(WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.) — A high schooler has died after being shot Wednesday at Mount Tabor High School in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, authorities said.
The victim was identified by authorities as William Chavis Raynard Miller Jr.
The suspect has not been apprehended, authorities said at a news conference over four hours after the shooting was reported around noon. The suspect is believed to be a student, authorities said.
“We have a mother and family who will not be able to hug their child tonight,” Winston-Salem Police Chief Catrina Thompson said.
No one else was shot, authorities said, but some students suffered trauma-related health problems, including one student who had a seizure.
The school was locked down immediately after the shooting, police said. Once the campus was secured, students were sent to a local grocery store to be reunited with their parents, the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office said.
There is no known threat to the school at this time, police said.
Agents from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives responded to the scene.
Mount Tabor’s school year started just last week.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper noted in a tweet that this was the second school shooting in the state this week. A 15-year-old was injured in a shooting at New Hanover High School in Wilmington on Monday.
“Our prayers are with the victims, their families and all the students of Mt. Tabor High School in Winston-Salem,” Cooper tweeted. “We must work to ensure the safety of students and educators, quickly apprehend the shooter and keep guns off school grounds.”
(NEW YORK) — Once a touchy subject in the private sector, a new survey indicates that most firms are now planning on having COVID-19 vaccine mandates for their workforce.
The number of companies requiring workers to get the shot is expected to surge over the next several months, according to data released by Wednesday by Willis Towers Watson, a multinational advisory and insurance firm.
Over half of the employers surveyed (52%) said that by the fourth quarter of 2021, they could have one or more vaccine mandate requirements in the workplace. This ranges from requiring vaccinations for employees to access common areas (such as cafeterias) to requiring the jab for a subset of specific employees to requiring it for all employees. This is a major hike from the current 21% of firms that have some type of vaccine mandate in place for employees.
The survey was conducted between Aug. 18 and 25 — in the wake of the insidious spread of the more contagious delta variant — and respondents included nearly 1,000 U.S. employers that together employ nearly 10 million workers.
“The delta variant has made employers take new actions to keep their workers — and workplaces — safe and healthy. We expect even more employers to institute vaccine mandates in the wake of FDA approval of the Pfizer vaccine,” Dr. Jeff Levin-Scherz, the population health leader at Willis Towers Watson, said in a statement.
“This is not an easy situation for employers to navigate,” Levin-Scherz added. “For instance, new policies such as tracking workers’ vaccinations can improve safety but also bring additional administrative requirements. At the same time, employers will continue efforts to encourage vaccination and communicate regularly with employees.”
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are imploring Americans to get the COVID-19 vaccine to protect themselves and those around them from the virus that has left more than 600,000 dead in the U.S.
“COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective,” the CDC states on its website. “Millions of people in the United States have received COVID-19 vaccines under the most intense safety monitoring in U.S. history.”
Still, vaccine requirements have emerged as a hot button issue for a vocal faction of Americans resisting the shot, despite the U.S. recording the highest number of coronavirus cases.
Breaking down the survey data further, some 29% of employers said they are planning or considering making vaccinations a requirement to gain access to the workplace, and some 21% are planning or considering vaccination as a condition of employment for all employees.
The number of firms that track or will track their employees’ vaccination status is also rising, the data found. Some 59% of employers currently track their employees’ vaccination status, and an additional 19% are planning or considering to do so later this year — bringing the total to some 78% of employers.
Around 31% of employers are either offering or considering offering financial incentives to staff for getting vaccinated.
The Equal Opportunity Employment Commission said employers can legally require COVID-19 vaccines to re-enter a physical workplace as long as they follow requirements to find alternative arrangements for employees unable to get vaccinated for medical reasons or because they have religious objections. Still, mandates have spurred showdowns and lawsuits from workers across the country.
Approximately 61.4% of the U.S. population 12 years of age and older are fully vaccinated as of Wednesday, according to CDC data, and some 72.2% have received at least one dose.
Separate from vaccine mandate plans, around 80% of respondents also said that they require employees to wear masks indoors at any location — and an additional 13% are planning or considering doing so. A majority (75%) are also using workplace exposure tracing to alert employees to a potential exposure, with another 8% planning or considering doing so.
As for a return to normal, about 39% of companies now expect their organizations won’t reach a “new normal” in terms of returning to the workplace and ending pandemic-related policies and programs until the second quarter of 2022. About a quarter (26%) expect a return to normal in the first quarter of 2022.
Simon Shin/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
(CHICAGO) — As new COVID-19 cases emerge with the spread of the delta variant, businesses have implemented updated health protocols to ensure staff and customer safety.
While certain cities and states now require proof of vaccination to dine inside or shop in stores, fast food chains are assessing their own best practices.
Joe Erlinger, president of McDonald’s USA, recently discussed in an internal company meeting the enhanced safety policies for their restaurants and franchisees in consultation with public health experts and the Mayo Clinic.
According to the fast food company, Erlinger surmised in the meeting that McDonald’s will continue to operate its business from the same mindset they had during the peak of the pandemic 18 months ago.
“We’re monitoring the impact of the delta variant closely and recently convened together with our franchisees to underscore existing safety protocols, reinforce our people-first approach and provide updates on the rise in cases in the country,” a representative said in a statement shared with “Good Morning America.”
While the company said it has successfully served customers through digital, delivery, drive-thru and dine-in over the last 18 months, McDonald’s said it will consider adapting as needed.
“Should we see further changes in customer behavior, we are well positioned to adapt while maintaining high standards for safety,” the statement said.
