(WASHINGTON) — If the U.S. does not get control over community spread of the delta COVID variant, the nation will continue to see more variants that evade the protection of the vaccines, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to the White House.
“That will happen, George, if we don’t get good control over the community spread which is the reason why I and my colleagues keep saying and over again, it is very important to get as many people vaccinated as we possibly can,” Fauci told “GMA” anchor George Stephanopoulos Thursday.
“People who say, ‘I don’t want to get vaccinated because it’s me and I’ll worry about me, I’m not having any impact on anybody else,’ that’s just not the case,” Fauci said.
When the virus spreads through the unvaccinated population, as it is doing rapidly now in many states with low vaccination rates, it can mutate regardless of whether the person gets mild symptoms, or even no symptoms at all.
“And when you give it ample opportunity to mutate, you may sooner or later get another variant, and it is possible that that variant might be in some respects worse than the already very difficult variant we’re dealing with now, which is a major reason why you want to completely suppress the circulation of the virus in the community,” Fauci said.
More than 70% of the adult U.S. population has received at least one dose of a vaccine and 60.7% of the adult U.S. population is fully vaccinated. Of all eligible Americans, meaning everyone over the age of 12, 67.9% have had at least one dose and 58.3% are fully vaccinated. But in some U.S. states, the vaccination rate is well below the national average.
Nationwide, there are still about 93 million eligible Americans who have not gotten vaccinated.
Fauci warned in an interview with McClatchy on Wednesday that he thinks the virus’s spread could increase to the point that the U.S. is reporting 100,000 to 200,000 new cases a day if more people don’t mask up and get vaccinated.
The delta variant, the most transmissible variant to take hold in the U.S. so far, accounted for 93% of U.S. cases during the last two weeks of July, according to the latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. In areas of the Midwest, it made up 98% of cases.
“The thing that’s important is that the delta variant that we’re dealing with is so capable of pushing out other variants, that we’re not expecting that to take over. Having said that, we follow it very closely,” Fauci said.
Since the onset of the initial delta variant, there has been a swift increase in cases among children who aren’t yet vaccinated, which experts chalk up to the faster spread of the virus.
Of the 58,000 people currently hospitalized for COVID-19 throughout the country, 18 to 49-year-olds account for 41%, according to CDC data. Pediatric hospitalizations are 3.5 times higher than they were a month ago, and the American Academy of Pediatrics reported that cases for kids under 17 nearly doubled over the last two weeks of July, from 39,000 a week to 72,000.
Some countries have published data showing that the delta variant also makes children more sick than past variants, even though children have had a very low risk of hospitalization or death throughout the pandemic. U.S. officials caution that the data is not strong enough to draw a firm conclusion.
While it’s “unquestionable” that the delta variant is more transmissible, it’s “less clear” whether or not it “actually makes individuals more seriously ill,” Fauci said.
NIH Director Francis Collins said in a CNN interview on Tuesday that the data coming in from other countries is “tipping in the direction” of showing higher risk to children, but it’s still not conclusive.
“I don’t want to overstate the confidence that we have about whether delta is more dangerous to children. The balance has not been fully settled there but it’s tipping in that direction,” Collins said.
But he also said that more children are being hospitalized because they’re part of the unvaccinated population, which is far more likely to get the virus as compared to older adults who have a much higher vaccination rate. Ninety precent of adults age 65 and older have had at least one shot of the vaccine, according to CDC data.
“So now we see perhaps in this spectrum of illness more emphasis on younger people, including kids,” Collins said.
(NEW YORK) — The United States is facing a COVID-19 surge this summer as the more contagious delta variant spreads.
More than 614,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 and over 4.2 million people have died worldwide, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.
Just 58.2% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC last week, citing new science on the transmissibility of the delta variant, changed its mask guidance to now recommend everyone in areas with substantial or high levels of transmission — vaccinated or not — wear a face covering in public, indoor settings.
Here’s how the news is developing Wednesday. All times Eastern:
Aug 05, 10:06 am
Arkansas governor reverses course on masks in schools
In Arkansas, one of the states hit hardest by the delta variant, Gov. Asa Hutchinson has reversed course, lifting a previously signed ban on mask mandates.
