(NEW YORK) — A taste of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is coming to the menu at McDonald’s with a new item inspired by the highly-anticipated Black Panther sequel.
Starting Thursday, a new Happy Meal with superhero toys based on characters from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will be available for a limited time nationwide.
There are 10 characters from the movie available in the exclusive new Happy Meals, including fan favorites like Shuri, Okoye and newcomers like Namor and Ironheart. Customers can get their hands on one of the new Happy Meals at participating restaurants nationwide, while supplies last.
Jennifer Healan, vice president of U.S. marketing, brand content and engagement at McDonald’s, said in a statement that the first Black Panther film “set a whole new standard for representation on the big screen. And now, we’re excited to bring that experience to our restaurants and help fans see and celebrate their inner hero with this new Happy Meal — because seeing is believing.”
“The Happy Meal has brought millions of smiles to our customers for decades, and we’re excited to collaborate with Disney and give our fans one more way to experience the kingdom of Wakanda,” the company said in a press release.
Marvel is owned by Disney, the parent company of ABC News and Good Morning America.
(DENVER) — Authorities in Colorado are investigating a “suspicious, powdery substance” found in a ballot mailed to the Adams County elections office in what officials say “appears to be an attempt to disrupt the elections process.”
Hazmat units, paramedics, firefighters and other law enforcement agencies were called to the county offices after the ballot was received Wednesday, and initial testing of the substance was negative for explosives, biological agents and narcotics, Adams County clerk Josh Zygielbaum said Thursday.
But Zygielbaum said the powder contained a “concerning, unknown chemical,” so samples have been sent for further testing.
FBI officials in Denver confirmed Thursday that they are supporting local law enforcement in the investigation.
“It really drives home what we’ve been concerned with, but we’ve got great plans in place and will ensure that the election goes off without a hitch,” Zygielbaum told ABC News. “And even if we have individuals who are going to try to disrupt the process, we will work around them to make sure it gets done.”
“The voter’s anonymity is protected and their constitutional right to vote is in place,” Zygielbaum said. “Should it be determined safe, we will move forward with processing this ballot.”
The incident comes as election officials across the country continue to see a rise in threats and harassment with the approach of Election Day.
Zygielbaum told ABC News in May that he wears a bulletproof vest to work — one of the many safety measures he says he’s been forced to take as the state has emerged as a battleground in the shadowy world of election conspiracy theories.
Appearing this week on an episode of ABC News’ Impact x Nightline, Zygielbaum was asked by ABC News’ Terry Moran what that says about the state of the country.
“It says that our democracy isn’t as healthy as it should be right now,” he replied.
(TULSA, Okla.) — Forensic scientists have uncovered 24 additional unmarked graves in an Oklahoma cemetery, three of them containing child-sized coffins, as part an effort to identify victims of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, officials said.
The unmarked burial sites were discovered in Tulsa’s Oaklawn Cemetery after excavations resumed there on Oct. 26, according to city officials who authorized the investigation.
The latest discovery was made Tuesday in the graveyard just southeast of downtown Tulsa, officials said.
“Three additional child-sized burials were discovered…in the southern block (of the cemetery),” the city said in a news release.
Twenty-one other burial sites were unearthed in the western section of the cemetery since the new excavation got underway last week, according to the city’s statement.
Four of the graves are being excavated by hand to determine if the remains should be exhumed for further analysis.
Remains from one of the graves were found in a simple coffin and exhumed on Tuesday to be analyzed in an on-site lab.
“Experts continue to be narrowly focused on which graves will be exhumed and have determined that no child-sized burial will be,” the city’s statement reads.
This is the second excavation to occur at the cemetery. An excavation last year uncovered 19 unmarked burial sites, officials said.
Historians suspect that 75 to 300 people, most of them Black, were killed in the Tulsa Race Massacre, which the Oklahoma Historical Society calls “the single worst incident of racial violence in American history.” The Oklahoma Bureau of Vital Statistics officially recorded 36 deaths.
Following World War I, Tulsa was known for its affluent African American residents and black-owned businesses in an area called the Greenwood District, which was also referred to as “Black Wall Street.”
White mobs attacked Black residents in the neighborhood and burned down more than 1,000 homes and businesses during two days of riots that broke out between May 31 and June 1, 1921, prompted by allegations that a 19-year-old Black shoe shiner assaulted a white female elevator operator.
In 2018, Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum announced the city would reexamine the unmarked graves identified in a 2001 state commissioned report. In addition to Oaklawn Cemetery, the city has designated three other potential areas to excavate, including a park in northwest Tulsa near the Arkansas River and the Rolling Oaks Memorial Gardens cemetery.