McDonald’s initially closed its U.S. dining rooms in March 2020 and reopened to 70% capacity last month with procedures that incorporate local case counts, local regulations and guidance and community feedback.
Local owners and operator work in partnership with the field offices to make dining room decisions.
McDonald’s has implemented a facial covering requirement for all crew and customers in hot spot counties regardless of vaccination status. Additionally, all corporate employees are required to get vaccinated.
Erlinger also told employees that meetings are continuing, but with strict safety protocols and limits on size in place.
(WASHINGTON) — For the first time in 39 years, Social Security payments made to retired Americans this year, and every year after, will exceed tax revenues coming into the federal government in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic’s economic downturn, according to a new government report.
Social Security payments for retired Americans will be exhausted in 2034 — a year earlier than previously predicted, says the 2021 report from the Social Security and Medicare Boards of Trustees, which oversees both programs. After that, tax incomes will only cover 76% of anticipated benefit needs. As for Social Security’s disability insurance program, those funds will run dry in 2057 — eight years earlier than previously predicted.
The recession and increased mortality rate due to the COVID-19 pandemic are the main factors driving the earlier depletion of funds, according to the report — the red flags adding to the pressure for federal lawmakers to act as a wave of retiring baby boomers and the pandemic’s new variants are sure to put more strain on an already stressed system.
The report says last year’s Social Security income exceeded costs by $11 billion. When excluding interest earned on the program’s trust fund assets, the program’s deficit is $65 billion.
While the funding shortfall would seem to point to benefit cuts, the nonpartisan Concord Coalition estimated Wednesday that Social Security could start liquidating the trust funds’ bonds to cover its obligations absent congressional action.
“Sudden and substantial benefit cuts await Medicare and Social Security beneficiaries in less than 15 years — well within the lifetimes of many current recipients — as long as lawmakers continue to ignore the warning signs in these reports. Solutions must be found that are fiscally and generationally responsible,” said Robert Bixby, the coalition’s executive director.
Though there has been no movement on Capitol Hill or within the Biden White House to address the report’s findings, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen affirmed the administration’s commitment to sustaining some of the nation’s most prominent social welfare programs.
“Having strong Social Security and Medicare programs is essential in order to ensure a secure retirement for all Americans, especially for our most vulnerable populations,” Yellen said in a statement Tuesday. “The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to safeguarding these programs and ensuring they continue to deliver economic security and health care to older Americans.”
As for Medicare, the report indicated the depletion of its funds in 2026 remains unchanged.
Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., issued a statement Tuesday saying Congress must work “hand in hand with President Biden” to ensure the continuation of both Social Security and Medicare.
When Social Security funds are dried up, “workers in the future will take a 25% cut in benefits, even though they’ll still be contributing to Social Security with every single paycheck,” Wyden said in the statement. “And while the projected depletion of the Medicare Trust Fund remains unchanged from last year’s report, this provides cold comfort to the millions of Americans who rely on the Medicare program for their health care.”
The report says both Social Security and Medicare will soon face “long-term financing shortfalls.” The COVID-19 pandemic and accompanying recession significantly impacted both programs’ funds, with employment, earnings, interest rates and GDP dropping substantially last year.
On average, 65 million Americans receive Social Security benefits each month, and a rapidly growing retired population, compounded by a decreasing birth rate, will only increase program costs.
By 2034, adults 65 and older are projected to outnumber the population under age 18 for the first time in the nation’s history, according to data from the Census Bureau.
ABC News’ Trish Turner contributed to this report.
(AUSTIN, Texas) — A law that took effect in Texas Wednesday outlaws abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.
The law effectively bars abortions in the America’s second most populous state, making it the most restrictive abortion law in the nation.
Here are six questions answered about Texas’ new law.
1. What does the law allow and not allow on abortions?
The law, Senate Bill 8, bans abortion once the rhythmic contracting of fetal cardiac tissue can be detected. That’s usually around six weeks, before some women may even know they’re pregnant. Most of the abortions performed nationwide are after six weeks of pregnancy.
There is an exception in the Texas law for abortions in cases of medical emergencies. The law does not make exceptions for pregnancies resulting from incest or rape.
When a person is six weeks pregnant, it typically means the embryo started developing about four weeks prior, based on the formula used to figure out when a person will give birth. People don’t often realize they are pregnant until after the six-week mark.
A fetal heartbeat is typically first detected five to six weeks after gestation.
2. Who will enforce the law?
The Texas law is unusual in that it prohibits the state from enforcing the ban but allows private citizens to bring civil suits against anyone who “aids or abets” an abortion — i.e. driving a person to an appointment or offering financial assistance — but not the patient herself.
People who successfully sue an abortion provider under this law could be awarded at least $10,000.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed the so-called “heartbeat ban” on May 19 and it went into effect on Sept. 1.
The heartbeat bill is now LAW in the Lone Star State.
This bill ensures the life of every unborn child with a heartbeat will be saved from the ravages of abortion.
3. Is the law here to stay or can it be blocked in court?
The law — which went into effect after the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, canceled a hearing on the law planned for Monday — is currently facing several legal challenges in lower courts.
Women’s health groups filed an emergency request with the U.S. Supreme Court to block the law while legal challenges continue. The court has not yet responded to the request.
The court has only been asked at this stage to decide whether or not to issue a temporary injunction on the law while lower-level court proceedings continue. Whatever the decision, legal experts cautioned that it will not have direct bearing on the precedent in Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that established a constitutional right to abortion, or abortion rights more broadly across the country.
The justices are likely to weigh in on the matter but do not operate on a fixed timeline.
