As an actor, sometimes you may have to cuddle up with someone who isn’t your significant other — and for Ellen Pompeo‘s husband, that was something that took some getting used to.
Pompeo, who stars as Meredith Grey on Grey’s Anatomy, recalled how her husband reacted to her on-screen affairs with love-interest-turned-husband Dr. Derek Shepherd aka McDreamy — played by Patrick Dempsey. The actress, who’s going on 14 years of marriage with Chris Ivery, said her spouse “had no idea what he was getting into.”
“I remember in the beginning it was really hard for him,” Pompeo admitted while on July 27th episode of the Ladies First with Laura Brown podcast. “He was like, ‘This is not what I signed up for. You go to work and make out with that? I like Patrick and everything, he’s a good dude, but like really?'”
Dempsey left the popular medical drama in 2015 after 11 seasons, however, he did return as a guest star during season 17.
An 18th season of Grey’s Anatomy is set to premiere in September.
(NEW ORLEANS) — A barrage of gunfire erupted in the heart of New Orleans’ French Quarter early Sunday leaving at least five people wounded and a panicked crowd running for cover.The shooting broke out about 3 a.m. on Bourbon Street at Orleans Avenue, about two blocks from Jackson Square and around the corner from the famed Preservation Hall, according to police.
The New Orleans Police Department said one person was detained and was being questioned about the shooting, but released no further details.
“The investigation remains active and ongoing,” police said in a statement on Twitter.
An EarthCam video camera mounted on Cat’s Meow Karaoke Bar, which normally provides a live feed of the party scene on Bourbon Street, captured the sound of multiple gunshots followed by chaos with panicked people running for cover in all directions. Several people narrowly avoided being hit by cars crossing Bourbon Street.
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell and Superintendent Shaun Ferguson of the New Orleans Police Department both went to the scene of the shooting but did not make any public comments.
Around 4:40 a.m. Sunday, New Orleans police responded to another shooting scene in the adjacent Iberville neighborhood just northeast of the French Quarter in which at least four people were shot, including a juvenile who was killed, authorities said. No other information was available on the Iberville incident.
Like other major cities across the country, New Orleans has seen a surge in shootings and homicides in the first seven months of 2021.
New Orleans has recorded more than 250 shootings and more than 100 homicides already this year. In all of 2020, New Orleans police investigated 195 homicides, a 63% increase from 2019.
In April, Cantrell announced the city was creating the Office of Gun Violence Prevention to focus on ways to intervene and mediate conflicts before they result in shootings. The program also focuses on providing jobs and job training programs for young people in the city.
“Nothing stops a bullet like a job,” Cantrell said at the time.
The weekend gun violence in New Orleans came as the Grant Parish Sheriff’s Office in Colfax, about 200 miles north of New Orleans, continue to investigate a shooting that occurred on Friday at the Louisiana Mud Fest music festival. Chris Ardon, a Zydeco accordionist and singer, was shot and wounded on stage as his group was performing, according to ABC affiliate station WGNO-TV in New Orleans.
Ardon and a 14-year-old child in the crowd suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
In the aftermath of the shooting, thousands of people attending the music festival immediately began diving for cover and running for the exits, detectives told WGNO.
(WASHINGTON) — Rep. Adam Kinzinger said Sunday he supports issuing subpoenas to anyone who has information about the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and what action former President Donald Trump took — even members of his own party, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.
“I would support subpoenas to anybody that can shed light on that, if that’s the leader that’s the leader,” Kinzinger told ABC “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl. “Anybody with parts of that information, with inside knowledge, can probably expect to be talking to the committee.”
“I would expect to see a significant number of subpoenas for a lot of people,” Kinzinger added.
Kinzinger, R-Ill., said that while some members of Congress attempt to brush off the events of Jan. 6 because it’s “politically inconvenient,” the committee is determined to get a full account of the truth.
“If anybody’s scared of this investigation I ask you one question, what are you afraid of? I mean, either you’re afraid of being discovered, of having some culpability in it or, you know what? If you — if you think it wasn’t a big deal, then you should allow this to go forward,” he said.
Kinzinger and Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., are the only two Republicans appointed by Speaker Nancy Pelosi to the House select committee spearheading the investigation into the Jan. 6 insurrection. The panel held its first hearing Tuesday, with emotional witness testimony from four police officers who responded to the attack.
The committee plans to meet on Zoom during the August recess to plan next steps, including issuing “quite a few” subpoenas, Chairman Bennie Thompson, R-Miss., said on Friday. He added that staffers will meet with Justice Department officials next week and members have requested a meeting with Attorney General Merrick Garland.
“This cannot continue to be a partisan fight,” Kinzinger said during Tuesday’s hearing. “I’m a conservative, but in order to heal from the damage caused that day, we need to call out the facts. It is time to stop the outrage and the conspiracies that fuel the violence and division in this country and — most importantly — we need to reject those that promote it.”
Karl pressed Kinzinger on how the committee intends to enforce subpoenas on fellow members of Congress if they refuse to comply.
“I intend, at least, on the committee, to get to a full accounting of the truth,” Kinzinger responded. “And if somebody thinks that they can stand up and use — maneuvers to try to string this investigation out and hope that people lose interest — at least me, and I know the other members of the committee, are determined that we are going to get to that answer.”
