COVID-19 live updates: Baby dies in Louisiana marking state’s 1st pediatric death in 6 months

by
Lubo Ivanko/iStock

(NEW YORK) — The United States is facing a COVID-19 surge this summer as the more contagious delta variant spreads.

More than 630,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 while over 4.4 million people have died from the disease worldwide, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

Just 60.2% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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

Aug 25, 4:25 pm
Gov. Abbott issues executive order maintaining ban on vaccine mandates

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order on Wednesday maintaining a ban on vaccine mandates.

Abbott also said he added the vaccine mandate issue to Texas’ Special Session agenda.

Abbott tested positive for COVID-19 last week and has since tested negative.

Aug 25, 2:35 pm
Pfizer asks FDA for full booster dose approval

Pfizer on Wednesday asked the Food and Drug Administration for full approval for a booster dose. The company said its Phase 3 data showed that people who received a third dose between five to eight months after the second shot had antibody levels three times higher than levels seen after the second dose.

Because the Pfizer shots were approved by the FDA on Monday, Pfizer is now asking the agency to consider a “supplemental” application for boosters for people ages 16 and over. This is a “rolling submission,” with Pfizer intending to complete the submission by the end of the week.

The Biden administration said its goal is to have boosters available beginning Sept. 20, with the recommendation of getting one eight months after the second shot of Pfizer or Moderna.

-ABC News’ Sony Salzman

Aug 25, 1:35 pm
Baby dies in Louisiana marking state’s 1st pediatric death in 6 months

A baby under the age of 1 died in connection to COVID-19 in the last 24 hours in Louisiana, the state’s Department of Health said Wednesday.

This marked Louisiana’s first pediatric COVID-19 death in six months, the department said. The baby was one of 110 people in Louisiana to die of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours.

Eleven children in Louisiana have died from COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, the department said.

Aug 25, 1:07 pm
Hospitalizations at highest point in 7 months

There are now over 100,000 COVID-19 patients in U.S. hospitals, the most in seven months, according to federal data.

The rate of hospital admissions per capita among Americans 29 and younger is at the highest point of the pandemic, according to federal data.

Compared with July 4, six times as many children are being admitted to hospitals, and daily deaths are up 281% over the last six weeks to 775, according to federal data.

Eight states have ICUs over 90% full: Alabama (100%), Arkansas (89.58%), Florida (93.52%), Georgia (92.74%), Kentucky (89.33%), Mississippi (92.93%), Oklahoma (88.93%) and Texas (93.12%).

-ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos

Aug 25, 10:56 am
Pentagon announces mandatory Pfizer vaccinations

The Pentagon on Wednesday announced mandatory Pfizer vaccinations, calling it “necessary to protect the safety of our service members and force.”

Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine was granted full approval by the FDA on Monday.

Aug 25, 10:37 am
Delta Air Lines raising health insurance premiums for unvaccinated employees

Delta is raising health insurance premiums for unvaccinated employees by $200 a month to cover COVID-19 costs like potential hospitalization, which the airline says has cost it $40,000 per person on average.

In recent weeks, all Delta employees hospitalized with COVID-19 were not fully vaccinated, Delta CEO Ed Bastian wrote in a memo to employees.

Currently 75% of Delta employees are vaccinated, according to the airline.

The health insurance premium begins Nov. 1.

Unvaccinated employees will also have to wear masks indoors and be required to take a weekly COVID test beginning Sept. 12.

Aug 25, 10:00 am
Moderna finalizes submission to FDA for full approval

Moderna has finalized submission of its application to the Food and Drug Administration for full approval of its COVID-19 vaccine, the company announced Monday.

It’s not yet clear how long the FDA will take to review Moderna’s application.

Pfizer completed its vaccine application in May and was granted full approval on Monday.

Aug 25, 7:00 am
J&J says its vaccine booster shot raises antibody levels 9-fold

In the midst of a delta variant surge, a new study finds that giving a booster dose of the Johnson & Johnson shot six months after primary vaccination results in a nine-fold increase of a crucial antibody response, according to a company press release.

Meanwhile, a prior study found that people vaccinated with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine still had a durable immune response at least eight months later, even without a booster.

Collectively, the findings could help inform the U.S. government’s recommendations about booster shots for the 14 million people who received the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Boosting after six months “appears to be safe, and boosts immune responses substantially,” Dr. Dan Barouch, Ph.D., director of the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, told ABC News.

