(WILTON MANORS, Fla.) — Police in Florida have arrested the driver involved in a hit-and-run crash that killed two children and injured four others in Florida on Monday.
On Tuesday, the Broward Sheriff’s Office identified the suspect as 27-year-old Sean Charles Greer.
Greer is in custody and facing charges of leaving the scene of an accident involving death, police said.
Earlier on Tuesday, the sheriff’s office said they located the 2009 Honda Accord involved in the incident, which occurred in the city of Wilton Manors, in Broward County.
Investigators said the driver veered around a school bus that was trying to merge onto the road, drove off the roadway onto the sidewalk and struck multiple children.
The driver then allegedly fled the scene, according to investigators.
The victims were all between 2 and 10 years old, according to police.
Andrea Fleming, 6, and Kylie Jones, 5, were the two kids killed at the scene.
Draya Fleming, 9, Johnathan Carter, 10, Laziyah Stokes, 9, and Audre Fleming, 2, were rushed to Broward Health Medical Center with injuries, police said.
Anyone with information is urged to call (954) 493-TIPS (8477).
(HONG KONG) — Hong Kong’s national security police arrested six people linked to Stand News, an independent online media outlet, in another sign that the city’s once-thriving press freedom is taking a turn for the worse.
Police also froze $7.8 million in assets and raided the outlet’s headquarters, where they seized “subversive articles,” officers said at a press conference on Wednesday.
Stand News announced after the raid that it would close, saying staff would no longer speak to the media.
The raid and arrests came about six months after the pro-democracy paper Apple Daily was forced to shut down following a newsroom raid, seizure of its assets, and arrest of its founder, Jimmy Lai.
Those arrested on Wednesday included former Stand News board members Denise Ho, a well-known pop singer and democracy activist, and Margaret Ng, an ex-lawmaker. Ronson Chan, deputy assignment editor and Hong Kong Journalists Association chairman, was also detained.
The arrests were made at their homes under a colonial-era law covering conspiracy to print or distribute seditious materials, police said in a statement. Chan attempted to live-stream police arriving at his door.
Chief Secretary John Lee said that anyone who uses “journalism as a disguise and a tool to carry out acts that endanger national security will be severely struck by the SAR government.”
The HKJA in a statement posted on Facebook said it is “deeply concerned that the police have repeatedly arrested senior members of the media and searched the offices of news organizations … HKJA urges the government to protect press freedom in accordance with the Basic Law.”
Around 200 officers raided the Stand News office, with a search warrant under the national security law, allowing them to “search and seize relevant journalistic materials.”
Police were seen carrying boxes out of the Stand News office.
(NEW YORK) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.4 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 820,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
About 61.9% 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 29, 8:38 am
Why CDC doesn’t require testing at end of isolation: Director
The newly updated CDC guidelines don’t require testing at the end of isolation because PCR tests can stay positive for up to 12 weeks, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky told “Good Morning America” Wednesday.
“So we would have people in isolation for a very long time if we were relying on PCRs,” Walensky said.
Walensky also addressed Tuesday’s news from the FDA that, according to early data, rapid antigen tests may be less sensitive when it comes to the omicron variant.
“We do know that the most sensitive test you can do is a PCR test,” Walensky said. “So if you have symptoms and you have a negative antigen test, we do ask you to go and get a PCR to make sure those symptoms are not attributable to COVID.”
Walensky said rapid tests do work “quite well,” especially in places where people are being tested regularly, like at schools.
“They may not work as well as they have for the delta variant,” Walensky said, but “we still are encouraging their use.”
Dec 29, 5:47 am
Global COVID cases rose 11% last week, WHO says
New COVID-19 cases increased 11% last week over the week prior, The World Health Organization said on Tuesday.
Almost 5 million new infections were recorded in the week that ended Dec. 26, the agency said in its weekly epidemiological update. The rise followed a “gradual increase” since October, the agency said.
WHO officials said the risk from the omicron variant “remains very high.”
The agency said early data from the United Kingdom, South Africa and Denmark suggested a reduced risk of hospitalization for those infected with omicron, but said “further data are needed to understand the clinical markers of severity including the use of oxygen, mechanical ventilation and death, and how severity may be impacted by vaccination and/or prior SARSCoV-2 infection.”
Dec 29, 2:13 am
San Francisco cancels New Year’s Eve fireworks
San Francisco officials canceled the city’s New Year’s Eve fireworks show, citing concerns about the spread of the omicron variant.
