(NEW YORK) — Joao “Julia” da Silva, a 23-year-old trans woman, was found in Texas on Tuesday after she was last seen by family members leaving her residence in North Bay Village, Florida, on March 24.
North Bay Village police are working with local authorities and family members to coordinate her return. The investigation into her disappearance remains ongoing.
Authorities said da Silva frequents the Miami, Miami Beach and Wilton Manors LGBTQ communities. She was seen in video surveillance at a gas station on Monday night in the South Miami area near Homestead.
“With this video footage, what concerns us is that she did appear disoriented,” said Paul Battaglia, the LGBT liaison officer at the North Bay Village Police Department. “She also did appear alone, which is unusual for her.”
Transgender people are four times more likely than cisgender people to be victims of violence, according to a study by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law.
Battaglia said the department is taking the heightened risks against this population into account.
“We understand the statistics. They’re are at a higher probability for violence, self-harm,” he said. “So we did ask those pertinent questions at the initial intake. She does not suffer from any previous mental health history, no depression, no self-harm, because that’s very important to us.”
“That’s all we want, to make sure she is OK,” da Silva’s best friend, Tatiana, told ABC-affiliate WPLG-TV when da Silva was missing. Da Silva’s mother had reportedly flown in from Japan to help with the search.
If anyone has information on da Silva’s whereabouts, the North Bay Village Police Department urges them to reach out to the agency at (305)758-2626.
(NEW YORK) — As Americans continue to file their taxes ahead of Tax Day, the Federal Trade Commission has slapped a lawsuit against a company behind a popular tax filing software.
The FTC announced on Tuesday it is suing Intuit, the makers of TurboTax, over what it calls “bogus advertisements” that mislead taxpayers into believing they can file their taxes for free with the software.
The commission says that in reality, most customers can’t use TurboTax’s free products “because it is not available to millions of taxpayers, such as those who get a 1099 form for work in the gig economy, or those who earn farm income.”
The FTC points out that in 2020 alone, approximately two-thirds of tax filers weren’t eligible to use the company’s free products.
With the deadline for filing taxes just around the corner — Tax Day is April 18 — the FTC has also filed a complaint in federal district court asking that Intuit cease its “deceptive advertising” immediately.
(WASHINGTON) — Sen. Susan Collins of Maine has pledged to support Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, giving President Joe Biden at least one Republican vote for his nominee.
While Democrats have the votes to confirm Biden’s high court nominee on their own, with Collin’s vote, the White House meets its goal of securing at least some Republican support and shoring up the court’s credibility.
The New York Times first reported the development.
HBO Max is developing a prequel to the Stephen King novel It, according to The Ankler. The series, tentatively titled Welcome to Derry, will be set in the 1960s in the time leading up to the events of the 2017 film It: Part One and is said to include the origin story of Pennywise the Clown. Andy Muschietti, who directed It: Part One and 2019’s It: Part Two, is attached to executive-produce the series.
Apple TV+ has tapped Joel Edgerton to star in an adaptation of the Blake Crouch novel Dark Matter, according to Variety. The nine-episode series will follow Edgerton as a physicist, professor, and family man who suddenly finds himself in an alternate universe, where he “embarks on a harrowing journey to get back to his true family and save them from an unimaginable foe — himself.” Edgerton will next be seen in Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Disney+ Star Wars spinoff, debuting on May 25…
HBO Max dropped a teaser trailer on Tuesday for its eight-episode limited series The Staircase, starring Colin Firth and Toni Collette. The docuseries, follows the trial of American novelist Michael Peterson, who was accused of murdering his wife, Kathleen, in 2001. Firth and Collette, who play Michael and Kathleen, respectively, are joined by Patrick Schwarzenegger, Rosemarie DeWitt, Juliette Binoche, Parker Posey, Sophie Turner and Odessa Young. The Staircase debuts May 5 with three episodes, followed by one new episode each week through June 9…
(NOTE LANGUAGE)Variety reports Jane the Virgin alum Gina Rodriguez has landed the lead role in the ABC comedy pilot Not Dead Yet. The project, based on the Alexandra Potter book Confessions of a Forty-Something F*** Up, follows Rodriquez’s Nell Stevens — who is “broke, newly single and feeling old.” Seeking to revive the career she abandoned a decade ago, she lands a job writing obituaries, and “starts getting life advice from an unlikely source,” according to the industry trade…
Rome Flynn, who played the role of Gabriel Maddox on the fifth and sixth seasons of ABC’s How to Get Away with Murder, is joining the network’s Grey’s Anatomy in a recurring role, according to Variety. He’ll play Wendell Ndugu, the brother of Anthony Hill‘s Winston. ABC describes Maddox’s character as “a typical younger sibling with a mischievous sense of humor — he’s hoping to impress Winston with his new sales rep role at a medical technology company.” The logline for Thursday’s episode, which will mark his first appearance on the show, suggests that the physician shortage at Grey Sloan Memorial, prompted by the pandemic, is starting to become a true crisis. Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on ABC…
Marvel Studios’ newest series, Moon Knight, debuts today on Disney+.
