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Omicron live updates: CDC signs off, recommends boosters for 16- and 17-year-olds

December 10, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.2 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 793,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.

Just 60.4% of the population in the United States is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:

Dec 10, 10:04 am
Masks or proof of vaccination required in all indoor public places in New York

Masks will now be required in all indoor public places in New York state unless the business or venue requires proof of full vaccination, Gov. Kathy Hochul said Friday.

The new measure takes effect Monday and lasts until at least Jan. 15 as the state tries to disrupt a winter surge.

New York’s seven-day average case rate has jumped by 43% since Thanksgiving, according to the governor’s office.

“We shouldn’t have reached the point where we are confronted with a winter surge, especially with the vaccine at our disposal, and I share many New Yorkers’ frustration that we are not past this pandemic yet,” Hochul said in a statement. “I want to thank the more than 80 percent of New Yorkers who have done the right thing to get fully vaccinated. If others will follow suit, these measures will no longer be necessary.”

Dec 09, 7:33 pm
At least 25 states have confirmed omicron cases

At least 25 states have now reported cases of the omicron variant, just over a week after California identified the first case in the U.S.

Iowa, Michigan and Virginia became the latest states Thursday to confirm positive cases of the new variant of concern.

Other states with confirmed cases include Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky told the Associated Press Wednesday that most of the cases have been mild, though there has been at least one hospitalization.

-ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos

Dec 09, 4:22 pm
US daily case average up by nearly 83% since October

COVID-19-related hospital admissions in the U.S. are up by 47% in the last month, according to federal data. Nearly 80% of adult ICU beds are full.

The U.S. is now reporting more than 117,000 new cases each day. The daily case average has surged by nearly 83% since late October, according to federal data.

New Hampshire holds the nation’s highest case rate, followed by Michigan, Minnesota, Rhode Island, New Mexico, Indiana, Vermont, Massachusetts and New York.

-ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos

Dec 09, 2:54 pm
Over 2 million 5- to 11-year-olds fully vaccinated

Over 2 million children ages 5 to 11 are now fully vaccinated, White House COVID-19 data director Cyrus Shahpar said.

These kids are among the over 200 million Americans of all ages who are now fully vaccinated, according to the White House.

Shahpar’s tweet added, “Early evidence indicates boosters increase protection against Omicron. Get boosted!”

However, roughly two-thirds of parents of elementary school-aged children are either holding off on getting their younger kids vaccinated or refuse to do so, according to a poll released Thursday by the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation.

Parents of teens are more willing to get their kids vaccinated, but only about half of that age group have gotten the shot so far, KFF found.

The new findings come despite increasing evidence that the vaccine is safe and that kids and teens are now helping to drive up case numbers.

Minneapolis braces for first major storm of season, tornadoes target the South

December 10, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — A major storm is moving from the Rockies to the East Coast over the next two days, set to bring heavy snow to the Upper Midwest and severe thunderstorms to the east.

A winter storm warning has been issued in the Upper Midwest and the Great Lakes where snow is set to blow through South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

This will be the first major winter storm for the Minneapolis-St. Paul region this season. The Twin Cities area could see more than 1 foot of snow.

From Texas to Indiana, the threat will be strong tornadoes and damaging winds on Friday night.

Tornadoes are especially dangerous at night because residents may sleep through alerts.

Memphis to Indianapolis could see the worst of the severe weather.

Record-high temperatures are possible along the East Coast on Saturday afternoon.

Temperatures are forecast to climb to 62 degrees in Boston, 66 in New York, 71 in Washington, D.C., and 74 in Charleston and Raleigh.

Saturday night, strong thunderstorms may hit the Carolinas and the Northeast. There is a small chance of tornadoes in the Mid-Atlantic.

Inflation hits 39-year high as consumer prices continue to climb

December 10, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Consumer prices are continuing to climb, causing new pain for Americans’ pocketbooks, as inflation tightens its grip on the economy and hobbles the post-pandemic recovery.

The consumer price index, which measures the prices consumers pay for a market basket of everyday goods and services, jumped 0.8% last month after rising 0.9% in October, the Department of Labor reported Friday. Over the last 12 months, the index climbed some 6.8% before seasonal adjustment. This marks the largest 12-month increase in nearly 40 years.

