(LOS ANGELES) — Vaccines work to dramatically reduce the risk of developing COVID-19, but no vaccine is perfect. Now, with 174 million people already fully vaccinated, a small portion are experiencing a so-called “breakthrough” infection, meaning they test positive for COVID-19 after being vaccinated.
But doctors say this virus — which can be deadly for an unvaccinated person — most often leads to much milder symptoms those who already got their shots, with a recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analysis finding vaccinated people are 29 times less likely to require hospitalization and four times less likely to be infected with COVID-19, even when the delta variant is predominant.
“We know vaccination is not 100%,” said Dr. Jay Bhatt, an internist and adjunct faculty at the UIC School of Public Health and an ABC News contributor. “That being said, we know that most people in the ICU are unvaccinated individuals.”
Still, breakthrough infections do happen.
The CDC has very specific guidance about what vaccinated people should do if they are exposed to someone with COVID-19, or if they test positive themselves.
If a vaccinated person is exposed to the virus — meaning a close contact has tested positive — they don’t need to quarantine, but they should get a COVID test three to five days after that exposure. And they should wear a mask in public indoor spaces, like the grocery store, while awaiting test results.
But if a vaccinated person receives a positive test result or has symptoms after exposure, they should isolate for 10 days. A repeat test is not needed at the end of the 10-day isolation period, though the person should be fever-free for at least 24 hours before ending quarantine.
Vaccination status does not change isolation recommendations for those who test positive because they can still be contagious, though the CDC reports that the contagious period may be shorter than in those who are unvaccinated and viral load lessens after five days.
Since those who are vaccinated and infected with COVID-19 are still able to transmit the virus, their close contacts should also be contacted and tested. A close contact is a person who has spent more than 15 minutes with a COVID-19 positive person while unmasked and less than 6 feet apart.
Fully vaccinated people who test positive may also be eligible for authorized COVID-19 treatments, if their doctor says it’s necessary. Therapies such as monoclonal antibodies can still be given to COVID-positive patients in a high-risk category, even if they are vaccinated. “Monoclonal antibodies are intended for those with COVID-19 who are high risk, which includes those over 65, and those who have chronic disease, cancer or are immunocompromised,” Bhatt said. “The chances of allergic reactions or adverse events are relatively low.”
Monoclonal antibodies, laboratory-made proteins which mimic the immune system’s antibodies, work best when given in the first few days after a positive test result or symptom onset. After receiving monoclonal antibodies, further COVID-19 vaccination, such as a booster, should be delayed by 90 days to optimize response to the vaccine.
Other treatments, such as steroids or antivirals like Remdesivir, are more commonly given for hospitalized and severe cases, which are less likely to occur in vaccinated individuals.
While breakthrough infections are likely to be mild, it’s important to follow recommended guidelines to reduce the spread of infection. Wearing masks in large crowds and staying home when not feeling well will help protect both vaccinated and unvaccinated people.
Priscilla Hanudel, M.D., is an emergency medicine physician in Los Angeles and a contributor to the ABC News Medical Unit.
(DETROIT) — People looking to buy a new car, might want to pump the brakes on their search for now. General Motors announced it will temporarily shut down eight of its 15 North American assembly plants due to a microchip shortage that automakers need to build vehicles.
The shutdown takes effect Tuesday, Sept. 7.
Watch the full report from ABC’s Good Morning America:
(WASHINGTON) — Expanded pandemic unemployment benefits, put in place because of the COVID-19 pandemic, expired on Monday.
Impacting approximately 12 million Americans, the benefits had been in place for more than a year, providing an additional $300 per week in unemployment insurance as well as expanded benefits for gig workers and people who have been unemployed long term.
The White House said Friday there was no plan to reevaluate the end date of these benefits.
“As you know that was temporary, the emergency unemployment benefits,” Principal Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters.
“It’s important to take a step back to look at the national landscape here,” Jean-Pierre added. “In about half of all states, 24 governors have already made the decision to eliminate pandemic unemployment benefits, in the remaining 26 states, unemployment levels vary wildly from 3 to 7%.”