Aug 25, 3:53 am
COVID-19 cases rise among athletes at Tokyo Paralympics

Several Paralympic athletes have tested positive for COVID-19 in Tokyo in recent days.

According to daily figures released by the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee, at least eight positive cases have been confirmed among unnamed Paralympic athletes so far, with two new cases reported on Wednesday following the opening ceremony.

The 2020 Summer Paralympics officially opened in the Japanese capital on Tuesday, after a yearlong delay due to the coronavirus pandemic. Like the 2020 Olympics, which ended on Aug. 8, this year’s Paralympics is taking place under a state of emergency as Japan struggles with a growing COVID-19 crisis.

Aug 24, 9:01 pm
Another Florida school district issues mask mandate

Leaders of the Orange County public school system voted Tuesday to require a mask mandate for all students and staff.

The rule goes into effect on Aug. 30 and will last for at least two months. There will be exemptions for medical reasons.

School board members cited the growing COVID-19 rates and hospitalizations in the area as the reason for their decision.

Aug 24, 5:54 pm
NYC School chancellor discusses teacher vaccine mandate

New York City Schools Chancellor Meisha Porter spoke with ABC News about the vaccine mandate for public school staff that goes into effect Sept. 27.

Porter said she was confident that teachers and other staff members would comply to ensure that classrooms are safe for everyone.

“This is the additional extra layer of protection that we didn’t have a year ago,” she said.

Porter said she has been in discussions with the United Federation of Teachers over what the penalties will be if a teacher doesn’t comply, and she was told that “many of their members are already vaccinated.”

The chancellor said those who still have concerns should know that the Food and Drug Administration has fully approved the Pfizer vaccine and it has shown to prevent severe illness.

Aug 24, 5:38 pm
Kentucky reports record hospitalizations, ICU patients

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear tweeted a dire update on the state’s COVID-19 cases.

The state health department reported that 2,014 people are currently hospitalized with the virus, 589 of whom are in intensive care units and 338 are on ventilators. Beshear said these are record numbers.

“Folks, this is dangerous. Please, get vaccinated and mask up indoors,” the governor tweeted.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Letitia Wright injured shooting ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’

by
Marvel Studios

Letitia Wright was injured Wednesday during an overnight shoot in Boston for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

She “sustained minor injuries today while filming a stunt,” a Marvel spokesperson tells Deadline. “She is currently receiving care in a local hospital and is expected to be released soon.”

The NAACP Image Award and SAG Award winner is reprising her role as Shuri from Black Panther, a science and technology wizard who’s the sister of T’Challa, also known as Black Panther, who was played by the late Chadwick Boseman.

While Wright shot her scene in Boston, primary production for the sequel is taking place in Atlanta.

Incidentally, Wright was spotted yesterday at MIT, along with co-star Danai Gurira. The location is important to Marvel Comics fans: not only is it Tony Stark’s alma mater, but the school is also attended by Riri Williams, who in the comics creates her own Iron Man-like suit and becomes Iron Heart. Actress Dominique Thorne has already been confirmed to be playing Williams in Wakanda: Forever, before the character is spun off into her own show on Disney+.

Gurira, Angela Bassett, Daniel Kaluuya, Winston Duke, Lupita Nyong’o, and director Ryan Coogler are also returning from the 2018 film, which has grossed over $1 billion worldwide.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is set to open July 8, 2020.

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

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Judge allows Megan Thee Stallion to release BTS “Butter” remix

by
Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images

Megan Thee Stallion‘s legal request to drop her “Butter” remix with the South Korean pop group BTS was granted Tuesday.

A Texas judge ruled in Megan’s favor and extended a temporary restraining order allowing her to release new music, according to Billboard.

“LOVE YOU ALLL,” the “Hot Girl Summer” rapper wrote in response on Instagram, announcing the track will be drop Friday.

Megan has been in a long battle with her distributor, 300 Entertainment, and record label 1501 Certified Entertainment. She says 1501’s CEO, former Major League baseball star Carl Crawford, and his partner, J. Prince, have blocked her from releasing new music, and did not approve the “Butter” remix.

