(NEW YORK) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 751,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
Just 68% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Nov 05, 9:49 am
Hospital admissions on the rise in 9 states from Alaska to New Hampshire
The U.S. has seen a drop of nearly 60,000 COVID-19 patients in hospitals over the last two months. Many of those patients come from large Southern states, including Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi, according to federal data.
But nine states — Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico and Utah — have seen a major increase in hospital admissions over the last two weeks.
Daily infections are trending up in what the Department of Health and Human Services classifies as Region 1 (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont) and Region 2 (New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands), according to federal data.
Nov 05, 8:02 am
Pfizer pill reduces risk of being hospitalized or dying by 89%: Company
A course of pills developed by Pfizer called PAXLOVID can slash the risk of being hospitalized or dying from COVID-19 by 89% if taken within three days of developing symptoms, according to results released Friday by the pharmaceutical company.
In a study of more than 1,200 COVID-19 patients with a higher risk of developing serious illness, people who took Pfizer’s pills were far less likely to end up in the hospital compared to people who got placebo pills.
None of the people who got the real pills died, but 10 people who got placebo pills died, according to results summarized in a Pfizer press release.
Infectious disease experts cautioned these results are preliminary — only described in a press release and not in a peer-reviewed medical journal — but they represent another promising development in the search for effective and easy-to-administer COVID-19 pills.
Nov 04, 7:20 pm
US at ‘inflection point’ heading into winter months
The U.S. is at an “inflection point” heading into the colder winter months, the PolicyLab at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia said this week in its latest COVID-19 forecast.
Throughout the fall, increases in case incidence were mostly concentrated in areas with poor vaccination rates, such as in communities across Alaska, Idaho, Michigan, Montana, Utah and Wyoming. However, there is growing concern among experts that both colder weather and an increase in indoor gatherings, such as over Halloween weekend, will “further drive increases in COVID-19 transmission over the next couple of weeks.”
The U.S. is likely at a critical moment for more highly vaccinated areas with colder weather and holiday gatherings approaching, according to the group.
“The coming weeks will reveal whether other highly vaccinated regions in the West, Midwest, and Northeast can maintain steady incidence rates — and more importantly stable or declining hospitalizations — amidst the increasing pressure of even colder weather and more gatherings,” experts wrote.
Nov 04, 3:21 pm
Alaska, Montana lead US infection rate
Despite boasting high vaccination rates, several Northern states, particularly in the Upper Midwest and the Northeast, continue to see their case numbers tick up as the weather gets colder, according to federal data.
Alaska currently has the country’s highest infection rate, followed by Montana, North Dakota and Wyoming.
The U.S. daily death average, though down from 1,800 deaths reported each day in September, remains around 1,100 — which is nearly six-times higher than mid-June, according to federal data.
Nov 04, 2:49 pm
Indiana governor plans on lawsuit challenging federal vaccine mandate
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb said he’s directing the state’s labor department to “work with the Attorney General on a lawsuit challenging the federal government” in the wake of the Biden administration’s announcement that large businesses must begin enforcing a vaccine-or-test mandate Jan. 4.
Holcomb in a statement Thursday called Biden’s plan “an overreach of the government’s role.”
“While I agree that the vaccine is the tool that will best protect against COVID-19, this federal government approach is unprecedented and will bring about harmful, unintended consequences in the supply chain and the workforce,” he said.
Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts also said he’d “fight” the mandate.
“If this rule is allowed to take effect, many Nebraskans will be at risk of losing their jobs over something that should remain a personal health choice,” Ricketts said in a statement. “I have been in communication with the Attorney General today, who will be taking the lead on Nebraska’s legal review of the potentially illegal federal vaccine mandate. We will fight back.”
The vaccine mandates for businesses with 100 or more workers is a part of a sweeping new federal plan that identifies COVID-19 as an occupational hazard in the workplace. Industry groups had pressed the administration to give businesses extra time, warning that imposing any mandates now would exacerbate the nation’s worker shortage. The plan gives federal contractors an extra month to comply, sliding back the previously-set Dec. 8 deadline.
(BRUNSWICK, Ga.) — The murder trial of three white Georgia men charged in the 2020 killing of Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man prosecutors allege was “hunted down” and shot to death while out for a Sunday jog, has begun.