Legal experts say the law’s enforcement mechanism — allowing private citizens to sue — has complicated the legal dispute before the Supreme Court because it is not clear who might bring a lawsuit and how widespread private legal action might be.
4. What will women who live in Texas do now for abortions?
Texas is home to nearly 14 million women who now face expensive and time-consuming options to obtain care, abortion rights advocates argue.
Abortion providers told the Supreme Court the law is expected to limit abortion access to 85% of patients across Texas.
“Patients will have to travel out of state – in the middle of a pandemic – to receive constitutionally guaranteed health care,” said Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, which is leading the challenges to Texas’ law. “And many will not have the means to do so. It’s cruel, unconscionable and unlawful.”
Several clinics in Texas reported full waiting rooms up until the midnight deadline.
“Our clinic staff saw patients until 11:56 last night, just 3 minutes before the 6 week abortion ban went into effect in Texas,” Whole Women’s Health, a top abortion provider in Texas, posted on Twitter.
Abortion clinics in Texas will still remain open though, but only those in compliance with the law, according to abortion rights providers.
“We’re offering ultrasounds to women … if there is no fetal cardiac activity, we’re able to prepare them for abortions,” Amy Hagstrom Miller, CEO of Whole Women’s Health, which operates four clinics in Texas, told reporters Wednesday.
All 24 of Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas’ health centers also remain open, providing consultation and other services, including abortions, in compliance with the law, according to Vanessa Rodriguez, a call center manager for the organization.
5. Will other states follow Texas’ lead?
Eight other U.S. states have enacted similar six-week bans and all have been blocked by courts, according to the Center for Reproductive Rights, which claimed in May that Texas’ law intends to “harass, frighten, or bankrupt people who seek care and those who provide it.”
However, if the Texas law stands in federal court, it would be likely that other states trying to restrict abortion access will move to pass similar laws.
The Supreme Court is scheduled to rule when its next term begins in October on the state of Mississippi’s appeal of lower court decisions striking down a state ban on all abortions after 15 weeks, with exception of medical emergencies or severe fetal abnormality.
The case is seen as a major challenge to Roe v. Wade.
6. What happens when women don’t have access to abortions?
Women who carry unwanted pregnancies to full-term often face long-term physical and mental health complications, data show.
In Texas, the maternal mortality rate is 18.5 deaths per 100,000 live births, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Patients who are denied abortions also face a “large and persistent increase” in financial distress in the years after, according to a working paper published last year by the National Bureau of Economic Research.
Looking at credit report data, researchers found that being denied an abortion increases the amount of debt 30 days or more past due by 78% and increases negative public records, such as bankruptcies and evictions, by 81%. The economic fallout appeared to be the worst for women who were forced to have a child when they were not prepared to, the data show.
ABC News’ Devin Dwyer and Alexandra Svokos contributed to this report.
(WASHNGTON) — When the young boy, just 13 or 14 years-old, was safely inside the gates of Kabul’s international airport, U.S. State Department officials there asked two questions: Where were his parents? And why was there blood all over his clothes?
“He said that somebody was killed right in front of him, and his whole family dispersed,” said a State Department official, recounting their harrowing 12 days on the ground in Afghanistan.
They were one of dozens of U.S. diplomats who, along with thousands of U.S. troops, helped evacuate more than 123,000 of their fellow Americans, Afghans, and other foreigners fleeing the Taliban.
But that effort also left behind as many as 200 U.S. citizens who were trying to escape and the “majority” of Afghans who worked with U.S. diplomatic and military personnel, according to a senior State Department official, and now fear their lives are at risk from Taliban reprisals.
“Everybody who lived it is haunted by the choices we had to make and by the people we were not able to help depart in this first phase of the operation,” said the senior official, speaking on condition of anonymity at the State Department’s request.
The all-hands-on-deck effort marshaled hundreds of State Department personnel in Washington and at embassies around the world, even rivaling the global repatriation operation at the start of the coronavirus pandemic in spring 2020, according to officials.
Afghanistan Coordination Task Force, an emergency operation headquartered at the State Department, has brought together hundreds of U.S. officials across agencies, including from the departments of Defense, Homeland Security, and Health and Human Services, which manages refugee resettlement, and helped coordinate approximately 55,000 calls and 33,000 emails to U.S. citizens in Afghanistan to try to bring them to safety, according to the department. As that operation shifts to help Americans and Afghans left behind, the senior State Department official conceded the evacuation efforts weren’t “pretty, it was very challenging. … It involved some really painful tradeoffs and choices for everybody involved.”
The youngest of those Americans still there may be “Ali,” whose real name ABC News is not using to protect him and his family. The three-year-old boy was born in the Sacramento area, and both his father “Ramin” and mother “Sahar” are U.S. lawful permanent residents, or Green card holders. Ramin moved the family, including Ali’s three older siblings, to Kabul a couple of years ago, drawn to a career as a social worker in his home country.
But with the collapse of the Afghan government – the speed of which surprised even U.S. officials – they scrambled to get out, the family told ABC News affiliate KGO. They said they received instructions from the U.S. embassy in Kabul on how to approach the airport, but were beaten back and blocked by Taliban fighters – too fearful to attempt again.
The senior State Department official said while there was enough cooperation with the Taliban to get tens of thousands of evacuees through, it regularly broke down when the militant group’s checkpoints were overwhelmed by the crowds or when messages from leadership didn’t travel fast enough to fighters on the ground.
“We had zero ability to control that inflow beyond the physical gates of the airport complex,” they told reporters Wednesday.