It centers on Oscar Isaac‘s Steven Grant, a geeky museum gift shop employee plagued by blackouts and haunting visions of another life. He suffers from dissociative identity disorder, sharing his body with Marc Spector, an American Marine turned mercenary, who was gifted the power of the Egyptian moon god Khonshu [CONN-shoe].
Grant/Spector can summon the power to become Moon Knight, a powerful hero with mummy-like wrappings, glowing eyes, and a flowing cape, who first appeared in the pages of Marvel Comics in 1975.
The other side of the coin is Ethan Hawke‘s cult leader Arthur Harrow, who’s been gifted the ability to bring life-or-death judgement on people through the power of the Egyptian goddess Amit.
Executive producer Mohamed Diab, the first Egyptian director in the MCU, called the shots on several of the series’ six episodes. Egypt is central to the story, and Diab tells ABC Audio he tried to be as authentic as possible to the country, unlike other shows and movies.
“We call it Orientalism, seeing our world through a lens of like, falling into all the tropes,” Diab explains.
“Seeing us as exotic, women are submissive, men are terrorists or bad. And even…the cities themselves, sometimes they’re shot in a way that [appears] a bit exotic and primitive…It’s always, the pyramids, and you see the desert.”
In reality, “If you just like turned a little bit, [they’re] in the middle of a big city.”
While the show features ancient gods and far-flung locations, Diab explains, “I always felt like the journey that Marc and Steven go through is something very personal, very small and very deep…”
“The idea of someone learning to live with themselves…We all can feel connected to that.”
Marvel Studios is owned by Disney, the parent company of ABC News.
Two-time Emmy-nominated actor Kel Mitchell‘s new song, “Blessed Mode,” is one that you’ll definitely want to add to your playlist.
The upbeat hip hop anthem, featuring Scootie Wop and nobigdyl., has a booming bass perfect for a workout or whenever you just want to jam out, feel uplifted, invigorated, and victorious. The lyrics echo that same sentiment, as Mitchell raps in the first verse: “Hey now, hey / I’m ’bout to praise in the middle of His house / And I get up, sun-up, devil, all mad ‘Cause I’m done with sinnin’ (Done) / Born again, I changed my endin’.”
“This what it mean to be blessed,” the chorus goes. “I know the way to be blessed / Call me, I get you / Blessed mode, blessed.”
If the phrase “Blessed Mode” sounds familiar, that’s probably because just a few months ago Mitchell released a book with the same name, Blessed Mode: 90 Days to Level Up Your Faith. In fact, the producer, comedian, pastor, author and artist tells ABC Audio that his new track was inspired by the book.
Both the book “Blessed Mode” the song are out now. If you’ve enjoyed them, Mitchell says there is definitely more of both on the way.
(AUGUSTA, Ga.) — Could Tiger Woods be gearing up for a return to the Masters?
Citing sources, ESPN reports Woods, 46, played 18 holes at Augusta National Golf Club on Tuesday.
The five-time Masters champion played alongside his son and PGA Tour pro Justin Thomas, sources told ESPN.
Woods last played in the Masters in 2020. The following year, he was involved in a car accident that left him with several injuries, including to his right leg.
The 15-time major champion is listed as an invitee on the Masters’ website. However, Woods has not officially announced whether he will be participating in the tournament, which begins at Augusta National Golf Club next week.
(PALM BEACH, Fla.) — After considering proposals to change overtime rules, NFL team owners on Tuesday agreed to make changes but only when it comes to the postseason.
The modified proposal that was approved by owners will require each team to have possession of the ball during overtime play in the postseason, before the game moves into a sudden death scenario.
The original rule, in which a team can win on the first possession of overtime if it scores a touchdown, will still stand for regular-season games.