“So it may cost you a lot in legal fees to try to resist, but we’re going to get to that answer,” Kinzinger continued.
Karl also asked Kinzinger whether the committee would subpoena the former president.
“It seems clear that you would want to talk to Donald Trump himself, am I right?” Karl asked.
“We may not even have to talk to Donald Trump to get the information,” Kinzinger responded. “There were tons of people around him.”
The Republican House Leadership held a press conference an hour ahead of the hearing on Tuesday where members tried to blame Pelosi for the attack on the Capitol.
“The American people deserve to know the truth that Nancy Pelosi bears responsibility as speaker of the House for the tragedy that occurred on January 6th,” Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., said.
Karl asked Kinzinger about it Sunday.
“They protected Donald Trump from blame here and they’re blaming Nancy Pelosi for the fact that Trump supporters invaded the Capitol, and — including her office. Can you explain to me what they’re talking about?” Karl asked.
Kinzinger called Stefanik’s comments “insane.”
“To me it’s mind blowing and it basically shows the desperation to try to derail this,” Kinzinger said.
(WASHINGTON) — As the country grapples with a surge in the delta variant of the COVID-19 coronavirus, Dr. Anthony Fauci believes that lockdowns the country saw last year are likely to not return, though he warned “things will get worse” during an interview on ABC’s “This Week.”
“I don’t think we’re gonna see lockdowns. I think we have enough of the percentage of people in the country — not enough to crush the outbreak — but I believe enough to not allow us to get into the situation we were in last winter. But things are going to get worse,” the nation’s top infectious disease expert told “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl on Sunday.
“If you look at the acceleration of the number of cases, the seven-day average has gone up substantially. You know what we really need to do, Jon, we say it over and over again and it’s the truth — we have 100 million people in this country who are eligible to be vaccinated who are not getting vaccinated. We are seeing an outbreak of the unvaccinated,” he added.
“From the standpoint of illness, hospitalization, suffering and death, the unvaccinated are much more vulnerable because the vaccinated are protected from severe illness, for the most part, but when you look at the country as a whole. And getting us back to normal, the unvaccinated, by not being vaccinated, are allowing the propagation and the spread of the outbreak which ultimately impacts everybody,” Fauci said.
Concerns over the coronavirus resurged this week, as research about the outbreak of the virus in Provincetown, Massachusetts, indicated that the now-dominant delta variant may be able to spread among fully vaccinated people.
During an investigation of the outbreak, researchers learned that the amount of virus in the noses of vaccinated people experiencing a breakthrough infection was the same as in an unvaccinated person — a concerning sign that vaccinated people can also spread the virus.
The data helped the CDC make its decision to bring mask guidelines back for vaccinated individuals in areas of high or substantial spread of the virus — despite the fact that breakthrough cases in vaccinated individuals are overwhelmingly mild and do not result in hospitalization or death.
“That has much more to do with transmission,” Fauci said of the new guidelines.
“You want them to wear a mask, so that if in fact they do get infected, they don’t spread it to vulnerable people, perhaps in their own household, children or people with underlying conditions,” Fauci said of the new guidance for the vaccinated.
President Joe Biden on Thursday also announced a new vaccine policy for all federal workers and onsite contractors, requiring them to “attest to their vaccination status,” and will require anyone not fully vaccinated to wear a mask at work, regardless of where they are located, social distance and get tested once or twice a week.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who also spoke with Karl Sunday morning, pushed back on criticism from some unions representing those workers, who argue the new requirement is a violation of civil liberties.
“Well, this is about protecting lives. This is about setting a good example. And to be clear, employees have a choice,” Buttigieg said in a separate interview on “This Week.”
“Look, we have so many obligations in so many dimensions of employee safety, to make sure that this is a safe workplace. This is part of that. But it’s also important, I think, for our federal workforce to lead by example because we’re asking the whole country to do what it takes to make sure that we get beyond this pandemic. And this is a very important part of how to do it,” he added.
But the new guidance and the president’s acknowledgement Friday that “in all probability,” the country could see new guidance and restrictions due to the surge has drawn the continued ire of some Republican governors, including Arizona’s Doug Ducey, and Florida’s Ron DeSantis, who argue that individuals should be able to make decisions about masking and vaccines for themselves.
“What is your answer to these … Republican governors in some of the largest states in our country?” Karl asked Fauci.
“I respectfully disagree with them,” Fauci said. “The fact is, there are things that are individual responsibilities that one has. And there are things that have to do with you individually, which also impact others and get the spread of infection that we’re seeing now — the surge in cases, Jon, is impacting everyone in the country.”
“So in essence, you are encroaching on their individual rights because you’re making them vulnerable. So you could argue that situation both ways,” he added.
ABC News’ Sony Salzman contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — For the last five years, Dr. Hadiyah-Nicole Green, a physicist and cancer researcher, has fought to fund her cancer treatment technology.
Green has peer-reviewed studies on her research, which is still in the early stages, and has also received a $1.1 million grant from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
But that research is now on hold due to a lack of funding. Green said she needs to launch human clinical trials, and to do that, she said, will cost some $90 million.