The State Department’s operation also struggled to provide detailed instructions on how to access the airport to Americans and Afghan partners that wouldn’t end up spreading through the massive crowds. Instead, any unique credential was quickly shared and became useless for U.S. and allied service members manning the fortified walls of Kabul airport.
“It was no longer a viable credential to differentiate among populations, and we simply did not have the people or the time to be able to try to sift through that crowd of people demanding access,” the senior official said.
That meant especially for Afghans who worked for the U.S. — sometimes known as SIVs, for the special immigrant visas they’ve applied for — were left in the crowds.
“We weren’t able to differentiate in the ways we all wanted to pull in those SIV populations,” the senior official added, declining to provide any figures for how many were evacuated, but saying “anecdotal evidence” suggested the “majority” were not.
Operations to rescue Americans, Afghan partners, and other foreigners also became increasingly dangerous as the operation stretched on. The threat from ISIS-K became horribly real when a suicide bomber detonated explosives outside Abbey Gate last Thursday, killing at least 182 people, including 13 U.S. service members.
But officials were also concerned about the crowds themselves, especially as desperation grew with the clock ticking down to President Biden’s Aug. 31 deadline.
“It’s not a criticism of the people who were desperate to leave, it’s just the characteristics of human behavior in those kinds of conditions — I think people don’t understand that those crowds that were outside the access points were on the verge of flipping to a mob at any given moment of any given day,” said the senior official.
Now, it will be up to U.S. consular officers to help the hundreds of other Americans and tens of thousands of Afghan partners escape whatever comes next in Afghanistan.
“It was really disheartening,” a second consular officer, who flew to Washington from the U.S. embassy in Canada to assist in evacuation efforts, said of the long shifts on the phone or emails trying to help U.S. citizens in Afghanistan.
In some cases, those individual calls provided personalized instructions for U.S. citizens and residents or at-risk Afghans to access Kabul airport, including a rally point to meet before approaching the gates amid the high threat of attack.
A third State Department official, based at the U.S. embassy in New Delhi, recounted talking to an Afghan woman who only spoke Dari, the Afghan dialect of Persian, but in her basic Urdu and his broken Hindi, he was able to provide instructions on how to access the airport.
“That kept us going all the time — that everybody felt the desperation of the Afghans and wanted to help them and knew it was a matter of time, that we had limited time to help as many people as possible and everybody went out of their way,” said the first State Department official.
But sticking to that timeline has drawn outrage against Biden, accused by Republican lawmakers and some veterans’ groups of abandoning Americans and especially Afghan allies.
“The unwillingness of the U.S. government to protect these trusted allies is an unconscionable failure that could have been avoided,” Adam Bates, policy counsel at the International Refugee Assistance Project, or IRAP, said Tuesday. “The United States not only has an ongoing moral, but also a legal obligation to protect them and all Afghan allies.”
Biden rejected that in an address Tuesday, saying staying longer would have put more U.S. troops at risk by violating former President Donald Trump’s deal with the Taliban: “That was the choice, the real choice – between leaving or escalating.”
For that first State Department official, however, there was no time to dwell on the life-or-death implications for the Afghan people they encountered just inside Kabul airport’s fortified gates – some of whom they were forced to turn away if they weren’t cleared by the U.S. government to travel.
“There were so many people, the need was so great all the time, that we just tried to do what we were supposed to do and get as many people out,” said the official.
Volunteering to help process people, the official arrived with other consular officers on Aug. 17, just two days after Kabul fell to the Taliban. Working 12-hour shifts, consular officers waited behind a line of U.S. special forces to check the documents of Americans, Afghans, and others who were granted entry to the airport — before they could move through another line of U.S. forces and board evacuation flights.
Warning shots were being fired “constantly” by Afghan and Taliban troops on the perimeter, per the official, with the use of flash bangs and at least one instance of tear gas as well. Most people waited three to five days just to get inside, they added — calling it “horrendous.”
“The people that tried to get through those gates, it was a horrifying experience for them, and as consular officers, we were thrilled to be able to do what we could to evaluate their eligibility as quickly as possible,” the official said.
Among the most heartbreaking scenes were the unaccompanied minors — children who lost parents and ended up inside the airport’s walls. Scores of them have been evacuated from Kabul to Doha, Qatar, where UNICEF has custody of them and is working to reunify them with parents and family, according to State Department officials.
Asked how so many children ended up alone, the official said, “Chaos. You can’t even imagine the chaos that was outside the gate.”
“On any given day, we had over 30 children that were separated … They were all traumatized,” the official added.
At least four children were orphaned after their father was killed by the Taliban and their mother was crushed in the crowds outside the airport, a source on the ground told ABC News last week. Others may have been pushed through “for safety” by their parents, according to the State Department official, “But I can tell you any parent that did that did that out of desperation and a love for their child.”
Officials from the U.S. and allied countries, especially Norway, worked together at the airport to care for them, with service members playing with them, rocking babies, and providing supplies like diapers, food, and bottles. Norway set up a reunification center that “quickly got overwhelmed, there were so many children that were separated,” the official said.
For Ali and his family, they are at least still together. But the road ahead — perhaps literally — is unclear.
The family told KGO that they have connected with other Americans on the ground in Afghanistan, leaving a safe house in Kabul to find their own way.
(KABUL, Afghanistan) — With the U.S. military and diplomatic withdrawal now complete after 20 years in Afghanistan, the Taliban has taken over the country, including the Kabul airport, the site of an often-desperate evacuation effort the past two weeks.