The evidence portion of the high-profile case kicked off just after 9 a.m. in Glynn County Superior Court in Brunswick, Georgia.
“I do feel like we’re getting closer to justice for Ahmaud day by day,” Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, said in an interview scheduled to be broadcast Friday night on ABC’s Nightline.
The trial started under a cloud of controversy after a jury comprised of 11 white people and one Black person was selected on Wednesday, prompting an objection from prosecutors that the selection process, which took nearly three weeks, ended up racially biased.
On Thursday afternoon, one of the seated jurors, a white woman in her 40s or 50s, was dismissed from the panel for undisclosed medical issues. One of the alternate jurors, a white person, replaced her, bringing the number of alternates to three. All of the alternates are white.
The three defendants are Gregory McMichael, 65, a retired police officer; his son, Travis McMichael, 35; and their neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan, 52.
The men have pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, aggravated assault and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment.
The McMichaels and Bryan were also indicted on federal hate crime charges in April and have all pleaded not guilty.
Arbery was out jogging on Feb. 23, 2020, through the Satilla Shores neighborhood near Brunswick when he was killed.
Nov 05, 3:59 pm
Bryan’s attorney defers opening statement
Kevin Gough, the defense attorney for William “Roddie” Bryan, told the judge that he wants to wait to give his opening statement until after the prosecution presents its case.
While Judge Timothy Walmsley described the strategy as unusual and one that he’s never encountered in his decade on the bench, he granted Gough’s request.
Nov 05, 3:53 pm
Gregory McMichael’s attorney gives opening statement
Franklin Hogue, an attorney for Gregory McMichael, told jurors that when his client saw Arbery running past his home on Feb. 23, 2020, he was certain it was the same man he saw in videos shown to him by neighbors of a suspected burglar targeting the Satilla Shores community.
“Greg was absolutely sure, he was absolutely certain, and his suspicions were well-founded,” Hogue said.
He agreed with Travis McMichael’s attorney, Rubin, that the elder McMichael feared that the man he and his son were chasing was armed with a gun.
He said that while in the rear bed of his son’s pickup on the phone with police, Greg McMichael saw Arbery running in his direction away from Bryan’s truck.
“Then you hear him yell, ‘Stop right there, damn it! Stop,'” Hogue said, referring to the recorded 911 call Gregory McMichael was on. “Then the last word you hear was him saying is ‘Travis.’
He’s in abject fear that he is about to witness his only son shot and killed in front of his very eyes,” Hogue said.
Hogue said that following the shooting, Gregory McMichael had a lengthy interview with police in which he said, “My intention was to stop this guy so he could be arrested or identified.”
“The truth of this case is that Greg McMichael is not guilty of any of these crimes,” Hogue said.
Nov 05, 3:36 pm
Travis McMichael was attempting to ‘de-escalate’ when he shot Arbery: Attorney
Rubin said that on the day of the shooting, a neighbor saw Arbery go into the house under construction and make eye contact with the man.
He said Arbery bolted from the house and ran at the pace of a 6-minute mile. Rubin said Gregory McMichael saw Arbery and recognized him from videos neighbors shared of the unidentified man who had been seen multiple times at the home construction site.
Rubin said the older McMichael went into the house and told his son that the man they had been on alert for just ran by. He said Travis McMichael grabbed his shotgun because he feared the man might be armed because of what occurred on his previous encounter with him.
He said that when the McMichaels caught up to Arbery in their truck, Travis McMichael told the man they just wanted to talk to him to find out what he was doing in the neighborhood, but that Arbery said nothing and continued to run.
Rubin said the McMichaels had every right under the state’s citizen’s arrest law to detain Arbery for the police, adding, “When seconds count, police are often minutes away.”
He acknowledged that Travis McMichael parked his truck and got out with his shotgun when he saw Arbery running away from Bryan’s truck and back toward him. He said Travis McMichael called 911 on his cellphone and handed it to his father as Arbery charged toward him, ignoring orders to stop.
“Before the first shot is fired they called the police. That is not intent to commit murder,” Rubin said.
He said Travis McMichael raised his gun at Arbery from 20 yards away because “that is how you de-escalate violence.”
