(NEW YORK) — Tropical Storm Henri strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane Saturday morning.
Henri is currently located 200 miles southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and 555 miles south of Montauk, New York.
Dangerous storm surge, hurricane conditions and flooding rain is expected in parts of the Northeast beginning late tonight.
Landfall is looking to occur tomorrow late morning on Long Island.
If Henri makes landfall as a hurricane on Long Island, it will be the first land falling hurricane there since Gloria in 1985.
Aug 21, 10:58 am
Henri strengthens into hurricane
Henri intensified into a Category 1 hurricane with winds of 75 mph Saturday morning around 10:45 a.m. as it continued on its track northeast.
Aug 21, 10:51 am
Connecticut declares state of emergency ahead of Henri
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont declared a statement of emergency on Friday due to the incoming storm, “to take any actions necessary to respond and protect the people of the state.”
He also requested 200 National Guard members pulled for active duty starting Saturday morning.
The storm is forecast to bring heavy rainfall, whipping winds, storm surge along the shoreline and potential flooding to the state.
“Right now, it’s a good idea for everyone to be prepared and expect to shelter in place by Sunday afternoon through at least Monday morning,” Lamont said.
A hurricane warning is in effect for New Haven, Middlesex and New London counties. A tropical storm warning is in effect for Fairfield County.
(NEW YORK) — As Americans across the country watch the situation in Afghanistan grow more chaotic, many are likely wondering how to help the thousands of Afghan nationals who have fled their country.
Many of those fled with only a small suitcase or even just the clothing on their backs, leaving a major challenge settling into a new life.
There are many ways to help incoming refugees settle in the U.S., from donations of goods and services to volunteering time to give rides and provide for other needs. Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, the president and CEO of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, a nonprofit organization that aids refugee relocation, said that that there is need for basic necessities and cash assistance.
“Contributions of goods are so helpful as we provide those basic necessities to these families and children in the first few days and first few weeks on American soil,” O’Mara Vignarajah told ABC News. “You know some of these families have literally no connections here in the U.S.”
Aundrea Paulett, who works in external affairs at the U.S. Embassy of Afghanistan, said that the needs also go beyond the basics, citing the importance of volunteers to give refugees rides to appointments, to help translate and for help with legal services when it comes to navigating the immigration system.
Paulett also encouraged people “to be very patient” with refugees as they may face culture shock.
“They’re not going to know English, so patience is going to be the biggest key for them to feel safe here,” Paulett said.
But Paulett and O’Mara Vignarajah also noted that people should be cautious about where their donations go. O’Mara Vignarajah said that there are many established and well-vetted organizations that are able to navigate the complexities of settling refugee families. Paulett also said that local mosques are a good place to donate, as mosques may provide connections and support for recently settled refugees.
Beyond goods and services, groups are urging Americans to wield their political power and contribute through activism.
“At this critical moment, we also need public pressure on the Biden administration to keep America’s promise to protect Afghan allies,” Nisha Agarwal, the deputy executive director of the International Refugee Assistance Project, said in a statement to ABC News. “The U.S. government must secure Kabul airport and ensure continuous access to it to vastly expand evacuation of Afghan allies and refugees before it is too late.”
O’Mara Vignarajah said that it is an all-hands-on-deck effort to help refugee families get settled. A lot of that effort will come from community members who feel compelled to help, especially in states like California, Texas and Virginia, which are set to accept many of the refugees, according to Paulett.
One of those community members is Fatima Popal, one of the co-owners of a group that operates Washington, D.C., restaurants Lapis and The Berliner. Popal utilized social media to collect donations of supplies, including clothing, household supplies, toiletries and gift cards.
“As Afghans, we felt a little helpless sitting here, not being able to do anything for our homeland, for our people,” Popal said. “And so we decided we can’t just sit here idle and do nothing, so the best thing that we can do is try to help those that are resettling here in the … area, and try to make their transition a little bit smoother by getting all these donations.”