Some of those heading up Black-led health nonprofits and organizations told ABC News of the constant battle for them as smaller, minority-focused health care nonprofits to get government funding and attention from potential corporate sponsors who typically focus on mammoth nonprofits like Susan G. Komen and the American Cancer Society.
Several studies and data show that systemic racism permeates the health care nonprofit and research world and some say that could stymie lifesaving medical solutions and impede the on-the-ground work nonprofits do for health and wellness in underrepresented communities.
‘Biased against people of color’
Researchers looking at disparities in philanthropic funding in the 2017 Stanford Social Innovation Review report revealed that nonprofit foundation leaders of color having inequitable access to social networks is a major barrier in accessing funding. Some 92% of U.S. foundation presidents are white, and some 75% of white people have entirely white social networks, the researchers wrote.
Bias in funding “absolutely” has the potential to keep lifesaving medical solutions from emerging, said Dr. Tshaka Cunningham, a former Department of Veterans Affairs scientific program manager who was instrumental in securing Green’s $1.1 million grant, and sits on the board of her foundation.
“In the whole scientific enterprise it’s difficult to achieve funding and historically found to be biased against people of color. Sometimes when you have data that is really good, the status quo doesn’t believe you,” said Cunningham, a molecular biologist and co-founder of TruGenomix Inc., a biotechnology company.
He said bias also exists in the entire nonprofit grant process as well as with mentorship, which can help form strategic connections to secure funding.
Green’s predicament is shared by other Black scientists and researchers, who are often met with closed wallets, whether they launch a nonprofit or a for-profit startup. Brian Brackeen, founder of Lightship Capital, a venture capital fund serving underrepresented entrepreneurs, and an expert in funding Black startups, discussed the funding woes of yet another Black woman with a health care innovation.
Brackeen said Davielle Jackson, a health care entrepreneur, could not secure funding for her invention, highly absorbent menstrual panties. He said his firm led her first round of funding and that she is now making revenue as a successful business.
But, Brackeen said: “The question is why wasn’t she invested in before?”
He said the funding situation is similar with Black entrepreneurs as with Black-led nonprofits, “[With] women or minority founders, they’re simply told [by potential investors] ‘you don’t fit this exact box, and I’m not going to help you fit it,'” Brackeen said.
Black health care nonprofits are typically entrenched in the communities they serve. They are usually staffed with people from those communities who have long-established relationships with residents. They can often make in-roads into providing health and wellness services in those communities that outside organizations cannot. When these nonprofits are underfunded and strapped for cash, those communities can lack access to vital health care and information.
Green’s struggles mirror other Black-led health organizations
Green set out on a mission to use her Ph.D. in physics from Alabama A&M University, as well as her research with optics and laser technology, to defeat the disease that remains the second-leading cause of death in the U.S. She used the $1.1 million grant to carry out initial research at the Morehouse School of Medicine.
Green describes her research as “laser-activated nanotechnology.”
“It has already demonstrated complete elimination of human cancer in laboratory mice after one 10-minute treatment over the course of 16 days with no observable side effects; no chemo, no radiation, no surgery. It is a game-changer for solid tumors,” she said.
Despite these promising early results, she has not been able to attract corporate or government interest in her research.
Green’s stymied efforts track with long-standing disparities in the research funding system.
In a 2011 study published in the peer-reviewed journal Science, researchers found that Black applicants are 13% less likely to receive National Institutes of Health research funding compared to white applicants. The study concluded that factors including “perception of scientific merit,” lack of diversity among grant reviewers and where an applicant attended school can influence who receives grants, all of which can place underrepresented groups at a disadvantage.
The NIH set out to make the grant process more equitable in 2014 including appointing its first chief officer of scientific workforce diversity and establishing the NIH Scientific Workforce Diversity Office.
As of 2020, the funding gap has narrowed, but African American/Black applicants are still 7% less likely to receive R01 (or equivalent) grants than white applicants, according to the latest data from NIH. R01 grants are described by NIH as “mature research projects that are hypothesis-driven with strong preliminary data.”
The landmark analysis quantified what many Black scientists already suspected, and sparked calls for policy intervention to address the funding gap. A follow-up study published in the journal Science Advances in 2019 said the funding rate for white scientists remained 1.7 times higher than for Black scientists. The researchers of this study suggested the funding gulf was due to topic choice, saying Black scientists “tend to propose research on topics with lower award rates.”
The flip side: Elizabeth Holmes’ Theranos jackpot
The funding obstacles of Black people with health care initiatives stand in stark contrast to the now-infamous Elizabeth Holmes, a young, white woman. Holmes claimed she had developed a revolutionary blood-testing solution that could detect diseases including cancer.
The college dropout had no peer-reviewed publications, advanced degrees or any academic background in cancer research, yet her appeals for funding her health care startup Theranos raked in hundreds of millions from investors, and made her Forbes’ “youngest self-made woman billionaire” in 2015.
She has since faced a litany of fraud charges, to which she and a former partner in the company have pleaded not guilty, and her trial, delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, remains ongoing.