She also reiterated Biden’s calls for states that want to extend those benefits to use funding from the $1.9 trillion COVID relief package.
Last week, new data from the Department of Labor showed a steep decline in the number of jobs added in August. Employers added just 235,000 jobs last month, down from the approximately 1 million jobs added in both June and July. These numbers come as the spread of the more contagious delta variant has appeared to slow the pace of economic recovery.
(NEW YORK) — The United States is facing a COVID-19 surge this summer as the more contagious delta variant spreads.
More than 649,000 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 62% 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:
Sep 07, 7:05 am
3rd person dies in Japan after receiving contaminated Moderna vaccine
A third person has died in Japan after receiving a dose from one of three batches of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine that have since been recalled due to contamination, according to the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.
The 49-year-old man died on Aug. 12, one day after getting his second shot of the two-dose vaccine. His only known health issue was an allergy to buckwheat, the Japanese health ministry said in a statement Monday.
Two other men, aged 30 and 38, also died in August within days of getting their second Moderna shot. In all three cases, the men received doses from a batch manufactured in the same production line as another lot from which some unused vials were reported to contain foreign substances at multiple inoculation sites in Japan.
The deaths remain under investigation, and the Japanese health ministry said it has yet to establish any casual relationship with the vaccine.
The contaminated lot and two adjacent batches were suspended from use by the Japanese health ministry last month, pending an investigation. Moderna and its Japanese distribution partner Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. ultimately recalled the three lots, containing about 1.63 million doses, after an investigation confirmed the foreign matter to be high-grade stainless steel from manufacturing equipment.
The Japanese health ministry said that, based on the companies’ analysis, it is unlikely the stainless steel contaminants pose any additional health risk.
Moderna and Takeda have yet to release statements on the third fatality, but the companies have previously said there is currently no evidence that the other two deaths were caused by the vaccine.
(NEW YORK) — Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba — Twenty years after 9/11, the trial of the alleged mastermind of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, is set to resume once again after a series of delays, including the coronavirus pandemic.
Mohammed will be joined by four co-defendants in pretrial proceedings as a new judge presides over the military commission nearly 20 years after 2,977 people were killed at the World Trade Center, Pentagon and Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
The moment is primed to create headlines as the legal process resumes not only days before the 20th anniversary of the attacks, but also less than two weeks after the U.S. military completed its chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.
It is also fraught with a sense of justice delayed for years, charged battles over whether civilian or military authorities should try the cases and of course, the fight over the infamous Guantanamo Bay complex itself, where a number of those swept up in the war on terror were held indefinitely.
Also at issue is how much the public will learn and when. With concerns about classified information, images and transcripts from the courtroom, while in public view, will be tightly controlled and the proceedings could be halted for national security reasons. After this pretrial phase Sept. 7-17, another pretrial continuation is set for Nov. 1-19.
There could be additional pretrial phases added after that, at the discretion of the judge. After that, the military commission will go through a process that could last two months to select military officers to serve as panel members. The trial itself could begin as soon as next April, although a date is not yet definite. Mohammed and his codefendants face capital charges that could carry the death penalty if convicted.
Approximately 15 reporters received a tour Sunday afternoon of the Expeditionary Legal Complex (ELC) at Camp Justice, where the hearings will take place.
Here’s what we learned about the courtroom and proceedings, and how we got to this point:
A nearly decade-long detention
The defendants in this case were arraigned in 2012, but have yet to truly see their day in court because of a numerous delays in the pretrial process.
One of the key issues to be decided before the trial can begin is what evidence will be admissible. The defendants were held in secret prisons abroad, called CIA black sites, before they were transferred to the Guantanamo facility. There, they were subjected to enhanced interrogation techniques, which many human rights organizations and the defense teams argue are tantamount to torture.
Accounts obtained after the prisoners came to Guantanamo are also in question. Defense lawyers contend that their clients were already conditioned to give their interrogators the answers they wanted to hear.
The court itself has also undergone many changes during the duration of the trial. Established by former President George W. Bush in 2001, the Guantanamo military commission was revised via Congressional act in 2006 and later amended through the legislative branch again in 2009. Former President Obama attempted to transfer detainees to the U.S., but was effectively blocked by Congress.