“If he wanted to kill him this is an open shot,” Rubin said.
Rubin said Arbery moved to the opposite side of the pickup away from Travis McMichael and then came around the front of the truck and lunged at the armed man, trying to take his gun. That’s when Travis McMichael fired the first of three shots at Arbery.
“It’s tragic that Ahmaud Arbery lost his life, but at that point, Travis McMichael is acting in self-defense,” Rubin said. “He did not want to encounter Ahmaud Arbery physically. He was only trying to stop him for the police.”
He asked the jury to find Travis not guilty on all charges.
Nov 05, 2:35 pm
Travis McMichael’s previous encounter with Arbery
Rubin claimed that on Feb. 11, 2020, 12 days before the slaying, Travis McMichael had an encounter with Arbery outside the home that was under construction in his neighborhood.
He said the younger McMichael was going to get gas when he saw a Black male dart across his path and start “lurking in the shadows” 20 to 30 feet from the street.
Rubin alleged that when Travis McMichael got out of his car and approached, the man, who turned out to be Arbery, reached for something in a waistband leading McMichael to believe he was reaching for a gun. He said the man ran into the unfinished home while Travis McMichael went home and called 911.
By the time Travis McMichael and his father went back to the construction site armed, the Black man was nowhere to be found, Rubin said.
Nov 05, 2:00 pm
Travis McMichael’s attorney gives opening statement
The first defense attorney to give an opening statement was Bob Rubin for Travis McMichael.
“This is about duty and responsibility,” Rubin said of the case. “It’s about Travis McMichael’s duty and responsibility to himself, his family and his neighborhood.”
Months before the Arbery killing, the neighborhood of Satilla Shores was “on edge” due to a series of burglaries, Rubin explained.
He showed the jury a list of complaints lodged on online posts from neighbors saying, “This is ridiculous,” “I’m nervous” and “lock your cars.”
“People were on alert to suspicious behavior,” Rubin said, describing the neighborhood of Satilla Shores as a quiet, middle-class neighborhood where parents allow their children to play outside after dark.
He said Travis McMichael was a former U.S. Coast Guard border officer working in security. He said the younger McMichael was trained and authorized to make arrests, conduct investigations and searches and “use his weapon when appropriate.”
Travis McMichael was trained so well, Rubin noted, that his training became part of his muscle memory, adding, “Split seconds are often the difference between life and death.”
Nov 05, 1:57 pm
Defense objects to prosecutor’s opening statement
A defense attorney for Gregory McMichael objected to a part of Dunikoski’s opening statement in which the prosecutor mentioned that the investigation was “stalled” after Arbery’s killing and that the defendants were “sent home.”
Laura Hogue, a lawyer for Gregory McMichael, accused Dunikoski of violating a pre-trial agreement to not mention the more than two-month time lapse between the shooting and when the McMichaels and Bryan were arrested.
Hogue suggested that Dunikoski’s statement could mislead the jury into believing the delay had something to do with the defendants.
Dunikoski denied that she violated the agreement and noted that she didn’t mention that two district attorneys recused themselves from the case and former Brunswick District Attorney Jackie Johnson was indicted on a felony charge stemming from her handling of the case.
Johnson, the first prosecutor to get the case and who once had a working relationship with Gregory McMichael, was indicted in September on a felony count of violating her oath of office by allegedly “showing favor and affection” to Gregory McMichael and a misdemeanor count of hindering a law enforcement officer. Johnson, who lost a reelection bid in November 2020, has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Bryan’s attorney, Kevin Gough, said in court that Walmsley should declare a mistrial, which he refused.
Nov 05, 12:10 pm
Arbery’s mother breaks down as death video played
Dunikoski methodically went through the events of Feb. 23, 2020, the day Arbery was killed.
She said it started around 1 p.m. when Gregory McMichael saw Arbery run past his home and allegedly assumed Arbery was a burglar seen in security videos a neighbor showed him. Dunikoski said at no time did Gregory McMichael ever see Arbery at the house under construction or had any reason to believe Arbery had committed a felony, grounds for making a citizens’ arrest.
Dunikoski said Gregory McMichael ran into his home, armed himself with a handgun and got his son, Travis. She said Travis armed himself with a Remington 12-gauge pump-action shotgun and that he and his father got into his pickup truck and chased after Arbery.