Popal teamed up with organizations such as the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service and the International Rescue Committee to get donations where they were most needed. Popal said that the outpouring of “love and support” from the community has been inspiring.
“It’s just one of the most beautiful things, considering what is going on around the world, not just in Afghanistan, but everywhere else,” Popal said. “So you can see that humanity is still not lost and that’s the beauty of what I see today and from the people that are volunteering and donating.”
Here are some organizations that accept donations for Afghan refugees:
International Refugee Assistance Project
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service
Women for Afghan Women
International Rescue Committee
Committee to Protect Journalists
Mercy Corps
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(KABUL, Afghanistan) — Chaos has enveloped Kabul after Afghanistan’s government’s collapsed and the Taliban seized control, all but ending America’s 20-year campaign as it began: under Taliban rule.
The U.S. has evacuated approximately 9,000 people since Aug. 14, according to a White House official, with 3,000 people evacuated Thursday and double that number slated to be flown out Friday. Pentagon officials have said their focus remains on maintaining the airport perimeter and increasing the number of evacuees out of Kabul.
President Joe Biden returned to Washington from Camp David on Wednesday and sat down with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos for an exclusive one-on-one interview at the White House, the president’s first interview since the withdrawal from Afghanistan. He addressed the nation on evacuation efforts Friday.
Here are the latest developments. All times Eastern:
Aug 21, 8:55 am
US embassy tells citizens to avoid Kabul airport
The U.S. embassy in Afghanistan has advised American citizens to avoid traveling to Kabul airport due to “potential security threats.”
U.S. nationals should “avoid the gates to the airport at this time unless you receive individual instructions from a U.S. government representative to do so,” a notice posted on the embassy website says.
It adds: “U.S. citizens requesting assistance in departing the country who have Repatriation Assistance Request for each traveler in their group should do so as soon as possible. Spouses and minor children of U.S. citizens in Afghanistan who are awaiting immigrant visas should also complete this form if they wish to depart.”
Previous advice issued two days ago said the U.S. government “cannot ensure safe passage” but said that citizens “should consider travelling to Hamid Karzai International Airport when you judge it is safe to do so”.
(WASHINGTON) — The Biden administration announced on Wednesday that it will roll out COVID-19 booster shots for many Americans starting in mid-September. But there’s another date that many are anticipating.
As early as this coming week, according to The New York Times, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expected to give full approval to Pfizer-BioNTech’s coronavirus vaccine — the first COVID-19 vaccine expected to receive that endorsement.
The FDA’s approval might seem like a minor technical move to some. But full approval of all three COVID-19 vaccines is an important step that can make a difference in reducing COVID-19 infection and mortality rates, improving health care delivery and saving lives.
Here’s why:
1. The approval will empower health care professionals to address the myth of “experimental vaccines.”
All three vaccines currently have what’s called “emergency use authorization” (EUA), which the FDA uses as a means to quickly give people access to potentially lifesaving medicines during a national crisis. Somehow, “emergency use” has been confused with “experimental.”
As physicians and epidemiologists who have treated COVID-19 patients, it’s frustrating that what amounts to a rather minor, somewhat bureaucratic detail is being used by people as justification not to get a vaccine that can save their lives and the lives of the people around them. More than 358 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been safely administered in the U.S. — and the incidence of complications as a result of the vaccines is minimal.
The good news: According to a recent Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) study, three in ten unvaccinated adults say they’d be more likely to get vaccinated if the vaccines currently authorized for emergency use were to receive full approval from the FDA. So if full FDA approval is what it takes for millions of people to put away their skepticism and get vaccinated, we’re all for it.
Furthermore, for those for whom FDA approval isn’t the real reason but a convenient excuse, clinicians may uncover more information about what is holding individuals back from getting vaccinated.
