Delta is now the dominant coronavirus variant in the US, CDC says

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(NEW YORK) — A highly contagious variant of the novel coronavirus that was initially identified in India is now the dominant strain in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Data updated by the CDC on Tuesday evening shows the so-called delta variant, also known as B.1.617.2, was estimated to account for 51.7% of all new cases of COVID-19 across the country as of July 3.

The variant, which has been detected in all 50 states, was also estimated to account for more than 50% of new cases in five of the 10 regions into which the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services divides the country. HHS Region 7 — compromising Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska — had the highest at 80.7%.

“Variant proportions are dynamic and difficult to predict due to reporting delays, the presence of multiple variants, and changing incidence,” the CDC told ABC News in a statement on Tuesday evening.

A little over a month ago, CDC data showed the delta variant was estimated to account for just 3% of all new cases in the U.S..

Health officials and experts alike have warned that the delta variant is a more infectious version of the disease, and preliminary data indicates it may increase the risk of hospitalization. The variant has also shown to be particularly dangerous to those who are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated against COVID-19.

However, current evidence suggests that the full dosage of a COVID-19 vaccine is highly effective in preventing hospitalizations and serious illness.

After being initially identified in India in October, the delta variant has since been reported in at least 98 countries around the globe, according to the World Health Organization. It was first detected in the U.S. in March.

The WHO declared delta a “variant of concern” in May, and the CDC upgraded its classification of the strain last month from “variant of interest” to a “variant of concern.” Both the WHO and the CDC say that variants of concern have shown to spread more easily than others and cause more severe disease.

During a press briefing on July 2, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Gebreyesus warned that the delta variant is “spreading quickly in countries with low and high vaccination coverage.” He noted that the variant continues to evolve and mutate, which requires constant evaluation and “careful adjustment of the public health response.”

“We are in a very dangerous period of the pandemic,” Tedros said.

CDC director Rochelle Walensky said health officials are concerned about the delta variant mutating to a point where it evades the existing COVID-19 vaccines.

“That’s really what we’re actively trying to prevent, which is why we’re really encouraging people to get vaccinated,” Walensky told ABC News in an interview last month. “I will say, as worrisome as this delta strain is with regard to its hyper-transmissibility, our vaccines work. Right now, they are working and they require actually two doses or to be fully vaccinated to work. So I would encourage all Americans to get your first shot and when you’re for your second, get your second shot and you’ll be protected against this delta variant.”

Since the start of the pandemic, the U.S. has reported more than 33.7 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 and over 605,000 deaths from the disease, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University.

More than 182 million people in the U.S. have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, including over 157 million — 47.5% of the population — who are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.

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Afghan troops flee across border as Taliban make swift gains in alarming offensive

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(WASHINGTON) — Hundreds of Afghan troops fled across the country’s northern border to safety, as the Taliban continue a swift offensive to seize districts amid the U.S. military withdrawal.

The rapidly deteriorating security situation has alarmed U.S. officials in Washington, D.C. and Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital, where the government of President Ashraf Ghani is trying to project calm and regroup its forces.

But the Taliban, the militant group that has been at war with the U.S. and Afghan government since the 2001 American invasion, is gaining more territory by the day, ignoring calls for a ceasefire or resumed negotiations.

President Joe Biden has also shown no second thoughts about his decision to withdraw all 2,500 remaining U.S. forces, except for 650 troops that will stay to protect the U.S. embassy and, at least initially, Kabul’s international airport.

That withdrawal is now 90% complete, according to the Pentagon. But although most troops have left, the Department of Defense said the withdrawal won’t be finished until late August.

Amid the Taliban offensive, there’s growing concern about the safety of the U.S. embassy in Kabul, which said it has “well-developed security plans to safely protect our personnel and facilities,” but has “no plans to close.”

There’s also deep concern for the Afghan interpreters, guides and other contractors who worked for the U.S. and now say their lives are at risk from the Taliban. The Biden administration has said it will relocate a group of them out of Afghanistan, but it’s unclear how many, when and to where.