Holmes received money from private investors largely through her family’s connections. But her access and influence skyrocketed so that even drugstore chain titan Walgreens considered a partnership with Theranos, although the technology had not been vetted, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.
The disparity between Holmes’ ease in gaining investor and corporate trust versus her own experience has caused frustration for Green and other Black health care nonprofit leaders and researchers, who have faced closed door after closed door.
It’s the “the essence of white privilege,” Cunningham said about Holmes’ ability to secure millions for Theranos.
“Who you know” is also a big part of getting dollars for a private company or a nonprofit foundation like Green’s.
“White Americans are very well-networked,” said Vanessa Greene, chief executive officer of the Grand Rapids African American Health Institute. “And a lot of grants are based on relationships … who you know.”
Green’s research is in the fledgling stage, however, which could also explain her obstacles in raising funding, medical experts who ABC News asked to review a peer-reviewed report of Green’s research told ABC News, as well as the fierce competition to fund such initiatives.
“The funding landscape is so competitive even for super-compelling research that could save the lives of many,” said Dr. John Brownstein, a Harvard epidemiologist and ABC News contributor.
It’s “a struggle,” C. Virginia Fields, the founder and CEO of Black Health told ABC News about securing funds for Black-led heath care nonprofits.
“We’ve been able to tap into some of the local funding … COVID funding, but the funding streams for programs, certainly outside of just COVID have basically been brought to a standstill,” said Fields, a former Manhattan borough president and a 2005 New York City mayoral candidate.
Fields said nonprofits such as hers, are often offered things like computers in lieu of money. “We don’t need computers,” she said. “If you got $3 million on this contract let’s talk about some funding so that we can increase staff with people on the ground,” she said.
(NEW YORK) — As COVID-19 surges nationwide, the seriousness of the virus’s latest wave is reflected in newspaper headlines from cities and states across the country.
The number of new COVID-19 cases is reaching levels previously seen in February, as the U.S. was emerging from the winter surge.
The U.S. reported over 100,000 new daily COVID-19 cases for the first time since Feb. 6 on Friday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
This latest surge is fueled by the highly contagious delta variant. A new internal CDC report first published by The Washington Post and confirmed by ABC News, said the variant could be more contagious than Ebola, Spanish flu, chickenpox and the common cold. It’s also possible delta leads to more severe illness, though that is not confirmed.
Based on its latest findings on the transmissibility of the delta variant, the CDC revised its mask guidance earlier this week, now recommending that those in areas with substantial or high levels of transmission — vaccinated or not — wear a mask in public, indoor settings.
A sampling of headlines from newspapers across the country Saturday spotlight areas experiencing spikes in cases and overwhelmed hospitals, and how they’re responding.
“Florida is the epicenter,” read the Tampa Bay Times, reporting that the state had the most cases and hospitalizations in the U.S. in the past week. On Saturday, Florida reported its largest single-day increase in cases since pandemic began.
The Honolulu Star Advertiser reported on a spike in cases in Hawaii that accounted for the highest daily case count since the start of the pandemic.
In Louisiana, another hotspot, The Advocate reported that the state’s hospitals are “overwhelmed again,” as it experiences its fourth wave of the virus.
Mississippi is also experiencing overwhelmed hospitals. “State’s largest ICU full,” the Clarion-Ledger reported, referring to the intensive care unit at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson.
Hospitalizations are climbing at the East Alabama Medical Center, increasing from eight at the start of the month to 34 as of Friday, the Opelika-Auburn News reported.
The Houston Chronicle detailed how Texas surpassed New York in COVID-19 deaths to have the second-highest death toll in the nation, “a feat experts say was driven by an inability to control transmission of the virus here,” the paper reported.
As cases quickly rise, restrictions are returning in some regions. The Times-Picayune in New Orleans reported on the city reissuing an indoor mask mandate due to its surge, with the headline. “Mask mandate back in N.O.” — one of several cities and counties to do so in recent days.
“Mask recommendations rise across Maine,” the Kennebec Journal in Augusta reported.
“State emphasizes need for shots,” read Saturday’s headline in The Journal Gazette in Fort Wayne, Indiana, as health officials urged residents to get vaccinated and bolster the state’s relatively low vaccination rate.
(TOKYO) — Each day, ABC News will give you a roundup of key Olympic moments from the day’s events in Tokyo, happening 13 hours ahead of U.S. Eastern Standard Time. After a 12-month delay, the unprecedented 2020 Summer Olympics is taking place without fans or spectators and under a state of emergency due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Caeleb Dressel joins elite club with 5 gold medals
Caeleb Dressel pulled in two more gold medals today, first in the men’s 50m freestyle, an all-out spring that took Dressel 21.07 seconds to complete. In the last race of the evening, Dressel led Team USA to still more glory in the 4x100m medley relay. Dressel completely swept the sprint events and has become the fifth swimmer to win at least five gold medals at one Olympic Games
Dressel’s teammate Bobby Finke won his second gold medal in the men’s 1500, finishing with a blazing finishing kick that has been his trademark in these Games.