Hutchinson told “Good Morning America” Thursday that masks are not needed in schools if students are vaccinated but he’s “particularly concerned” about kids under 12 who are too young to get the shot.
In those cases, he said, schools should have the option to enforce masks.
The governor added that he’s pushing vaccine efforts with high school students and “making sure the faculty is vaccinated.”
Aug 05, 8:45 am
Moderna vaccine 93% effective against symptomatic disease after 6 months
Moderna says its vaccine is 93% effective against symptomatic illness after six months (though this data collection ended before delta emerged in the U.S.).
Moderna said its booster candidates also demonstrate robust antibody responses to variants of concern, including delta.
Moderna President Dr. Stephen Hoge told “Good Morning America” Thursday that the Moderna vaccine offers protection from delta right after receiving it, but it’s not known yet if that’ll hold up through the winter. He called winter “the biggest test of that vaccine which is why we need to be vigilant and careful.”
Hoge said he thinks booster shots will be needed and that the company is “preparing options,” but he added that that’ll be for public health officials, not the company, to decide.
He also noted that Moderna’s goal is to be vaccinating kids under 12 by the end of the year. Moderna isn’t authorized for kids ages 12 to 17 yet, but Hoge hopes authorization could come “any day.”
Aug 05, 8:28 am
US ‘may sooner or later get another variant’ if spread not controlled: Fauci
Without control over the community spread of the delta variant, the virus has “ample opportunity to mutate,” so “you may sooner or later get another variant,” Dr. Anthony Fauci told “Good Morning America.”
Fauci warned that it’s possible a new “variant might be in some respects worse than the already very difficult variant we’re dealing with now, which is a major reason why you want to completely suppress the circulation of the virus in the community.”
There are still about 93 million eligible Americans who have not gotten vaccinated.
Fauci added, “People who say, ‘I don’t want to get vaccinated because it’s me and I’ll worry about me, I’m not having any impact on anybody else,’ that’s just not the case.”
-ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett
Aug 05, 4:33 am
Tokyo sees 5,042 positive cases — a new record
There are 5,042 new positive COVID-19 cases in Tokyo as of Thursday, according to the city’s coronavirus information website.
Of those cases, 135 are severe and one has resulted in death.
It’s a new record for Tokyo and a 178% increase since last Thursday, as the highly contagious delta variant spreads rapidly across the globe.
Aug 04, 8:32 pm
Over 15,000 new COVID cases in Texas
Texas reported 15,558 new COVID-19 cases Wednesday, the highest one-day count since Feb. 3, according to state health records.
The state has seen a major jump in cases in the last month, brought on by the delta variant, according to officials.
The seven-day average of new daily cases has increased from about 1,500 on July 2 to nearly 10,000 on Aug. 3, according to state health data.
As of Wednesday, 62.58% of Texas residents 12 and older have received at least one shot, according to the state health department.
Aug 04, 7:32 pm
Hundreds of students, school staff quarantined in Arkansas district
Hundreds of student and staff members from the Marion School District in Arkansas are now quarantined in only the second week of the school year, officials announced.
The state has a ban on school districts imposing a mask mandate.
On Tuesday, the district said 253 students would begin their two-week quarantine due to 15 cases that were reported in the schools. This came after 168 students were already quarantined last week.
“If all students and teachers had been wearing a mask appropriately- then today’s 15 positive cases would be isolated- but there would be no resulting quarantines for anyone else,” the district said in a statement.
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson told reporters Tuesday he regretted signing the bill that banned masks in schools and urged the state legislature to amend the law to give schools the option.
Aug 04, 7:11 pm
Florida school district says 2 employees dead from virus, pushes mask mandate
A Florida school district that defied Gov. Ron DeSantis’ ban on school mask mandates said Tuesday that two of its employees died from the virus last weekend.
Carlee Simon, the superintendent for the Alachua County Schools, said in a statement that the district “is experiencing this spike first-hand.”
“Over the weekend two of our employees passed away from COVID,” she said in a statement. “We’ve had 18 new cases in the last three days alone. More than 80 employees are now in quarantine, and that number is rising fast.”
The school district, which includes which includes Gainesville, voted Tuesday night to issue a mask mandate for students and staff for the next two weeks. The mandate will be reevaluated on Aug. 17, Simon said.