“After closely monitoring local health indicators, the decision to cancel is a proactive measure that will best protect SF & essential front-line workers,” the city’s department of emergency management said in a statement on Tuesday.
About 84% of eligible residents are fully vaccinated and 55% have had a booster shot, according to city health data. But omicron still “poses a significant risk,” officials said in a statement.
“While we are all understandably eager to ring in a new year with San Francisco’s customary New Year’s Eve fireworks show, we must remain vigilant in doing all we can to stop the spread of the COVID-19 Omicron variant,” Mayor London Breed said.
Dec 28, 7:19 pm
Former Trump surgeon general slams CDC over new isolation guidance
Dr. Jerome Adams, the U.S. surgeon general under former President Donald Trump, slammed the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention over its change on isolation times for infected individuals.
In a Twitter thread, Adams criticized the agency’s decision to omit the recommendation for COVID-19-positive individuals to take a COVID-19 test, prior to ending isolation.
The CDC reduced the isolation period from 10 days to five for asymptotic patients.
“Regardless of what CDC says, you really should try to obtain an antigen test (I know- easier said than done) and confirm it’s negative prior to leaving isolation and quarantine. There’s not a scientist or doctor I’ve met yet who wouldn’t do this for themselves/ their family,” Adams tweeted.
The former surgeon general added, “This isn’t about the best science – it’s a compromise to keep the economy open in the face of inadequate tests.”
-ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos
Dec 28, 6:41 pm
NFL to cut isolation time to 5 days: ESPN
The NFL and NFL Players Union agreed to new guidelines for when a player who is infected with COVID-19 can return to the field, according to ESPN.
Players who test positive can isolate for five days, in accordance with the new recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The agreement includes both vaccinated and unvaccinated players and is contingent on the players being asymptomatic, or at least demonstrating that their symptoms are resolving, after the five-day period, ESPN reported.
Under the current rules, unvaccinated players are required to isolate for 10 days when they test positive. Vaccinated players can return to the field as soon as they test negative.
Christine Hahn/Resorts World Las Vegas/Concerts West/AEG Presents
2021 was the year that a host of big-name superstars either announced or kicked off Las Vegas residencies — including perhaps the biggest name of all: Adele.
Shortly after telling Rolling Stone that she wouldn’t do a regular tour due to COVID-19 fears — and claiming that she wasn’t doing a Las Vegas residency because there were no available venues — Adele turned around and announced Weekends with Adele. The residency at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace kicks off January 21, 2022 and will feature the star performing two shows each weekend through April 16.
Adele’s announcement came in the wake of Katy Perry, Celine Dion, Carrie Underwood and Luke Bryan all announcing residencies at the brand-new Resorts World Las Vegas, which opened in June.
–Celine’s new show was supposed to officially launch the Resorts World Theater on November 5, but the shows were abruptly canceled for medical reasons. Specifically, Celine was said to be suffering from what was described as “severe and persistent muscle spasms,” which left her unable to perform. That left it to Carrie Underwood to open the Resorts World Theater on December 1.
–Another Las Vegas residency that didn’t happen in 2021 was a series of Christmas shows at Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood by Backstreet Boys, who’d planned to release their first-ever Christmas album this year. But when the group decided to push the album to 2022, the shows — announced in July and scheduled for November and December — were canceled.
–Katy Perry is set to start her residency, PLAY, tonight, December 29, at Resorts World. She described it as “a set-in-the-’60s, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids movie on mushrooms,” which will feature wild costumes, NFTs and, she toldVariety, “a level of humor to it that is probably the weirdest I’ve ever done.” Her fellow American Idol judge Luke Bryan starts his residency in February.
–Meanwhile, Sting officially launched his residency, My Songs, at the Colosseum in October. He’d originally announced it in 2019, but it was delayed by COVID-19. Adam Lambert did a mini-residency in October at the Venetian Resort, while Bryan Adams did one at the Wynn Las Vegas in November.
—Michael Buble announced a six-date residency at Resorts World, which will run between April 27, 2022 and May 7, while John Legend will bring his 24-show residency, Love in Las Vegas, to Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino beginning in April of 2022. Fellow Voice coach Gwen Stefani officially wrapped up her residency at that same venue in November.
–Finally, Rod Stewart extended his long-running show at the Colosseum into 2022, marking his 11th year performing there, while both Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga resumed their residencies at Park MGM Theater.
