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COVID-19 live updates: White House to make 400 million N95 masks available for free

January 19, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.5 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 853,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.

About 63% of the population in the United States is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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

Jan 19, 2:22 am
Global new cases increased 20% last week, WHO says

Newly reported COVID-19 cases increased 20% last week, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday.

More than 18 million new cases were reported in the week ending Jan. 16, up from about 15 million in the previous week, according to the United Nation’s health agency’s weekly epidemiological update.

Last week’s increase marked a decline from the 55% increase reported the previous week, the agency said.

“Nonetheless, a combination of the increased and rapid spread of the Omicron variant, increased population movements and social mixing during and after the end of year holiday period and challenges with ongoing adherence to public health and social measures (PHSM) are expected to lead to increased number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths in the coming weeks,” Tuesday’s report said.

About 45,000 new deaths were reported worldwide last week, up from about 43,000 the previous week, the agency said.

Jan 18, 7:11 pm
White House to make 400 million N95 masks available for free

The Biden administration will make 400 million non-surgical N95 masks available for free at tens of thousands of pharmacies and community health centers, a White House official said Tuesday.

The administration will start shipping out the masks, which are coming from the Strategic National Stockpile, at the end of this week. Masks will start to be available at pharmacies and community health centers by late next week, with the program “fully up and running” by early February, the official said.

President Joe Biden had announced last week that the administration would be launching a program to provide high-quality masks to Americans for free, but did not provide details.

The announcement comes on the heels of updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that stated that loosely woven cloth masks provide the least amount of protection against COVID-19, and that Americans in some cases might want to opt for higher quality masks like KN95 and N95 respirators.

-ABC News’ Molly Nagle

Jan 18, 5:47 pm
75% of Americans have received at least 1 vaccine dose: CDC

Three-quarters of all Americans — nearly 250 million people — have now received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, according to updated data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

On average, around 296,000 Americans daily are receiving their first shot, down by about 35% since mid-December, federal data shows.

Some 62.7 million eligible Americans — those ages 5 and up — are unvaccinated.

-ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos

Jan 18, 5:35 pm
Nearly 1 million US children tested positive for COVID-19 last week

Around 981,000 children in the United States tested positive for COVID-19 last week, according to a new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association.

This “dramatic” uptick is a nearly 70% increase over the 580,000 added cases reported the week ending Jan. 6, and a tripling of case counts from the two weeks prior, the organizations said.

With nearly 9.5 million children having tested positive for the virus since the onset of the pandemic, that means 10% of those cases were in the past week alone.

In recent weeks, there has been a significant increase in demand for coronavirus tests as more Americans are exposed to the virus. Many students have also been tested as they return to school, which can lead to an increase in these numbers.

The organizations said there is an “urgent” need to collect more age-specific data to assess the severity of illness related to new variants as well as potential longer-term effects, and noted in their report that a small proportion of cases have resulted in hospitalization and death.

The rising number of pediatric cases has renewed the push for vaccination. Nearly 19% of children ages 5 to 11 and about 55% of those ages 12 to 17 are fully vaccinated, according to federal data.

-ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos

Biden’s report card: One year in, accomplishments and stalled priorities

January 19, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — With the United States facing many of the same crises that Joe Biden took on when he took office one year ago, the president has been taking stock of his legislative accomplishments — including major infrastructure and coronavirus relief packages — and has stayed upbeat even as his popularity plummets and key priorities remain unmet.

“There’s a lot of talk about disappointments and things we haven’t gotten done,” Biden said last week. “We’re going to get a lot of them done, I might add.”

From fighting the pandemic and rebuilding the economy, to dealing with racial strife and combating climate change, Biden faces a mixed report card of what he’s been able to accomplish, as the limits of his office — and political realities he’s had trouble overcoming — launch him into a challenging second year in the White House.

On COVID, shift to science gives way to ‘reactive’ policies

From his first day in office, Biden set a different tone on COVID-19 from his predecessor, President Donald Trump. He embraced science and his top medical advisers — like Dr. Anthony Fauci — donned face coverings, and expressed sympathy for lives lost to the virus.

Biden pushed a $1.9 trillion relief package through Congress, oversaw a testing program that ramped up exponentially in his first months in office, and encouraged or mandated masks where he could, including on planes and other public transport.