Aug 04, 6:30 pm
Hawaii issues vaccine mandate for middle, high school athletes
The Hawaii State Department of Education announced that all middle and high school athletes, athletic staff and volunteers will need to be fully vaccinated by Sept. 24 in order to participate in activities.
The rule affects students who are eligible for the vaccines, meaning they must be over 12.
“This decision was not made lightly because we know the important role athletics play in a well-rounded education, but we cannot jeopardize the health and safety of our students and communities,” interim Superintendent Keith Hayashi said in a statement.
The start of the athletic season was delayed to Sept. 24 due to the state’s rising positivity rate, according to the department.
This is the first state to require vaccinations for its student athletes.
-ABC News’ Bonnie McLean
Aug 04, 5:54 pm
Illinois governor issues mask mandate for schools
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker announced Wednesday that all pre-K through 12th grade schools and day cares must follow universal masking indoors regardless of vaccination status.
Pritzker said the state is facing a growing threat from the delta variant and noted that children under 12 aren’t yet eligible for COVID-19 vaccines.
“Far too few school districts have chosen to follow the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention prescription for keeping students and staff safe,” he said at a news conference. “Given the CDC’s strong recommendation, I had hoped that a state mask requirement in schools wouldn’t be necessary, but it is.”
Aug 04, 4:27 pm
Surge pushing hospital staffing to breaking point
The latest delta surge is once again pushing hospital staffing to breaking points across the U.S.
In Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington, some “facilities are experiencing substantial shortages of both clinical and support staff,” according to a Department of Health and Human Services planning document obtained by ABC News Wednesday.
In hard-hit Missouri, many hospitals “don’t have the staff to support a surge without further modification to operational strategies,” the document said.
At a Shreveport, Louisiana, hospital, where the number of COVID-19 patients are multiplying, nurse Melinda Hunt told ABC News, “To be honest, I probably cry most days at work. And I cry at home. I’m tired. I’ve been doing this a year and half. It feels like it’s never going to end.”
Aug 04, 4:08 pm US daily case average jumped 45% in the last week
The U.S. daily case average has climbed to more than 84,000, a 45.3% jump in the last week, according to federal data.
The daily case average is now more than seven times higher than it was six weeks ago.
All but three states are now reporting high (a seven-day new case rate ≥100) or substantial (a seven-day new case rate between 50-99.99) community transmission, according to federal data.
-ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos
Aug 04, 3:08 pm
Delta variant now 93% of all sequenced cases in US
The delta variant now accounts for 93% of all sequenced cases in the U.S., according to the latest CDC data, which was collected over the last two weeks of July.
Delta accounted for just 3% of cases sequenced in late May.
Across the Midwest, described as HHS regions 7 and 8, delta made up 97% to 98% of cases. This includes Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming.
-ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett
Aug 04, 2:55 pm
WHO chief: No booster shots until at least end of September
The World Health Organization is calling for a moratorium on booster shots until more people from low-income countries have received a vaccine.
Low-income countries have only been able to administer 1.5 shots for every 100 people due to lack of supply, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, said Wednesday.
A moratorium on boosters until at least the end of September will “enable at least 10% of the population of every country to be vaccinated,” he said.
But White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in response that the U.S. doesn’t have to choose.
“We feel that it’s a false choice and that we can do both,” Psaki said Wednesday.
The U.S. has ordered enough supply for every American to get vaccinated, plus get a booster shot, according to the White House. The U.S. has already pledged to donate 580 million doses to the international community by 2022.
-ABC News’ Sarah Kolinovsky and Zoe Magee
Aug 04, 2:27 pm
Hospitalizations could more than triple this month
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention forecasts that daily hospitalizations “will likely increase over the next four weeks.”
About 7,000 new COVID-19 patients are hospitalized each day right now. That may soar to 24,000 per day, according to the COVID-19 Forecast Hub at U Mass Amherst.
Aug 04, 2:11 pm
Fully vaccinated people susceptible to ‘long COVID’: Fauci
Dr. Anthony Fauci is warning that fully vaccinated people are also susceptible to “long COVID” if they have a breakthrough infection.