A U.S. official confirmed to ABC News on Friday that the group may be moved to Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan — three of Afghanistan’s northern neighbors in Central Asia — but stressed that the planning was still early and no decisions had been made yet.

There are approximately 18,000 Afghans seeking a Special Immigrant Visa, which gives those who worked for the U.S. military or diplomatic mission in Afghanistan and Iraq the chance to move themselves and their families to the U.S. In recent years, the surge in interest and a years-long backlog has put these Afghans’ lives at risk, according to U.S. lawmakers and advocates, who have urged an evacuation to a safe location while their applications are processed.

A senior U.S. administration official declined to provide details on numbers or timing, but told ABC News on Thursday that they had “identified a group of SIV applicants … to be relocated to another location outside of Afghanistan before we complete our military drawdown by September.”

Before those plans get moving, however, more than 1,300 Afghan border police and soldiers crossed the border to Tajikistan to escape the Taliban in recent days, according to local Afghan security sources. The Taliban have seized dozens of districts since Biden’s withdrawal announcement in April and their offensive among northern provinces has resulted in hundreds of Afghan forces surrendering or being killed.

In the last six days, the Taliban have taken control of nearly 10% of Afghanistan’s districts, with nearly half of them now in Taliban control and another third contested between the militants and the government, according to the war monitor the Long War Journal.

Afghan national security adviser Hamdullah Mohib said Tuesday during a press conference that those Afghan forces that fled “are coming back and are once again going to be in the service of the people and in the defense of Faizabad,” the capital of Badakhshan province.

While some of those returns may begin, the rush of refugees across the border alarmed several governments in the region, who have feared a refugee crisis and regional upheaval as the U.S. exits and the Taliban seizes territory and possibly targets Kabul.

Tajikistan mobilized 20,000 military reservists to strengthen security on its southern border with Afghanistan, according to state media, while its president Emomali Rakhmon called both Ghani and Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the “alarming” situation. Russia pledged assistance, according to the Kremlin, including from its enormous and well-armed military base in Tajikistan.

Much of the Afghan-Tajik border is now controlled by the Taliban, which has been collecting revenue from cross-border commerce at their own mobile customs checkpoints on major highways, according to local Afghan security sources.

But despite the Taliban’s major gains on the battlefield, the Biden administration is still refusing to address the declining security situation.

Asked about a Taliban takeover, Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said Tuesday, “That’s a big ‘if,’ that’s a hypothetical and I don’t think it’s helpful for anybody right now to engage in hypothesizing about what might happen months and years from now.”

Over at the State Department, spokesperson Ned Price told reporters, “I am not going to offer an assessment or any sort of feedback of our reaction from here.”

Price also declined to speak to what contingency plans are in place at the U.S. embassy, including shutting down the massive compound and evacuating its 1,400 U.S. staffers. Two former U.S. officials told ABC News that the embassy would be reviewing its emergency evacuation plans with a daily review based on ever-evolving intelligence assessments, especially as more U.S. forces leave Afghanistan and the embassy with a smaller reactionary force to come assist.

“The State Department, the Department of Defense — these are planning organizations. We’re always planning for any contingency,” Price said, declining to offer more details.

Despite growing Taliban control, Price added that it seemed the militant group “understands that only through diplomacy can they garner any sort of legitimacy, can they expect to be accepted by the international community.”

But talks between the Taliban and Afghan government delegations, which met for the first time last September, have yet to yield anything but an agenda. And while some meetings in Doha, Qatar, continue, the peace process is all but dead despite committed paper statements from both sides.

Pressed on that, Price said Tuesday, “Believe me, I’m not out here to offer false hope when it comes to what the Taliban may seek or what they’re up to now.”

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Memphis community celebrates after crude oil pipeline proposal scrapped

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(MEMPHIS, Tenn.) — They were called the “path of least resistance” by energy giants proposing a new crude oil pipeline. Now, after months of activism and resistance, a Black community in Memphis, Tennessee is celebrating the announcement that construction of the pipeline has been called off.