She said that Bryan joined the chase with his pickup truck, not knowing why the McMichaels were chasing Arbery. Dunikoski said that during the five-minute chase of Arbery, Bryan attempted to strike the man with his pickup on four different occasions and admitted to running Arbery off the road and into a ditch.
Dunikoski played a cellphone video of the moment Arbery was cornered between the McMichaels’ pickup and Bryan’s truck and when Travis McMichael got out of his vehicle and shot Arbery.
As the video was played, Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, who was sitting at the rear of the courtroom, broke down in tears.
Dunikoski also played a 911 call Gregory McMichael made at 1:14 p.m. and described an emergency: “I’m here in Satilla Shores. A Black male is running down the street.”
“This was an attack on Mr. Arbery for five minutes and the only thing Mr. Arbery did was try to run away,” Dunikoski said.
Nov 05, 10:47 am
Videos of Arbery in home under construction shown
Dunikoski said the evidence will show that the defendants wrongly assumed Arbery was burglarizing a home under construction in their neighborhood.
The prosecutor played multiple videos of Arbery inside the unfinished home dating back to Oct. 25, 2019, to show that Arbery had a routine of running through the Satilla Shores neighborhood where the defendants lived.
But Dunikoski said none of the videos showed Arbery stealing or damaging anything. She said that after Arbery was captured on surveillance video on Feb. 11, 2020, the owner of the home under construction, Larry English, told the McMichaels through a sheriff’s deputy that the unidentified Black man had been seen on security video at the home before and that he never stole anything.
Dunikoski also played a body-camera video of a sheriff’s deputy speaking to the McMicheals outside the home under construction.
“At no time on this video do you hear the words burglary or attempted burglary,” she said, referring to the reasons the McMichaels claimed they were attempting to make a citizen’s arrest of Arbery.
Nov 05, 12:37 pm
Prosecutor gives opening statement
Dunikoski, the lead prosecutor in the case, began her opening statement by telling the jurors why they were there.
“We are here because of assumptions and driveway decisions,” Dunikoski said.
“A very wise person once said do not assume the worst of another person’s intentions until you actually know what’s going on with them.”
Dunikoski went on, “And in this case, all three of these defendants did everything that they did based on assumptions. And they made decisions in their driveways based on assumptions that took a young man’s life and that’s why we are here.”
Nov 05, 9:52 am
Jury sworn in
The jury of 11 white people and one Black person was sworn in by Judge Walmsley.
The judge acknowledged that many of the jurors have never served on a jury before. During his instructions, he went over the charges against the three defendants and told jurors the men have all pleaded not guilty to the charges.
“The charges and the plea of not guilty are of evidence of guilt,” Walmsley told the panel, which sat socially distant, divided between the jury box and one side of the courtroom gallery.
“The defendants are presumed innocent until each is proven guilty. Each defendant enters upon the trial of the case with a presumption of innocence in his favor,” he said.
Nov 05, 9:48 am
Judge makes last-minute rulings
Judge Timothy Walmsley, who is presiding over the murder trial, made his final rulings on motions before the jury was expected to be sworn in to hear opening statements.
Walmsley denied a defense motion to blur out a Confederate flag vanity plate that was on the front of Travis McMichael’s pickup truck that was used to chase down Arbery on the day he was killed. Walmsley declared the vanity plate was relevant to the case after prosecutor Linda Dunikoski argued at a recent hearing that there was circumstantial evidence that Arbery saw the license plate as the truck came toward him and prompted him to reverse course.
“He put this on his truck. He wanted the world to see it,” Dunikoski alleged of Travis McMichael, accusing the defense of being “disingenuous” for asking that the plate be blurred out.
The judge also denied a request from the defense to allow the jury to hear that Arbery was on probation at the time of his death.
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden was making last-minute calls to key House members as Speaker Nancy Pelosi pressed for two critical votes Friday on the Democratic agenda: the president’s $1.75 trillion “Build Back Better” social spending and climate policy package and the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure plan.
But Democratic infighting continued as Democratic moderates demanded Pelosi wait for a cost estimate on the larger bill from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office before going forward.
That could take weeks.