Sixty-three percent of Americans are now fully vaccinated and nearly all schools have in-person instruction. And while the Supreme Court this month blocked his administration from requiring large businesses to mandate their workers get vaccinated or test weekly, many companies have instituted vaccine and testing requirements regardless.

But after Biden predicted that the Fourth of July last year would “begin to mark our independence from this virus,” the delta and omicron variants drove up cases, hospitalizations and deaths — and overwhelmed U.S. hospitals.

Shifting guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and a testing shortage amid the omicron surge led public health experts to criticize his administration. A group of Senate Democrats said “far too many measures” his White House had taken “have been reactive, rather than proactive.”

And fewer Americans than ever now approve of the way Biden is handling COVID.

“If you take a look,” Biden said earlier this month, “we’re very different today than we were a year ago, even though we still have problems.”

On Tuesday, a White House official said, the Biden administration would make 400 million non-surgical N95 masks available to Americans for free and a government website went live allowing them to order free at-home tests.

Economy surges, but inflation hampers economic recovery

Biden delivered on two key economic promises: a $1.9 trillion COVID relief package and a $1.2 trillion infrastructure law that passed with bipartisan support.

He presided over the economy’s resurgence last year, with a record 6.4 million jobs created, rising wages and low unemployment — dropping to just 3.9% in December.

But inflation was up a record 6.8% over the course of the year, outpacing wage growth for many Americans.

The White House initially labeled rising prices temporary in nature, and this month said they expected price jumps to moderate this year.

Global supply chain headaches have also led to shipping delays, although most packages reached consumers on time for the holidays.

Legislative priorities stalled

While his infrastructure bill marked a major win, Biden ended his first year in office with two top domestic priorities, his nearly $2 trillion “Build Back Better” social plan and a pair of voting rights bills, stalled in the Senate despite passing the House.

That’s in large part due to the intransigence of two key Democratic senators, Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona.

The pair’s opposition to changing Senate rules — over Biden’s pleas — has allowed Republicans to block legislation that would widen access to voting and federal oversight of elections.

Meanwhile, the president’s negotiations with Manchin on the social spending plan — which includes universal preschool, expanding the child tax credit, an historical investment in climate policies and more health coverage, among other policies — hit a roadblock last month.

Biden had pledged to take on climate change and racial equity as key priorities, and while he has signed executive orders aimed at both, legislative pushes — climate action in the “Build Back Better” bill, and police reform measures — have failed to garner bipartisan support despite Biden’s pledge to soften political divisions.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday that Biden would continue to “advocate for both” voting rights and the “Build Back Better” bill.

“You don’t get everything done in the first year,” she said.

‘America is back’

The president traveled twice to Europe last year, declaring to allies that “America is back,” reaffirming traditional relationships and returning the U.S. to international organizations and agreements like the World Health Organization and Paris climate accord.

Seeking to end America’s involvement in Afghanistan, he withdrew troops from the country before the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks — but in the chaotic final days, a terror attack killed 13 American service members.

He has found it difficult to bring Iran back to the agreement over its nuclear program, which Trump scrapped, while North Korea has continued to test missiles despite U.S. misgivings.

As he juggles long-term competition with China and bringing about worldwide consensus on fighting climate change, Biden has in recent months found one of his most acute foreign policy challenges to be Russia’s military build-up on its border with Ukraine.

Biden has threatened severe consequences — economic and otherwise — should Russian President Vladimir Putin decide to invade.

Hope of unity hits political reality

Just two weeks after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, Biden stood on the building’s steps for his inauguration and preached about the need for unity.

Biden predicted Republicans would have an “epiphany” after Trump left office, but that has not materialized. In an ABC News/Ipsos poll conducted in late December, 71% of Republicans said they sided with Trump’s false claims that he was the rightful winner of the 2020 election.

Trump’s lies about the election — and politicization of the pandemic — continue to guide Republicans, both in Washington and across the country.

And Biden this month used his strongest language yet to describe Republicans opposed to passing voting rights bills, comparing those opposed to his measures to notorious racial segregationists.

ABC News’ Karen Travers contributed to this report.

COVID-19 cases in NYC show omicron infections may be plummeting

January 19, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — New York City’s surge of COVID-19 cases fueled by the omicron variant appears to be falling just as quickly as it rose.