But even as the last American troops were flown out to meet President Joe Biden’s Aug. 31 deadline, other Americans who wanted to flee the country were left behind and the Biden administration is now focused on a “diplomatic mission” to help them leave.
When President Joe Biden sat down with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos for an exclusive one-on-one interview at the White House on Aug. 18, he said he was committed to keeping the U.S. military in Afghanistan as long as needed. “If there are American citizens left, we’re going to stay until we get them all out,” he said.
Here are the latest developments. All times Eastern:
Sep 01, 3:43 pm
Officials ‘haunted by choices’ at airport, ‘majority’ of SIVs left behind: State Department official
As the State Department shifts to help Americans and Afghans left behind evacuate, a senior official conceded the evacuation efforts weren’t “pretty, it was very challenging. … It involved some really painful tradeoffs and choices for everybody involved.”
“Everybody who lived it is haunted by the choices we had to make and by the people we were not able to help depart in this first phase of the operation,” a senior State Department official who was on the ground at the airport in Kabul told reporters late Wednesday morning.
But the official praised the “heroic” consular officers who processed those who entered the airport and at times walked the line looking through the massive crowds for U.S. passports and Green cards — and offered some explanations for what went wrong and arguing those crowds outside the gates bordered on “mob violence.”
The official said, based on anecdotal evidence, that “the majority” of Special Immigrant Visa holders were left behind — those Afghan interpreters, guides and others who helped U.S. forces and applied for a visa — along with their families.
“We feel an enormous commitment to keep faith with all of the people to whom we owe this debt, and we’re going to continue to do everything we can in the coming weeks and months to fulfill that commitment and to help those who wish to leave Afghanistan to do so.”
The official declined to provide more details on what that looks like just yet.
Sep 01, 2:25 pm
’Possible’ US will partner with Taliban against ISIS-K
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, asked about the relationship between the U.S. and Taliban going forward, given their recent and uneasy cooperation during the evacuation mission, offered a pragmatic view, without sugar-coating the militant group.
“We don’t know what the future of the Taliban is. But I can tell you from personal experience that this is a ruthless group from the past, and whether or not they change remains to be seen,” Milley said. “And as far as our dealings with them at that airfield or in the past year or so, in war, you do what you must in order to reduce risk to mission and force, not what you necessarily want to do.”
Asked whether the U.S. might coordinate with the Taliban against ISIS-K, the terror group responsible for a suicide bomber attack last week which that killed 13 U.S. service members and 170 Afghans, Milley said, “It’s possible.”
Defense Secretary Austin then chimed in, “I would not want to make any predictions.”
Sep 01, 1:48 pm
Top US general to forces: ‘Your service mattered’
Chariman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley vowed that the Pentagon will continue it counterterrorism efforts despite not having troops on the ground in Afghanistan, echoing President Biden’s remarks from Tuesday in saying the U.S. mission has changed over time.
“For the past 20 years, there’s not been a major attack on our homeland. And it is now our mission to ensure that we continue our intelligence efforts, continue our counterterrorism efforts, continue our military efforts to protect the American people for the next 20 years,” he said.
Defense Sec. Austin: “It’s our duty to defend this nation, and we’re not going to take our eye off the ball. And that means relentless counterterrorism efforts against any threat to the American people from any place.” https://t.co/Wfv8QKQBYUpic.twitter.com/zZNfMPCfms
Milley said that as of Wednesday morning, approximately 20,000 Afghans have arrived at eight different military bases in the continental U.S. and more refugees are on the way. Since the evacuation mission began, he said 124,334 people were airlifted out of Afghanistan by the U.S. and partners.
“Those 124,000, they never knew the 13 who died, and they will never know the 22 who were wounded or the thousands of dead and thousands of wounded who came before them. But they will now live in freedom because of American blood shed on their behalf,” Milley said.
The top U.S. general closed his remarks with a message for service members.
“We’re all conflicted. Feelings of pain and anger, sorrow and sadness, combined with pride and resilience,” he said. “One thing I am certain of: For any soldier, sailor, Marine and their family, your service mattered, and it was not in vain.”
Sep 01, 1:26 pm
Top Pentagon officials speak on Afghanistan withdrawal
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin spoke on the U.S. military’s withdrawal from Afghanistan after 20 years from the Pentagon on Wednesday, offering his thanks to U.S. forces and their families.
“We have concluded our historic evacuation operation and ended the last mission of the U.S. war in Afghanistan. America’s longest war has come to a close,” he said.
Austin hailed the historic evacuation effort in an “immensely dangerous” environment over the past few weeks. He reminded that 2,461 troops were killed in Afghanistan, as well as the more than 20,000 injured — “some still carrying the scars that you can’t see on the outside.”
Defense Sec. Austin: “My thoughts have been with the brave Americans who stood up to serve after Al-Qaeda attacked us on September 11, 2001. And my heart is with their families and loved ones.”https://t.co/Wfv8QKQBYUpic.twitter.com/ReEDPzgA6W
“Our forces risk their own lives to save the lives of others. And 13 of our very best paid the ultimate price. Many of them were too young to personally remember the 9/11 attacks,” he said. “The United States military will always honor their heroism.”
Speaking directly to Afghan war veterans and their families, Austin said he understands it’s been a difficult time but said he hopes they can look back at the long conflict with “thoughtfulness and respect.”
“I’ve heard strong views from many sides in recent days, and that’s vital. That’s democracy. That’s America,” he said. “As we always do, this department will look back clearly and professionally, and learn every lesson that we can.”
“Right now, it’s time to thank all those who served in this war,” he added.
