(EAST PALESTINE, Ohio) — A medical clinic is opening Tuesday in East Palestine, Ohio, more than two weeks after a train carrying hazardous materials and toxic chemicals derailed near the town.
The clinic, which will be held at the First of Christ Church in East Palestine, is being jointly run by the Ohio Department of Health and the Columbiana County Health Department and will be supported by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
“Last week, I was in East Palestine and listened as many area residents expressed their concerns and fears,” ODH Director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff said in a statement. “I heard you, the state heard you, and now the Ohio Department of Health and many of our partner agencies are providing this clinic, where people can come and discuss these vital issues with medical providers.”
The train was operated by Norfolk Southern Railway. Hundreds of people were forced to flee the area and the incident has sparked intense concern over residents’ immediate health and safety as well as any long-term consequences from the release of dangerous materials near their homes.
Initially there were concerns about high levels of vinyl chloride, a colorless gas that burns easily and is associated with an increased risk of several cancers including brain, liver and lung cancers as well as lymphoma and leukemia, according to the National Cancer Institute.
Data showed last week that more toxic chemicals were aboard the derailed train — and subsequently released into the air and soil — than originally reported.
Among these materials is ethyl acrylate, a colorless liquid and probable carcinogen which can cause drowsiness, lethargy, headaches and nausea, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Also found was isobutylene, a highly flammable gas known as a simple asphyxiant, or a gas which can become so concentrated that it can displace oxygen and lead to rapid suffocation, according to the American Chemical Society.
As of Sunday, the EPA said there have been no air quality or water quality concerns identified through sampling. Heavily contaminated soil, however, continues to be removed and odors still linger in the community.
Additionally, Northern Southern continues to scrap and remove rail cars from the derailment site and removed contaminated liquids from storm drains in the area, according to the EPA.
At the clinic, residents will be able to discuss concerns and receive a health assessment to see if they are suffering from exposure symptoms. If needed, clinicians will make referrals for patients. The clinic will open at noon on Tuesday and remain open every day through Saturday.
“We encourage anyone who has medical concerns or questions to take advantage of this resource,” Vanderhoff said.
Sarah Reingewirtz/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images
(LOS ANGELES) — A person of interest has been detained for questioning in the fatal shooting in Los Angeles of a long-serving Catholic bishop known as a “peacemaker,” officials said Monday.
Auxiliary Bishop David O’Connell, who had been a priest and then a bishop during his 45 years with the church, was found dead in a home Sunday in the unincorporated neighborhood of Hacienda Heights after sheriff’s deputies responded to an emergency medical call, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office.
A news conference is expected to be held later Monday on the investigation.
The killing of the beloved bishop has sent shock waves through the Los Angeles Catholic community, prompting some parishioner to go to the scene of the O’Connell’s death to pray.
José H. Gomez, the archbishop of Los Angeles, said O’Connell was known as a “man of deep prayer.”
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s investigators said they received a medical emergency call at 12:57 p.m. Sunday and deputies responded to a home in the unincorporated neighborhood of Hacienda Heights. There, they found the 69-year-old O’Connell unresponsive and bleeding from a gunshot wound to the upper torso. He was pronounced dead at the scene, officials said.
It’s unclear how long O’Connell had been dead before sheriff’s deputies arrived at the home.
Detectives were piecing together the circumstances of the homicide on Sunday and working to determine the identity of the O’Connell’s killer.
“He was a peacemaker with a heart for the poor and the immigrant, and he had a passion for building a community where the sanctity and dignity of every human life was honored and protected,” Gomez said.
Upon hearing of O’Connell’s death, parishioners went to the crime scene and said prayers in front of the home.
“It broke me and I was scared to tell my wife because my wife loved him so much,” parishioner Johnny Flores told ABC Los Angeles station KABC.
Another parishioner, Glendy Perez, described O’Connell as “a humble soul.”
“He was not the type that would have confrontations with nobody,” Perez told KABC. “He was very loving, and he had like a gift of healing. When you would attend his ceremonies, it was like a gift of healing.”