Mykayla Skinner wins silver after replacing Biles, Sunisa Lee takes Bronze
Mykayla Skinner, who replaced Biles after she withdrew from the vault competition won the silver medal, just days after she announced the end of her elite gymnastics career on Instagram after failing to qualify in the finals. Simone Biles also withdrew from the floor exercise finals, but it is still to be determined if she will compete in the balance beam.
Team USA’s Sunisa Lee took the bronze in the uneven bars, and now has a gold, silver and bronze medal to show for the 2020 Olympics.
COVID-19 cases at Tokyo Olympics rise to 264
There were 18 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 at the Tokyo Olympics on Sunday, including one athlete who was at the Olympic Village at the time of the positive test. The total now stands at 246, according to data released by the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee.
The surrounding city of Tokyo reported 3,058 new cases on Sunday, a 7-day average increase of 213.6%, according to data released by the Tokyo metropolitan government.
Lamont Marcell Jacobs wins men’s 100m sprint, USA still waiting for gold
Italy’s Lamont Marcell Jacobs surprised everyone by blazing past the competition in the men’s 100m for the gold. Team USA’s Fred Kerley finished with the silver in the event, tying with U.S. shot putter Raven Saunders for the best finish for any U.S. athlete in the track and field events thus far.
Yulimar Rojas of Venezuela set a new world record in triple jump at 15.67m, and in a rare agreement, Gianmarco Tamberi of Italy and Mutaz Essa Barshim of Qatar decided to share the gold in men’s high jump instead of proceeding with a jump-off.
Xander Schauffele takes home gold in golf
The American golfer Xander Schauffele won the gold medal in men’s individual after he was tied for the lead with two holes to play. This win is even more special for Schauffele, whose mother was raised in Japan and whose grandparents are residents of Tokyo.
Alexander Zverev wins men’s tennis singles
Germany’s Alexander Zverev bested both Jérémy Chardy and Novak Djokovic to make it into the finals where he defeated Karen Khachanov, 6-3, 6-1. Zverev is ranked fifth in the world by Association of Tennis Professionals, but in the 2020 Games in Tokyo he is now officially first.
1st medals given in BMX freestyle, USA’s Hannah Roberts takes silver
Australian Logan Martin of the men’s division and Great Britain’s Charlotte Worthington of the women’s won the first-ever Olympic gold medals in freestyle BMX, while Team USA’s Hannah Roberts took home the silver. The aerial competition was the newest addition to the discipline of cycling, which also includes road racing, track and cross-country.
Olympic tears of joy
Every Olympic Games sees a fair share of tears shed, but this year has been especially emotional — especially for the champions. There is no shortage of hardships in a normal cycle for Olympic greats, but for the pandemic-delayed Tokyo games athletes have also battled through tropical storms, the summer heat and the deafening silence of empty stands.
Perhaps it is this combination, along with the realization of so much training and hard work, that has brought tears to the eyes of so many of the games’ champions.
(NEW YORK) — The United States is facing a COVID-19 surge this summer as the more contagious delta variant spreads.
More than 612,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 and over 4.1 million people have died worldwide, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.
Just 57.7% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC on Tuesday, citing new science on the transmissibility of the delta variant, changed its mask guidance to now recommend everyone in areas with substantial or high levels of transmission — vaccinated or not — wear a face covering in public, indoor settings.
Here’s how the news is developing Sunday. All times Eastern:
Aug 01, 8:20 am
Israel to offer 3rd COVID-19 booster shot to older citizens: Reports
Israel’s ministry of health has instructed that a third dose of vaccine should be administered to those over 60, beginning Sunday, Aug. 1, Israeli media is reporting.
The third jab will be given to those who have received the second dose at least five months ago. People who have recovered from COVID-19 will not be given the third dose.
Israel’s prime minister and the minister of health are expected to speak on this Sunday morning.
ABC News’ Bruno Nota
Jul 31, 5:38 pm
US reports another huge single-day increase in cases
The United States has reported over 100,000 new COVID-19 cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There were 101,171 new COVID-19 cases reported to the CDC on July 30.
The last time the U.S. saw over 100,000 cases reported in a single day was nearly six months ago on Feb. 6.
On Friday, the CDC reported that the U.S. saw 86,000 cases in the previous 24 hours. That total had been the largest since Feb. 12, as the country began to come out of the surge seen in late December 2020 and early January.
Officials have said the delta variant is driving the increase in cases and continue to push the unvaccinated to get the shot.
Jul 31, 4:58 pm
Florida sees largest single-day increase of COVID-19 cases ever
Florida reported its largest single-day increase of COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic on Saturday.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 21,683 people tested positive for the coronavirus in the last 24 hours.
Cases have risen sharply in the past month in Florida, fueled by the highly transmissible delta variant. On Friday, the state reported over 110,000 new COVID-19 in the past week — the highest weekly increase since the start of the year.
Jul 31, 4:37 pm
Austin, Texas, has just 9 ICU beds left
Austin, Texas, has just nine ICU beds available for its population of 2.3 million, as of Saturday, according to the state’s coronavirus tracker.
The Austin area is currently treating 400 COVID-19 patients in hospitals. The 7-day moving average for hospitalizations in a week has increased over 47% from 34 to 50 new admissions on July 30, according to an Austin Public Health news release.