Critics have argued the military court is unconstitutional and unjust because the accused are denied the right to due process and a speedy trial.
The courtroom
There is a sound-proof gallery where 53 reporters and family members of 9/11 victims and survivors of the terrorist attacks can watch the proceedings through sound-proof glass. A blue curtain separates family members of victims or 9/11 survivors from the press, if they wish to pull it closed for privacy. The proceedings can also be observed by members of the public at Fort Meade, Maryland via closed-circuit TV.
If classified material is raised during the trial, the judge or trial judiciary staff, such as a court information security officer, or CISO, could stop the closed-circuit feed — cutting off the presentation before any classified information is revealed publicly. The prosecution could also preemptively invoke national security to disrupt the defense’s argument even before any classified information is actually revealed.
The courtroom — built specifically for the trial of the 9/11 defendants, cost $12 million to construct in 2008 and is basically a renovated warehouse. Despite rhetoric by the Obama and Biden administrations promising to “close GITMO” — that discussion is really only about ending the detainee program, and the Naval Station, which has been under U.S. control through a lease with the Cuban government since 1903 is not in jeopardy of closing.
After visiting the gallery, reporters were taken into the large courtroom — approximately 100 feet by 100 feet — if not a little bigger.
The defendants have not been in the courtroom since early 2020 – just before the COVID-19 pandemic began. In addition to Mohammed, four other defendants charged in the 9/11 terrorist attacks will be in the courtroom: Walid bin Attash, Ramzi bin al-Shibh, Ammar al-Baluchi (also known as Abd al Aziz Ali) and Mustafa al Hawsawi.
The defendants will sit at five tables alongside their defense teams and interpreters — with Mohammed in the front — and his alleged co-conspirators seated from front-to-back in the order listed on the indictment and above.
Col. Matthew McCall will preside, becoming the fourth judge to sit on the bench during the pretrial proceedings. McCall was initially selected to oversee the trial last year, but withdrawn after prosecutors objected, citing his lack of experience. He was reinstated after completing two years as a military judge, meeting the minimum requirement for the war court.
At the base of each seat for the defendants are chains anchored into the carpet that could potentially be hooked to shackles if the judge determines a defendant must be restrained, although Wendy Kelly — chief of operations at the Office of Military Commissions Guantanamo Bay — did not believe this would be needed. There is also a hospital bed positioned in the back of the courtroom for a defendant in another trial.
A sixth table was built in the courtroom for a prospective sixth 9/11 defendant, although it will likely be unoccupied since the defendant was not indicted.
Timetable and priority on classified information
Protecting classified intelligence is a priority during the hearings. Information about events, location and timing could appear to be innocuous but combine to present a classified narrative. Kelly said the defendants have frequently sought to delay the proceedings by revealing classified information and details that they are privy to themselves.
The military commission is expected to have an open session all day Tuesday and a closed session on Wednesday, when none of the defendants will be permitted in the courtroom as the judge, defense and prosecution have a classified session. On Thursday, the court is expected to have an open session for a half day, and then another closed session on Friday. The pretrial proceedings are set to resume the following Monday and potentially carry on through Sept. 17.
What happens next is largely up to the discretion of the judge. He is expected to hold additional pretrial hearings later this year, but jury selection will not begin until 2022 at the earliest.
No video or audio from the courtroom will be released publicly, although an unofficial courtroom transcript will be posted approximately one day later, depending on the length of the proceedings and any potential security review for classification. There will be a sketch artist, who will be present in the soundproof gallery to draw images of the defendants in the courtroom. Kelly said that steps will be taken in the gallery to observe social distancing — with all attendees required to wear face masks. The judge must still determine whether to socially distance the defendants and their defense teams or ask them to wear masks.
Four out of five of the 9/11 defendants accepted an offer to receive vaccinations against COVID-19, and some personnel on the base have tested positive for the disease.
Approximately 10 remote-controlled video cameras are mounted on the walls and ceilings of the courtroom and Kelly assured ABC News that there are no hidden cameras in the courtroom.