–And as for a residency that isn’t in Las Vegas, Josh Groban announced the dates for the return of his show at New York’s Radio City Music Hall; he’d only played one date before COVID-19 shut it down.
Australian rapper Masked Wolf, born Harry Michael Avramidis, will be performing December 31 on Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest on ABC. But while the show is now in its 50th year, the rapper admits that, as an Aussie, he’d never heard of it before.
“I mean, our New Year’s Eve is, like, the Harbor Bridge in Sydney and, the fireworks there,” he tells ABC Audio. “They do a massive fireworks show, which is like $7 million or something, it’s huge. But the New Year’s Rockin’ Eve? No idea.”
But now that he’s familiar, Wolf says it’s definitely an honor to be included.
“I feel like if you’re an Australian and you’re included in anything American internationally, it’s something you should be privileged to be in,” he notes. “I’ve spoken with Ryan [Seacrest] before in an interview and that was just a privilege alone in itself. So for me…I’m taking everything as it comes, but I hope they like the Aussie sound and how natural I am and what I speak about.”
It’s what he speaks about that led to his global hit “Astronaut in the Ocean,” Wolf says.
“I think once people found out what it was truly about — the message of feeling out of place, especially during the time when it was released, it was, y’know, the pandemic at its core — it really resonated with a lot of listeners,” notes Wolf. “Like, ‘Hey, that’s how I feel and he was was actually willing to speak out about it.'”
“And it’s not just with music,” he adds. “It could be anything: your job, losing your job, stuff like that. So I just think it connected because it was real.”
Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest kicks off Friday night at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
Kelsea Ballerini finishes the year with a top-ten duet with Kenny Chesney that could very well go on to become the stars’ next number one.
Along the way, she also picked up her very first CMA trophies, with “Half of My Hometown” winning for both Music Video and Musical Event of the Year.
“It’s my favorite song I’ve put out, you know,” she tells ABC Audio, “so just to have that song kinda get some love on it by my peers is a big deal. It’s also with my hometown hero. Like, there’s a lot of levels to it that make me feel really proud.”
Kelsea goes on: “When we got nominated, I FaceTimed Kenny, and we just kind of had that moment of like, ‘People like our song. Like, What a joy!’ You know, you make it because you like it, and we made it because we liked it. But to see people really kind of relating to it and catching on is exciting.”
Instead of focusing on career momentum, the East Tennessee native seems to view her success through the eyes of the Knoxville girl who dreamed these dreams.
“I still haven’t had the ‘I’ve made it’ moment, I hope I never do,” she confesses. “But yeah, there are certain moments that kinda make you look up and go, ‘Man, 12-year-old me would be losing her mind!'”
“And having a song with [Kenny] is certainly one of those,” she adds.
In addition to touring the country with pop superstars the Jonas Brothers this year, Kelsea also released her first book of poetry, Feel Your Way Through, in November.
From old school to new school, there’s no denying that hip-hop made its way to the top of the charts this year. Here are the top five albums of 2021, based on first-week sales.
5. Lil Baby and Lil Durk, The Voice of the Heroes, released June 4 — 150,000 in sales
4. Tyler, the Creator, Call Me if You Get Lost, released June 25 — 169,000 in sales
3. J. Cole, The Off-Season, released May 14 — 282,000 in sales
2. Kanye West, Donda, released August 29 — 309,000 in sales
1. Drake, Certified Lover Boy, released September 3 — 613,000 in sales
The Rolling Stones made some very sad and very happy news in 2021. The sad news was that the band lost its beloved drummer, Charlie Watts, who died in August at the age of 80 after playing with the group for over 58 years.
The happy news was that, after postponing a planned U.S. tour in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, The Stones returned to the road in the fall of this year for a stateside leg that became the highest-grossing tour in the world for 2021.
The Rolling Stones unveiled their plans for a new U.S. leg of their No Filter Tour in late July. Just a couple weeks later, however, it was announced that Watts would likely not be able to join the band on the trek because he was recuperating from a medical procedure, and that he had personally chosen acclaimed session drummer Steve Jordan to fill in for him.
The Stones reportedly had expected Watts to make a full recovery, but he passed away on August 24 in a hospital, surrounded by family members.
With Jordan behind the drum kit, The Rolling Stones officially launched their 2021 tour on September 26 in St. Louis. The band dedicated the trek to Watts, and at the start of every show, a video presentation paying tribute to Charlie was shown on the venue’s screens. The 14-date trek wound down with a November 23 concert in Hollywood, Florida. Pollstar announced in December that the first 12 dates of the tour brought in $115.5 million — the final two shows took place after the calculation cut-off date — making the trek easily the highest-grossing in the world this year.