O’Connell, who was born in Ireland, was named an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles by Pope Francis in 2015.
O’Connell studied for the priesthood at All Hallows College in Dublin and was ordained in 1979 to serve in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. After ordination, he served as associate pastor and pastor at several parishes in Los Angeles.
(WASHINGTON) — Following President Joe Biden’s surprise visit to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv on Monday, senior members of his administration detailed the security discussions that led up to the decision to go on the trip and the content of the meetings Biden had with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy over the course of his roughly five hours in the city.
And while the officials remained tight-lipped about the precise security details required to manage the trip, including Biden’s mode of transportation in and out of the war-torn country, they did say that the U.S. informed Russia of the visit shortly before Biden left for Ukraine.
“We did notify the Russians that President Biden would be traveling to Kyiv. We did so some hours before his departure for deconfliction purposes,” Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser to the president, told reporters on Monday morning in a press briefing.
“Because of the sensitive nature of those communications, I won’t get into how they responded or what the precise nature of our message was. But I can confirm that we provided that notification,” Sullivan said.
The planning for the trip was incredibly delicate, said John Finer, the U.S. deputy national security adviser, and began months prior.
“Only a handful of people” from offices across Washington were involved, including the White House chief of staff’s office, the National Security Council, the White House Military Office, the Pentagon, the Secret Service and the intelligence community, Finer said.
“The president was fully briefed on each stage of the plan and any potential contingencies and then made the final go- or no-go decision after a huddle in the Oval Office and by phone with some key members of his national security cabinet on Friday,” Finer said.
Among the challenges around such a visit was the limited U.S. military and embassy presence in Ukraine, compared to other war zones that presidents have visited, administration officials said.
“Unlike previous visits … like Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. obviously does not have a military presence on the ground in Ukraine which made a visit from a sitting president all the more challenging. But this was a risk that Joe Biden wanted to take,” White House communications director Kate Bedingfield said.
The administration officials emphasized that the risk was strategic — intended to show Russian President Vladimir Putin that the U.S. stands strong with Ukraine and is confident enough in Ukraine’s military prowess to visit the capital city in a time of war, one year after Russia first invaded.
“What he [Biden] wanted to do in Kyiv was to send a clear, unmistakable message of enduring American support for Ukraine,” Sullivan said.
“And also to be able to stand there next to President Zelenskyy in a free Kyiv to not just tell, but to show the world through a powerful demonstration that Ukraine is successfully resisting Russian aggression and Russia is suffering strategic failure in Ukraine,” Sullivan said.
Asked whether there were security concerns from the Pentagon or other officials, Sullivan declined to share the planning conversations but said that Biden made the decision based on presentations from his security team.
“The president proceeded with the confidence that his security team was able to bring risks to a manageable level,” Sullivan said. “That was what ultimately led him to make the call to go.”
“I am not going to get into specifics of who said what to him in the Oval, particularly on things as sensitive as his security. I will just say that he got a full presentation of a very good and very effective operational security plan. He heard that presentation. He was satisfied that the risk was manageable,” Sullivan said.
While in Kyiv, Biden met with Zelenskyy and Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska at Mariinsky Palace, visited St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Cathedral in central Kyiv and laid a wreath at the Wall of Remembrance for those slain in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, just as air raid sirens sounded.
Biden also announced another $500 million in aid, which he’s expected to further detail in a speech on Tuesday night from Poland.
During the visit, which lasted from around 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. local time, Zelenskyy and Biden had an extended conversation about “all aspects of the ongoing war,” according to Sullivan, including the battlefield, humanitarian aid, energy infrastructure and economic support.
Biden was also briefed by members of Zelenskyy’s team to understand what would be needed to sustain Ukraine’s efforts “and then some.”
Regarding whether F-16 fighter jets were discussed — which Zelenskyy has long sought — Sullivan would not get into the specifics of the discussion, though Biden and Zelenskyy noted in their public remarks from Kyiv that the U.S. wasn’t sending any new ammunition that Ukraine hasn’t received before.