Late Friday afternoon, Pelosi announced the House would vote Friday on the already Senate-passed bipartisan infrastructure plan and then take a procedural vote on moving forward with the “Build Back Better” legislation — but not a final vote — a significant concession.
“We had hoped to be able to bring both bills to the floor today. Some members want more clarification or validation of numbers that have been put forth. It’s top line, that it is fully paid for. And we honor that request,” Pelosi said. “So today, we hope to pass the BIF and also the rule on Build Back Better with the idea that before Thanksgiving — it should take them another week or so — to get the numbers they are requesting.”
So, Democratic leaders imposed yet deadline after missing many others — to pass the “Build Back Better” legislation by the middle of the month, with Pelosi calling its hoped-for passage a “Thanksgiving gift for the American people.”
The speaker, renowned for her vote-counting prowess and who has famously said she doesn’t call a vote unless she know she has enough to win, was asked by a reporter, “Do you … have 218 votes to pass it?’ Pelosi answered, “We’ll see, won’t we?”
Even so, it wasn’t clear whether progressive Democrats would go along with Pelosi’s plan to vote Friday on the bipartisan infrastructure bill.
For months, they have threatened to vote against and defeat it — unless at the same time they got a vote on final passage of the larger social spending package.
Pelosi had addressed some of their concerns by adding back in four weeks of paid family and medical leave over the objections of West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin, whose vote is key to getting the measure passed in the Senate.
In a sign of the fast-changing developments, minutes after Pelosi announced there would be a vote on the bipartisan infrastructure package Friday, progressives gathered behind closed doors.
In the middle of their meeting, President Biden called Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Rep. Pramila Jayapal, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
She left in a hurry, racing to nearby elevators to take the call.
ABC News Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott reported she was told roughly 20 progressives were ready to vote against the bipartisan infrastructure bill unless there’s a vote on the larger social spending bill, too.
The roadblocks thrown up by House Democrats continued despite Biden urging then to act — with the party facing new pressure to deliver after disappointing election results on Tuesday.
“I’m asking every House Member, Member of the House of Representatives to vote yes on both these bills right now. Send the infrastructure bill to my desk. Send the Build Back Better bill to the Senate,” Biden send in his morning message to lawmakers. “Let’s, let’s build on incredible economic progress. Build on what we’ve already done, because this will be such a boost when it occurs. Let’s show the world that American democracy can deliver and propel our economy forward. Let’s get this done.”
He did not answer reporter questions, but promised to come back to answer them when the bills pass.
But hours after he spoke, when or if that would happen remained in doubt.
(NEW YORK) — As leaders from nearly every country in the world converge upon Glasgow, Scotland, for COP26, the United Nations Climate Change Conference — the climate crisis is at center stage, as well as the way food is eaten and produced.
Some estimates show that a quarter of all planet-warming greenhouse gases come from food production, according to a 2018 study in the journal Science. Global greenhouse gas emissions from animal-based foods are nearly twice those of plant-based foods, according to a 2021 study in the journal, Nature Food. Close to 60% of food emissions come from meat production alone, compared to 29% for plant-based foods, the study found.
While “meatless Monday” and meat substitutes like Impossible Burger and Beyond Meat are gaining popularity, our choices when we do eat meat need to be strategic, according to Sujatha Bergen, the health campaigns director of the Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc.
“There are very easy ways to fight climate change with your fork,” said Bergen, who shared with “Good Morning America” four tips that you can do to help the planet with your food choices.
1. Eliminate 1 burger a week from your diet
“If all Americans were to cut just a burger a week out of their diet, that would save as much emissions as taking 10 million cars off the road every year. So we’re talking about a huge impact with just a very small change,” she said.
Though it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly how many burgers Americans consume in a week on average, a 2018 report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture found that Americans eat more chicken, red meat, eggs and grains than the recommended daily allowances.
2. Eat along the spectrum
Conventionally raised beef is the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases by far, with lamb, shrimp, pork and farmed fish rounding out the top five highest emitters of greenhouse gasses, according to Bergen. “Beef and lamb are on one end of the spectrum and things like beans and vegetables are on the other end. So the more you can shift your diet along the spectrum, the better,” Bergen adds.