While inflation is already wreaking havoc on holiday shopping, it’s especially painful for households with limited means to absorb higher prices for essentials. Policymakers including Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell in recent weeks have also began walking back on assurances that it was likely a temporary, post-pandemic blip.

The so-called core index, a measure of all prices less the more volatile food and energy indices, rose 0.5% in November, building on a 0.6% increase in October. The core index climbed 4.9% over the last 12 months, the DOL said.

“Inflation is outpacing increases in household income and weighing heavily on consumer confidence, which is at a decade low,” Greg McBride, the chief financial analyst at Bankrate, said in a commentary to ABC News shortly after the data was released Friday. “It is only a matter of time before it impacts consumer spending in a material way.”

The energy index rose 33.3% over the last year after climbing 3.5% in November alone.

The food index jumped 6.1% over the last year and soared 0.7% in November.

The changes in the food and energy index mark the largest 12-month increase in at least 13 years, the DOL said.

Some of the largest contributors to soaring prices were increases in prices for gasoline, shelter, food, used and new vehicles and trucks.

President Joe Biden reacted to the report in a statement Friday, acknowledging that “prices are rising,” but noted that the data was collected earlier in the month of November, adding that “developments in the weeks after these data were collected last month show that price and cost increase are slowing, although not as quickly as we’d like.”

“Half of the price increases in this report are in cars and energy costs from November,” the president said. “Since then, we have seen significant energy price reductions.” He also noted that in recent weeks used car prices have trended downward in the wholesale market “which should translate into lower prices for Americans in the months ahead.” “Even with this progress, price increases continue to squeeze family budgets,” Biden added. “We are making progress on pandemic-related challenges to our supply chain which make it more expensive to get goods on shelves, and I expect more progress on that in the weeks ahead.”

The president said that the challenge of rising prices underscores the importance of Congress passing his Build Back Better plan, which he said will help families by reducing how much they pay for health care, prescription drugs and child care.

Economists have attributed the rapidly climbing prices to supply-demand imbalances lingering from the pandemic shock to the economy, as labor shortages and supply chains issues result in supply not being able to keep up with the post-pandemic consumer demand for goods and services.

The painful price rises also are coming as many Americans prepare to celebrate the holidays with family and friends for the first time since a COVID-19 vaccine rolled out.

Consumer prices jump at fastest pace since 1982

December 10, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Consumer prices are continuing to climb, causing new pain for Americans’ pocketbooks, as inflation tightens its grip on the economy and hobbles the post-pandemic recovery.

The energy index rose 33.3% over the last year after climbing 3.5% in November alone.

The food index jumped 6.1% over the last year and soared 0.7% in November.

The changes in the food and energy index mark the largest 12-month increase in at least 13 years, the DOL said.

Some of the largest contributors to soaring prices were increases in prices for gasoline, shelter, food, used and new vehicles and trucks.

The painful price rises are also coming as many Americans prepare to celebrate the holidays with family and friends for the first time since a COVID-19 vaccine rolled out.

Taylor Swift “Shake It Off” copyright battle may head to trial

December 10, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Taylor Swift wasn’t able to shake off an upcoming court date after all.

Billboard reports that on Tuesday, a federal judge refused Taylor’s request to toss out a case in which she’s accused of stealing the lyrics to her 2014 number-one hit “Shake It Off” from the 2001 song “Playas Gon’ Play,” by the girl group 3LW.

U.S. District Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald ruled that instead, a jury may be the ones to determine whether or not “Shake It Off” infringed on “Playas Gon’ Play’s” copyright. The judge ruled that there were “enough objective similarities” between the two songs that he couldn’t dismiss the case, and ruled that a jury trial was needed to determine the outcome.

The case was first filed in 2017 by the two men who wrote “Playas Gon’ Play.” They claimed that Taylor’s song, in which she sings, “‘Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play and the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate” was too similar to the lines in their song, which go “playas, they gonna play” and “haters, they gonna hate.”