“This is a significant victory for our community, and for all people who have been pushed to the margins of our society,” Justin J. Pearson, a local resident and one of the co-founders of the grassroots group Memphis Community Against the Pipeline (MCAP), told ABC News on Tuesday, adding that the community responded to the news by erupting in “jubilation.”

“It’s an extraordinary feat for people who were called the path of least resistance to have pushed back and beat back two billion-dollar crude oil pipeline companies,” he added. “You can walk through the neighborhood and see all these signs and the spirit that endures, showing that we really are the path of resilience.”

Plans for the Byhalia Connection pipeline, a joint venture from Plains All American and Valero Energy, were officially called off last Friday. The proposed 49-mile crude oil conduit faced mounting community opposition, and lawmakers and celebrities also added their voices to the resistance movement.

Brad Leone, the director of communications at Plains All American, said in a statement posted to the Byhalia Connection’s website that the company was no longer pursuing construction of the project “primarily due to lower U.S. oil production resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.”

“We value the relationships we’ve built through the development of this project, and appreciate those that supported the project and would have shared in its ongoing benefits including our customers, communities, energy consumers, landowners, area contractors and suppliers,” the statement added.

The pipeline initially threatened to cut through predominantly Black communities that have historical significance to those who live there — such as Boxtown, an area in Southwest Memphis that got its name after formerly enslaved people built their homes there out of train boxcars.

A representative of the pipeline company initially told the community the route was chosen because it was the “path of least resistance.” A company spokesperson later clarified to ABC News that, “What should have been said is that we looked for the path with the fewest collective impacts.”

Still, community members protesting the project said they were tired of bearing the brunt of industrial projects and potential pollutants in their backyard.

Former Vice President Al Gore, who attended anti-pipeline rallies, reacted to the cancellation news on Twitter. Gore congratulated MCAP and the community, “who made their voices heard to stop this reckless, racist ripoff!”

Actor Danny Glover, of the Lethal Weapon franchise, also sent well-wishes on Twitter to the community, calling the news a “huge win.”

The Southern Environmental Law Center, which represented MCAP and other community organizations as they fought state and federal permits for the project, applauded the news as “a victory for the people of Southwest Memphis, for the city’s drinking water, and perhaps most monumentally, it is a triumph for environmental justice,” according to a statement from Amanda Garcia, the group’s Tennessee office director.

Pearson, who was at the forefront of the pipeline resistance movement over the past several months, said the battles for environmental justice for all are not over. Still, he said he hopes others can see this victory as inspiration to fight for what they believe in.

“There’s no power more powerful than people power,” Pearson told ABC News. “Even when we don’t have as much money or clout as these billion-dollar businesses, we have our bodies, we have our voices, we have our time. We have our spirits, which cannot be broken.”

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Scoreboard roundup — 7/6/21

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(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Tuesday’s sports events:

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

INTERLEAGUE
Kansas City 7, Cincinnati 6

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Baltimore 7, Toronto 5
Texas 10, Detroit 5
Chi White Sox 4, Minnesota 1
Houston 9, Oakland 6
LA Angels 5, Boston 3
NY Yankees 12, Seattle 1
Cleveland at Tampa Bay (Postponed)

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Pittsburgh 2, Atlanta 1
Miami 2, LA Dodgers 1
Philadelphia 15, Chi Cubs 10
Arizona 4, Colorado 3
St. Louis 6, San Francisco 5
San Diego 7, Washington 4
Milwaukee at NY Mets (Postponed)

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PLAYOFFS
Phoenix 118, Milwaukee 105 (Phoenix leads series 1-0)

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Tank reflects on the connection between new music and his 2001 single “Maybe I Deserve”

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Courtesy of Atlantic Records

Tank is putting the finishing touches on his 10th album, R&B Money. As a preview, the R&B singer released his vulnerable single “Can’t Let It Show,” where he talks about love and heartbreak from a woman’s perspective.