Mickey Guyton’s the latest country star to head down to Sesame Street for an episode of music and fun. The singer is guest-starring on a new episode of the classic children’s TV show.
She posted about the experience on social media, sharing a couple of snapshots of her time on set. In the photos, Mickey pals around with Big Bird, Elmo, Cookie Monster and the rest of the gang.
The experience is extra sweet because Mickey’s a mom herself; she hopes that her toddler son, Grayson, will enjoy her performance on the show.
“I had the best time on [Sesame Street]!” she wrote. “I can’t wait to watch it with Grayson.”
Mickey is the latest in a long line of country stars to make their way to 123 Sesame Street for a fun musical adventure. Maren Morris and Thomas Rhett are two of the artists who’ve guest-starred on the show in the past.
It’s been over 20 years since Peter Gabriel released an album of new, original songs, but the acclaimed singer/songwriter has hinted that his next record will likely be arriving soon.
During a recent gallery event in New York City promoting his daughter Anna‘s new photo book, Eye-D, Gabriel told ABC Audio, “It’s reaching completion. I’m just finishing things up. So, there should be … some news about it soon.”
Gabriel’s last studio album of new music, Up, was released in September 2002. The new album is tentatively titled I/O.
Meanwhile, Peter and his daughter also shared some details about a new multimedia project they’re involved with, called Reverberation. The project, as Anna explained to ABC Audio, focuses on “how music can affect your brain and sort of the power of music and how to use it in your daily life.”
In conjunction with the project, a book called Reverberation: Do Everything Better with Music, featuring a foreword by Peter, was recently published. Anna also noted that the book will be followed by a TV show, a podcast and more.
Peter also discussed some of the interesting scientific studies tied in with Reverberation about the positive effect music and sound can have on people.
As he pointed out, “Some older folk that had lost the capacity to talk, when they were played music that was significant in their teens to them, they were able to talk again … not permanently, but it just shows the power [music has] to activate certain switches in the brain.”
Visit AbramsBooks.com for more info about Reverberation: Do Everything Better with Music.
The People’s Choice Awards will bestow “The People’s Icon” award to Ryan Reynolds at this year’s ceremony, coming up on December 6 on NBC.
The actor/writer/producer/businessman will be recognized for his contributions to film and television, in addition to being nominated in the “Male Movie Star” and “Comedy Movie Star” categories for his role in his newest film The Adam Project.
“In any endeavor — whether it’s acting, producing, marketing or business — Ryan Reynolds has the unique ability to create joy and authentically connect with his audience. He’s received many accolades over the years, but it’s these innate qualities that makes him so beloved,” Cassandra Tryon, SVP, Entertainment Live Events, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming said in a statement on Thursday. “We cannot wait to present Ryan with ‘The People’s Icon’ award at this year’s show.”
Reynolds, 46, began his acting career in 1991, rising to prominence in the comedy series Two Guys, A Girl and a Pizza Place and dozens of blockbuster films, including The Proposal, Definitely, Maybe, Mississippi Grind and Deadpool.
He’s also an owner of Aviation Gin, Mint Mobile and Wrexham Football Club, Chief Creative Officer of MNTN and a co-founder of Maximum Effort Productions.
Past recipients of “The People’s Icon” award include Halle Berry, Jennifer Lopez, Jennifer Aniston and Melissa McCarthy.
Voting for the 2022 People’s Choice Awards runs through Wednesday, November 9 at 11:59 p.m. ET. Fans can view all 40 categories, as well as vote at www.votepca.com. Votes can also be cast via Twitter by sending a public tweet or retweet and including one category hashtag and one corresponding nominee hashtag.
(NEW YORK) — The sudden death of 49-year-old author Julie Powell, whose life inspired the movie Julie & Julia, is raising new questions about her health, including a recent battle with COVID-19.
Her husband, Eric Powell, reported to The New York Times on Tuesday that the author died of a cardiac arrest on Oct. 26 at their home in Olivebridge, New York.
As many fans took to social media to express condolences, questions arose around some of Powell’s final tweets, including her recent COVID-19 recovery and a “black hairy tongue.”
On Oct. 25, a day before Powell reportedly died, the food writer tweeted that she woke up with black hairy tongue, adding further, “people, including my doctor, seem to think it’s no big deal, and will go away soon, but it certainly is gross.”
While alarming by sight, black hairy tongue is a benign and temporary condition that can be caused by a variety of factors including excessive alcohol, coffee or black tea intake, dehydration, smoking, poor oral hygiene or even certain medications, according to Dr. Darien Sutton, a board-certified emergency medicine physician and ABC News medical contributor.