Fitzgerald originally dismissed the lawsuit in 2018, saying that those phrases were used in many other songs, and so “lacked the…originality and creativity required for copyright protection.” But in 2019, a federal appeals court reversed the ruling and sent the case back to Fitzgerald.

Taylor then asked Fitzgerald to grant her summary judgement — meaning she asked him to rule immediately that she hadn’t done anything wrong — but Fitzgerald declined. “Even though there are some noticeable differences between the works, there are also significant similarities in word usage and sequence/structure,” he wrote.

But while the stage is now set for a jury trial, no date has been sent, and an out-of-court settlement is always a possibility.

Kanye West and Drake join forces for Larry Hoover benefit concert

December 10, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Kanye West and Drake joined forces Thursday night to host the Free Larry Hoover benefit concert.

After a 90-minute delay, the event — which took place at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum — finally kicked off with Ye’s choir descending the coliseum stairs and arranging themselves in the form of two crosses on either side of the walkway.

The group then performed harmonic covers of hit songs including the Fugees “Ready or Not” and Adele‘s “Easy on Me.”

After almost a half hour of that, the moment fans had been waiting for finally came. Kanye and Drake appeared at the top of the staircase and descended together, making their way onto a smoke-filled field. Kanye then made his way atop a circular dome stage structure while Drizzy drifted off into the distance.

Ye, who rocked a light green short-sleeve shirt that had “FREE HOOVER” printed on the back and light wash jeans that had the same saying on the front leg, galvanized fans with a live performance of some of his biggest hits, ranging from 2004’s “Jesus Walks,” to “Praise God,” a track from his recently released album, Donda.

After almost an hour, Drake finally joined Kanye on stage while he rapped “Can’t Tell Me Nothing,” and after that, it was the Certified Lover Boy‘s turn to put on a show.

The Canadian native, who also wore a hoodie with the “FREE HOOVER” phrase on it, followed the same formula, performing a medley of bangers like “Way 2 Sexy,” “God’s Plan,” and “Life Is Good.” He also took a moment to shout-out and thank the Yeezy founder, who he referred to as “one of his idols.” So it appears that beef really is well and truly over.

Josh Duggar found guilty of possessing child pornography

December 10, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Former reality TV star Josh Duggar has been convicted of downloading and possessing child pornography.

On Thursday, at the Western District of Arkansas Federal Courthouse in Fayetteville, Arkansas, a federal jury found the 33-year-old guilty on one count each of receiving and possessing child pornography. U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks said sentencing will happen in about four months, Entertainment Tonight reports. Duggar faces up to 20 years in prison and fines of up to $250,000 for each count when he’s sentenced.

The six-day trial began on November 30, with the jury beginning deliberations on Wednesday.

Duggar was accused of downloading child sexual abuse material, some of which depicted children younger than 12, and having it in his possession in May of 2019, according to the indictment. He pleaded not guilty.

Duggar has been the focus of several controversies over the years, starting in 2006 when he was investigated for allegedly molesting five underage girls when he was a teenager. Since then, two of his sisters — Jill, 30, and Jessa, 28 — have come forward as two of his victims.

Opening today: Sam Worthington, Heather Graham, and Machine Gun Kelly in the Western ‘The Last Son’

December 10, 2021 by WDNY Radio

In the new Western movie The Last Son, Heather Graham plays a “working lady” desperate to save her kids from a dude so bad, legend has it he’s The Devil himself.

Sam Worthington plays the single-minded character, stalking through the snow of late 19th century Montana.

She jokes to ABC Audio, “It’s a heartwarming story of a father that goes out in search of all his children to kill them, basically.”

She explains, “he’s this gunslinger, and he hears this prophecy that one of his children is going to kill him, so he seeks out all of his children…And my character is a ‘working lady’ and I have twins that are his sons. I know he’s a bad guy, so I don’t want him to know about where they are.“

Avatar veteran Worthington is nearly unrecognizable as Isaac LeMay. “As a woman, I’m like, ‘Sam, don’t you want to look cute?” Graham laughs. “Like, ‘You have so much facial hair!'”