“We are running out of time and our community must act now,” Austin-Travis County Health Authority Dr. Desmar Walkes said on the crisis. “Our ICU capacity is reaching a critical point where the level of risk to the entire community has significantly increased, and not just to those who are needing treatment for COVID. If we fail to come together as a community now, we jeopardize the lives of loved ones who might need critical care.”
Jul 31, 2:16 pm
New Orleans runs out of capacity to respond to 911 calls
New Orleans’ EMS department has become so hard hit by the pandemic and the rampant delta variant, it does not have the capacity to respond to 911 calls, Mayor LaToya Cantrell said Friday.
“One of our primary and premiere public safety agencies, EMS, was hit very hard with COVID, we’re experiencing that this week, today, right now,” Cantrell said.
The crisis prompted Cantrell to issue an emergency contract to increase the city’s capacity on the ground, “because we currently do not have the capacity to respond to 911 calls that come from our community right now,” she said.
On Friday Cantrell enacted an indoor mask mandate, which requires all people regardless of vaccination status to wear a mask indoors. The mayor also announced that all city employees will be required to be vaccinated, hoping the decision will prompt private businesses to issue similar orders for their workers.
“Our children are dying,” she said. “From 2 weeks old to 2 years old to 4 years old, you cannot make it up.”
She cited that the city has recorded over 1,000 new cases just over this past week.
At the press briefing when Cantrell was asked whether she worries about losing employees who don’t want to get a shot, she said, “Well I’m worried about city employees as it relates to death due to this virus.”
-ABC News’ Joshua Hoyos and Will McDuffie.
Jul 31, 1:08 pm
White House says about 3 million received 1st COVID-19 shot in the past week
The White House offered a glimmer of hope in the COVID-19 crisis Saturday as the nation continues to grapple with the delta variant.
For the first time “in a long stretch” the U.S. recorded four days in a row where over 700,000 COVID-19 vaccines were given out, White House Chief of Staff Ronald Klain tweeted Saturday.
Overall, about 3 million people got their first vaccine shot over the past seven days, Klain said.
Jul 31, 9:28 am
CDC director says ‘no federal vaccine mandate’
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky caused a stir on Fox News on Friday when asked, “Are you for mandating a vaccine on a federal level?” to which she replied, “That’s something that I think the administration is looking into.”
Walensky later clarified her comments on Twitter saying: “There will be no nationwide mandate. I was referring to mandates by private institutions and portions of the federal government. There will be no federal mandate.”
Jul 31, 4:23 am
4,058 new cases reported in Tokyo, a 217% increase since last week
At lest 4,058 new cases of COVID-19 were reported Saturday in Tokyo, according to the city’s coronavirus information website.
Of those cases, 95 are severe and three have resulted in death.
The new figure marks a 217% increase in cases since last Saturday.
Jul 30, 7:09 pm
New Orleans to mandate indoor masking, city employee vaccinations
New Orleans officials reissued a mask mandate Friday, requiring that everyone, regardless of vaccination status, wear a mask indoors in public spaces due to rising COVID-19 cases.
“Thanks to the delta variant, the COVID pandemic is once again raging out of control,” Mayor LaToya Cantrell said during a press briefing, noting the daily average of new COVID-19 cases increased from 104 last week to 272 this week. “This is a very dangerous number. We have been here before. … And what was once unpreventable, today is preventable, and is through our people getting vaccinated.”
The mayor also announced that city employees and contractors will be required to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Over 71% of city employees are vaccinated, “but that is not good enough,” the mayor said. “We want to get to 100%.”
Jul 30, 7:02 pm
Austin facing ‘dire’ ICU bed shortage
In Austin, Texas, intensive care unit capacity has reached a “dire” point, the city’s health department said Friday, with only 16 staffed beds available for over 2.3 million residents.
“We are running out of time and our community must act now,” Austin-Travis County Health Authority Dr. Desmar Walkes said in a statement. “Our ICU capacity is reaching a critical point where the level of risk to the entire community has significantly increased, and not just to those who are needing treatment for COVID. If we fail to come together as a community now, we jeopardize the lives of loved ones who might need critical care.”
APH is urging the community to act as the situation becomes critical. The region is now facing the lowest staffed ICU bed capacity since the beginning of the pandemic with only 16 staffed available.
📌 More: https://t.co/dbnHqlqW7R
📌 Vaccinate: https://t.co/uNEZHhMj3c
(1/4) pic.twitter.com/4YXSavkIAc
— Austin Public Health (@AusPublicHealth) July 30, 2021
The low ICU capacity is similar to the beginning of the pandemic, Austin Public Health said, noting that the number of COVID-19 patients in local ICUs increased 28% between July 23 and July 30.
Local health officials advised that partially or unvaccinated people should avoid gatherings and wear a mask during essential activities, while those who are vaccinated should limit gathering sizes and wear a mask indoors, among other measures.
Jul 30, 5:40 pm
Florida reports over 110K new COVID-19 cases in past week
There were over 110,000 new COVID-19 cases in Florida in the past week — the highest weekly increase since the start of the year — according to the latest state data.
The Florida Department of Health reported Friday there were 110,477 new cases from July 23 to July 29. The state’s positivity rate is now 18.1%.