Despite similarities in the song’s message to his 2001 single “Maybe I Deserve,” Tank says he didn’t consider sampling the older tune for his new track.

“I don’t even think that far back into time,” he tells ABC Audio. “I just kind of move forward, and if something connects to something from then or from there, that’s great. Let’s bring it all full circle.”

Tank adds, “I don’t think men do enough of understanding from a woman’s perspective. So [I’ll] always have that conversation.” 

“Maybe I Deserve” — from Tank’s debut album, Forces of Nature — was his first single to chart on theBillboard Hot 100. The 45-year-old artist reveals that he plans to continue speaking from a woman’s perspective by including a sample of his hit record on the upcoming track “I Deserve.”

“R&B Money album sneak peek!” Tank wrote Monday on Instagram. “What if I told you 21 years ago that I’m going to sample myself 21 years in the future and make a new hit record? Would you have believed me?”

R&B Money arrives this summer. 

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Baby monitor captures oak tree crash onto crib as 5-month-old baby sleeps

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Courtesy Kale and Courtney Buchholtz

(NEW YORK) — Courtney and Kale Buchholtz had just put their 5-month-old son Cannon to bed and sat down on the couch the night of July 2 when a loud bang shook the walls of their Prairieville, Louisiana, home.

The couple said they thought lightning had struck their house until Courtney Buchholtz looked down at the baby monitor and saw debris flying into Cannon’s room.

Thinking a window had busted open, the couple ran to their son’s room and discovered that instead, a giant oak tree had fallen through the roof.

“When I saw the tree I almost couldn’t even comprehend what was happening, that there was a tree in our house,” Courtney Buchholtz told ABC News’ Good Morning America. “And the thought of it being on top of Cannon, I felt physically ill.”

The Buchholtzes said they heard Cannon crying in his crib, which they took as a good sign that he was at least alive.

Courtney Buchholtz weaved through the debris in the room to pull Cannon out of his crib and handed him to her husband, who checked the infant for injuries.

“I just turned him over and checked him really well to make sure there was nothing wrong with him,” said Kale Buchholtz. “He had been crying, but as soon as I got him in my hands, he was laughing as I was turning him.”

Cannon escaped the incident without a scratch, according to the Buchholtzes, who said he only had to be washed clean of debris from the fallen ceiling.

The family of three quickly evacuated the house and drove to a family member’s nearby home. When Kale Buchholtz returned that night, he found the weight of the tree had destroyed nearly the entire house, aside from Cannon’s crib.

“It was just kind of like a little bubble around him,” he said. “The hallway on one side of his room was where most of the tree was, and around his crib it was just wood and sheetrock and everything else.”

When Courtney Buchholtz re-watched the footage of the tree falling, as captured by the baby monitor app on her phone, she described it as being like there was a “shield” protecting Cannon.

She said she immediately thought of her late son Kasen, who died in 2016, one month after he was born prematurely.

“We always say that he’s watching over his little brother, so my immediate thought was that Kasen was protecting his brother and keeping him safe,” she said. “Losing one child and the thought of anything happening to another child is gut-wrenching.”

The Buchholtzes, who had to rebuild after water flooded their home in 2016, are now trying to salvage whatever they can from their home and prepare to rebuild again.

“It’s been a pain but, you know what, we can deal with that. We’ll clean up a mess any day,” said Courtney Buchholtz, adding, “It could have been so much worse.”

“It makes you realize a house is just a house and the material things can be replaced,” said Kale Buchholtz. “Family is what matters.”

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“Peace and Love”: Ringo Starr turns 81 today; Peter Frampton reveals new collaboration with Ringo

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Credit: Scott Robert Ritchie

Happy Birthday to Ringo Starr, who marks his 81st trip around the sun today.

As has become tradition, the legendary Beatles drummer is asking fans across the world to celebrate his big day by pausing at noon local time, wherever they are, and saying his catchphrase “peace and love,” or by sharing the #peaceandlove hashtag on social media.

