roberts at the Montefiore Einstein Cancer Center in New York City, where doctors have also seen a drop in the number of people getting mammograms.
“We screen about 41,000 patients getting mammograms every year, and with the pandemic here, that dropped to almost 31,000, and that’s disheartening,” Dr. Amanda Rivera, an attending radiation oncology physician at Montefiore Einstein Cancer Center, told “GMA.” “We really just want people to get their cancer detected early so that we have more treatment options.”
For 52-year-old Sandra Cruz, her hesitancy around the pandemic pushed back her annual mammogram. It wasn’t until this past April, after her doctor urged her to get screened, that she learned of her Stage 1 breast cancer diagnosis.
Like Biden, Cruz — who does not need chemotherapy but will be starting radiation soon — is urging other women to get screened early.
“I was one of those women during the pandemic that had the fear of coming in, getting screened,” Cruz said. “I for one didn’t know what COVID was all about except for the fear of catching it, so I was one of those individuals that waited until things calmed down.”
Biden noted she took time within the first month of moving to the White House earlier this year to get a mammogram.
“As soon as we got into office, there I was, off and getting my mammogram,” she said. “There’s nothing more important than your health. Nothing.”
Improving access to screenings
As first lady, Biden said she is also working to make sure the federal government makes it a priority to provide access to mammograms to all women.
“It’s the responsibility of the federal government to make sure that we have access, that all communities have access,” Biden said. “Whether that’s urban, whether that’s rural, so that’s one of the things that we plan to do.”
Medical centers like Montefiore are also working to make sure their efforts to increase screenings reach all people, including those who face barriers when it comes to health care.
“We know that in communities of color, in communities where there’s less access to health care, we have barriers to overcome in terms of getting that population in for cancer screening,” Rivera said. “When you add a pandemic onto that, those disparities only grow further.”
Rivera said one of the ways Montefiore is reaching communities of color is through its clinical trials.
“As we learn through science, through research, we know that certain differences exist,” Rivera said. “Until we get more representation on those clinical trials, we’re not adequately assessing that patient population. So it’s very important to get more clinical trial enrollment from communities of color.”
According to federal guidelines, women ages 40 to 44 should have access to annual breast cancer screening with mammograms, while women ages 45 to 54 should get mammograms every year.
Starting at age 55, women should switch to mammograms every two years or continue annual screenings, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
(NEW YORK) — More than 50 years after the passage of the Equal Pay Act of 1963, Latinas typically earn only 57 cents for every dollar earned by white, non-Hispanic men and must work nearly 23 months to earn what white men earn in 12 months.
Latina Equal Pay Day — the day when Latina pay catches up to that of white, non-Hispanic men from the previous year — is being observed on Oct. 21.
In 2019, the median wealth of a Latino household was about $14,000, which represents only 9% of the median wealth of white households: $160,200, according to the National Bureau Of Economic Research. It’s a gap that can affect Latino families for generations.
As Latinas across the country fight for equal pay and equal opportunities, organizations like #WeAllGrow Latina, the Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement and Vela are working to support, uplift and fund Latina workers on their path toward breaking glass ceilings.
“If I’m going to grow, if I’m going to understand how to do this, then I’m going to teach it and we’re all going to do this together,” said Ana Flores, the founder and CEO of the online networking community #WeAllGrow Latina. “Now we’re on 11 years later and we really have become a community.”
Systemic racial and gender-based discrimination is at the root of this pay gap, according to Patricia Mota, the CEO of Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement.
However, these groups are working hard to not only cultivate a strong Latinx network, but also provide professional development trainings, talent acquisition services and grants or fellowships to entrepreneurs, businesses and students. They also offer tools for mental health and self-care.
For example, Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement hosts the Women’s Leadership Program, which has hosted about 3,000 Latinas over the years with leadership workshops. Within less than 12 months of completing the program, Mota said that 70% of the program’s alumni have reported an increase of pay or promotion at their place of employment.
#WeAllGrow has taken on many forms since its conception. What started as a tool for Latina bloggers has become a multimedia environment with forums, breakout sessions and chat rooms that brings the expansive community of Latinas from across the globe to one home base online.
To address Latina Equal Pay Day, #WeAllGrow and Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement are teaming up with experts across many industries to provide seminars, panel discussions and conversations to host a cohort of future leaders on different skills to help them on their journey.
The Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement, #WeAllGrow and the Vela network, which is an up-and-coming Latinx professionals network for entrepreneurs, reach people of all ages — from students to early career workers to veteran professionals.
Creating a space for Latinas to talk openly about their experiences can give other Latinas the tools needed to fight against systems of discrimination, Vela founder Vanessa Nevarez said.
Nevarez has been inspired by those who have started similar efforts before her. She has never started her own business and neither has anyone in her family, so navigating this project has been a learning experience. She hopes that this network can be a tool for not only her members, but for herself as well.
Nevarez is just one example of how much the system of support and community has worked and will continue to work.
“[Vela] will extend into a hub, where we believe in community over competition,” Nevarez said. “We’re not a monolith … but we do have a commonality, which is that we care about our community and want our community to go forward.”
As glass ceilings continue to be smashed by Latinas across the globe, and as organizations fight to change the system that keeps Latinas at the bottom of the pay scale, these professionals offer some words of advice in the meantime.