“What I will say is that there was a good discussion on the subject. I think the two presidents both laid out their perspectives on a number of different capabilities that have been thrown around in the press both recently and over the course of several months. And I will leave it at that,” Sullivan said.
This file handout photo released April 25, 2022, courtesy of Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office and part of the investigative files, shows actor Alec Baldwin being processed after the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins at the Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on Oct. 21, 2022. — Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office
(SANTA FE, N.M.) — The Santa Fe District Attorney’s Office announced it is dropping the gun enhancement charge — a crime that would have carried a five-year sentence if convicted — against Alec Baldwin in the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of “Rust” in October 2021.
Baldwin still faces a charge of involuntary manslaughter for the shooting, however, that crime would carry a lesser sentence of 18 months if convicted. The amended complaint was filed late Friday.
The charge was also dropped against armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who faces the same involuntary manslaughter charge as Baldwin.
“In order to avoid further litigious distractions by Mr. Baldwin and his attorneys, the District Attorney and the special prosecutor have removed the firearm enhancement to the involuntary manslaughter charges in the death of Halyna Hutchins on the ‘Rust’ film set,” Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies said in a statement. “The prosecution’s priority is securing justice, not securing billable hours for big-city attorneys.”
The decision to drop the charge was a win for Baldwin, who makes his first court appearance on Friday.
Baldwin’s legal team filled a motion Feb. 10 arguing that the five-year gun enhancement didn’t apply at the time of the shooting writing, “The prosecutors committed a basic legal error by charging Mr. Baldwin under a version of the firearm-enhancement statute that did not exist on the date of the accident.” The accident occurred in October of 2021, but the current version of the law did not take effect until May 2022.
A week prior, his legal team filed a motion to disqualify Andrea Reeb, the special prosecutor appointed by Carmack-Altwies, arguing she is also an elected member of the New Mexico House of Representative and therefore has a conflict of interest.
After the motion to dismiss the gun enhancement charge, the district attorney released a statement that also criticized his “fancy attorneys.”
“Another day, another motion from Alec Baldwin and his attorneys in an attempt to distract from the gross negligence and complete disregard for safety on the ‘Rust’ film set that led to Halyna Hutchins’ death,” Heather Brewer, spokesperson for the New Mexico First Judicial District Attorney, said. “In accordance with good legal practice, the District Attorney and the special prosecutor will review all motions — even those given to the media before being served to the DA. However, the DA’s and the special prosecutor’s focus will always remain on ensuring that justice is served and that everyone — even celebrities with fancy attorneys — is held accountable under the law.”
ABC News’ Vera Drymon, Matt Fuhrman and Aaron Katersky contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — Researchers are announcing that a 53-year-old man in Germany has been cured of HIV.
Referred to as “the Dusseldorf patient” to protect his privacy, researchers said he is the fifth confirmed case of an HIV cure. Although the details of his successful treatment were first announced at a conference in 2019, researchers could not confirm he had been officially cured at that time.
Today, researchers announced the Dusseldorf patient still has no detectable virus in his body, even after stopping his HIV medication four years ago.
“It’s really cure, and not just, you know, long term remission,” said Dr. Bjorn-Erik Ole Jensen, who presented details of the case in a new publication in “Nature Medicine.”
“This obviously positive symbol makes hope, but there’s a lot of work to do,” Jensen said
For most people, HIV is a lifelong infection, and the virus is never fully eradicated. Thanks to modern medication, people with HIV can live long and healthy lives.
The Dusseldorf patient joins a small group of people who have been cured under extreme circumstances after a stem cell transplant, typically only performed in cancer patients who don’t have any other options. A stem cell transplant is a high-risk procedure that effectively replaces a person’s immune system. The primary goal is to cure someone’s cancer, but the procedure has also led to an HIV cure in a handful of cases.
HIV, or human immunodeficiency virus, enters and destroys the cells of the immune system. Without treatment, the continued damage can lead to AIDS, or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, where a person cannot fight even a small infection.