Unfortunately, Ringo has decided not to have a public celebration this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, although virtual parties have been scheduled in many cities around the world. Visit Starr’s Facebook page for more details.

As previously reported, Ringo posted a video message on his YouTube channel in which he encouraged people to take part in the “peace and love” festivities today.

“[Y]ou can post it, you can say it, you can even think it, but it’d be cool if you go ‘peace and love’ at noon on my birthday,” Starr declared. “So let’s spread peace and love around the world on my birthday. Come on, everybody!”

In other news, Peter Frampton has posted a couple of messages on his social media pages revealing that Starr has been working on a new EP to which the guitar whiz apparently is lending his talents.

In a Twitter message, Frampton posted a photo of him with Starr and songwriter/producer Linda Perry at Ringo’s home studio, along with a note that reads, “So great to be able to fly and see friends again. Lovely afternoon listening to Ringo’s great upcoming EP.”

Peter also posted a couple of photos on his Instagram page that show him playing guitar at Starr’s studio while goofing around with Ringo.

The new release apparently will be a follow-up to Starr’s Zoom In EP, which came out May.

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Florida man is upset he received two replicas of Joe Jonas’ hands in the mail

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Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

Back in May, Joe Jonas teamed up with the travel site Expedia to give away some unusual promotional items: 550 3-D printed, limited-edition autographed replicas of his hand.  But now one man in Florida is annoyed that he’s received two of Joe’s hands in the mail — and he didn’t even enter the contest to win them.

The Washington Post reports that the man,  56-year-old retiree Sean O’Farrell, had no idea what the hand was, until he did a Google search and found out about the giveaway.  The only problem is that he hadn’t logged into his Expedia account in five years, and he certainly hadn’t given the company his information in hopes of receiving a hand.

Sean shrugged it off and forgot about it — until he received yet another hand a few weeks later.

“I’m like, ‘You have got to be kidding me,'” he told The Post, the publication in which he first read about the contest.  In fact, he tweeted The Post after receiving the first hand and wrote, “Expedia keeps sending me Joe’s hands. Up to 2 so far. I’m 56, a dude, and haven’t done business with Expedia in 5 years. Any ideas?”

Expedia told The Post that starting in mid-June, it began shipping 550 of the hands to the U.S., U.K. and Canada, but only to those who’d entered their name, address, phone number and email address into a dedicated site.

Expedia thought maybe someone O’Farrell knows entered his info, but Sean said he’s asked everyone  and nobody has ‘fessed up.  For now, O’Farrell is keeping the hands in a closet, and he said he’d only sell them in order to give the money to charity.

“If I get a third one, I’m gonna lose my mind,” he declared.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Expedia (@expedia)

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Scarlett Johansson on breaking down her Black Widow character, she’s “really reckoning with the trauma”

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Amy Sussman/Getty Images

Not everything in life — or movies — is black and white, there can be some gray areas, which is a big part of Scarlett Johansson‘s Black Widow character’s past. 

The 36-year-old actress stars as Natasha Romanoff in the upcoming Marvel film that takes a deep dive into her background. Speaking with Entertainment Tonight about the movie, which she says is one of her “greatest accomplishments,” she elaborated on the struggles that her character is faced with. 

“Natasha is really reckoning with the trauma she has faced and she’s been running away from,” Johansson shared.

“She’s been a part of a large organization for her entire life, and I think that there’s a lot of gray in that,” she said. “You’re working towards a greater goal — for better or worse — and it’s not driven by any personal desire. We’ve alluded to that — I mean, that was Thanos’ big argument, right? — and the Marvel universe has played with that idea a lot.”

“In Ultron, [it was] how many casualties for a greater good is acceptable? And Cap has always said zero. It’s been a big debate, that’s what Civil War was about,” she explained. “It’s a gray area that she had no active choice in but has felt so guilty about, and [she’s] not understood or been able to really deal with the trauma that she’s experienced because of that. And it’s Yelena who allows her to — even, like, forces her to — reflect on that, so she can move past it.”