Tens of thousands of infections are still being reported every day, and the test positivity rate is still above 20%. However, after cases increased 26-fold in just one month, they have now fallen by 17% over the last week, an ABC News analysis found.

After recording a peak of 50,803 COVID-19 cases on Jan. 3, just 9,202 cases were reported on Jan. 14, according to data from the New York City Department of Health & Mental Hygiene.

In addition, hospitalizations are declining, and the number of wastewater samples that have detected the virus have also plunged.

“Infections are coming down, even visits to the emergency room are coming down,” Dr. Ali Mokdad, an epidemiologist with the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation in Seattle, told ABC News. “And usually we see when there is a surge, we see visits to the emergency rooms going up.”

Mokdad, who helps lead a model that projects COVID-19 cases around the country, added, “All the indications of the people being tested and found to be positive show that [omicron] appears on its way down.”

On Dec. 2, the first case of omicron tied to New York City was reported in a Minnesota resident who had traveled to the Big Apple in November to attend an anime convention.

From there, COVID-19 cases began spiking. Within two weeks, the city was reporting an average of nearly 7,600 infections per day, up from 1,600 per day.

Studies have since shown that omicron is more likely to pass between vaccinated people than prior variants, though vaccines still dramatically reduce the risk of severe illness.

Coupled with the cold weather and people gathering for the holidays, Mokdad said it is no surprise the virus spread as quickly as it did.

Even coronavirus levels in wastewater samples were showing that a surge was coming, according to wastewater analytics company Biobot.

“The scale of the amount of virus that was detected in wastewater was far greater than any point in the pandemic, so much so that [the company] had to rebuild some of the graphs around the scales, because so much more virus was being collected more than any time,” said Dr. John Brownstein, an epidemiologist who is a member of Biobot’s board of advisers and an ABC News contributor. “It gave us that early sense that we were going to deal with this massive surge.”

However, there are signs the city may have hit its omicron peak.

New York City has been reporting nearly 11 straight days of COVID-19 case declines and is averaging about 15,000 new infections per day, down from roughly 36,000 just two weeks ago.

In yet another sign that the city’s surge may be ebbing, New York City no longer holds the nation’s highest case rate — Rhode Island now does, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Hospitalizations have also declined from an average of 992 new admissions on Jan. 6 to 496 as of Jan. 15, according to the city’s health department.

Mount Sinai Health System, one of New York City’s largest hospital systems, has seen new daily COVID-19 hospital admissions remain relatively flat over the last week to 10 days. About one-third of patients are admitted for other reasons and then test positive during their stays, Dr. Bernard Camins, medical director for infection prevention at Mount Sinai, told ABC News.

He said hospitalizations will not significantly come down until two or three weeks from now, because they are a lagging indicator.

“When people get sick enough with COVID, now they are going to come into the hospital, and it does take a delay,” Camins said. “Sometimes people start having symptoms but they’re not sick enough to need the hospital until Day 7 or 10 days later.”

He added, “Eventually the ones who were coming into the hospital with ‘moderate symptoms’ or maybe severe enough to need oxygen, it does take them a few more days lag in terms of needing ventilators.”

A rapid rise in cases followed by a dramatic decline is similar to what has been seen in other countries that detected omicron before the U.S.

In South Africa, where the variant was first identified, the surge looked like an “ice pick,” according to CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky. In early December, the country was averaging about 10,000 cases per day, quickly rising to 20,000 by mid-December.

But, by early January, when New York City was experiencing its peak, the average number of COVID-19 infections in South Africa had already fallen to about 8,000 per day.

“What we know and are certain about from data from South Africa and the U.K., when omicron takes hold in a location, it takes about a month to go up and a month to come down,” Mokdad said.

Even though the surge is not entirely over yet, Mokdad said New York’s decline is a signal for the rest of the country, with the Midwest about one week behind and the West Coast two or three weeks behind.

The University of Washington’s own model suggests that the U.S. will peak at about 1.2 million cases Jan.17, and then all states will be on their way down by the end of January, Mokdad said, adding that he is still encouraging vaccination and mask-wearing.

“Everybody who’s out and about will be infected by then,” he said. “This is like infecting everybody out there, so basically, it’s running out of people to infect and it’s going to start coming down because there’s no more people to infect.”