With about 38.4 million people globally living with HIV, treatments have come a long way. Modern medication can keep the virus at bay, and studies looking into preventing HIV infection with a vaccine are also underway.
The first person with HIV cure was Timothy Ray Brown. Researchers published his case as the Berlin patient in 2009. That was followed by the London patient published in 2019. Most recently, The City of Hope and New York patients were published in 2022.
“I think we can get a lot of insights from this patient and from these similar cases of HIV cure,” Jensen said. “These insights give us some hints where we could go to make the strategy safer.”
All four of these patients had undergone stem cell transplants for their blood cancer treatment. Their donors also had the same HIV-resistant mutation that deletes a protein called CCR5, which HIV normally uses to enter the cell. Only 1% of the total population carries this genetic mutation that makes them resistant to HIV.
“When you hear about these HIV cure, it’s obviously, you know, incredible, given how challenging it’s been. But, it still remains the exception to the rule,” said Dr. Todd Ellerin, director of infectious disease at South Shore Health.
The stem cell transplantation is a complicated procedure that comes with many risks, and it is too risky to offer it as a cure for everyone with HIV.
However, scientists are hopeful. Each time they cure a new patient, they gain valuable research insights that help them understand what it would take to find a cure for everyone.
“It is obviously a step forward in advancing the science and having us sort of understanding, in some ways, what it takes to cure HIV,” Ellerin said.
Kaviya Sathyakumar, M.D., M.B.A., is a family medicine resident physician at Ocala Regional Medical Center in Florida and member of ABC News Medical Unit.
Pat Benatar married her guitarist and songwriting partner, Neil Giraldo, which went on to become a rock ‘n’ roll marriage that has lasted over 40 years.
The couple met in 1978 shortly after Benatar signed her first record deal, and they went on to create hit songs together like “Heartbreaker” and the top five hits “Hit Me With Your Best Shot,” “Love Is A Battlefield” and “We Belong.”
The couple are parents to two daughters, Haley and Hana Giraldo, and were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022.
They continue to perform together and will kick off a new North American tour in April. They are also set to open select dates on Pink‘s Summer Carnival tour.
(NEW YORK) — New York City Mayor Eric Adams greeted Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis with a sarcastic tweet Monday morning ahead of the GOP star’s visit to the borough of Staten Island.
Adams, a Democrat, has feuded with the Florida governor repeatedly over DeSantis sending migrants to the Northeast and the state’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law. Adams singled out several GOP talking points in his tweet as he “welcomed” the governor — a possible presidential candidate in 2024.
“Welcome to NYC, @GovRonDeSantis, a place where we don’t ban books, discriminate against our LGBTQ+ neighbors, use asylum seekers as props, or let the government stand between a woman and health care,” Adams wrote.
“We’re happy to teach you something about values while you’re here,” he added.
Welcome to NYC, @GovRonDeSantis, a place where we don’t ban books, discriminate against our LGBTQ+ neighbors, use asylum seekers as props, or let the government stand between a woman and health care.
DeSantis was set to meet with local law enforcement in Staten Island on Monday morning. He will be joined by Lee Zeldin, the former New York congressman who lost a heated battle for governor to Democrat Kathy Hochul.
Last April, Adams and DeSantis got into a war of words over the Parents Rights in Education bill, known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill for its ban on teaching young students about LGBT+ issues. Adams said he planned to put up billboards in Florida to encourage people to move to the city if they were offended by the then-bill, which DeSantis has since signed into law.
DeSantis said Adams was wasting taxpayer dollars, though Adams clarified the billboards would be donated by private individuals.
“I like rivalries with other states,” Adams said last April. “Florida can bring it on. … New York is the place to be, specifically with the ‘Don’t Say Gay.'”
Adams also made pointed criticism of DeSantis last September when he labeled the busing of migrants to the Northeast as “a political stunt.”
“I thought what really personified that political stunt is the governor of Florida,” Adams said at an unrelated press conference when asked about the issue. “He had nothing to do with it. I mean, what was his purpose of sending a planeload to Martha’s Vineyard. He just felt as though he wanted to get into this horrendous action.”