Sep 01, 12:30 pm
Putin says US achieved ‘nil’ in Afghanistan war
Russian President Vladimir Putin again poured scorn on the U.S. military’s 20-year presence in Afghanistan, saying on Wednesday the nation achieved “nil” in an attempt to “civilize the local people.”
“The only result is tragedies and losses for those who were doing that, the United States, and especially for the people who live in the territory of Afghanistan. This is a nil result, not to say a negative one,” Putin said to teenagers at an educational facility in Russia.
Putin, who has previously said Russia has no plans to deploy troops to the country the Soviet Union once occupied but then was forced to retreat from in 1988 and 1989, claimed the U.S. approach to Afghanistan was flawed in that it tried to instill Western norms on Afghan people.
It is “impossible to impose anything from outside,” he said.
Russia, as well as China, have not yet formally recognized the Taliban as Afghanistan’s legitimate governing power but have generally shown more of a willingness to work with the militant group than have other nations.
-ABC News’ Tanya Stukalova
Sep 01, 11:44 am
Sole province uncontrolled by Taliban fights for independence
The Panjshir Valley, around 60 miles of mountain terrain in north-central Afghanistan, is the only one of 34 provinces in the country not controlled by the Taliban, and the people of Panjshir have vowed to continue the fight.
Anti-Taliban forces were seen in Panjshir on Wednesday conducting military exercises and patrolling hilltops as attempts to bring the Taliban and people of Panjishir to talks have reportedly failed.
It’s unclear how many, but a number of Afghans have traveled to the region in hopes of sanctuary in what’s become a holdout for rebel fighters and known as a “historical heartland of resistance.”
Taliban General Mobin Khan said earlier this month that the Taliban are “trying to resolve the issue through talks, and Panjshir may surrender peacefully — otherwise, the responsibility for the war lies with the short-sighted.”
-ABC News’ Sohel Uddin and Guy Davies
Sep 01, 11:37 am
Taliban hold parade in Kandahar, urge civilians to stay
Taliban forces have rallied around the country to celebrate the withdrawal of U.S. ground forces, holding a parade of vehicles in the Kandahar province on Wednesday.
Haji Mohammad Yousaf, the Taliban’s governor in Kandahar, and Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid spoke to Afghans gathered at the event.
Meanwhile, in Kabul, scenes around an abandoned airport area, where crowds of Afghans civilians once gathered around U.S. troops, showed empty vehicles covered in barbed wire as Taliban fighters have taken control of the airport and its perimeter.
In an interview with “Good Morning Britain” on Wednesday, Taliban spokesperson Dr. Suhail Shaheen said those with the right documents will be allowed to leave Afghanistan, but “urged” them to stay.
-ABC News’ Guy Davies
Sep 01, 10:26 am
Taliban celebrates US departure
With all U.S. ground troops out of Afghanistan, scenes around Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul on Wednesday showed Taliban fighters in Afghan National Army uniforms after the militant group seized the airport, with some firing celebratory gunshots into the air — a far different picture from the days preceding.
Hours before Biden addressed the nation on Tuesday and firmly defended the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Taliban held a mock funeral in Kabul with show caskets draped with U.S., U.K. and French flags to symbolize what it has called the defeat of NATO allies after 20 years.
The Taliban also released a video overnight they say shows their troops flying over the Kandahar province in an Afghan military helicopter as the militant group works to maintain a hold on the country.
A defiant Biden on Tuesday said that he refused to extend a “forever war” and would not be “extending a forever exit.” The president on Wednesday is meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and does not have any Afghanistan-related briefings on his public schedule.
Aug 31, 6:53 pm
1st plane to bring aid since Taliban took control landed Monday
As the U.S. prepared to evacuate from Kabul airport Monday, the World Health Organization flew a plane into the country with desperately needed aid.
On Monday, 12.5 metric tons of urgent medical supplies were flown from WHO’s warehouse in Dubai to Mazar-i-Sharif airport — not to Kabul, because of the “ongoing disruptions” there, according to WHO.
This is the first medical aid plane to land in Afghanistan since the Taliban took control, according to WHO — and it comes amid a growing need and deteriorating conditions.
“WHO is exploring more options to get further shipments into the country until a reliable humanitarian airbridge to scale-up collective humanitarian effort is established,” the UN agency said in a statement.
Aug 31, 6:17 pm
Top enlisted service member tells troops their service mattered
The military’s top enlisted service member sent a message to U.S. troops reassuring them that their service in Afghanistan mattered.
“You can hold your head high that we prevented an attack on the United States homeland,” writes Ramon Colon-Lopez, the senior enlisted adviser to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
“To each of you, your service mattered,” he added. “This is personal to us, and we know it is personal to every one of you.”
He also praised those involved in the massive airlift from Afghanistan.
“Your actions honor the sacrifice of our brothers and sisters in arms who lost their lives or were wounded in Afghanistan,” he wrote. “Over the last two decades and the last 2 weeks. you embodied our American values of equality, liberty, and human dignity for all.”
Aug 31, 5:53 pm
US-funded journalists left behind, no updates on airport talks, overland routes
Some 500 Afghan journalists and their families who were employed by the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) were left behind in Afghanistan — reporters, producers and more who worked for Voice of America and other U.S.-funded outlets, according to the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
“We did not forget about USAGM employees and their families, nor will we. These individuals … have not only worked for us, they have worked with us,” said State Department spokesperson Ned Price. “We remain keenly focused on getting them out safely just as soon as we can.”
Price wouldn’t confirm how many there are or what the plans to evacuate them may be, saying it was “not prudent for us to speak to tactics.”