3. Use meat as a condiment
Another way to reduce your meat consumption is to use it as a condiment. Bergen says to think about this in terms of a pizza.“You’re going to sprinkle it with maybe a little bit of meat to add some flavor, but it’s not necessarily the primary feature of your dish.” The same goes for stir fry, for example. There are lots of options to implement this change.
4. Turn food waste into fertilizer by composting
Thirty precent of food is wasted. Experts say you should buy loose produce in just the quantity you need. You can freeze vegetables and meat scraps for soups and compost whenever possible to prevent greenhouse gases like methane from being produced. “So it’s a fun, kind of garden-friendly way to fight climate change,” Bergen said.
(HOUSTON) — A bond was raised Friday for the mother of an 8-year-old boy whose remains were left in his Houston home, along with three malnourished siblings.
Gloria Williams, 35, was arrested last week and charged with injury to a child by omission and tampering with evidence, according to the sheriff’s office. Her bond was set at $1,550,000 for the two charges.
Williams’ boyfriend, 31-year-old Brian Coulter, has been charged with capital murder in the 8-year-old’s death, prosecutors said.
The skeletal remains of Williams’ 8-year-old son were discovered on Oct. 24 along with three malnourished brothers, ages 7, 9 and 15, when the eldest boy called authorities.
The teen reported that the body of his 8-year-old brother — who died from “multiple blunt-force injuries” around November 2020, authorities said — was kept in the room next to his, the sheriff’s office said.
The teen told police his parents hadn’t been in the apartment for several months, authorities said. Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez described the home as “unspeakable living conditions,” with soiled carpets, roaches and flies. The apartment wasn’t furnished, prosecutors said.
Williams’ attorney, Neal Davis III, said Friday that he needs “to find out more information” about his client’s “mindset.” When asked if he thinks Williams understands the severity of the charges she’s facing, he replied, “I don’t think she does fully, no.”
Davis added, “I don’t want her to be painted in the same light as the co-defendant.”
The children were taken to a hospital and the Texas Department of Family and Protective services received emergency custody of them, Gonzalez said.
Authorities said last week that one of the boys had a jaw injury, allegedly caused by Coulter several weeks ago, and will need surgery.
Coulter and Williams have not entered pleas.
ABC News’ Izzy Alverez and Zach Ferber contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — Some 100 million American workers are expected to be impacted by the Biden administration’s new workplace COVID-19 vaccine mandate come January, under a sweeping new plan that labels coronavirus as an occupational hazard in the workplace.
Here is what to know about the new regulations, enforced by the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and how it might impact you.
Will the vaccine mandate apply to me?
Most likely, as it’s estimated that the regulation will cover the majority of the nation’s workforce. There are four types of workers who fall under some kind of mandate: federal workers, federal contractors, health care workers and anyone employed by a company with 100 or more employees.
Federal workers are required to get the shot by Nov. 22. Everyone else in the private sector has until Jan. 4.
Some workers also have the option to test weekly for the virus instead, but this only applies to people in the private sector who don’t work with the federal government or in health care facilities that accept Medicare or Medicaid. If you work at a large company that is included under the federal rule, it will be up to your employer to decide if you will be given the option to test weekly and wear a mask instead.
Firms that don’t comply could be fined $14,000 per infraction, and health care facilities like nursing homes and hospitals could lose access to Medicare and Medicaid dollars.
What if I work remotely?
If you work remote full-time, your company isn’t required to mandate a vaccine or weekly testing. But you will fall under a mandate if you go into the office or workplace even some of the time.
Keep in mind, your employer might require vaccination anyway as a term of employment. Some businesses, including some hospitals, have already done so.
Private businesses also can decide against giving the option of testing as allowed under the federal regulation.
What if I work at a franchise outpost of a larger company?
You wouldn’t fall under the mandate if the number of employees at your site is under 100 workers, and so long as the franchise location where you work is independently owned and operated.
Corporate employees at a company’s headquarters and employees at other franchise sites would be counted separately.
For example, if you work at an independently owned local gym that only has 50 employees, you would not be included in the mandate — even if that gym is part of a larger, nationwide chain.
Won’t this hurt the trucking industry ahead of the holidays?
Probably not, because the rule exempts people who work by themselves. Truck drivers who drive alone in their cabs wouldn’t be at risk of exposure.