Staten Island is the one borough in New York City that regularly leans right on the political spectrum. The island, off the coast of New Jersey, is represented by Nicole Malliotakis, a strong supporter of former President Donald Trump.
Malliotakis also ran for mayor in the race that immediately preceded Adams’ election to head up the biggest city in the country. She lost handily to incumbent Bill de Blasio.
While he has yet to announce a run, DeSantis is generally assumed to be Trump’s top rival for the GOP nomination in 2024.
(NEW YORK) — A massive winter storm is on its way to wreak havoc on a large swath of the country while the South prepares for a record February heat wave.
Eighteen states from California to Michigan are on alert for heavy snow, strong winds and blizzard conditions.
As the storm moves across the West over the next two days, some areas could see more than 5 feet of snow.
By mid-week, the storm will move into the Heartland, bringing heavy snow to the north and strong thunderstorms to the South. Damaging winds and even a tornado threat are possible on Wednesday.
By Thursday, part of that storm will reach the East Coast, dropping ice and snow in upstate New York and New England.
Heavy ice could accumulate from Chicago to Detroit to upstate New York.
Meanwhile, a record February heat wave is expected from Texas to Washington, D.C.
On Tuesday, temperatures could reach a sweltering 85 degrees in Dallas and 86 degrees in Orlando, Florida.
In New Orleans, this will be one of the warmest Mardi Gras in recorded history. The temperature on Tuesday is forecast to reach 80 degrees. The warmest Mardi Gras ever clocked in at 83.
On Thursday, temperatures are forecast to jump to 84 degrees in New Orleans, 81 in Atlanta and 86 in Raleigh, North Carolina.
D.C. could reach 80 degrees on Thursday. That’s only happened three times in the winter in recorded history.
In Orlando, it could reach 91 degrees on Thursday, which would be the city’s all-time warmest February temperature.
(NEW YORK) — U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg has called out the rail operator at the center of a hazardous train derailment in Ohio.
In a sharply worded, three-page letter sent Sunday to Norfolk Southern Railway president and CEO Alan Shaw, Buttigieg accused the Atlanta-based company of repeatedly prioritizing profit over safety — a problematic ethos within the larger transportation industry that the secretary said has contributed to a number of derailments over the years.
“The derailment of a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous materials near East Palestine, Ohio, has upended the lives of numerous residents, many of whom continue to worry about their immediate health and safety as well as the long-term effects of the dangerous materials released near their homes,” Buttigieg said. “They fear for their future, as do thousands of American communities and neighborhoods that sit along railway lines.”
“The future must not resemble the past when it comes to your company’s and your industry’s follow-through on support for stringent safety policies,” he added. “Major derailments in the past have been followed by calls for reform — and by vigorous resistance by your industry to increased safety measures. This must change.”
Buttigieg listed several previous examples of hazardous train derailments involving Norfolk Southern and other rail operators.
“Similar patterns appear across your entire industry,” he said. “In this context, Norfolk Southern and your industry must demonstrate that you will not seek to supercharge profits by resisting higher standards that could benefit the safety of workers and the safety of American communities, like East Palestine.”
The secretary said he will be laying out new steps for companies to improve safety and plans to urge Congress to raise the cap on fines for those that violate regulations. He also rebuked Norfolk Southern and the industry writ large for their opposition to more stringent safety rules.
“Rather than support these efforts to improve rail safety, Norfolk Southern and other rail companies spent millions of dollars in the courts and lobbying members of Congress to oppose common-sense safety regulations, stopping some entirely and reducing the scope of others,” Buttigieg said, specifically noting the Trump administration’s repeal of a 2015 rule that mandated the use of electronically controlled pneumatic (ECP) brakes on train cars.
“While we do not yet know what the NTSB investigation will conclude regarding what caused the derailment in East Palestine,” he added, “we do know that these steps that Norfolk Southern and its peers lobbied against were intended to improve rail safety and to help keep Americans safe.”