MORE: Front-line workers in Florida say current COVID-19 surge ‘feels like it’s an impending storm’
Just one month ago, the state was reporting 15,998 new cases in one week, from June 25 to July 1.
-ABC News’ Joshua Hoyos
Jul 30, 4:44 pm
US records highest daily case total since February
Overnight, the U.S. recorded its highest daily case total since Feb. 12, reporting over 86,000 new cases.
The daily case average in the U.S. has surged to more than 66,600 cases per day, up by nearly 64.1% in the last week, and up nearly 481% since mid-June.
Louisiana now has the country’s highest case rate with nearly 540 new cases per 100,000 residents. The state’s case average has skyrocketed in the last month, up by nearly 1,000%, and is now nearing its highest case level since the onset of the pandemic.
-ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos
Jul 30, 2:55 pm
Antibody treatment available for preventative use after exposure for certain people
The Food and Drug Administration is now permitting preventative use of the monoclonal antibody cocktail from Regeneron for certain people who have been exposed to COVID-19.
Until now, monoclonal antibodies had only been for patients who were infected with COVID-19 and at high risk of getting very sick.
This new preventative use will be for people who meet several criteria: COVID-19 exposure or good chance of COVID-19 exposure; at high risk of getting very sick from COVID-19 due to health complications; at high risk of getting sick due to not being fully vaccinated.
This is the only COVID-19 antibody therapy available in the U.S. for both treatment and post-exposure prophylaxis. It has shown to hold up against the variants of concern, including delta. A Regeneron spokesperson told ABC News the company is continuing discussion with the FDA to evaluate even broader prevention use in immunocompromised people for “pre-exposure” situations.
-ABC News’ Sasha Pezenik
Jul 30, 1:00 pm
Delta variant leaves vaccinated, unvaccinated with similarly high viral loads: CDC
Data shows that the delta variant leaves vaccinated and unvaccinated people with similarly high viral loads, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said in a statement Friday.
“High viral loads suggest an increased risk of transmission and raised concern that, unlike with other variants, vaccinated people infected with Delta can transmit the virus,” Walensky said.
“This finding is concerning and was a pivotal discovery leading to CDC’s updated mask recommendation” this week, Walensky said.
-ABC News’ Sony Salzman
Jul 30, 10:45 am
6 passengers test positive on cruise ship
Six passengers on Royal Caribbean’s Adventure of the Seas ship have tested positive for COVID-19 during routine testing, the cruise line said Friday.
Four of the passengers — who were not traveling together — are vaccinated. The other two are unvaccinated minors who were traveling together, the cruise line said.
One person has mild symptoms. The other five have no symptoms, the cruise line said.
“The guests were immediately quarantined, and their immediate travel party and all close contacts were traced and all tested negative,” Royal Caribbean said. “Each guest and their immediate travel parties disembarked in Freeport, The Bahamas, and separately traveled home via private transportation.”
This cruise started in the Bahamas on July 25. Everyone over 16 must be fully vaccinated and test negative before boarding, the cruise line said.
-ABC News’ Sam Sweeney
Jul 30, 10:30 am
Broadway audiences must be vaccinated
As Broadway gears up for its return in September, the Broadway League announced Friday that everyone attending a show must be vaccinated and wear a mask.
Guests will need to show proof of vaccination when they enter the theater.
This rule applies through October 2021 and may change in November.
All performers, staff and backstage crew also must be vaccinated.
Jul 30, 5:29 am
New Yorkers getting 1st dose to receive $100 incentive
Starting Friday, New Yorkers who receive their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at any city-run site will get a $100 incentive.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio made the announcement during a press briefing Wednesday.
“We will say thank you. We’ll say we’re really glad that you got vaccinated for yourself, for your family, for your community,” de Blasio said. “And here’s $100 to thank you for doing the right thing and to encourage people.”
The mayor said that New Yorkers getting vaccinated will not only get the cash, they’ll also be able to do “everything else that’s wonderful in this city, including the amazing concerts coming up. You can’t go to those concerts unless you’re vaccinated.”
Jul 30, 4:53 am
Japan to extend coronavirus state of emergency covering 3 of Tokyo’s neighboring prefectures
Japan’s government will put in place a coronavirus state of emergency covering three of Tokyo’s neighboring prefectures and Osaka on Monday, according to public broadcaster NHK.
Tokyo and Okinawa’s declarations will remain in place.
The news comes as case numbers in Japan continue to rise amid the Olympics.
As of Friday, there are 3,300 new positive cases in Tokyo, according to the Tokyo government’s COVID-19 information website. Of those 3,300 cases, 88 are severe and two have turned fatal.
Jul 30, 4:22 am
New CDC brief says vaccines may be less effective against delta variant
An internal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention brief published by the Washington Post Thursday reveals more details about why the delta variant is different to and more concerning than other strains of the coronavirus.
The CDC said the main differences between the delta variant and previous strains is that delta is highly contagious and likely more severe. Plus, breakthrough infections caused by delta may be as transmissible as unvaccinated cases.
“This is an incredibly, incredibly contagious version of virus, it’s almost like a whole different virus,” Dr. Ashish Jha said. “And CDC is estimating that it is probably also more deadly.”