“[He] didn’t want to, you know, I guess look his handsome self, he wanted to look more grimy, gritty, you know?”

She adds, laughing, “He’s so disgusting in the movie. Like, he’s just horrible. You know, you really just hate him, you know?”

Graham admitted she felt “nurturing” toward her onscreen son Colson Baker, otherwise known as recording artist Machine Gun Kelly.

“It’s funny because I actually didn’t know who he was, to be honest,” she added with a laugh. “I mean, my friend’s kids know who he is.”

Graham explains that for a newcomer, MGK has some big-screen chops. “I think, you know, he’s very raw. Like, I like that he doesn’t because some actors are kind of ‘actor-y.’ And I like that he just has raw talent.”

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky: No concerns about myocarditis with nearly 5 million children vaccinated

December 10, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(ATLANTA) — With nearly 5 million children ages 5 to 11 now vaccinated against COVID-19, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky says real-world monitoring finds vaccines are safe for young children.

Crucially, the CDC hasn’t identified any concerns with the temporary heart inflammation known as myocarditis, a potential side effect of mRNA vaccines seen in rare circumstances in teenagers and young adults.

“We haven’t seen anything yet,” Walensky told ABC News Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton in a rare in-person interview from CDC headquarters in Atlanta. “We have an incredibly robust vaccine safety system, and so if [problems] were there, we would find it.”

Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine was authorized for children 5 to 11 years old in early November. Despite robust safety data, fewer than 1 in 5 children in this age group has receive their first dose.

Meanwhile, about two-thirds of parents of elementary school children said they didn’t want to vaccinate their children or are holding off for now, according to a poll from the nonprofit KFF.

Walensky said that while new data is constantly emerging, one thing is clear: Vaccines are safe for young children.

“If you want your children fully vaccinated by the holidays, now is the time,” Walensky said.

In rare access, Ashton was invited inside the CDC’s Emergency Operation Center, where the agency monitors data for potential threats to human health.

Another worrying trend the CDC is monitoring is the alarmingly low vaccination rate among pregnant women, despite overwhelming evidence that COVID-19 vaccines are safe for mother and infant.

Less than 20% of pregnant people have received a vaccine during pregnancy, according to the CDC.

“I’m very concerned,” said Walensky. “When I hear about a pregnant woman in the community who is not vaccinated, I personally pick up the phone and talk to them.”

There is no evidence COVID-19 vaccines impact fertility, nor is there any scientific reason to believe they might harm fertility in the future.

Walensky said misinformation about the vaccine’s impact on fertility has been one of her most challenging battles during the pandemic.

“The vaccines are safe, they are effective and they are even more important in pregnant women,” she said.

Fifty-four migrants dead, 105 injured after vehicle overturns in Chiapas, Mexico: Authorities

December 10, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(CHIAPAS, Mexico) — A vehicle full of migrants overturned in Chiapas, Mexico, Thursday night, leaving 54 dead and 105 injured, authorities said.

“After the accident that occurred in Chiapa de Corzo, I inform you that unfortunately 49 people died at the scene and 5 more died while receiving medical attention in hospitals,” Chiapas Gov. Rutilio Escandón tweeted. “We have 105 injured (83 men and 22 women), care for the injured continues.”

Civil Protection Chiapas said on Twitter that the tragedy was the result of a “car accident of two trucks traveling on the Belisario Domínguez Bridge and Ribera Cauharé in Chiapa de Corzo.”

“I deeply regret the tragedy caused by the overturning of a trailer in Chiapas carrying Central American migrants. It’s very painful. I embrace the families of the victims,” Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador tweeted.

Mexico’s National Institute of Immigration also confirmed the incident on Twitter, saying it “regrets the death of migrants in the tragic accident that occurred in Chiapas.”

It said it is coordinating efforts with national, state and municipal authorities to provide consular assistance, identify bodies, cover funeral expenses and facilitate the repatriation of remains to countries of origin.

“Humanitarian attention that will be granted to the survivors will be accommodation, food and in case they accept, Visitor Cards for Humanitarian Reasons,” the institute wrote. “The INM will assist in the investigation of the accident.”

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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