He cited the same reason for declining to say more about how the U.S. may help some Americans travel on overland routes to escape Afghanistan, saying only that it “reinforces the point that we’re looking at all available options to bring Americans to safety.”
Price also had no status update on the negotiations to reopen Kabul’s airport, no update on how many American citizens remain in Afghanistan and no update on a protecting power — a country that oversees U.S. interests where there is no embassy, like Switzerland in Iran or the Czech Republic in Syria.
(NEW YORK) — Sleeping too much or too little each night can harm adults’ brain performance, increase symptoms of depression and weight and raise the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new study.
The study, published in the journal JAMA Neurology, found that sleeping six hours or less per night or nine hours or more per night negatively impacted adults’ health.
“There appears to be a real sweet spot,” said Dr. Jennifer Ashton, ABC News chief medical correspondent and a board-certified OBGYN. “People who got less than six hours of sleep on PET scan brain imaging had a higher rate of these brain plaques that we’ve found in association with Alzheimer’s disease.”
“However, too much, just as bad. Nine or more hours associated with poor cognitive performance,” added Ashton, who was not involved in the study.
The ideal amount of sleep per night is seven to eight hours, the study found.
“This really speaks to the fact that more is not better,” said Ashton. “Your brain needs a certain amount of sleep, but too much actually kind of puts your brain to sleep in some ways.”
The findings of the study — which looked at data from more than 4,000 adults in United States, Canada, Australia and Japan — reemphasize the important role sleep plays in achieving optimal health, according to Ashton.
She noted that not getting enough sleep each night affects your immune system and has been associated with everything from increased risk of heart attacks and stroke to depression and obesity.
“I always say sleep has a [public relations] problem. We look at it like a luxury. In fact, it is a medical necessity,” she said. “We need to prioritize this on par with our nutrition and our fitness for optimum health.”
Ashton added, “I always tell people, ‘If you are not feeling right, look at your sleep first.’”
Here are Ashton’s four tips for achieving a good night’s sleep, in her own words:
1. Follow a consistent sleep schedule: That means, if possible, every day go to sleep and wake up around the same time. You can’t make up for this on the weekend.
2. Avoid heavy meals, alcohol and caffeine in the couple of hours before bedtime.
3. The environment is really important. You want to keep your bedroom cold, dark and quiet, without something with a screen.
4. Meditation and exercise during the day have been shown to increase sleep at night.
(NEW YORK) — The most restrictive abortion law in the nation took effect in Texas early Wednesday, effectively barring the procedure across the state, as the U.S. Supreme Court remained silent on an emergency request from women’s health groups to block the measure while legal challenges continue.
Texas becomes the first and only state in the country to outlaw abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy. Twelve other states have passed similar laws that have not yet taken effect due to legal challenges.
Abortion providers across Texas had said the measure would “immediately and catastrophically” prevent care for “at least 85%” of Texas abortion patients. Several clinics reported full waiting rooms up until the midnight deadline.
“Our clinic staff saw patients until 11:56 last night, just 3 minutes before the 6 week abortion ban went into effect in Texas,” Whole Women’s Health, a top abortion provider in Texas, posted to Twitter.
Most of the abortions performed nationwide are after 6 weeks of pregnancy; staff at several Texas clinics have said they plan to start turning away patients Wednesday.
“Our clinics are providing abortions in accordance with the law,” the group added Wednesday. “Our work is not over.”
The law, Senate Bill 8, says “a physician may not knowingly perform or induce an abortion … if the physician detects a fetal hearbeat,” including embryonic cardiac activity, that can be observed as early as six weeks into a pregnancy.
In an unusual twist, the law expressly prohibits the state from enforcing the ban, instead authorizing private citizens to bring civil suits against anyone who “aids or abets” an abortion — but not the patient herself.
“It actively encourages private individuals to act as bounty hunters by awarding them at least $10,000 if they are successful,” the American Civil Liberties Union said in a statement.
The enforcement mechanism has complicated the legal dispute before the Supreme Court, because it is not clear who might bring a lawsuit and how widespread private legal action might be.
The abortion providers “have not shown they’ll be harmed by a bill that may never be enforced against them by anyone, much less the government,” a group of Texas state officials defending the law wrote in a filing with the Supreme Court late Tuesday.
The court has only been asked at this stage to decide whether or not to issue a temporary injunction on S.B. 8 while lower-level court proceedings continue. Whatever the decision, legal experts cautioned that it will not have direct bearing on the precedent in Roe v Wade or abortion rights more broadly across the country.
The justices are likely to weigh in on the matter but do not operate on a fixed timeline.
“The abortion industry is using their last, desperate option in an attempt to block the life-saving Texas Heartbeat Act,” said John Seago, legislative director of Texas Right to Life, an anti-abortion rights group.
“This anti-Life lawsuit is invalid. We are hopeful that Justice Alito will examine the compelling arguments raised explaining why the case should be ultimately dismissed,” he said.
Women’s rights groups planned protests against S.B. 8 across Texas on Wednesday afternoon. Meanwhile, advocates said women seeking abortion services now faced expensive and time-consuming options to obtain care.
“Patients will have to travel out of state – in the middle of a pandemic – to receive constitutionally guaranteed healthcare,” said Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, which is leading the challenges to Texas’ law. “And many will not have the means to do so. It’s cruel, unconscionable, and unlawful.”
(NEW YORK) — The United States is facing a COVID-19 surge this summer as the more contagious delta variant spreads.