Buttigieg’s scathing missive to Norfolk Southern came as he weathers harsh criticism, especially from Republicans, for the federal government’s response to the Feb. 3 derailment in East Palestine. Former President Donald Trump is expected to visit the northeastern Ohio village later this week.
“The people of East Palestine cannot be forgotten, nor can their pain be simply considered the cost of doing business,” Buttigieg said in the letter. “Norfolk Southern must live up to its commitment to make residents whole – and must also live up to its obligation to do whatever it takes to stop putting communities such as East Palestine at risk.”
“The arithmetic suggests Norfolk Southern can remain extremely profitable while also complying with a higher standard of safety regulation and offering better consideration to its workers,” he added.
A spokesperson for Norfolk Southern confirmed to ABC News that they “have received a copy of the letter from the Secretary and are reviewing,” but did not offer further comment.
Shaw, the president and CEO of Norfolk Southern, visited East Palestine on Saturday for a second time since the derailment occurred, amid the criticism from residents and political leaders about the company’s response. In a statement released after his visit, Shaw said he spoke with affected residents and held a “series of meetings” with East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway as well as “several community leaders,” U.S. Rep Bill Johnson, R-Ohio, and East Palestine Fire Chief Drabick “along with several of his first responders.”
“They are frustrated by the amount of misinformation circulating about their community and are eager to show that the air and water are safe,” Shaw said in the statement.
Shaw added that he is “deeply sorry” for what the community is experiencing and promises to “do the right things” to help them recover. He said his company is “working closely with Ohio environmental and health agencies on the long-term plan to protect the environment and the community.”
Norfolk Southern last week announced a commitment of $1 million to a community support fund as a “down payment” on its contribution in rebuilding East Palestine. The company said it has already helped 1,000 families as well as a number of businesses there since the derailment and has distributed $1.2 million to families to cover costs related to the evacuation. The company also noted its cleanup of the derailment site and work to facilitate testing on the water, air and soil in the area.
On the night of Feb. 3, about 50 cars of a freight train operated by Norfolk Southern derailed in a fiery crash on the outskirts of East Palestine, which is nestled near the state line with Pennsylvania. Eleven of the derailed cars were transporting hazardous materials, five of which contained vinyl chloride, a highly volatile colorless gas produced for commercial uses. There were no injuries reported from the accident, officials said.
Efforts to contain a fire at the derailment site stalled the following night, as firefighters withdrew from the blaze due to concerns about air quality and explosions. About half of East Palestine’s roughly 4,700 residents were warned to leave before officials decided on Feb. 6 to conduct a controlled release and burn of the toxic vinyl chloride from the five tanker cars, which were in danger of exploding. A large ball of fire and a plume of black smoke filled with contaminants could be seen billowing high into the sky from the smoldering derailment site as the controlled burn took place that afternoon, prompting concerns from residents about the potential effects.
A mandatory evacuation order for homes and businesses within a 1-mile radius of the derailment site was lifted on Feb. 8, after air and water samples taken the day before were deemed safe, officials said.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency deployed a team to East Palestine on Saturday to help support the ongoing operations there.
The Ohio Department of Health — in partnership with the Columbiana County General Health District and with support from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services — will open a health assessment clinic on Tuesday afternoon for any residents in the East Palestine area who have medical questions or concerns related to the derailment.
Last week, the National Transportation Safety Board shared an update on its ongoing probe into the Feb. 3 incident, saying “investigators have identified and examined the rail car that initiated the derailment.”
“Surveillance video from a residence showed what appears to be a wheel bearing in the final stage of overheat failure moments before the derailment,” the NTSB said in an investigative update on Feb. 14. “The wheelset from the suspected railcar has been collected as evidence for metallurgical examination. The suspected overheated wheel bearing has been collected and will be examined by engineers from the NTSB Materials Laboratory in Washington, D.C.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — in partnership with an independent contractor — continues to monitor the air in and around East Palestine. As of last Friday, the EPA has sampled air in 500 homes and throughout the community. So far, no contaminants have been detected outside or inside those homes. The large chemical plume seen over the Ohio River has also completely dissipated, according to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.