Vaccines prevent more than 90% of severe diseases, but may be less effective at preventing infection or transmission of the delta variant, the CDC said. Therefore, there could be more breakthrough infections and more community spread despite people’s vaccination status.
“Current vaccines continue to provide strong protection against severe illness and death, but the delta variant is likely responsible for increased numbers of breakthrough infections — breakthroughs that could be as infectious as unvaccinated cases,” Dr. John Brownstein, an ABC News contributor, said. “This internal document highlights the challenge we all now face in combating the most transmissible variant of COVID so far.”
Jul 30, 3:38 am
Number of positive cases at Tokyo Olympics reaches 225
There are now 225 positive COVID-19 cases at the Tokyo Olympics, according to a tally kept by Olympics organizers.
That is an increase of 27 cases since Thursday.
Of those cases, three of them are athletes. Two were in the Olympic Village at the time of their positive case, and one was not.
(WASHINGTON) — Donald Trump has not yet said whether he’ll run for president in 2024, but he’s already raising a huge war chest in case he does.
New disclosure reports filed Saturday night show that his affiliated political committees have a total of $102 million in cash on hand going into July, after bringing in more than $80 million in the first six months of 2021.
The massive fundraising sum the committees reported include transfers of donations dated December 2020, though the exact amount transferred from last year is unclear.
According to his team, the latest fundraising total, which spans from Jan. 1 through June 30, comes from 3.2 million contributions.
The money will also come in handy in the midterm elections in 2022, where he could pump tens of millions of dollars into a quest to take back the House and Senate from Democrats.
The latest figures are a show of continued fundraising prowess from Trump, whose massive post-election fundraising success has come amid baseless fraud claims about the 2020 presidential election.
Since the election, Trump and his team have solicited hundreds of millions of dollars for an “Election Defense Fund” and seeking support to fight the 2020 results. But little of that has actually gone to such efforts so far, disclosure filings show.
The latest filings show that much of the amount raised by Trump’s various committees in the first six months of this year have been saved in the bank, while much of the rest has been used for various fundraising and consulting expenses.
Roughly $3.8 million of the spending from Trump’s old presidential campaign committee were labeled as various “recount” expenses, including $2 million in recount legal consulting and $76,000 paid to Giuliani Security & Safety for “recount travel expenses.”
Another $5.8 million was reported as general legal consulting fees.
Trump’s newly formed PAC also reported giving $1 million in contributions to the America First Policy Institution, affiliated with pro-Trump super PAC America First Action.
More than $80,000 has also gone to lodging at Trump’s properties, filings show.
Trump has remained very popular among his base in the first six months of the Biden administration.
Over the past few months, the Republican National Committee as well as multiple Republican candidates vying for key races in the 2022 midterms have fundraised off of Trump, using his name and appealing to his supporters in fundraising emails and messages, hosting fundraisers at Trump properties and even flocking to Mar-a-Lago to feature the former president himself at supporter events.
ABC News’ John Santucci contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) —Protesters gathered outside an Oklahoma cemetery on Friday to decry the reburial of remains exhumed earlier this summer that could be linked to the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.
The remains of 19 people exhumed from Oaklawn Cemetery in Tulsa were reinterred Friday in the same place they were found. The remains were exhumed as a part of a city effort to find unmarked burials from the violent event — which happened 100 years ago — when a white mob stormed the Greenwood District of Tulsa, a predominantly Black area dubbed “Black Wall Street” on May 31, 1921. The mob destroyed and burned 35 city blocks of the thriving Black neighborhood to the ground.
Oklahoma originally recorded 36 deaths in the brazen attack, but a 2001 commission reported the number was as high as 300.
However, dozens of protesters had gathered to denounce the Friday reburial without a proper funeral ceremony. The burial process was closed to the public.
“It’s disgusting and disrespectful that these are our family members and we are outside of the gate and they are inside of the gate where they are,” Bobby Eaten, a descendant of a massacre victim, said to ABC Tulsa affiliate KTUL.
The city of Tulsa told ABC News that the reburial went on as planned based on a proposal presented to a public oversight committee that was approved in March, “as on-site forensic analysis, documentation and DNA sampling were complete.”
Further, the city had to abide by permit requirements filed with the state’s Department of Health and the Tulsa County District Attorney’s Office, which required the remains be temporarily interred at Oaklawn Cemetery. An internment plan was required before moving forward with the excavation.
City spokeswoman Michelle Brooks told ABC News that the city remains “committed to transparency during this investigation” and research experts will report their findings from the excavation this fall as well as recommendations for next steps.
All public oversight committee members, the physical investigation team and North Tulsa clergy involved with the exhumation were invited to the reburial, Brooks said.
Brooks said analysis will be done on the remains to determine if they are massacre victims.
“If they are, then we will want to try to match DNA with descendants and let descendants decide where they want them to be buried. If they can’t be identified, we would work to establish a permanent memorial,” Brooks said.
While on-site forensic analysis and DNA sampling from the remains are complete, she noted DNA matching with potential descendants could take years.
There are two more sites the city is looking at for possible massacre victim remains, KTUL reported.