To the far right of the courtroom is a box for the panel members — who serve as a jury and will be comprised of 12 military officers, with four alternates (although six may ultimately be chosen).
The pool of prospective jurors is comprised of hundreds of officers from all branches of the service. They are not expected to be sequestered during the trial, but may be asked by the judge not to read or view media reports on the trial, or the conduct interviews with the media. Kelly predicted it could take up to two months to vet and select prospective jurors.
Along the right side of the courtroom are several tables for the prosecution, which is also comprised of U.S. citizens — some civilian and some military. There is a podium in the middle of the courtroom that has a laptop computer and microphone. The podium swivels 360 degrees, so any speaker may turn to address the panel of military officers serving as the jury, for example.
There will be five 9/11 victim family members or survivors of the terrorist attacks — and each may bring one guest to accompany them in the gallery, as well as VFM (Victim Family Member) escorts. No recordings are allowed — so military security is present to ensure that nobody breaks the rules imposed by the military commission.
The detainees
After viewing the courtroom, journalists were taken outside to view holding cells where the defendants will be detained during any recesses in the proceedings, as well as immediately before the day’s proceedings commence. Reporters were permitted to peer into the cells but were prohibited from fully entering for security reasons.
Kelly said that detainees, who are held at the Joint Task Force miles from the courtroom, will be awoken about 5 a.m. each day, and then taken to the holding cells about 6:30 a.m. There are five cells, numbered ELC14 through ELC18. Inside each is a mounted bed with a foam cushion resting on a mattress. There are no sheets, after several detainees died by suicide years ago.
The cells also have a toilet and a Qibla pointer — an arrow that points toward Islam’s holiest site — the Kaaba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Monitors provide a closed-circuit feed to the defendants in each cell, if they decide not to remain in the courtroom or are removed for some reason.
There is also a larger holding cell nearby that can accommodate meetings with more members of the defense team. Between the larger holding cell and the five cells is another small building with a shower. There was also a make-shift shower positioned between cells ELC14 and ELC15. This was built on the site in case any of the defendants have to stay overnight at the ELC, and then later a more modern shower facility with additional privacy was added.
A thick black netting is designed to prevent anyone from the outside to see movements within. There was a long corridor leading from the detention cells to the courtroom, which the defendants will have to traverse in order to enter the courtroom.
Another building within the ELC is ready for any evidence introduced or entered into the record at the hearings — complete with digital servers. Nearly all of the evidence is digitally presented, although Kelly said there will also be physical evidence presented from the sites of the terrorist attacks. That physical evidence is possessed by the FBI in a locker across a courtyard in the ELC.
(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 07, 4:55 am
Around 100 Americans remain in Afghanistan, Blinken says
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters Tuesday that “somewhere around 100” Americans remain in Afghanistan.
“We believe the number of those who have American citizenship — many of them dual nationals — who remain in Afghanistan is somewhere around 100,” Blinken said during a press conference in Qatar’s capital. “We’re in direct contact with virtually all of them.”
“For weeks now, we’ve been working very closely with Qatar, with Turkey to see to it that the Kabul airport could get up and running again to civilian air travel as soon as possible,” he continued. “We’re also working to facilitate overland passage for those who wish to depart when it comes to charters.”
Blinken admitted it’s a challenge without personnel on the ground in Afghanistan but one that “we’re determined to work through.”
“Many thousands of U.S. citizens or permanent residents or at-risk Afghans, who successfully evacuated and relocated from Kabul, have left aboard charter flights. Now, others are working to arrange more such flights,” he said. “We are working around-the-clock with NGOs, with members of congress and advocacy groups, providing any and all information and doing all we can to clear any roadblocks that they’ve identified to make sure that charter flights carrying Americans or others to whom we have a special responsibility can depart Afghanistan safely.”
U.S. officials have been engaging with the Taliban on departing flights, according to Blinken.
“They said that they will let people with travel documents freely depart,” he noted. “We will hold them to that, so will dozens of countries. The international community is watching to see if the Taliban will live up to their commitments.”