Fashion icon Andre Leon Talley dead at 73

January 19, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Fashion icon and former Vogue editor André Leon Talley has died at age 73, a statement released on his official Instagram confirmed late Tuesday.

“It is with great sadness we announce the passing of André Leon Talley on January 18, 2022 in New York,” the statement read. “Mr. Talley was the larger-than-life, longtime creative director at Vogue during its rise to dominance as the world’s fashion bible.”

The cause of his death was not disclosed.

“Over the past five decades as an international icon was a close confidant of Yves Saint Laurent, Karl Lagerfeld, Paloma Picasso and he had a penchant for discovering, nurturing and celebrating young designers. His byline appeared in Vanity Fair, HG, Interview, Ebony and Women’s Wear Daily and he was the editor of Numero Russia,” the statement continued. “Mr. Talley wrote several books, including Valentino, A.L.T.: A Memoir, A.L.T. 365+ and Little Black Dress for Assouline, and contributed to Valentino: At the Emperor’s Table and Cartier Panthère. He was the subject of the documentary The Gospel According to André and his recent memoir, The Chiffon Trenches became a New York Times Best Seller.”

Talley was an American fashion journalist known for his work in shaping U.S. Vogue and fashion as a whole. He was the magazine’s fashion news director from 1983 to 1987 and its creative director from 1988 to 1995. He was later made editor-at-large, a position he held until 2013.

Talley, who later became the head of Numéro Russia magazine, remained an occasional contributor to Vogue following his departure as editor, and in 2019, wrote a piece honoring his late friend, designer Karl Lagerfeld, who died in February of that year.

“In 2014, he was named artistic director of Zappos Couture, and he has been on the Board of Trustees of Savannah College of Art and Design since 2000,” the statement on his Instagram reads. “Mr. Talley was awarded the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from the French Republic in 2020 and the North Carolina Governor’s award for literature in 2021. He was a long-standing member of Harlem’s Abyssinian Baptist Church.”

Apart from his contributions to Vogue, the six-foot-six star, known and loved for his sense of humor, honesty and loud, luxurious personal style — especially when it came to designer caftans, was an author, curator and TV personality. He starred in “America’s Next Top Model” for four seasons, as a judge, made cameos on “Empire” and the first “Sex and the City” movie, dressed and profiled then-first lady Michelle Obama for Vogue, had a front row seat at the most prestigious couture shows around the world, became the muse and confidant of many designers — including Oscar de la Renta, whom he curated a museum exhibition for in 2018 — and, for many years, was the right-hand man of fashion’s leading lady: Anna Wintour.

In 2017, filmmaker Kate Novack released a documentary, “The Gospel According to Andre,” about the style legend — starting from his humble upbringing to his rise to the top of the fashion industry.

Throughout his career, the Durham, North Carolina, native made efforts to introduce more culturally diverse voices into the overwhelmingly white fashion industry and spoke out about his struggles with racism. In his 2020 book, “The Chiffon Trenches: A Memoir,” he recalled the emotion he felt when Edward Enninful was named the first Black editor-in-chief of British Vogue. That same year, Talley sent shockwaves across the fashion world when he spoke out about the lack of Black talent at Vogue. “At one point, I was the only Black person on Anna’s staff,” he told MailOnline.

In his 2003 memoir, “A.L.T.,” Talley described his childhood in Durham, where he was raised by his grandmother and worked as a taxi driver to save money. When it was time for college, he enrolled in North Carolina Central University, where he majored in French, and later, got a scholarship to Brown University, for his master’s. Soon after graduating, Talley got his first job in fashion as a volunteer assistant to Diana Vreeland at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute. Once inside the fashion bubble, he landed a position at Andy Warhol’s Interview magazine, where his career as a journalist took off, and later moved around to WWD, Vanity Fair, Vogue and various other publications.

Talley had largely stayed off social media since 2021, when he was involved in a financial mess over the ownership of the Westchester mansion where he lived since 2004, and which previously belonged to the former CEO of Manolo Blahnik.

After hearing of his death, fashion insiders and friends have taken to social media to share their condolences and honor his memory.