The Truckload Carriers Association, which issued a statement insisting the rule would “undoubtedly ensure the trucking industry loses a substantial number of drivers,” did not immediately respond to ABC News’ inquiries about why they believe their members would be impacted.
It’s possible the rollout of the new regulations could cause some hiccups in the mounting supply chain issues the nation is seeing, but economists have expressed hope that these troubles will be temporary and lessen as the pandemic wanes. Vaccinations, meanwhile, have been effective at preventing hospitalizations and deaths, which in turn helps the overall job market and economy.
What about the impact on other businesses like retail?
As for other industries, the regulation’s impact remains to be seen. Because the rule for the private sector won’t take effect until Jan. 4, the Biden administration says it’s unlikely to cause problems ahead of the holiday season.
Still, businesses will have to prepare to implement a vaccine verification program during the busy shopping season.
It’s also possible a few workers with hardline views on the vaccine will try to opt out of the job market to wait out the regulation. As a temporary emergency standard, it’s expected to expire eventually although the government hasn’t said yet when that might happen.
Some business officials have argued that broader vaccine mandates might actually help by “leveling the playing field.” If every company is required to mandate vaccinations, it makes it harder for workers to jump jobs to avoid getting the shot. Supporters of the regulation also argue that while a vocal minority of workers will protest, the vast majority of Americans will wind up complying.
While once a touchy subject in the private sector, recent data has actually indicated that a majority of companies plan on having COVID-19 vaccine mandates for their workforce, separate from the federal regulation.
(PERTH, Australia) — Terence Darrell Kelly was charged Thursday afternoon with one count of forcibly taking a child under 16 for allegedly abducting 4-year-old Cleo Smith from a campsite on Oct. 16.
Kelly has been held by authorities in Perth, Australia, since Friday, according to the Western Australian Police Force. Prior to being charged, police reported he had twice been taken to the hospital for self-inflicted injuries, and that he needed to be held under maximum security.
“A person in that situation would not remain in Carnarvon anyway, so the normal process will take place. We’ll put extra security measures for obvious reasons,” Western Australia Police Commissioner Chris Dawson said at a news conference in Perth.
Kelly was taken into custody on Wednesday morning after a tip led police to a suburban home in Carnarvon, Australia, where Cleo was found unharmed.
Cleo had been missing for 18 days after she was abducted from her tent while camping with her family in a remote part of western Australia. The search for her had gained national attention.
Cleo’s family released a statement Friday morning thanking everyone who helped recover their daughter.
“We would like to take this opportunity to thank all those involved in the rescue of our daughter Cleo Smith. In particular, we would like to thank Western Australia Police, all those involved in the initial search, the Carnarvon community, local businesses and of course our family and friends,” the statement said. “We are humbled by the love and support that we have received from not only our local community but the whole of Western Australia and across the country.”
(EAST ORANGE, N.J.) — 14-year-old Jashyah Moore has been missing since Oct. 14. Her family is pleading with her community for answers that would help bring her daughter home.
“I cannot imagine what she might be going through just being away from us this long, being away from her family who loves her very much,” her mother, Jamie Moore, said through tears at a press conference Friday morning. “If anybody knows anything, please, please come forward.”
She was last seen around 10 a.m. at Poppie’s Deli Store in East Orange, New Jersey, after her mother asked her to go to the store for groceries. According to police, surveillance footage shows Jashyah entering the store with an older male who paid for her items. The footage does not appear to show them leaving the store together, police say.
When she returned home to her mother, Moore said Jashyah had lost the card the family uses for groceries, and Moore told her daughter to go retrace her steps to find it.
Moore says that was the last time she has seen her daughter since.
Jashyah is 5-foot 5-inches tall and weighs about 135 pounds. She was last seen wearing khaki pants, a black jacket, and black boots, according to an East Orange City Hall press release.
“Jashyah is a smart girl and I can’t reiterate that enough,” Moore said. “She would not stay out. She would not go out, go off with anyone. She’s a homebody. She plays video games. She like to cook, she likes to play with her brothers, like, her best friend.”
East Orange Police, the FBI, and the New Jersey State Police are working in collaboration to help find Jashyah. They say if anyone sees her or knows of her whereabouts, to call the East Orange Police at 973.266.5041.