“It’s my understanding that the Taliban has not denied access to anyone holding a valid document, but they have said that those without valid documents at this point can’t leave,” he added. “Because all of these people are grouped together, that’s meant that flights had not been allowed to go. We’ve been able to identify a small number of Americans who we believe are seeking to depart from Mazar-e-Sharif with their families.”
Sep 06, 3:07 pm
4 US citizens evacuated over land border
The State Department has facilitated the evacuation of four U.S. citizens across one of Afghanistan’s land borders — the first Americans to leave the country with U.S. government help since President Joe Biden ended the massive, chaotic evacuation efforts that closed the country’s longest war.
Four Americans made their way across land with Taliban knowledge, according to a senior State Department official, who told ABC News they evacuated without Taliban interference.
The official declined to say which country they arrived in but added they were in “good condition” and met by U.S. embassy staff from the local embassy.
While the State Department helped these four evacuate, White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain said Sunday there were approximately 100 U.S. citizens still trying to escape the country, nearly a week after the last U.S. forces departed.
Among those left behind, there are several Americans in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif ready to board charter flights out that are being blocked by the Taliban, according to several sources. The Taliban has not give permission to the airlines, leaving the potential passengers stuck in the city now for days.
A State Department spokesperson told ABC News Sunday that they could not confirm the manifests of these flights because there were no U.S. personnel or assets in Afghanistan anymore, but added, “We will hold the Taliban to its pledge to let people freely depart Afghanistan.”
Sep 06, 4:53 am
Taliban claims victory over Panjshir, last pocket of resistance
The Taliban claimed victory Monday over Afghan opposition forces in Panjshir province, the last pocket of resistance in Afghanistan and the only province that the Taliban had not seized last month.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid issued a statement saying Panjshir was under full control of Taliban fighters.
“We tried our best to solve the problem through negotiations, and they rejected talks and then we had to send our forces to fight,” Mujahid later told a press conference in Kabul on Monday.
The Taliban posted photos and videos on social media apparently showing fighters standing at the gate of the Panjshir provincial governor’s office and raising the group’s flag in the provincial capital.
A spokesperson for the resistance group, the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRF), took to Twitter to deny that Panjshir had fallen.
“Taliban’s claim of occupying Panjshir is false,” the spokesperson tweeted. “The NRF forces are present in all strategic positions across the valley to continue the fight. We assure the ppl of Afghanistan that the struggle against the Taliban & their partners will continue until justice & freedom prevails.”
Sep 05, 6:31 pm
Some US citizens unable to fly out of Afghanistan due to Taliban interference
The Taliban is blocking efforts to get U.S. citizens out of Afghanistan on flights, according to a non-governmental organization arranging travel for some passengers.
Marina LeGree, the CEO of Ascend, told ABC News that the Taliban has prevented 600 people from leaving Mazar-e-Sharif by charter plane for six days.
The NGO is helping 100 of those passengers, none of whom are American, to try to fly out. LeGree said she is aware of 19 U.S. citizens who are trying to leave but Ascend is not overseeing their departure.
“Ascend, an organization dedicated to empowering young women through athletics, has members trying to leave Afghanistan,” LeGree told ABC News in a statement Sunday. “We call on the Taliban to honor their commitments and allow these charters to depart immediately.”
The affected passengers are either staying at the airport or at nearby hotels, according to LeGree.
The U.S. Department of State did not confirm whether there are Americans on those flights, but said it “will hold the Taliban to its pledge to let people freely depart Afghanistan.”
(NEW YORK) — More than a year after Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam ordered the removal of a giant statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee in the state’s capital, the monument will be coming down this week, state officials announced Monday.
The statue, erected in Richmond in 1890, will be removed from Monument Avenue this Wednesday, nearly a week after the Supreme Court of Virginia cleared the way for the state-owned monument to come down following several legal battles.
“Virginia’s largest monument to the Confederate insurrection will come down this week,” Northam said in a statement. “This is an important step in showing who we are and what we value as a Commonwealth.”
Northam ordered the removal of the statue in June 2020, amid nationwide protests against symbols of racism and oppression that erupted following the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis while in police custody.