“We already know that people who get breakthrough infections and don’t go on to get advanced disease requiring hospitalization, they too are susceptible to long COVID,” Fauci told McClatchy. “You’re not exempt from long COVID if you get a breakthrough infection.”
As the delta variant surges, Fauci said, “there could be a variant that’s lingering out there that can push aside delta.”
“If another one comes along that has an equally high capability of transmitting but also is much more severe, then we could really be in trouble,” he said.
-ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett
Aug 04, 1:40 pm
NY auto show canceled
The New York International Automobile Show, set to begin Aug. 20 in New York City, has been canceled due to the spread of the delta variant.
“All signs were positive” when planning began “but today is a different story,” show organizers said.
Aug 04, 1:30 pm
Louisiana hospitalizations reach all-time high
Louisiana now has 2,247 COVID-19 patients in hospitals — a new all-time high for the state.
This surpasses the previous record set Tuesday of 2,112 patients, the state’s Department of Health said.
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards has reinstated a mask mandate for the month of August.
The governor said Wednesday that he won’t mandate vaccinations for state employees until the FDA grants full approval.
He said 37.1% of the Louisiana population is fully vaccinated.
Aug 04, 11:47 am
The Offspring drummer says he’s not playing at upcoming shows because he’s unvaccinated
Pete Parada, the drummer for pop-punk band The Offspring, says he is not playing with the band at upcoming shows because he is unvaccinated.
Parada wrote on Instagram that he’s avoiding the shot on his doctor’s advice, saying he’s had a lifelong battle with the rare neurological disorder Guillain-Barré syndrome and the vaccine’s “risks far outweigh the benefits.”
Because he’s unvaccinated, “it has recently been decided that I am unsafe to be around, in the studio, and on tour,” Parada said.
“I have no negative feelings towards my band,” he continued. “They’re doing what they believe is best for them, while I am doing the same.”
-ABC News’ Evan McMurry
Aug 04, 11:15 am
Florida hospitalizations reach highest point in pandemic
Florida has 12,408 COVID-19 patients in hospitals — the highest number to date of the entire pandemic.
Florida hospitals report that more than 95% of COVID-19 patients are not fully vaccinated, according to state data.
-ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos
Aug 04, 10:01 am
WHO chief: No booster shots until at least end of September
The World Health Organization is calling for a moratorium on booster shots until more people from low-income countries have received a vaccine.
Low-income countries have only been able to administer 1.5 shots for every 100 people due to lack of supply, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, said Wednesday.
A moratorium on boosters until at least the end of September will “enable at least 10% of the population of every country to be vaccinated,” he said.
Aug 04, 9:20 am
Alabama hospital sees deadliest day of pandemic
Four COVID-19 patients at Regional Medical Center in Anniston, Alabama — all unvaccinated — died within 24 hours, marking the hospital’s deadliest day of the pandemic, The Anniston Star reported.
As delta surges, patients are now getting sicker faster, a doctor at the hospital told the newspaper.
Only 28% of residents in Calhoun County are fully vaccinated, according to The Anniston Star.
Aug 04, 8:24 am
Obama to ‘significantly scale back’ 60th birthday party
Former President Barack Obama has decided to “significantly scale back” his 60th birthday party on Martha’s Vineyard due to the spread of the delta variant, according to a spokesperson. Hundreds of guests were expected to attend.
“This outdoor event was planned months ago in accordance with all public health guidelines and with covid safeguards in place. Due to the new spread of the delta variant over the past week, the President and Mrs. Obama have decided to significantly scale back the event to include only family and close friends,” spokesperson Hannah Hankins said in a statement.
Obama’s office did not give a new estimate of how many guests will attend.
While Miley Cyrus may have been disappointed by the seemingly homophobic comments made by “Levitating” rapper DaBaby, she doesn’t believe cancelling him is the right way to react.
Taking to Instagram Wednesday, Miley made the case for forgiving the embattled rapper and allowing him the opportunity to learn from his mistakes.
“As a proud and loyal member of the LGBTQIA+ community, much of my life has been dedicated to encouraging love, acceptance, and open mindedness,” Miley stated in a black and white infographic.