Billboard reports that the court ruled that Crawford, 1501 Certified Entertainment, J. Prince and 300 Entertainment “have recently engaged and will continue to engage in conduct preventing the release of [Megan’s] new music, which would irreparably damage her goodwill, reputation, and overall music career and infringes on her rights to self-expression through her music.”

The three-time Grammy winner previously filed a lawsuit and requested a restraining order against 1501 Certified Entertainment in 2020. A judge ruled in her favor and ordered 1501 Entertainment “to do nothing to prevent the release, distribution, and sale” of her music.

In her legal documents, Megan said her contract with 1501 was “unconscionable,” claiming she was only paid $15,000 after earning more than one billion streams and selling over 300,000 individual track downloads, said to be worth an estimated $7 million.

Megan is seeking a new contract.  A hearing on her restraining order is set for September 10.

Megan’s up for six MTV VMAs, and BTS has five nominations, so they might perform “Butter” together at the show September 12 at Barclays Center in New York City.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Gene Simmons “sorry and ashamed” he hurt David Lee Roth’s feelings, blames “diarrhea of the mouth”

by
ABC Audio; BG017/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images

Gene Simmons has apologized to David Lee Roth after making some insulting comments about founding Van Halen frontman during a recent Rolling Stone interview while discussing why Roth, who was KISS‘ 2020 support act, wasn’t opening for them on the band’s 2021 U.S. tour.

In the Rolling Stone interview, Simmons seemingly negatively compared Roth’s career to the late Elvis Presley‘s.  Iin response, Diamond Dave posted a photo on his social media sites of a boy holding up his middle finger with the caption “Roth to Simmons.”

Now, in a new video interview with US Weekly, Simmons says, “I am so sorry and ashamed…that I hurt David’s feelings,” adding, “I don’t mean to hurt people’s feelings, and every once in a while, diarrhea of the mouth comes out.”

In the Rolling Stone interview, Simmons began by saying that during Roth’s heyday he was “the ultimate frontman,” but then said, “I don’t know what happened to him…I prefer to remember Elvis Presley in his prime. Sneering lips, back in Memphis…I don’t want to think of bloated naked Elvis on the bathroom floor.”

Simmons tells US Weekly, “I read that quote, and somehow the way they put it together…there was a segue to Elvis bloated on the ground and fat and naked and I don’t wanna see that. I wasn’t talking about David, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is I hurt David’s feelings, and that’s more important than the intent. So I sincerely apologize for that.”

Simmons also discussed with US Weekly how he signed Van Halen to his production company early in their career, then “produced their first 24-track 15-song demo and championed the band.”

KISS continues its End of the Road farewell tour tonight with a show in Toledo, Ohio.

(Video contains censored profanity.)

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

“It still doesn’t seem real” — ‘Archer’ stars on the show starting its 12th season tonight

by

On FXX tonight at 10 p.m. ET, the four-time Emmy-winning animated spy series Archer kicks off its twelfth season with two back-to-back episodes. 

Amber Nash, who plays hard-drinking, hedonistic H.R. rep Pam Poovey on the show, tells ABC Audio of the show’s longevity, “God, it doesn’t seem real!”

She continues, “When we first started, we were like, ‘Is this show going to fly? Like, are we going to get away with all this stuff?’ And then once, like, season two hit and people were kind of all about it, it was like, ‘Oh, my God, this is so crazy.’ I still can’t believe it’s been going on for 12 years.”

Lucky Yates, who plays the spy show’s morally flexible mad scientist Algernop Krieger, agrees. “It’s nuts.” 

He says of his dark alter-ego, “Getting to play the wild card type character in anything is the dream for me.”

Nash credits the show’s cast — which also includes the voices of H. Jon Benjamin as Sterling Archer, SNL vet Chris Parnell as Cyril, Aisha Tyler as Lana, Judy Greer as Cheryl/Carol, and the late Jessica Walter as Archer’s boozy mom, Malory — with its long life. 

“The casting was so great that even though we’ve never, I mean…Lucky and I didn’t meet everybody until a few seasons in, like it still felt like everybody was in the same room together.”

She added, “It was really kind of magical how it all worked out.”

Yates teases tonight’s installments, saying, “The first episode, I laughed all the way through it…The action is amazing. There’s so much packed into the first episode, it feels like an hour-long thing. And then the second episode is almost brilliant slapstick.”

He adds, “This season is hilarious.”   