Last week, the Supreme Court of Virginia denied or dissolved injunctive relief sought in two lawsuits challenging the statue’s removal — one filed by a descendant of the former owners of the land where the monument stands, the other by several owners and a trustee of property in the area’s historic district — allowing the state to move forward with its plans.
The removal of the 12-ton, six-story statue is “extremely complex,” the state’s Department of General Services said, and will require “coordination with multiple entities to ensure the safety of everyone involved.”
The removal process will begin Tuesday evening, when crews will install protective fencing on the streets near the monument. All cars and pedestrians will be cleared from the area at that time.
The state will host a public viewing of the statue’s removal beginning at 8 a.m. Wednesday. On Thursday, crews will remove plaques from the base of the monument. The 40-foot granite pedestal will remain for now, with its future still to be determined, the state said.
The statue itself will be held “in secure storage at a state-owned facility until a decision is made as to its disposition,” the state said.
This is the sixth and final Confederate statue to be removed from Monument Avenue.
“We are taking an important step this week to embrace the righteous cause and put the ‘Lost Cause’ behind us,” Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney said in a statement. “Richmond is no longer the capital of the Confederacy. We are a diverse, open and welcoming city, and our symbols need to reflect this reality.”
Last year, the busts of Lee and eight other Confederate leaders were removed from the Old House Chamber in the Virginia State Capitol building in Richmond. The Fairfax County School Board has also changed the name of the Robert E. Lee High School in Springfield to the John R. Lewis High School, in honor of the late Georgia congressman and civil rights leader.
A great-great-great-nephew of Lee has previously said that taking down Confederate symbols in public spaces is a “no brainer.”
“I see them as idolatries,” Rev. Robert Lee IV told ABC News last year. “They have been created into idols of white supremacy and racism.”
Over 160 Confederate symbols were renamed or removed from public spaces in 2020, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
(MOSCOW) — One of Belarus’ top opposition figures, who helped lead massive protests against authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko last year, has been sentenced to 11 years in jail by a court in Minsk.
Maria Kolesnikova was one of three women who found themselves at the head of the huge peaceful protests that last summer threatened to end Lukashenko’s 26-year rule but that have since been quashed with relentless repression.
Most leading opposition figures, including Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who has become the movement’s primary leader, were forced into exile shortly after the protests began last August, triggered by Lukashenko claiming victory in a presidential election widely condemned internationally as rigged.
But Kolesnikova refused to go into exile even as Lukashenko reasserted his grip. Last September, security forces abducted her off the streets in the capital Minsk and then drove her to the border with Ukraine, where they tried to forcibly deport her. But Kolesnikova resisted the attempt, tearing up her passport to make her deportation impossible and refusing to go, despite knowing she faced certain imprisonment in Belarus.
A Minsk court on Monday sentenced her to 11 years in prison, along with another prominent activist, Maxim Znak, after convicting them on charges of extremism and illegally trying to seize power.
He and Kolesnikova were members of the opposition’s Coordination Council that was founded during the protests to demand a peaceful handover of power from Lukashenko.
Their trial was held behind closed doors with no evidence produced publicly and both had pleaded not guilty, denouncing the charges as political.
The sentences follow months of intense crackdown in Belarus as Lukashenko’s regime has sought to smash any organized dissent after riding out the protests. Most independent media and human rights groups have been shut down and hundreds arrested with dozens already sentenced. Virtually all leading opposition figures are now jailed or in exile.
Western countries swiftly condemned Monday’s verdict, with the United States and European Union demanding their immediate release.
Secretary of State Anthony Blinken slammed the sentences as “shameful” and based on “bogus” charges.
“We reiterate our call for an end to the campaign of repression against the people of Belarus for exercising their human rights inside and outside Belarus and for the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners — including Ms. Kalesnikava and Mr. Znak,” Blinken said in a statement.
Kolesnikova and a heart shape she forms with her hands became symbols of the protest movement. She and Tikhanovskaya were also seen as emblematic of the pivotal role women played in the protests that saw hundreds of thousands of people take to the streets. During the demonstrations, women holding flowers and dressed in red and white — the colors of the protests — often formed peaceful human chains, early on forcing riot police to back down.