Earlier this fall, in September, Powell — who gained notoriety as the food writer behind the Julie/Julia blog that chronicled her journey cooking all 524 recipes in Julia Child’s Mastering The Art of French Cooking — tweeted about suffering from COVID-19, writing that her symptoms included fatigue and a cough.
According to Sutton, there is “no reason to believe” that Powell’s diagnosis of black hairy tongue is associated with her battle with COVID-19.
Sutton said we also have “no evidence” that her death was associated with her COVID diagnosis.
“I think the reason why people speculated about this is that we know that there’s an association between COVID-19 and an increased risk of certain conditions that can cause cardiac arrest,” said Sutton, noting that data shows patients with COVID-19 are more likely to face increased risks of heart attacks, abnormal heart rhythms and blood clots.
In Powell’s case, the only known fact about her death is her husband’s report that it was due to cardiac arrest, which is a broad term, according to Sutton.
“It simply means that the heart has stopped functioning,” he said of cardiac arrest. “We do not know her medical history other than what she relayed in her tweets.”
Cardiac arrest is the cause of as many as 450,000 deaths in the United States each year, according to the National Institute of Health.
Heart disease is also the number one cause of death for women in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The disease can be caused by a range of things like diabetes, smoking, an unhealthy diet, lack of physical activity and more. Sutton added it is also possible to suffer cardiac arrest due to factors not related to having heart disease, such as problems with the lungs, electrolytes or blood disorders.
“Unfortunately for cardiac arrest, there are no real symptoms,” said Sutton. “It’s often a sudden loss of consciousness.”
If you see a person lose consciousness, Sutton recommends immediately dialing 911 and starting CPR.
The American Heart Association offers resources for people who want to get education and training to provide first aid and CPR that could save a life.
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Thursday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PLAYOFFS
Houston 3, Philadelphia 2 (Houston leads 3-2)
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Orlando 130, Golden State 129
Denver 122, Oklahoma City 110
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Detroit 3, Washington 1
Vegas 5, Ottawa 4
Boston 5, NY Rangers 2
Carolina 4 Tampa Bay 3 (SO)
Seattle 4, Minnesota 0
Winnipeg 3, Montreal 2 (OT)
NY Islanders 5, St. Louis 2
Chicago 2, Los Angeles 1 (OT)
Nashville 4, Calgary 1
New Jersey 4, Edmonton 3
Vancouver 8, Anaheim 5
Dallas 7, Arizona 2
Florida 4, San Jose 3 (SO)
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Philadelphia 29, Houston 17
(NEW YORK) — Pfizer and BioNTech have launched a clinical trial on a vaccine targeting both COVID-19 and influenza, the companies announced Thursday.
The phase 1 trial is being done in the United States with 180 participants between the ages of 18 and 64, with the first participant dosed this week, the companies said. The follow-up period for each participant will be six months.
“By combining both indications in one vaccine approach, we aim to provide individuals with an efficient way to receive immunization against two severe respiratory diseases with evolving viruses that require vaccine adaptation,” Dr. Ugur Sahin, CEO and co-founder of BioNTech, said in a statement.
The combination vaccine is based on the currently available bivalent COVID-19 booster and a quadrivalent mRNA flu vaccine, which is designed to protect against four different flu viruses.
The phase 1 trial will test for safety, immune response and optimal dose level of the combination vaccine, before moving on to larger trials. The data will also provide insight into the potential of mRNA vaccines to address more than one pathogen, Sahin said.
Annaliesa Anderson, senior vice president and chief scientific officer of vaccine research and development for Pfizer, called this an “exciting step in our ongoing journey with BioNTech as we collectively look to transform the prevention of infectious diseases around the world.”
“Even with existing seasonal influenza vaccines, the burden of this virus is severe across the world causing thousands of deaths and hospitalizations every year,” she said in a statement.
Studies indicate COVID-19 vaccine efficacy fades over time, though it’s not clear if every American will need an annual COVID-19 booster. As scientists continue to assess the need, several companies are at work on creating a single injection each fall that protects against both seasonal flu and COVID-19.
In addition to Pfizer, pharmaceutical companies Moderna and Novavax have announced plans to work on a combo shot.
Moderna said it anticipates starting clinical trials on a single-dose vaccine that combines a booster against COVID-19 and a booster against flu by the end of the year, with hopes of the vaccine being available for the 2023 season.
“We believe this is a very large opportunity that is ahead of us, if we could bring to market a high efficacy pan-respiratory annual booster,” Moderna COE Stéphane Bancel said during the Sept. 9 investor meeting.
Last year, Novavax enrolled people in a Phase 1/2 study to evaluate the safety, tolerability and immune response of a combination vaccine using the company’s seasonal influenza and COVID-19 vaccines. A phase 2 confirmation trial is expected to begin later this year, the company said in October.