Mota recommended doing your research when negotiating pay or a promotion — what others in your industry are being paid for the same work; what your colleagues make; and what opportunities are there for growth?
“It’s an employees market, a job-seeker market,” Mota said. “Right now is the opportunity to be able to leverage that and to really increase what you’re bringing in in terms of income — whether it’s in another industry or another opportunity.”
Vanessa Valentin, the director of marketing and communications at Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement, recommended talking to others openly about income and pay since transparency helps make the process more equitable. She and Mota also recommended working on maintaining self-confidence, building connections and never settling with the first salary offer without a negotiation.
They also recommended building connections, your network and taking advantage of groups like theirs to ensure you have a Latinx force to support your goals and needs.
“It’s not your fault — this system has not been created for us — but we are here, showing up together, to make sure to change it and to make sure that the gatekeepers are listening to us,” Flores said.
(NEW YORK) — Silenced by many major platforms, former President Donald Trump is launching his own social media app.
Trump Media and Technology Group and Digital World Acquisition Group, which is already listed on the Nasdaq, have entered into a merger to form a new company, chaired by the former president, according to a press release.
Trump says the group will form “a rival to the liberal media consortium.”
Its first step will be launching a new social media platform called TRUTH Social. A beta version will be available to invited guests in November, according to the release.
“We live in a world where the Taliban has a huge presence on Twitter, yet your favorite American President has been silenced,” Trump said in the statement.
According to the release, the company was formed using a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, which the Securities and Exchange Commission’s website says is a “popular vehicle for various transactions, including transitioning a company from a private company to a publicly traded company.” The SEC says these companies are often referred to as “blank check companies.”
Patrick F. Orlando, who according to the release is the chairman and CEO of the Digital World Acquisition Group that is merging with the former president’s new media company, is also CEO of Yunhong International, which itself is an international blank check company incorporated in the Cayman Islands with headquarters in Wuhan, China, according to Bloomberg.
It’s currently unclear who else is behind the SPAC that is launching Trump’s new platform.
The former president and his advisers have hinted since he left office that he was considering creating a rival platform to Facebook and Twitter, after the social media giants suspended his accounts following the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
Trump, who throughout his presidency used Twitter to attack his enemies and often break his own news, has been emailing out statements almost has frequently as he previously tweeted.
Trump’s announcement comes only months after his longtime aide Jason Miller launched his own social media company called GETTR in July. The former president quickly pushed back on rumors that he would be joining Miller’s platform shortly after it launched, writing in a statement, “I am not on any social media platform in any way, shape, or form, including Parler, GETTR, Gab, etc. When I decide to choose a platform, or build or complete my own, it will be announced. Thank you!”
(ATLANTA) — An independent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory committee on Thursday is set to discuss and vote on booster shots for the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines, along with the potential for people to mix and match their booster doses.
On Wednesday, the FDA authorized Moderna and J&J boosters for some, and allowed for mix and matching booster doses with a different vaccine.
The next step in the process is for the CDC panel to deliberate and ultimately vote on whether to recommend those boosters, and whether and how to mix and match them.
The panel’s vote is non-binding, and CDC is not required to follow the panel’s recommendations, though they generally do so.
Once the panel votes, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky is expected to make her own final signoff shortly after — typically within a day.
Boosting for eligible Moderna and J&J recipients would be able to start once Walensky gives the greenlight — potentially meaning those populations could begin receiving their boosters as soon as the end of this week.
The FDA has made clear there is no preferred booster vaccine for the mixed dosage, but the CDC panel is likely to discuss available data on what booster blend might offer the strongest immunity.
Dr. Peter Marks, a top FDA official, said allowing people to mix boosters makes sense, particularly when people might not remember what brand they initially received.
“Most people don’t know what brand flu vaccine they received. And although they’re somewhat more standardized, perhaps, this is something that is probably a good next step for us to be able to have the flexibility that people can get vaccinated easily,” he told reporters.
Under the new rules, if the CDC signs off, Moderna recipients would qualify for a booster shot of their choice if they are 65 or older — or younger with medical conditions or a high-risk job. The FDA and CDC had already cleared Pfizer recipients to get a third shot, and now they too can choose which brand booster they want. J&J recipients 18 and older would be eligible for a booster of their choice.
(AL-TANF, Syria) — There were no U.S. military injuries or deaths resulting from a coordinated attack Wednesday on a small remote U.S. military base at al Tanf, Syria, according to two U.S. officials.
The attack “at a minimum” involved drones and “indirect fire,” the military term for mortar or rocket fire, according to a U.S. official.
Iraqi security sources said the attack involved five booby-trapped drones and was carried out from inside Syria.
There is no indication yet as to who may have been responsible for the attack, but similar drone attacks against U.S. forces in Iraq have been a tactic used by Iranian-backed militias, most notably Kataib Hezbollah.
Drone attacks attributed to those militias have at times resulted in American retaliatory airstrikes in Iraq and Syria targeting their facilities.
The remote base at al Tanf is located along a key highway in southern Syria on the border with Jordan and is surrounded by a 35-mile buffer zone to prevent potential conflicts with Russian and Syrian government troops located nearby.
The small outpost is the only American military base in Syria not located in Syrian Kurdish-held areas in eastern Syria where most of the 1,000 American troops in Syria are based.
U.S. troops remain in Syria as part of an ongoing effort to prevent ISIS from regaining territory inside that country.