The Indianapolis Colts and Philadelphia Eagles had proposed the idea of requiring each team to have possession of the ball during overtime play — both in the regular season and playoffs — but there wasn’t enough support among owners to pass the rule as is.
Once the rule was amended to apply only in the postseason, a consensus was reached and owners voted to pass it, 29-3.
(NEW YORK) — Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, disease surveillance efforts that rely on testing and variant sequencing have been critical tools in the global efforts to fight the virus.
Without these tools, experts said, the spread of COVID-19 could have been exponentially greater, potentially resulting in many more deaths.
“Testing and sequencing have been critical to understanding where the virus is and how it is evolving. This is critical information for response and mitigation efforts,” Dr. Rebecca Katz, professor and director of the Center for Global Health Science and Security at Georgetown University, told ABC News.
Surveillance tools have helped health officials make important recommendations throughout the pandemic — including the decision to green light booster doses for extra protection, and decision to pull back on some monoclonal antibody treatments authorized for COVID-19, following concerns that it was not effective against certain variants.
However, as the omicron surge has receded, usage of those key tools, namely testing, has also declined — a choice that has been a source of great concern for health experts as the more transmissible, omicron subvariant, BA.2, spreads across the U.S.
Although some Americans are still getting PCR tests, considered the gold standard of testing, reported testing levels are now at their lowest point in eight months, with numbers dropping by nearly 75% since the beginning of the year.
Lab testing is also key to detecting variants because genetic sequencing, the primary method of detecting new variants, cannot be conducted.
Even wastewater surveillance, which provides some measure of early warning, does not indicate variants present or give a clear indication of the number of cases.
“With reduced testing we have less visibility into disease transmission as well as virus evolution,” Katz said. “Certainly, the decline in testing we are seeing both in the U.S. and around the world is concerning. We are losing our situational awareness.”
Over the last month, the United Kingdom, which has been a global leader in COVID-19 sequencing, reported nearly 200,000 sequences, the highest of any country, to GISAID, the international database that tracks changes in the virus. Throughout the pandemic, the U.K. has been at the forefront of COVID-19 sequencing.
Comparatively, the U.S., which ranks third behind Denmark for sequencing, has reported about 35,000 sequences in the last 30 days.
Getting ahead of the curve
Last week, a new study found that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s program to detect COVID-19 variants in international air travelers, using genetic sequencing, revealed that the first BA.2 case in the U.S. had actually been weeks before it was first reported.
“Earlier detection of new SARS-CoV-2 variants of interest and concern allows researchers and public health officials the needed time to gather information about transmissibility, virulence, and vaccine effectiveness to enable adjustments to treatment and prevention strategies,” the researchers wrote, adding that the surveillance measure could be used as an early warning system for future outbreaks.
Across the globe, BA.2 now accounts for approximately 86% of sequences from the last four weeks, World Health Organization technical director Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove reported earlier this month. She stressed that declines in surveillance could ultimately put the world at risk as the virus continues to spread.
“It’s really critical that we have testing and it’s really critical that we have sequencing … that the systems that have been put in place for surveillance, for testing, for sequencing right now be reinforced, that they are not taken apart, because we need to move on to the next challenge,” Van Kerkhove said.
In order to track new variants, teams have been sequencing the virus’ genetic material to identify its strain, lineage and specific mutations.
“We’ve only just realized the value of these methods for our communities and our health. Instead of fully recognizing this, we’re considering stopping. This is short-sighted,” said Davida S. Smyth, Ph.D., a professor and microbiologist at Texas A&M University, who has been tracking COVID-19 in New York City’s wastewater since the summer of 2020.
Wastewater will continue to be an important tool as a preliminary indicator of COVID-19 trends in the U.S. However, adequate genetic sequencing is also needed in order to identify new variants in the water.
“The only way we can track the virus is through a combination of clinical sequencing and wastewater sequencing,” Smyth said. “Wastewater can in fact serve as an early warning system. Without sequencing, we cannot determine the identity of the virus variants that are circulating and without testing we cannot know how prevalent it is.”
Closing down testing sites
Of additional concern for some experts has been the decision to close down testing sites in favor of at-home testing. From coast to coast, dozens of states have moved to shutter public testing sites.
With at-home tests now widely available, most Americans are also not reporting their results to officials, and thus, experts say that infection totals are likely undercounted.
“The less data we have, the less insight — even predictive insight — we have to create evidence-based public health policy,” Jessica Malaty Rivera, an epidemiologist at the Pandemic Prevention Institute, told ABC News.