“Jashyah, if you are out there, we are all looking for you,” said Chief Phyllis Bindi. “We know that you are loved by this community and your family.”
ABC News’ Kasim Kabbara contributed to this report.
(CHICAGO) — After a night out in Chicago on the night before Halloween, 23-year-old Iñaki Bascaran told his roommate he was heading home. But he never made it — and now his friends are mobilizing to find him.
Bascaran, a Glenview, Illinois, native, attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and moved this year to Chicago, where he works in marketing, said his friend, Kayli Fradin. She described him as “the life of the party” who “is always trying to make people laugh.”
On Oct. 30, Bascaran went to a bar with friends in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, Fradin told ABC News. Bascaran then called an Uber to go to another bar, Celeste, in the River North neighborhood. He left Celeste alone at 11:39 p.m.
Bascaran then called Fradin’s boyfriend, who is Bascaran’s roommate, on FaceTime at 12:04 a.m. to say he was going to start walking home.
“But he was also intoxicated enough at that point that he thought he was in Lincoln Park and we know now that he wasn’t,” Fradin said. “He didn’t even really realize what part of town he was in.”
About 45 minutes later, when Bascaran didn’t arrive home, Fradin said she and her boyfriend tried to track his phone location, but his phone was dead.
Around noon the next day, Bascaran’s phone was still dead, and his bed was made. Fradin said she called the police immediately.
She said police recommended a list of hospitals for her to call — but none of the hospitals had seen him.
Fradin then said she broke the news to Bascaran’s parents, calling it a “heartbreaking call.”
Chicago police confirm Bascaran has been reported missing and ask anyone with information to contact the department at 312-744-8266. They released this missing persons flyer and said no further information was available.
With no leads, Fradin turned to social media, creating a website and Instagram page to spread the news.
“Iñaki has so many friends from so many areas in his life,” she said, from his soccer league to high school to college to abroad, that “we just knew that we would get a really big group of people to care.”
On Monday, about 200 friends, family and strangers, armed with flashlights and neon vests, conducted a search, “starting at Celeste and routing people different directions that Iñaki might have done,” Fradin said.
“It’s amazing how quickly everyone has been able to mobilize,” she said.
The family hired private detective Sara Serritella to help.
“You cannot have enough resources” in a missing persons case, she told ABC News.
They followed Bascaran’s digital footprint, including surveillance videos from that night, but “the answers are not in the phones and the cameras,” Serritella said.
It’s shocking “to think that you can just disappear and go missing in spite of technology and cameras,” she said.
But Serritella said she’s “following hundreds of leads that have come in” through social media and email.
She said they’re using drones, man power, digital forensics and “everything possible to try to get him home.”
On Wednesday, the family held a vigil, where there was an “outpouring of support,” Fradin said, including hundreds who watched live on Instagram.
Fradin said this tough week has been filled with both sadness and hope.
“There’s been times where we’ve been sobbing together and times where we’ve been laughing together, telling our favorite stories and memories with him. … And how excited we are to make fun of him for putting us through all of this once he comes home,” she said.
(WASHINGTON) — The State Department is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information that could lead to the identification or location of those in leadership positions within the DarkSide ransomware group.
Authorities also announced that they’re offering a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction in any country of anyone conspiring to participate in or attempting to participate in a DarkSide variant ransomware incident.
“In offering this reward, the United States demonstrates its commitment to protecting ransomware victims around the world from exploitation by cyber criminals,” Ned Price, a State Department spokesperson, said in a statement Thursday.
Federal authorities have previously said they believe DarkSide operates out of Eastern Europe.
The Colonial Pipeline incident was seen as a display of how much power cyber criminals have seized in recent years, as they took aim at critical infrastructure. The company’s CEO admitted shortly after the incident that he had authorized a payment of some $4.3 million to DarkSide only hours after learning of the attacks, due to the uncertainty surrounding how long it would take to get the critical pipeline back online.
The Department of Justice later said it seized back approximately $2.3 million in Bitcoin from the alleged cyber criminals.
The reward is being offered through the State Department’s Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program, which has dished out more than $135 million in rewards to date and brought more than 75 transnational criminals and major narcotics traffickers to justice, according to Price’s statement.