Designer Diane von Furstenberg wrote on Instagram, “Good bye darling André ❤️🙏… no one saw the world in a more glamorous way than you did ❤️🙏… no one was grander and more soulful than you were ❤️🙏…the world will be less joyfulI ❤️🙏 I have loved you and laughed with you for 45 years…. I miss your loud screams …I love you soooo much ❤️🙏.”

Marc Jacobs posted a throwback photo of himself with Talley on Instagram, and wrote in the caption, “I am in shock. You championed me and you have been my friend since my beginning. Our chats, the moments we shared….oh my friend. You and your passions were larger than life. I love you and I will miss you dear Andre. Rest In Peace.”

Lindsay Peoples Wagner, editor in chief of The Cut, wrote on Instagram: “Not even sure how to wrap my mind around all you’ve done, and the legacy you’ve left behind, but you gave us hope and aspirations that we never would have dreamed if it hadn’t been for you andre.”

“Thank you for your knowledge and passion for fashion and glamour,” designer Bob Mackie wrote on Instagram. “You will be missed.”

Hollywood and Broadway praised Talley as a man who dressed himself and others with a singular vision. “Rest well king,” Viola Davis wrote on Instagram.

Talley was a “truly original heart, spirit and mind. He cast a giant shadow and will not soon be forgotten,” author and actor Harvey Fierstein said on Twitter.

“For a little black gay boy who reached for the stars from the south there were few people I could look up to up there amongst the stars who looked like me just more fab except for you Andre,” playwright Jeremy O. Harris said on Twitter. “For a generation of boys Andre Leon Talley was a beacon of grace and aspiration. RIP.”

Vigil held for woman pushed in front of train and killed by stranger in NYC

January 18, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Dozens of New Yorkers, leaders and activists came out to Times Square Tuesday night to honor Michelle Go, who was killed when she was pushed in front of a subway train by a stranger in what her family called a “senseless act of violence.”

On Saturday morning, Simon Martial allegedly pushed Go in front of an oncoming train on the N/Q/R/W line inside the Times Square-42nd Street subway station, police said.

News of Go’s death disturbed the city’s Asian American community, which has seen a rise in hate crimes over the last two years, according to Ben Wei, the founder and executive director of the nonprofit Asians Fighting Injustice. Wei’s group helped to organize the vigil in Times Square as a way to remember Go and send a message that the city did not tolerate hate.

“Today we are here to honor the memory of Michelle Alyssa Go and pay respect to the way she lived her life,” he said.

A portrait of Go, 40, was displayed on a big screen billboard behind the steps and many of the vigil members had her picture in her hands.

Go’s family said in a statement that they remembered her as a “beautiful, brilliant, kind, and intelligent woman who loved her family and friends, loved to travel the world and help others.”

Go worked as a consultant for Deloitte and spent her free time volunteering as an advocate for the homeless, according to New York ABC station WABC.

Wei said he talked with a lot of Go’s friends and co-workers over the last few days and they told him she was a caring, humble woman.

“Michelle was giving, she was the best friend that anyone could have,” Wei said.

Martial has been charged with murder and is awaiting arraignment. New York Police Department Commissioner Keechant Sewell said during a Saturday press conference that the attack was “unprovoked” and that Go didn’t appear to interact with Martial.

The investigation was ongoing. Part of that investigation will look into whether the attack was a hate crime.

ABC News wasn’t able to reach an attorney for Martial for additional comments.

Go’s family demanded justice.

“We are in a state of shock and grieving the loss of our daughter, sister and friend. We hope Michelle will be remembered for how she lived and not just how she died,” the family said in a statement. “Her life was taken too soon in a senseless act of violence and we pray that she gets the justice she deserves.”

Elected officials echoed that call during the vigil.

U.S. Rep. Grace Meng said New Yorkers are terrified by the recent jump in Asian American hate crimes. In the fall, the FBI released data that showed hate crimes against Asians was up by 76% in 2020.

Meng vowed to bring changes that would ensure that the community could walk the streets safe.

“We come together today and in the weeks and months ahead to honor the work and legacy of people like Michelle,” she said.

Mayor Eric Adams said he would increase police patrols and pair them with mental health professionals to prevent more subway attacks.

“We must ensure we have a plan of intervention and prevention,” he said at the vigil.

New baguette price sparks ire of some in France

January 18, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(PARIS) — The new price of baguettes at a leading French supermarket is sparking outrage from some.