“The internet can fuel a lot of hate & anger and is the nucleus of cancel culture,” she agreed, “but I believe it can also be a place filled with education, conversation, communication & connection.”
She added, “It’s easier to cancel someone than to find forgiveness and compassion in ourselves or take the time to change hearts and minds. There’s no more room for division if we want to keep seeing progress!”
“Knowledge is power! I know I still have so much to learn,” Miley concluded before revealing in the caption that she already took her own advice.
Tagging DaBaby, she called upon him to “check your DMs” because she “would love to talk and see how we can learn from each other and help be part of making a more just and understanding future.”
He has yet to publicly respond to the offer.
The 29-year-old rapper experienced an intense fallout after making remarks that were widely considered homophobic during Miami’s Rolling Loud festival on July 25. Six festivals have since removed him from their lineup and a bevy of A-listers such as Elton John, Madonna and even his “Levitating” collaborator Dua Lipa have condemned his conduct.
DaBaby has twice apologized in the weeks since, most recently in a lengthy Instagram post on Monday.
(NEW YORK) — As New York City turns to vaccine passports to help limit the spread of COVID-19, other cities have pushed back against similar measures, with leaders citing a wide range of concerns, from equity to security.
This week, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the nation’s largest city would soon require proof of at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine for indoor dining, indoor fitness facilities and indoor entertainment facilities.
“This is crucial because we know that this will encourage a lot more vaccination,” de Blasio said Tuesday at a press briefing announcing the policy. “The goal here is to convince everyone that this is the time. If we’re going to stop the delta variant, the time is now. And that means getting vaccinated right now.”
New York City is the first U.S. city to announce such a measure as the highly contagious delta variant is driving up cases nationwide.
When asked this week if Boston would do the same, acting Mayor Kim Janey said the city is focusing on vaccine access, while likening the idea of vaccine passports to slave papers and birtherism.
“There’s a long history in this country of people needing to show their papers,” the Democrat told ABC Boston affiliate WCVB Tuesday. “During slavery, post-slavery, as recent as you know, what immigrant population has to go through here. We heard Trump with the birth certificate nonsense. Here we want to make sure that we are not doing anything that would further create a barrier for residents of Boston or disproportionally impact BIPOC [Black, Indigenous and people of color] communities.”
Disparities in vaccination rates have raised concerns about vaccine passports disproportionately impacting communities of color. Vaccination rates among Black and Latino residents in Suffolk County — where Boston sits — lag behind those of white residents, state data shows.
Janey’s comments were met with some criticism, though, particularly from fellow mayoral candidates. Boston city councilor Andrea Campbell tweeted that “this kind of rhetoric is dangerous.”
“The acting mayor’s comments yesterday put people’s health at risk, plain and simple,” Campbell said during a press briefing Wednesday while outlining her platform policies, which include requiring proof of vaccination for crowded public indoor spaces, like restaurants and gyms. “Boston has an opportunity frankly to be an example to the rest of the country when it comes to getting residents vaccinated and preventing the spread of the delta variant.”
Following Janey’s comments, Michelle Wu, another Boston mayoral candidate, said she supports requiring proof of vaccination at restaurants, shops and other indoor venues. “Our leaders need to build trust in vaccines,” she said on Twitter Tuesday.
Janey further clarified her comments regarding vaccination “hurdles,” saying on Twitter Tuesday that “we must consider our shared history as we work to ensure an equitable public health and economic recovery.”
“While there are no current plans for business sector vaccination mandates, we are using data to inform targeted public health strategies,” she said. This includes working with the hospitality sector to build on-site vaccination clinics.
The debate comes as other leaders have continued to push back against vaccine passports and other mandates on the grounds of personal liberty.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — one of several state leaders who have moved to ban vaccine passports — spoke out against the measure during a press briefing Wednesday.
“I think the question is, is we can either have a free society or we can have a biomedical security state,” the Republican governor said. “I can tell ya — Florida, we’re a free state.”
Other GOP leaders have used more inflammatory rhetoric throughout the vaccination campaign by likening vaccination requirements to the Holocaust — drawing condemnation from Jewish organizations and fellow members of their party.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene apologized for comments she made in June that compared being required to wear masks in the House to the Holocaust. Republican Washington state Rep. Jim Walsh also issued an apology last month after he donned a yellow Star of David to protest COVID-19 restrictions, saying it was “inappropriate and offensive.”