More than 639,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 while over 4.5 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 61.3% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Here’s how the news is developing Wednesday. All times Eastern:
Sep 01, 10:42 am
Pfizer studying new pill in hopes it’ll help with mild COVID symptoms
Pfizer is launching a large clinical study for a new pill that it hopes could prevent worse symptoms for patients with mild COVID-19.
The first participant has now been dosed in this “pivotal Phase 2/3 clinical trial,” Pfizer said.
Drugs like Remdesivir and Dexamethasone can help people recover faster, but those are only reserved for people who are extremely ill and in the hospital.
If proven effective, Pfizer will ask the FDA for authorization.
Sep 01, 9:52 am
Virginia Tech disenrolls 134 students who didn’t meet vaccination policy
Virginia Tech says 134 students have been disenrolled after they didn’t comply with COVID-19 vaccine requirements.
The university’s roughly 37,000 students were required to submit vaccination documentation or receive a medical or religious exemption, Virginia Tech said.
“The university does not know whether any of these [134] students were not planning to return for reasons unrelated to the COVID-19 vaccine requirement,” Virginia Tech said.
Sep 01, 9:19 am
TSA screens lowest number of travelers since May
Just 1,345,064 travelers were screened at U.S. airports on Tuesday, the lowest since May 18 when 1,408,017 were screened, the TSA said.
United CEO Scott Kirby said Monday he thinks holiday travel will return to normal.
Sep 01, 8:52 am
San Diego County declares medical misinformation a public health crisis
San Diego has become the first county in the U.S. to declare that health misinformation is causing a public health crisis in its community. This follows the County Board of Supervisors’ 3-2 vote Tuesday night.
Changes to county strategy to combat the pandemic will include: labeling health misinformation and providing timely health information to counter it; modernizing public health communications; investigating in digital resources and training for health practitioners and health workers; and developing a website to be a central resource for fighting health misinformation.
The new policy was introduced when 96.7% of hospitalizations in San Diego County were residents who were not fully vaccinated.
Aug 31, 8:01 pm
Gene Simmons tests positive for COVID, KISS postpones shows
KISS co-lead singer Gene Simmons tested positive for COVID-19, the band shared on its Twitter page Tuesday evening.
In a statement, the band said the 72-year-old was experiencing “mild symptoms.”
His diagnoses comes less than a week after co-lead singer Paul Stanley, 69, tested positive for COVID-19 as well.
In a statement released on Aug. 26, the band said that, “everyone on the entire tour, both band and crew, are fully vaccinated.”
KISS has postponed four of its “End of the Road” tour shows from Sept. 1 to Sept. 5.
“The band and crew will remain at home and isolate for the next 10 days,” the band said in a statement.
Aug 31, 6:56 pm
2 officials working on COVID-19 vaccine review to leave FDA
Peter Marks, the director of the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER), announced the upcoming departure of two top vaccine regulators to his staff in an internal memo, which was obtained by ABC News.
Dr. Marion Gruber, director of the FDA’s Office of Vaccines Research and Review (OVRR) and her deputy, Dr. Phil Krause, are set to leave the agency in October and November respectively, according to the memo.
Krause, who’s been with the agency for over a decade, and Gruber, who has been with the FDA for over 30 years, were instrumental in the review and authorization of the three COVID-19 vaccines, the memo said.
The memo said that Gruber will be “retiring” and gave no other details about Krause’s departure.
ABC News has reached out to both Gruber and Krause for comment.
When reached for comment about their departure, an FDA spokesperson told ABC News the agency is “confident in the expertise and ability of our staff to continue our critical public health work, including evaluating COVID-19 vaccines.”
Their departures come at a critical time for the vaccine review team. After facing pressure to move as fast as possible to get vaccines’ full licensure done, the agency is now weighing booster shots for a wider pool of Americans.
The timing of the booster shot approval has been a bone of contention amongst federal agencies after the Biden administration announced the availability of booster shots would begin ahead of any ruling from the FDA or Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory groups.
Aug 31, 4:57 pm
Rev. Jesse Jackson’s wife out of ICU
Jacqueline Jackson, the wife of civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson, is out of the ICU as both Jacksons continue to fight COVID-19, their family said.
“Our father remains at The Shirley Ryan AbilityLab where he is continuing to receive intensive occupational and physical therapy,” their son, Jonathan Jackson, said in a statement Tuesday.
Jesse Jackson, who is 79 and has Parkinson’s disease, was vaccinated, reported ABC Chicago station WLS.
“Our mother remains in the Northwestern Memorial Hospital and has been moved out of the ICU and back into her regular hospital room where she continues to receive oxygen,” the statement said. “Both of our parents are continuing to receive excellent medical care and we thank God for the progress that both seem to be making.”
Aug 31, 4:24 pm
Vaccination rate nearly double than it was in mid-July
The U.S. vaccination rate per day is now nearly double than it was in mid-July, according to the White House.
“Back in mid-July we were averaging 500,000 vaccinations per day. Today, we’re averaging 900,000,” White House COVID response coordinator Jeff Zients told reporters Tuesday. “Last week we got over 6 million shots, the biggest weekly total since July 5.”
The increase in vaccinations comes amid fear about the rapidly spreading delta variant.
The delta variant, which is more transmissible, has also been part of the conversation around booster shots of the mRNA and J&J vaccines. The Biden administration said Americans would need a third shot eight months after their second because of waning immunity.
The Biden administration is standing by its decision to call for vaccine boosters beginning Sept. 20 despite questions about whether there’s enough data and the unusual process of announcing a plan before the FDA has evaluated the data and made a recommendation.