As of last week, customers in Leclerc stores were greeted with the new baguette price — 29 cents (in Euros).

The president of the Leclerc supermarket chain, Michel-Édouard Leclerc, announced Jan. 11 that baguettes would remain at that price in Leclerc stores across France for a minimum of four months.

“Yes, blocking the price of the baguette at 29 cents is quite a symbol!” Leclerc tweeted Wednesday, officially launching the initiative, adding that: “The baguette is a benchmark for the evolution of prices and purchasing power for consumers.”

That is 10 cents cheaper than Leclerc competitors Intermarché and Super U, and 16 cents less than at Carrefour stores. Meanwhile, the average baguette price in France is 90 cents.

This new price stirred the ire of five key players in the industry that branded the measure as “shameful” and “destructive” in a joint press release signed by the national farmers’ union FNSEA, the National Association of French Milling (ANMF), the National Confederation of French Bakery and Pastry shops (CNBPF), the organization representative of the French cereals sector Intercéréales and the General Association of Wheat Producers (AGPB) on Wednesday.

“In France, there are 450,000 people doing all this work in the cereal sector. It’s not just bread, but the whole cereal industry. I think it’s denigrating the whole industry!” the president of Intercéréales Jean-François Loiseau said to ABC News, arguing that “every day, a French person eats 30 cents worth of bread on average. When Leclerc sells his baguette for 29 cents, if I follow the same proportion, it means that he offers the French to eat bread for 10 cents every day. That’s a 20-cent difference every day. Is the subject of purchasing power in France at 20 cents a day, on bread?”

In the joint statement, the five organizations emphasized the difficult circumstances they said they are facing. For many years now, they said they have been fighting to be paid more fairly, while the price of wheat has exploded worldwide in recent months, and production costs are also increasing “strongly.”

Some customers had mixed reactions to the pricing announcement.

To Youssef Aïtbaila, 39, who just bought a baguette at the boulangerie Les Pyramides in Colombes, a northwestern suburb of Paris, Leclerc “is right” because “everything has become very expensive.”

“It’s always good to be able to give everyone access to a cheap baguette because it’s true that bread has increased a lot,” said Emilie Péré, 38, a client and mother of one.

At the Leclerc store across the street, 30-year-old Justine Grangette wasn’t too thrilled about the decision, insisting that it’s part of Michel-Edouard Leclerc’s “mentality” of cutting prices. “Anyway, I will continue to buy from my local baker.”

After an increase in 2021, the purchasing power per household in France is expected to fall by 0.5% in the first half of the year according to an assessement by the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (Insee).

Biden administration speaks out on federal blood donation policy impacting gay men amid national blood shortage

January 18, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — For the first time, the Biden administration is commenting on the Food and Drug Administration’s long-time blood donation guidelines, which are impacting the LGBTQ+ community by preventing gay and bisexual men from being eligible blood donors.

The statement, made by a White House official exclusively to ABC News, acknowledges the painful origins of the policy and comes on the heels of the American Red Cross declaring their first-ever national blood crisis last week, as supplies at hospitals and blood banks become dangerously low.

Current U.S. policy holds that sexually active gay or bisexual men must abstain from sex for at least three months before they’re allowed to donate blood. The rule applies to gay and bisexual men who are monogamous and those who test HIV negative and are practicing safe sex. It also includes gay and bisexual COVID-19 survivors who wish to donate convalescent plasma, rich with antibodies, for research.

The restriction on blood donations came out of the HIV/AIDS crisis of the 1980s, when limited testing technology and capacity existed to screen blood for HIV. In 1983, the FDA implemented a lifetime ban on blood donations from all men who had sex with men after 1977.

The FDA removed the lifetime ban and enacted a 12-month deferral period in 2015, meaning gay or bisexual men had to abstain from having sex with other men for at least 12 months before donating blood. That deferral period was reduced to three months in April 2020 amid blood supply shortages in the beginning months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite cutting of deferral periods in recent years, the current federal policy remains a blanket policy covering LGBTQ+ people, and does not take into account individual risk.

“The legacy of bans on blood donation continues to be painful, especially for LGBTQI+ communities,” the White House official told ABC News in a statement. “The President is committed to ensuring that this policy is based on science, not fiction or stigma. While there are no new decisions to announce at the moment, the FDA is currently supporting the ‘ADVANCE’ study, a scientific study to develop relevant scientific evidence and inform any potential policy changes.”