2. Approval of the vaccines will get more kids vaccinated.
Schools across the country are open. Millions of school-age children are now learning indoors. According to another KFF study, about one-quarter of parents of kids aged 12-17 say they’ll “wait and see” how the vaccine works before getting their eligible child vaccinated. One in five parents say that their child will “definitely not” get vaccinated.
Again, people’s objections stem largely from distrust of the vaccines and concerns about side effects. To empower educators and health professionals to both counter myths surrounding side effects and confidently enact vaccine requirements in schools, it’s essential that the FDA give full approval to the vaccines. While authorization may initially only apply to those 16 and over, approval could provide reassurance to parents of all children currently eligible for the shot.
3. Approval will provide us with longer-term safety data.
What’s the difference between emergency use and full approval? The simple answer is that for full approval, the FDA will require an additional four months of safety data. The FDA granted the COVID-19 vaccines’ emergency use authorization based on two months of safety data; with any vaccine, nearly all potential safety problems crop up almost immediately after injection, which is why the FDA deemed two months sufficient for emergency authorization. We have now accumulated at least six months of safety data about these vaccines, making them eligible for full approval.
For people with irrational fears of infertility, magnetism and other specious side effects of the vaccines, the extra data probably won’t mean much. But for people who really want to know more about the true long-term consequences of the vaccines, their reported diminished effectiveness over time, and common real-life side effects such as fevers and headaches, the extra information that goes into the full approval process will be yet another way to help them overcome hesitancy and get vaccinated.
4. Approval will provide employers with greater authority to mandate vaccines.
Many employers across the country have mandated that their employees get vaccinated. A number of these mandates have been challenged in court, and so far they’ve been upheld as legal. But Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, recently noted that if the vaccines receive full FDA approval, “then the legal ability to mandate becomes a lot stronger.”
No doubt many employers are waiting for full approval before enacting vaccine requirements, and the sooner they get the legal basis to do so, the better.
The idea of a workplace-based vaccine mandate may seem like a new concept, but these mandates are already common for other FDA-approved vaccines. For example, children are required to be vaccinated against diseases like measles and mumps before enrolling in public school. Travelers are required to be vaccinated against diseases like yellow fever before visiting countries where those illnesses are common. And health care workers are required to get annual flu shots to protect themselves and their patients.
5. Approval will allow the prescribing of vaccines for “off-label” use.
When physicians talk about using drugs “off label,” they mean using them for purposes other than those for which they were initially approved. For example, Metformin, which is approved for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, reduces appetite — so it’s often used to help patients who are trying to lose weight.
Off-label prescribing is legal — but only when drugs have received full approval by the FDA. Once this happens with COVID-19 vaccines, doctors will be able to further study their use in treating a variety of other illnesses.
Off-label use includes delivering booster shots outside of the FDA’s fully approved parameters — and while booster shots weren’t initially included in the COVID-19 vaccines’ application for full approval, companies can request an approved product be amended to include boosters. The FDA’s approval could thus make a third shot more palatable to the population.
Despite everything we know about the COVID-19 vaccines’ effectiveness and their ability to prevent serious illness and hospitalizations, just 60% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against the virus, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The most recent model from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation indicates grave consequences if Americans don’t continue to get vaccinated and follow mask guidance.
Given that the delta variant has led to an uptick in infections and deaths, it’s crucial that Americans use every tool at our disposal to convince every person to get vaccinated. If full FDA approval of vaccines is one of those tools, then the decision can’t come fast enough.
After appearing together Monday at the premiere of Marvel Studios’ film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,Swae Lee from Rae Sremmurd and Jhené Aiko have collaborated on “In the Dark,” which they dropped Friday.
Swae kicks off the mid-tempo track with a romantic appeal to Aiko: “Don’t leave me in the dark I deserve more/ I’m somebody’s reward Don’t leave me in the dark.”
“In the Dark” will appear in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which opens September 3, as will previously released tracks “Run It,” with DJ Snake and Rick Ross, and “Lazy Susan,” featuring 21 Savage.