(UVALDE, Texas) — Emilia “Amy” Marin watched a briefing on the Robb Elementary school shooting on May 27, three days after the rampage that killed 19 students and two teachers.
She listened live as Col. Steven McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, told dozens of reporters and millions of viewers watching live that a “teacher” had propped the door open with a rock, allowing the shooter to enter the school through a door that was supposed to lock automatically.
“He’s lying. That’s a lie,” Marin said to her daughter, who was watching with her.
Though unnamed at the time, Marin was the woman McCraw was talking about. Marin was an afterschool program coordinator at the time of the Robb shooting.
Months later, Marin is still waiting to hear how and why the false accusation was broadcast to the nation.
“Nobody is going to point the finger at me because I know what I did,” Marin told ABC News correspondent John Quiñones. “I knew what I did from day one.”
Three days later, DPS retracted that statement, but that was not until after many in the community had blamed Marin for the attack. In the months since, community members and state politicians have criticized DPS for that mistake.
“They’re either incompetent or they are dishonest,” said Don Flanary, Marin’s lawyer, about the department. “Neither is acceptable.”
DPS has not offered an explanation on how the error was made or the route it took to reach McCraw. DPS officials declined to respond to questions for this report about the origin of the mistake and have referred ABC News to the agency’s prior statements and apology.
In a previous statement to ABC News, DPS spokesman Travis Considine explained: “At the outset of the investigation, DPS reported that an unnamed teacher at Robb Elementary School used a rock to prop open the door that the shooter used to enter the school building. It was later determined that the same teacher removed the rock from the doorway prior to the arrival of the shooter, and closed the door, unaware that the door was unlocked.”
Considine said, “DPS corrected this error in public announcements and testimony and apologizes to the teacher and her family for the additional grief this has caused to an already horrific situation.”
McCraw testified during a state Public Safety Commission hearing last week. “At the time, that’s exactly the information that we had. It was wrong,” he said. “I take responsibility for it.”
Security camera footage obtained by ABC News shows Marin placing the rock in the doorway only to return and kick it away a few minutes later. She closed the door behind her.
“If you’re an investigator, you’re sitting there watching that video and you saw me walk out,” Marin told ABC News. “Why didn’t you sit there and watch the whole video to see if I ran back in?”
“Obviously I should have apologized a lot sooner,” McCraw said at that public safety meeting. “I did say the teacher pushed the rock or put placed the rock in the door. I said that on that Friday and didn’t correct it until the next week.”
During last week’s hearing, state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, who represents Uvalde, said Marin was deeply traumatized by the assertion that her actions gave a killer access to Robb Elementary.
“She was haunted by this in her own hometown,” Gutierrez told ABC news.
“And that happened because (DPS) defamed her,” he said. “They defamed her.”
Gutierrez told the commission that the explanation of a simple mistake was unconvincing and hard to believe because, in the first days after the school shooting, he said he personally watched as a team of DPS investigators reviewed surveillance camera footage closely.
In an interview with ABC News, Gutierrez elaborated, saying he watched 10 troopers in their signature DPS cowboy hats closely examining video captured that day. Though he couldn’t say exactly which videos he saw them reviewing, he watched as they scrutinized the footage, repeatedly rewinding, fast-forwarding and slowing portions of video. He said the detailed analysis of the evidence that he witnessed contradicts the information McCraw was given prior to the briefing Marin watched with her daughter on May 27.
“It defies logic that these people didn’t know the truth as to what Amy Marin did or didn’t do,” Gutierrez said. “When they accused Amy Marin, they knew that she absolutely did the right thing and yet they let her feel the pain of that accusation for five days, and she will never be the same.”
Marin told ABC News that an FBI agent and a Texas Ranger interviewed her before McCraw went on television with his inaccurate statements about her actions. She told the officers at that time what happened on the day of the shooting, including her shutting the door behind her.
“They had the video and the FBI and Rangers had already interviewed her and confirmed with her that she kicked the rock out,” said Flanary. “It doesn’t make sense.”
Jesse Rizo, the uncle of Jackie Cazares who was among the students killed at Robb, confronted McCraw at the hearing.
“Your officers either lied to you or you painted a picture that was favorable to your department,” Rizo said to McCraw.
Marin has decided to take action in the wake of this tragedy and has filed suit against the manufacturer of the gun used in the Robb shooting. She is also considering other legal options.
It is expected that substantial additional information about the probe will be revealed once the criminal investigation is completed by the end of 2022.
Uvalde:365 is a continuing ABC News series reported from Uvalde and focused on the Texas community and how it forges on in the shadow of tragedy.