Archer also streams next day via FX on Hulu.

 

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Pelosi blasts 2 House members for unauthorized visit to Kabul airport

by
Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images

(WASHINGTON) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday sharply criticized two House members for taking an unauthorized trip to Afghanistan, and the Pentagon said their unexpected visit took time away from its urgent military mission at the Kabul airport.

Rep. Peter Meijer, a Michigan Republican, and Rep. Seth Moulton, a Massachusetts Democrat — both Iraq War veterans — said they traveled to Kabul on Tuesday to review the situation at the Hamid Karzai International Airport — and have since defended the trip amid criticism that they distracted from the evacuation effort.

Pelosi on Wednesday chastised the two and warned other lawmakers not to try the same thing.

“There’s a real concern about members being in the region,” Pelosi said at a Capitol Hill press conference Wednesday. “This is deadly serious. We do not want members to go.”

Their trip, first reported by The Washington Post, prompted a letter to lawmakers from Pelosi on Tuesday evening, telling lawmakers not to travel to Kabul because it would distract from the ongoing evacuation and take up resources and that the Pentagon and State Department are adamantly against any external visitors.

She said at Wednesday’s press conference there was an “opportunity cost” of protecting the two congressmen in the region.

“It’s not just about them going to Afghanistan, but in going to the region, because there’s a call on our resources diplomatically, politically, militarily in the region as well, so this is deadly serious,” Pelosi said. “The point is, is that we don’t want anybody to think this was a good idea and that they should try to follow suit.”

“It was not, in my view, a good idea,” she added.

While Pelosi said she has not spoken to either Meijer or Molton since they returned, she noted that trips like this would require the approval of committee chairs — and it was not approved by the Democratic side.

“We put out the word to committee chairs, there ain’t going to be no planes or this or that for people going to the region,” Pelosi said.

The Pentagon echoed Pelosi’s sentiment in a briefing later Wednesday, saying that it had not been aware in advance of the visit and that it “took time away” from the military operations.

“They certainly took time away from what we had been planning to do that day,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters.

He said there was “a need to flex and to — to alter the day’s — the day’s flow, including — including, you know, the need to have protection for these members of Congress.”

“There was certainly a pull-off of the kinds of missions we were trying to do to be able to accommodate that visit,” Kirby added.

Like Pelosi, Kirby also took a chance to deter others from heading to Kabul.

“We are obviously not encouraging VIP visits to a very tense, dangerous, and dynamic situation at that airport and inside Kabul generally. And the secretary, I think, would have appreciated the opportunity to have had a conversation before the visit took place,” he said, referering to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

Colleagues in Congress, too, piled on the criticism.

Prominent Republicans and Democrats alike blasted Meijer and Moulton for their secretive and unauthorized trip during the last week of evacuations, calling it selfish and irresponsible.

“I was surprised and shocked,” said House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y. “I want to stay focused on the mission of bringing back our American citizens and our SIV’s and the Afghans who are in danger.I don’t think it helps necessarily for us to keep going over there, when we try to get people out of there was irresponsible for them to do that …it does not help.”

“I don’t think it’s the best decision, you put people at jeopardy,” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said on Fox News on Wednesday morning. “But I understand why they wanted to go.”

Rep. Madeline Dean, D-Penn., called it “troubling” on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that “anybody, such as a congressperson, would come in, A, without telling the admin, but B, knowing that they will take resources from people who desperately need it.”

Meijer and Moulton said in a joint statement Tuesday evening that the purpose of their travel was “to conduct oversight on the mission to evacuate Americans and our allies.”

The statement said the lawmakers conducted the visit in secret to gather information about operations there, not disrupt them.

“We left on a plane with empty seats, seated in crew-only seats to ensure that nobody who needed a seat would lose one because of our presence,” they said.

Moulton, a former candidate for the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee, tweeted out an image from the airport following their visit, calling the scenes he saw there “indescribable.”

ABC News’ Conor Finnegan and Ben Gittleson contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ trailer shatters ‘Avengers: Endgame”s records

by
Photo: Matt Kennedy/©2021 CTMG. All Rights Reserved.

Sony’s release of the teaser trailer to Spider-Man: No Way Home topped a high-water mark set by collaborator Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Endgame back in 2019. 