Young Thug has dropped “Tick Tock,” the first single from his upcoming album, Punk, due out October 15. In the video, he arrives in a pink Lamborghini wearing a full-length pink fur coat, and he calls his surreal clip his “Punk Thuggerverse” fantasy. The “Go Crazy” rapper performed the song for the first time last month at Rolling Loud in Miami.
Grammy, Tony and Emmy winner Cynthia Erivo released the inspiring “Glowing Up,” the fourth single from her upcoming album, Ch. 1 Vs. 1, due out September 17. “I wanted to write a song that was triumphant because I’ve done so much growing up in these last few years,” she says, “and I’ve experienced so many wonderful things.”
Finally, Grammy nominee After 7 returns with their first new album in five years, Unfinished Business, featuring the single “Bittersweet,” about the joy and pain of a relationship. Lead singer Kevon Edmonds, brother of Babyface, says about the track, “I am fairly certain that if you live long enough, you’ll learn that you can’t have the sunshine without the rain.”
Just a reminder that star-studded We Love NYC: The Homecoming Concert takes place Saturday in New York City at Central Park’s Great Lawn, and will air live starting at 5 p.m. ET on CNN and some of its affiliated networks.
This show’s impressive lineup includes Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, Journey, Carlos Santana, Matchbox Twenty‘s Rob Thomas, Earth, Wind & Fire, Barry Manilow, Elvis Costello, Patti Smith, Rob Thomas and many others.
About 60,000 people are expected to attend the concert, and proof of vaccination for those ages 12 or over is required to gain entry. Most of the tickets to the event were made available for free, although a limited number of VIP passes were sold.
As previously announced, the “We Love NYC” concert is meant to celebrate the “rebirth” of the Big Apple amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
This week, Santana and Thomas confirmed that they’ll be performing together at the show. On Wednesday, the two artists released a new collaborative track called “Move,” which arrives 22 years after Santana and Thomas’ massively successful 1999 single, “Smooth.”
Meanwhile, Earth, Wind & Fire will be joined by Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds and young R&B singer Lucky Daye for a premiere live performance of their just-released collaborative tune, “You Want My Love.”
Other music artists and entertainers on the “We Love NYC” bill include LL COOL J, Andrea Bocelli, Cynthia Erivo, Jimmy Fallon, Jennifer Hudson, Wyclef Jean, The Killers and Kane Brown.
Pre-event coverage will begin at 4 p.m. ET. The concert was produced by New York City, music mogul Clive Davis, and Live Nation.
Paul Bettany was proud, and surprised, when his Marvel Cinematic Universe spin-off series WandaVision conjured up 23 Emmy nominations — including Marvel’s first ever acting nominations for him, co-star Elizabeth Olsen, and scene stealer Kathryn Hahn.
Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, Bettany explained, “We always thought that we were going to be the sort of kooky cousin that was kind of niche.”
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was supposed to run on Disney+ ahead of WandaVision, he explained, but instead, Marvel Studios launched with WandaVision, an adventure couched in an homage to classic sitcoms.
“When it all flipped, I was a little apprehensive,” Bettany admits. “But I was so heartened to see it embraced in the way that it was.”
Despite a career featuring solid performances in films like A Beautiful Mind, on which he met his wife, Oscar-winner Jennifer Connelly, it was WandaVision that snagged Bettany’s first major award nomination, in the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series category.
“It came as a huge surprise and a very welcome one,” the 50-year-old explained. “I was pretending not to care about it, but it turns out I did.”
Bettany has been a part of the MCU since its inception, first voicing Tony Stark’s AI system J.A.R.V.I.S. starting in 2008’s Iron Man, before appearing as Vision in 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron.
He says of WandaVision, “It’s been such a great ride. It’s been so lovely to actually have something really substantial for both Lizzie [Olsen] and I to do…” calling it, “a lovely explosion of creativity from everybody involved.”