DeWine announced last week that the latest tests conducted by the state’s EPA show five wells feeding into East Palestine’s municipal water system are free from contaminants and that the agency is confident the water is safe to drink. However, residents with private wells continue to be encouraged to drink from bottled water until their well water has been tested and cleared for consumption.
A part of Sulphur Run, a creek that flows through downtown East Palestine and is near the derailment site, “remains severely contaminated,” DeWine said last Friday. Crews are working to pump in clean water to the section, which was dammed following the crash to contain any contamination, according to DeWine.
Last week, Ohio Department of Natural Resources director Mary Mertz told reporters that some 3,500 fish had died due to contaminants detected in four tributaries over a space of 7.5 miles along the Ohio River. But those waterways are contained and not affecting water supplies, according to Mertz. Tiffani Kavalec, chief of the Ohio EPA’s surface water division, told reporters that no vinyl chloride or pre-product has been detected in the water and that the contamination mostly consists of fire contaminant combustion materials.
(NEW YORK) — Alika Jones was one of hundreds of Southeastern Louisiana University students who signed up for the Be The Match bone marrow registry during a homecoming drive in 2013.
Four years later, Jones got a call. She was someone’s match.
“There was a 14-year-old boy who was recently diagnosed with leukemia, and he needed a donor,” Jones told ABC News’ Good Morning America. “I just wanted to help someone, if I could, not have to worry about their child.”
Jones’ healthy cells soon became a lifeline for Josiah Knight, who underwent a successful bone marrow transplant in 2017.
Keesha Wilson, Knight’s mother, said she is beyond grateful for Jones’ life-saving donation and that her son, who lives with Down syndrome, is living his life to the fullest.
“It was a perfect match. His body was healed,” Wilson told GMA. “And he may not have to say his own words, but if you see his smile, you know, he’s very thankful and grateful.”
Jones said that choosing to donate to Be The Match was “one of the greatest” decisions of her life.
“Next to being a mother, I feel like it’s one of the greatest things that I’ve ever done in my life, to be able to help someone,” said Jones.
The Be The Match drive at Southeastern Louisiana University that led to Josiah’s transplant was done in honor of a familiar alum: GMA co-anchor Robin Roberts, who underwent a successful bone marrow transplant herself in 2012, after being diagnosed with bone marrow myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), a rare blood disorder that affects bone marrow.
While Roberts’ sister Sally-Ann was luckily her perfect match, about 70% of patients on bone marrow registry lists do not have a family match and rely on anonymous donors for a cure, according to the Be The Match registry, a nonprofit organization operated by the National Marrow Donor Program, which manages the world’s largest bone marrow donor registry.
Even then, a patient’s chance of having a matched, available donor on the Be The Match registry ranges from 29% to 79%, depending on the patient’s ethnic background.
When Roberts returned to her GMA family on Feb. 20, 2013, she was empowered to make her message. Over the past decade, Roberts and GMA have continued to report extensively about blood stem cell transplants, which can cure or treat more than 75 different diseases, such as leukemias and lymphomas, and spread awareness of the importance of the Be The Match registry.
Now more than ever the need is urgent.
Be The Match reports regional and national recruitment efforts decreased 36% during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, and that only 50% of people on the registry will go on to make a donation when they’re a match for a patient in need.
Be The Match has put a call out in particular for younger donors under the age of 40, as research has shown younger donors help improve overall outcomes for patients, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Southeastern Louisiana University continues to support the Be The Match campaign and, just this month, hosted an on-campus drive where over 230 students signed up for the bone marrow registry in just a few hours.
One decade after the first registry drive at the university, Knight is thriving and 20 years old, thanks to Jones’ donation.
Knight’s family recently traveled from California to Louisiana to meet Jones for the first time face-to-face. Wilson said she wanted to meet Jones because, “Without her, my son wouldn’t be here.”
“Thank you so much … you’re such a blessing,” Wilson told Jones when they finally met. “I really appreciate you. I really do.”