The peek of Tom Holland‘s next adventure as the web-slinger broke the all-time 24-hour record for most global trailer views with 355.5 million, compared to Avengers: Endgame’s, 289 million views.

No Way Home‘s trailer scored double the viewership for its previous entry, Spider-Man: Far from Home, and also shattered Endgame‘s record for the largest 24-hour “social media conversation,” with 4.5 million mentions around the world.

Stateside, Far from Home generated 2.91 million mentions in 24 hours, while in just 12 hours, the new Spider-Man adventure was mentioned 1.96 million times in the U.S. alone. 

Starring Holland, Benedict Cumberbatch, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Alfred Molina, Marisa Tomei and Jon Favreau — and a host of still-secret co-stars — Spider-Man: No Way Home swings into theaters December 17, 2021 from Columbia Pictures and co-producer Marvel Studios.

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

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Harry Styles announces COVID-19 guidelines for upcoming US tour dates

by
Live Nation

Last month, Harry Styles announced his rescheduled U.S. tour dates. Now, he’s making sure fans can enjoy the shows safely.

At his upcoming Love On Tour shows, ticket holders will be required to provide proof of full COVID-19 vaccination or proof of a negative COVID-19 diagnostic test within 48 hours prior to entry. There will also be mandatory mask-wearing in effect.

As per the guidelines, children under the age of 12 can attend the concert if they provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken within 48 hours of the show.

Venue staff will be following the same protocols and will be wearing masks at all times.

“We are looking forward to seeing everyone as we return to the road!” reads a statement posted to Harry’s Instagram Story. “Please know our band and crew will be taking every possible precaution to protect each other so we can bring the show to everyone who wants to attend and we ask you to do the same.”

Harry’s Love On Tour shows kick off in Las Vegas on September 4 and run through November 20 in Los Angeles.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Doja Cat and Missy Elliott bond over their artistry and growth as performers

by
Jerritt Clark/Getty Images for Doja Cat

Doja Cat‘s “Kiss Me More” collaboration with SZA is a certified summer smash, but in a new interview with Missy Elliott, the 25-year-old opened up about balancing her authentic self and her exploding popularity.

Speaking to the “Lose Control” rapper for Interview magazine, Doja reflected on her start in music and how her rising star status presented new challenges. Noting she used to spend her time on social media “making beats” and “yelling at and roasting people,” the artist admits that’s no longer a healthy way to spend her time.

“I love going in on people, but I stopped because with a big platform, you don’t want to hurt anybody,” Doja told Elliott. “You have power and you’re looked at a certain way, and if you go in on people and s***, it doesn’t help you or them, and they can tear you down more than you can tear them down.”

Missy noted that being an artist has changed in the era of social media, saying, “When I was coming up we didn’t have social media, so we could turn off the artistry when we finished our interviews and went home. Now you have to be in artist mode at all times.”

Concerning her craft, Doja said she wants to improve her rapping. “When it comes to rap I could be better. I think everybody feels that way with their own art, in all kinds of ways,” she mused. “I see all these incredibly talented rappers around me, and I’m like, ‘Yeah, I’m doing pop, but I should focus on my pen now more than ever.'”

Doja also revealed she wants to “talk about my life more” in her music, which Missy supported.

“That’s growth,” Missy praised. 

Planet Her, Doja’s third album, is out now.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Chase Rice plans his Bud Light Seltzer Sessions, a six-stop, small-venue tour, for fall 2021

by
Kaiser Cunningham

Chase Rice just might be coming to a bar or other pint-sized venue near you this fall. This week, he announced his six-date Bud Light Seltzer Sessions tour, which will find him playing dates on a selection of small stages.

Things kick off in Columbus, Ohio on September 8, and the tour runs through October. In the meantime, Chase will make stops in Illinois, Kentucky, Wisconsin and Michigan.

“When I first started playing with just me and a guitar, it was sitting on barstools in venues like these,” he explains. “There’s something really special about stripping it back to how these songs were written, to how I got started. No show will be the same as we’re making it up as we go, but that’s what I love: hearing y’all yell songs from the crowd and us singing them together.”

For more opportunities to catch Chase on the road this year, check out his current tour calendar.

The singer is currently riding the momentum of his latest two-week number-one hit, a collaboration with Florida Georgia Line called “Drinkin’ Beer. Talkin’ God. Amen.”

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

+ More