The 73rd Emmys will be held live and in person from on Sunday, September 19 at 8 p.m. Eastern on CBS.
Marvel Studios is owned by Disney, parent company of ABC News.
With children heading back to school and the summer holidays coming to a close, nothing sends off the season better than gathering around the campfire to roast marshmallows. However, not everyone knows how to toast a s’mores-worthy marshmallow.
Leave it to Cake Boss star Buddy Valastro, who’s toasted his fair share of the plump and fluffy confections, to reveal his secret to getting it right every time.
Speaking to ABC Audio, the celebrity chef remarked, “S’mores is like an American icon. I mean, we’ve been doing it for over a hundred years.” Yet despite the treat being around for over a century, Valastro notes that some people still mishandle the marshmallow, which is the most important ingredient.
“People get antsy. They want to put it right into the fire, light it on fire and then it charcoals,” he said, while making a face.
Buddy stressed that a little bit of patience goes a long way. “You got to keep it nice and high so it gets gooey inside,” he explained, noting that it’s time to bring out the chocolate and graham crackers when the marshmallow is “golden brown on the outside.”
“Then it’s got that creamy bite,” Valastro grinned.
Speaking of s’mores, the Food Network star is helping make the American staple a little more creative, by nominating the “official” fourth ingredient to the classic s’mores trio. Valastro teamed with Jet-Puffed on a nationwide contest, where people submitted their ideas for a chance at $10,000 and a lifetime supply of marshmallows.
He’s currently judging entries on his TikTok and tells ABC Audio, “We’ve had everything from peanuts to pretzels to cream cheese… which was a little weird.”
Earlier this week, Darius Rucker once again hosted his annual “Darius & Friends” fundraiser, which is in its 12th year of raising money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
The event, which returned to Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium this year after going virtual amid the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, was sold out, raising $410,000 in 2021 alone. The show also pushed the total money raised since the event’s inception up to over $2.5 million.
The surprise lineup consisted of Jason Aldean, Brothers Osborne, Runaway June, Elvie Shane, Keb’ Mo’, and golfer John Daly. Of course, Darius also took the stage, closing out the night with an encore that included his rendition of “Wagon Wheel.”
In addition to selling out the Ryman, the “Darius & Friends” show kept its livestream component in place, inviting fans who weren’t able to be there to join from home via the Mandolin livestream.
Marvel fans will get a chance to see Dominique Thorne before she officially stars in her highly anticipated Disney+ series, Ironheart.
Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige confirmed to Comicbook.com that Thorne will make her MCU debut in next year’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Her character, Riri Williams, aka Ironheart, was first introduced in the Marvel comics in 2016 as a 15-year-old MIT student who designs a suit of armor similar to Iron Man’s. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is set to hit theaters on July 8, 2022. Ironheart does not yet have a premiere date. Marvel is owned by Disney, parent company of ABC News.
In other news, Chadwick Boseman will be honored by his wife Simone and host Anthony Anderson at this year’s Stand Up to Cancer fundraising special. The event, which raises money for cancer research and therapies, will air a special tribute to Boseman, who passed away last year at the age of 43 after a private battle with colon cancer. Stand Up To Cancer airs commercial-free fundraiser across all major networks on August 21, including ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox, as well as major streaming networks, starting at 8 p.m. ET.
Finally, Issa Rae‘s new reality series, Sweet Life: Los Angeles, has debuted. In a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, Rae explains how the series concept series came about and why she felt it was needed. “This idea came to my team and we discussed it,” she said. “And just as an avid reality fan, I was like, ‘Oh, I want to do this. I want to do my version of [MTV’s] The Hills meets [BET’s] Baldwin Hills… I wanted it to be real L.A. people that natives would be proud of..” The first three episodes of Sweet Life: Los Angeles are available on HBO Max.