Black Widow will hit theaters and be available on Disney+ with Premier Access on July 9.

Marvel is owned by Disney, the parent company of ABC News.

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Trevor Reed’s dad protests outside White House, says he’s ‘hopeful’ for his son’s release after Biden-Putin summit

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Beatrice Peterson/ABC News

(WASHINGTON) — On one of the hottest days of the summer, Joey Reed stood alone outside of the White House, holding a sign with a picture of his son that said in bold type: “Free Trevor Reed.”

“Former U.S. Marine Presidential Guard wrongfully imprisoned by Russia for almost 2 years! Innocent & being used as a bargaining chip by Russia,” the message on the sign continued. “Mr. President, our son protected you. Please bring him home. Please meet with me.”

The plea was written next to images of his son in uniform, including two taken of him with former President Barack Obama.

U.S. officials said the Marine veteran, has been held for nearly two years in Russia on charges that U.S. officials said were fabricated in an effort to use him as bargaining chips in a potential prisoner swap between the two countries.

Joey Reed told ABC News on Tuesday that he hopes that more Americans learn that his son is one of two former U.S. Marines being held there.

The elder Reed, who has met with several White House officials, said that he hopes to meet with President Joe Biden but until then he plans on standing outside of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

“We’re really surprised at how many Americans don’t know what’s happening with our son,” he said.

He added, that he “just wanted to be here and then also just raise attention with the president who’s already doing a great job for our son.”

Trevor’s saga started in Moscow in August 2019, the younger Reed, while visiting his girlfriend in the city, and studying Russian, was taken to a police station to sober up after a drunken party. He would later be questioned by agents from Russia’s FSB intelligence service, and suddenly charged with assaulting an officer according to his father.

During Biden’s June meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the president spoke about Reed and another Marine veteran, Paul Whelan, who has also been held in Russia for two years. The Kremlin during the June meeting signaled it might be prepared to discuss a deal for their release.

In response to ABC News on Tuesday, a White House spokesperson said, “The president raised the case of Trevor Reed directly to President Putin in Geneva. He was very clear about the need to resolve his and other cases and see him freed.”

“The welfare and safety of U.S. citizens abroad is one of the highest priorities of the U.S government,” the statement continued. “We will continue to speak on his behalf until Russia does the right thing and returns him to his family in the United States. Trevor has been deprived of his freedom for far too long. We continue to engage with Russia on this case, as well as other U.S. citizens wrongfully imprisoned in Russia.”

Joey Reed, a Texas native told ABC News on Tuesday, that his life revolves around freeing his 30-year-old son, who followed in his father’s footsteps to become an elite Marine. He even uprooted his life to move to Russia for 14 months in an effort to free him.

He said after the meeting between Biden and Putin he was “hopeful,” but he wants other Americans to know that his son is “innocent and he didn’t do any of the things that they say he was doing.”

Trevor “received the longest sentence in modern Russian history for assaulting police officers when no one was hurt, and the only evidence that shows that he didn’t do anything,” he added.

He said he’s spoken to several Biden officials about his son, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, earlier in the year for nearly two hours. Reed said he gets weekly updates from the State Department and that “they try and keep us informed and find out if there’s anything we need. And they tell us what they do.”

Reed said Russia is a beautiful country however, he’s warning other Americans thinking of traveling to Russia to think again.

“If we didn’t have this problem with their — with their government and or their law enforcement, you know I would — I would tell everyone to go there, but I recommend the opposite. No American should go there,” he said.

The past two years have been hard — he said his wife has crying spells and “sometimes I break down.”

“I see a movie or something related to what my son’s going through it hits home all of a sudden.”

However, he also said he takes each day at a time and is hopeful because he knows, “nothing’s gonna happen immediately, but you know there’s hope on the horizon with President Biden.”

ABC News’ Patrick Reevell, Tanya Stukalova and Molly Nagle contributed to this report.

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