In 2020, ABC News broke the story that several major blood donation organizations — including the American Red Cross, Vitalant and OneBlood — announced that they were working together in an FDA-funded study (ADVANCE: Assessing Donor Variability And New Concepts in Eligibility) to provide data to determine if eligibility based on an individual’s risk could replace the time-based deferral system while maintaining the safety of the blood supply.

While the lead researchers involved in the study previously told ABC News their goal was to present their findings to the FDA in late 2021, the FDA revealed to ABC News that the study is ongoing, amid what the American Red Cross is calling “the worst blood shortage in over a decade.”

While the American Red Cross said that there is no clear data that would suggest that changing the current blood donation policy would significantly increase the number of blood donations, if the deferral period were lifted, an additional 360,000 men would likely donate, “which could help save the lives of more than a million people,” according to LGBTQ+ advocacy group GLAAD.

In what seems like a clash over risk vs. stigma, LGBTQ+ advocacy groups and many in the medical community are aligned on the idea that the current federal policy on LGBTQ+ blood donor eligibility is largely discriminatory.

“We believe blood donation eligibility should not be determined by methods that are based upon sexual orientation and we’re committed to achieving this goal,” the American Red Cross said in a statement to ABC News.

Sarah Warbelow, legal director for the Human Rights Campaign, also told ABC News, “Just like other individuals throughout the country, many people have sex on a regular basis, including with partners and spouses.”

And in 2020, Dr. Patrice Harris, president of the American Medical Association, told “Good Morning America”: “The AMA has been a long-term advocate of using a risk-based approach, rather than stigmatizing one group of people. So we believe there should not even be the three-month deferral, but that we should use a risk-based approach.”

ABC News’ Kiara Alfonseca contributed to this report.

Verizon, AT&T delay 5G rollout around some airports after stark warnings from US airlines

January 18, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — A showdown between the nation’s major airlines, the FAA and AT&T and Verizon appears to be cooling after both telecom giants agreed at the last minute to pause a portion of their 5G-C rollout on Wednesday.

“At our sole discretion we have voluntarily agreed to temporarily defer turning on a limited number of towers around certain airport runways as we continue to work with the aviation industry and the FAA to provide further information about our 5G deployment,” AT&T said in a statement Tuesday.

Verizon followed AT&T saying, “We have voluntarily decided to limit our 5G network around airports. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and our nation’s airlines have not been able to fully resolve navigating 5G around airports, despite it being safe and fully operational in more than 40 other countries.”

CEOs from American, United, Delta and seven other major carriers warned of “significant” disruptions in the country’s aviation system if the 5G rollout continued as planned.

Aviation officials are concerned that the frequency used for 5G may interfere with airplanes’ radio altimeters — devices used by pilots to measure the distance between the aircraft and the ground in order to land.

In the letter, U.S. airline leaders wrote to government officials Monday asking that the wireless carriers not deploy 5G within two miles of runways at certain airports.

“This will allow 5G to be deployed while avoiding harmful impacts on the aviation industry, traveling public, supply chain, vaccine distribution, our workforce and broader economy,” the CEOs wrote.

The FAA warned pilots won’t be able to use radio altimeters to land at 88 airports closest to Verizon and AT&T’s 5G towers. Earlier this month, the FAA and wireless carriers agreed to implement “buffer zones” around 50 airports across the country to try to mitigate the issue.

Airline officials, however, said this is not enough. United Airlines said the current plan will have “devastating” impacts on its operation, impacting an estimated 1.25 million of the carrier’s passengers and at least 15,000 flights.

“We won’t compromise on safety – full stop,” United said in a statement.

Captain Dennis Tajer, an American Airlines 737 pilot and a spokesperson for the Allied Pilots Association, also called the rollout “unsafe.”

“We’re not going to fly the airplane unless it’s safe,” Tajer told ABC News. “But putting that added distraction of other systems going wrong close to the ground is not the way you run a safety culture.”

The telecom giants have insisted 5G-C Band technology is safe and has been proven in more than 40 other countries, albeit at much lower power levels than what’s planned in the U.S.