Video from court on Monday showed Kolesnikova smiling and making the trademark heart shape with her hands in handcuffs while standing in a glass cage.
Key opposition figure in Belarus disappears
Kolesnikova had been a professional flute player before getting involved in politics for the first time last year when she became the spokesperson for Viktor Babriko, an energy executive who tried to run against Lukashenko in the election.
After Babriko was jailed before the vote on fraud charges widely criticized as political, she linked up with Tikhanovskaya, who herself had stepped in to replace her own husband as a candidate who was also imprisoned.
“Maria & Maksim are the heroes for Belarusians,” Tikhanovskaya wrote on Twitter following the verdicts.
“The regime wants us to see them crushed & exhausted,” she wrote, noting the video showing Kolesnikova and Znak smiling instead. “But look – they are smiling & dancing. They know – we will release them much earlier than these 11 years. Their terms shouldn’t frighten us — Maksim and Maria wouldn’t want this.”
(NEW ORLEANS) — A flash flood watch has been issued for New Orleans until late Monday night as Louisiana continues its path toward recovery following Hurricane Ida’s disastrous touchdown.
Some regions of southern Louisiana could see two to four inches of heavy rain, threatening neighborhoods still picking up the pieces from one of the strongest hurricanes on record to hit the state.
Ida killed at least 11 people in Louisiana and initially left almost a million without power as it dumped more than 13 inches of rain in some communities. According to local utility company Entergy, Ida damaged or destroyed more than 14,000 poles, 2,223 transformers and 155 transmission structures.
Now, half a million customers remain without electricity more than a week later, according to PowerOutage.us.
The region is also experiencing hot and humid conditions, with temperatures reaching 90. The humidity will make it feel more like 95 to 100 degrees, forcing a heat advisory for the city as residents lack the power to run their air conditioners.
Several regions are also without water and some have been placed under boil-water advisories, while other homes are suffering from structural damages. Power lines and trees across southern Louisiana were uprooted by the hurricane’s 172 mph winds.
NOLAReady: Flash flood watch in effect in NOLA until 9pm today. Storm-related debris could block drains. Stay weather aware. Neutral ground parking allowed.
Though the flash flood could hinder recovery efforts, the storm brewing in the southern Gulf is not predicted to become a tropical cyclone as it winds through the Gulf of Mexico. Still, officials are telling residents to stay alert.
The National Weather Service warns residents to move to higher ground, be cautious at night when it is harder to recognize flood dangers, and never drive their car into floodwaters.
Heavy rainfall of 1 to 2 inches per hour in isolated spots will be a concern this afternoon into this evening. Soils are saturated, so any rain will quickly run off. Debris could also block drains, and this could result in street flooding issues. #lawx#mswxhttps://t.co/1iyLMLOJTt
President Joe Biden visited Ida-damaged regions on Friday, linking Ida’s destruction to climate change and urging rebuilding efforts to take into account the growing impact of environmental disasters.
“Things are changing so drastically in terms of the environment,” the president said. “We’ve already crossed certain thresholds. We can’t build back a road, a highway, a bridge or anything to what it was before. I mean, you got to build back to what it is now, what’s needed now.”
(CHICAGO) — At least eight children were shot in Chicago over Labor Day weekend, including a 4-year-old boy who was killed when bullets fired outside his home flew through a window and hit him in the head while he was getting a haircut, police said on Monday.
A frustrated Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown said at a news conference that the children being shot in Chicago are getting caught in the crossfire of criminals and their intended targets, both of whom appear not to care if children are in the way.
“I’m not trying to vilify the victim, but these innocent young children should not be the byproduct of your criminal behavior,” Brown said. “This is directly to the offenders who are being targeted: You know the life you lead, you know that you’re being targeted, or that you’ve done something to cause this retribution from some rival gang or some rival person. Why are you continuing to be around young people, our children?”
Seldom is it the case that children are directly targeted, Brown said, adding that “it’s always some other offender, gang member, criminal network, beef” in which adults are targeted and young people nearby “are shot as innocent bystanders.”