In other noteworthy Rolling Stones-related news that happened in 2021, Mick Jagger released a new collaborative single in April called “Eazy Sleazy” that featured Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl on guitar, bass and drums. Also, October saw the release of an expanded 40th anniversary reissue of The Stones’ classic 1981 album Tattoo You. The deluxe versions of the reissue included a bonus disc titled Lost & Found made up of previously unreleased tracks enhanced with newly added vocals and guitars.
2021 was a wild ride for many for obvious reasons, but what were the biggest entertainment controversies that made headlines over the past year?
The most recent was the deadly shooting on the set of Alec Baldwin‘s Western film, Rust. Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed and director Joel Souza was injured in the October 21 incident, in which Baldwin fired his Colt revolver in the direction of both during a rehearsal. Investigators said a live round was loaded in the pistol that Baldwin claimed he was assured was “cold,” or safe. The investigation into the fatal shooting continues.
Dave Chappelle‘s reputation took a hit after critics claimed his new Netflix special, The Closer, contained “transphobic” content. Netflix employees staged a virtual walkout on October 20 after Netflix head Ted Sarandos defended the special and Chappelle as freedom of speech. Sarandos later apologized. Some film festivals disinvited Chappelle from screening his Untitled documentary because of the controversy. The comedian never apologized but later said he was willing to meet members of the trans community who “watched my special from beginning to end.”
Jeopardy! found itself in hot water when it tapped executive producer Mike Richards to succeed the late Alex Trebek on August 11. Shortly after, controversial remarks he made on The Randumb Show, a podcast he hosted from 2013 to 2014, resurfaced, among other concerning allegations. Richards stepped down on August 20 following the intense public backlash.
Armie Hammer was dropped by his agent and was booted from numerous TV and movie projects after sexual abuse and misconduct allegations surfaced against him earlier this year. Hammer denied the accusations and checked into a Florida treatment facility for drug, alcohol, and sex issues on May 31. He left the facility in December.
And, lastly, the Golden Globes. A February Los Angeles Timesexposé ignited a racial controversy after finding the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the organization that presents the award show, hadn’t included a single Black member in its voting body for some 20 years. Although the HFPA announced reforms, the damage was done. Hollywood shunned the organization, Tom Cruise returned his three trophies in protest, and the HFPA’s longtime broadcast partner, NBC, cut all ties, leaving it without a broadcast outlet for the upcoming January 9 ceremony.
(NEW YORK) — Westchester District Attorney Mimi Rocah has declined to pursue criminal charges against former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo for allegations made by two women that he kissed them on the cheek.
While her investigators found “credible evidence” that the alleged conduct had occurred, Rocah said the actions did not meet the requirement to be prosecuted as a criminal act.
“Our investigation found credible evidence to conclude that the alleged conduct in both instances did occur,” Rocah wrote in a statement. “However, in both instances, my Office has determined that, although the allegations and witnesses were credible, and conduct concerning, we cannot pursue criminal charges due to the statutory requirements of the criminal laws of New York.”
Rocah’s investigation, which began after the release of New York Attorney General Letitia James’ report on Cuomo, examined the accusations made by a state trooper on Cuomo’s security detail and by a woman who alleged Cuomo gave her an unwanted kiss during an event at White Plains High School.
The trooper alleged that she was on duty at the governor’s home in Mount Kisco when he asked if he could kiss her. She said that she said “sure” because she was afraid of the ramifications of saying no. He allegedly kissed her on the cheek and “then said something to the effect of, ‘oh, I’m not supposed to do that’ or ‘unless that’s against the rules,'” according to the attorney general’s report.
The second woman alleged in the report that Cuomo grabbed her arm and pulled her toward him to kiss her on the cheek.
Rocah is the second prosecutor in recent weeks, after Nassau County District Attorney Joyce Smith, to decline to prosecute Cuomo based on his actions not meeting the statutory requirements for a criminal act. Smith made similar comments as Rocah, saying she found the allegations “credible, deeply troubling, but not criminal under New York law.”
Editor’s Note: This story originally said charges were not pressed because they were outside the statute of limitations. It has been updated to say that charges were not pressed against Cuomo because they did not meet the statutory requirements of the law, not because they were outside the statute of limitations.