In a statement, AT&T made clear its frustration with the federal government, writing in part: “We are frustrated by the FAA’s inability to do what nearly 40 countries have done, which is to safely deploy 5G technology without disrupting aviation services, and we urge it do so in a timely manner. We are launching our advanced 5G services everywhere else as planned with the temporary exception of this limited number of towers.”

When asked why the FAA did not act over the past two years, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said, “There will be lots of time to look back and see how we got here. And I know many of you will do that. And, of course, that is understandable. But right now, over the next 24, or less than 24 hours, what we’re focused on is trying to come to a solution that will minimize travel — you know disruptions to passenger travel, cargo operations — on our economic recovery.”

President Biden thanked Verizon and AT&T for the delay, saying in a statement, “This agreement will avoid potentially devastating disruptions to passenger travel, cargo operations, and our economic recovery, while allowing more than 90 percent of wireless tower deployment to occur as scheduled.”

The president said the agreement “protects flight safety and allows aviation operations to continue without significant disruption and will bring more high-speed internet options to millions of Americans.”

ABC News’ Mina Kaji, Mary Bruce and Sarah Kolinovsky contributed to this report.

Judge blocks hospital from turning off ventilator of severely ill COVID-19 patient

January 18, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(COON RAPIDS, Minn.) — A Minnesota man with COVID who had been fighting for his life for months was transferred to a new hospital days after a judge blocked another hospital from taking him off a ventilator.

The decision allowed Scott Quiner, 55, of Buffalo, Minnesota, to be moved to a hospital in Texas, where he is being treated.

Quiner was initially admitted to Waconia Hospital, and then transferred to the ICU at Mercy Hospital, in Coon Rapids, on Nov. 6, after he tested positive for the virus in late October, according to a GoFundMe page in support of Quiner’s family, and the StarTribune, which was first to report this story.

Anne Quiner, Scott’s wife, was granted a temporary restraining order last Thursday against Mercy Hospital, after doctors informed her that day that they would be disconnecting her husband from the ventilator that had been supporting him since the late fall.

The order, from an Anoka County judge, prohibited the hospital from turning off ventilation support, while Anne Quiner searched for a new facility to care for her husband.

According to the court order, Anne Quiner told doctors that as her husband’s health care proxy, she “vehemently disagree[d]” with these actions and did not want her husband’s ventilator turned off.

Over the weekend, Scott Quiner was moved to a facility in Texas for treatment, Marjorie J. Holsten, the Quiner family’s attorney, told ABC News in a statement on Monday.

“A doctor evaluated him and determined that he was severely undernourished. Scott has been receiving much-needed nourishment and hydration and medications that were not given by Mercy,” Holsten said. “He is being weaned off of the sedating drugs and has already been able to follow with his eyes movements the doctor made with his hands. He is making progress in the right direction, though he has a long road ahead of him and continued prayers are appreciated.”

Quiner remains on a ventilator but the oxygen level has been lowered, the family’s lawyer said.

Representatives from Allina Health, which operates Mercy Hospital, told ABC News that they wish the patient and the family well, and have “great confidence” in their team’s work.

“Allina Health has great confidence in the exceptional care provided to our patients, which is administered according to evidence-based practices by our talented and compassionate medical teams. Due to patient privacy, we cannot comment on care provided to specific patients,” the health system wrote. “Allina Health continues to wish the patient and family well. Any information regarding the patient’s on-going care should be directed to his current medical provider.”

Huge asteroid safely passes close to Earth

January 18, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — A comet more than three times the size of the Empire State Building got up close to Earth’s orbit Tuesday afternoon but was far enough to avoid turning into a sci-fi disaster movie, according to astronomers.

Asteroid 7482 (1994 PC1) flew by Earth around 4:51 p.m., according to NASA, which has been tracking the object for decades through its planetary defense systems.

Researchers say the asteroid, which measures 1 kilometer in diameter, came around .01325 Astronomical Units, or 1.2 million miles, away from Earth’s atmosphere.

That distance didn’t pose any threat to the Earth, according to researchers.

The last time the asteroid was this close to Earth’s orbit was 89 years ago when it flew 0.00752 AU, roughly 699,000 miles, away from the planet, NASA data showed.

The next time the asteroid will come this close to Earth will be in 2105 when it will fly 0.01556 AU, roughly 1.4 million miles, away from Earth.

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