In addition, officials are unable to sequence at-home tests, which means potential mutations or new variants could go undetected, experts say.
“The fact is, we’ve never tested enough. And I worry we’ve fallen Into the fallacy of ‘testing less, means less COVID.’ That’s a dangerous approach to this next phase of the pandemic,” Malaty Rivera said.
Funding key
Health officials and experts agree that access to adequate funding will also be essential to the country’s ability to keep the virus under control.
CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said in an interview earlier this month that government funding is essential to the agency’s ability to monitor variants, and study other key COVID-19 issues.
Recognizing that we still do not know everything about COVID-19 will be important, Smyth added, as the virus has frequently proven itself to be erratic and unpredictable.
“I am concerned given that we’ve likely not seen the last of emergent SARS-CoV-2 variants and we’ve likely not seen the last of what this virus can do in response to vaccines and our immune system,” Smyth said. “Without observation and surveillance, we could be blindsided. We’re not out of the woods yet.”
(RABAT, Morocco) — The U.S. remains skeptical that Russia is engaging genuinely in negotiations with Ukraine to end its monthlong war against its neighbor.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Kremlin’s negotiators had still not shown “signs of real seriousness,” even after the two sides discussed potential elements of a peace deal shortly after talks in Turkey on Tuesday.
Russia’s military said it would “fundamentally” scale back its military operations near Ukraine’s capital Kyiv and the northern city Chernihiv to give those talks a chance.
But Blinken declined to say whether the U.S. had confirmed a real shift in Russian strategy nearly five weeks after Russian leader Vladimir Putin launched his invasion and aimed for a swift takeover of the Ukrainian government.
“There is what Russia says and what Russia does, and we’re focused on the latter — and what Russia is doing is the continued brutalization of Ukraine and its people, and that continues as we speak,” he told reporters in Rabat, Morocco.
“I have not seen anything that suggests that this is moving forward in an effective way because Russia is not showing signs of real seriousness, but if Ukraine concludes that there is, that’s good, and we support that,” he added.
President Joe Biden also weighed in Tuesday on Russia’s claim that it will move forces, saying “we’ll see if they follow through on what they’re suggesting.”
“I don’t read anything into it until I see what their actions are,” he said during a joint press statement with Singapore’s prime minister at the White House.
Biden noted the ongoing negotiations in Turkey between Ukraine and Russia and said there is consensus among Western allies to “see what they have to offer.”
“We’ll find out what they do,” he added. “But in the meantime, we’re going to continue to keep strong sanctions. We are going to continue to provide the Ukrainian military with their capacity to defend themselves and we are going to continue to keep a close eye on what’s going on.”
Ukrainian negotiators have laid out a detailed framework for a peace deal, where Ukraine would remain neutral and not joined the Western military alliance NATO — but it would join the European Union and its security would be guaranteed by several regional and world powers, including the U.S.
Asked Tuesday whether the U.S. would join that pact, Blinken expressed support: “If there is some kind of outcome, and if our support for Ukraine can be part of that, can include our support in the future for its defense and security, of course that’s something we’ll want to pursue.”
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Tuesday’s talks made “meaningful” progress, with “a consensus and common understanding” on some issues, according to the Associated Press.
But Blinken was more skeptical, saying it could be Moscow “trying to deflect and deceive people into thinking that it’s not doing what it is doing, whether it’s simply trying to regroup given the heavy losses that it’s suffered – I don’t know.”
Russian forces had already been pushed back from east of Kyiv and moved into defensive positions north of the city, Pentagon officials said last week — a sign the Kremlin was suffering major losses in its efforts to seize the capital and decapitate the Ukrainian government.
Late last week, Russia said its “main goal” was now on the eastern provinces known as the Donbas, where Moscow has led separatist forces for over eight years against the Ukrainian government.
The top U.S. diplomat engaged with his Russian counterpart repeatedly before the war, saying the U.S. had to give diplomacy a chance. But after the Kremlin launched its brutal invasion, he’s been far more skeptical — accusing the Kremlin of not negotiating in good faith and, instead, using the cover of diplomacy to continue its attacks.
After Biden spoke to his British, French, German and Italian counterparts earlier on Tuesday, the British government echoed the same skepticism.
“The Prime Minister underscored that we must judge Putin’s regime by their actions not their words,” a spokesperson for Boris Johnson said.
ABC News’ Libby Cathey contributed to this report.