Mychal Moultry was the youngest child shot over the holiday weekend and police were still searching for his killer on Monday. A $9,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the identification, arrest and prosecution of the person responsible for the child’s death.
Chicago police said the 4-year-old was in his home in the Woodlawn neighborhood on the city’s South Side when shooting erupted outside the residence around 9 p.m. on Friday.
“This victim was inside his residence in the front area getting his hair cut when two bullets came through the front window and struck our victim in the head,” said Deputy Chief of Detectives Rahman Muhammad.
The child was taken to Comer Children’s Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Muhammad pleaded for the public’s help in solving the homicide.
Shootings over the weekend in Chicago added to a grim toll of at least 280 minors who have been shot this year in the city, including now 35 who have died, according to data analyzed by ABC station WLS in Chicago.
At least seven other victims, ranging in age from 12 to 18, were shot in Chicago over the weekend.
Another 49 adults were shot in the city, four fatally, between 8 p.m. on Friday and 8 a.m. on Monday, including a Chicago Transit Authority bus driver who was shot and wounded on the job during an attack, according to a review by ABC News of police incident reports.
A 13-year-old boy was shot while inside his home on Saturday, Muhammad said. The shooting happened just before 8 p.m. on the South Side and police said no suspects have yet been identified.
The child was shot in the head and remains in serious condition at Comer Children’s Hospital, police said.
“He was inside of the basement area of his home with friends and someone shot into that basement window,” Muhammad said.
In another shooting on Saturday, a 14-year-old boy and his 11-year-old sister were both wounded at a community back-to-school event where they were doing volunteer work at the behest of their parents, according to police. The shooting unfolded abound 3:23 p.m. when two suspects opened fire from a car driving by the event, which was being held at a gas station in the Garfield Park neighborhood on the city’s West Side and included a bouncy house and go-karts for children.
“There were multiple shots that were fired into that crowd causing the injuries of our victims,” Muhammad said.
Police said the girl suffered a graze wound to her hip and her brother was shot in the ankle. They were taken to Rush University Medical Center, where they were treated and released. A 25-year-old man was also shot four times, including twice in the chest, in the same incident and was taken to Mt. Sinai Hospital, where he was treated for non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
It remained unclear on Monday if the wounded man was the intended target.
Lamar Peterson, the father of the two children shot, told WLS he took his son and daughter to the event to “give back to the community” by volunteering to help children who are less fortunate than them.
“I don’t know what’s in these people’s heart that would make them want to shoot at a bouncy house and go-karts and cotton candy,” Peterson said.
In yet another shooting, a 14-year-old boy walking with his father to a car was hit by gunfire in the elbow around 10:30 a.m. on the city’s West Side, according to police. No suspects have been identified in the shooting.
Another 14-year-old boy was shot on Sunday in the Little Village neighborhood in the southeast part of the city. The boy was standing outside about 3 a.m. when shots rang out from a white car and he was hit in the thigh and buttocks, police said. The boy was treated at Mt. Sinai Hospital, and police are still working to identify suspects in the shooting.
And two teenagers, a 17-year-old and an 18-year-old, were both shot around 2 a.m. on Sunday while they were in a car in the Hyde Park neighborhood on the South Side traveling home from a party, police said. The 17-year-old was shot in the back while the other victim was hit in the leg, police said.
They were taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center and were both in stable condition, police said. No arrests have been made.
Chief of Patrol Brian McDermott of the Chicago Police Department said the weekend shootings came despite officers being deployed to neighborhoods where there has recently been an uptick in shootings.
Citywide a total of 2,344 people have been shot in the first eight months of this year in Chicago, a 9% increase from the same period in 2020, according to police department crime statistics. Police have investigated 524 murders this year, an increase of 3% over last year.
Brown asked residents of Chicago to work with police if they have information about any of the shootings.
“People in the community know who the offenders are and the circumstances behind who’s targeted, and we need people in the community to come forward,” Brown said. “This is beyond trusting the police. This is about the safety of our babies.”