In the latest incident, John Bennett, the chairman of the Oklahoma Republican Party, recently took to Facebook to equate vaccine passports to the yellow Star of David that Nazis forced Jewish people to wear.
“It’s not about the star, what it’s about is a totalitarian government pushing a communist agenda on top of us and forcing people against their own liberties to get this vaccine,” Bennett said in a video message Sunday following criticism to an earlier post on the Oklahoma Republican Party’s Facebook page, which included an image of the yellow Star of David with the word “Unvaccinated” on it.
Following Bennett’s initial post, local GOP leaders spoke out against the analogy, which the Jewish Federation of Greater Oklahoma City called “ill-informed and inappropriate.”
“It is sad and ironic that anyone would draw an analogy from the largest recorded genocide in the 20th century with public health attempts to save lives,” the organization said in a statement.
New York City’s vaccine mandate follows in the footsteps of the “health passes” in France and Italy.
“We do want to make as many of these settings as safe as possible,” New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Dave Chokshi said during a press briefing Tuesday. “And that means having them be for people who are only fully vaccinated. That is the thrust of the policy.”
Vaccine mandates are a smart policy for a dense urban place like New York City to help encourage vaccination, Dr. John Brownstein, an epidemiologist at Boston Children’s Hospital and an ABC News contributor, said.
“We have to start to think about new ways to get the population to recognize the value of these vaccines,” he said. “Creating some level of requirement is important. Of course that is going to be especially important in areas of high transmission, like health care organizations, or nursing homes … but also places where there’s potentially a high risk of transmission.”
“A city like New York, which experienced the worst of the pandemic … has a lot of concerns about a potential new surge,” he said.
Each city will have its own context and “nuance in applying public health measures,” Brownstein said, and there may not be a “one-size-fits-all approach” to increasing vaccination rates.
Following New York City’s announcement, Dr. Allison Arwady, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health, said during a news briefing Tuesday that the city is “interested” in the idea but there aren’t current plans to implement a similar plan.
“We’ll be watching to see how this plays out, but we don’t have a current plan to do something like that at the city level,” she said, noting that New Yorkers seem to have “embraced this vaccine passport idea a little bit more than has been embraced here in the Midwest and across Illinois.”
Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts may have to sit out the band’s rescheduled U.S. leg of their No Filter Tour this fall.
A spokesman for Watts, 80, confirmed that it is “unlikely” the drummer will be able to join the 13-date tour. Watts, who joined the Stones in 1963, is recovering from an unspecified medical procedure.
“Charlie has had a procedure which was completely successful, but I gather his doctors this week concluded that he now needs proper rest and recuperation,” his rep said in a statement. “With rehearsals starting in a couple of weeks it’s very disappointing to say the least, but it’s also fair to say no one saw this coming.”
Watts wasn’t thrilled by the decision, but explained that this is what’s best for his health and the band.
“For once my timing has been a little off. I am working hard to get fully fit but I have today accepted on the advice of the experts that this will take a while,” he explained in a statement. “After all the fans’ suffering caused by Covid I really do not want the many RS fans who have been holding tickets for this Tour to be disappointed by another postponement or cancellation.”
Watts said his “great friend” Steve Jordan will be his No Filter Tour understudy. Jordan says that, while he’s looking forward to rehearsing with Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood — he is more excited about the possibility of Watts recovering in time to join the trek.
“No one will be happier than me to give up my seat on the drum-riser as soon as Charlie tells me he is good to go,” he said.
The No Filter Tour starts September 26 in St. Louis, Missouri.
Mike Richards is in “advanced negotiations” to become the new host of Jeopardy!, Variety reports. The classic game show was previously helmed for 36 years by Alex Trebek, who died of pancreatic cancer in November 2020 at age 80.
Following Trebek’s final episode, Jeopardy! enlisted a rotation of celebrity guest hosts, including Ken Jennings, Aaron Rodgers, Robin Roberts, Anderson Cooper, LeVar Burton and more, to hold down the fort as they embarked on their search for a permanent replacement.
A spokesperson for Sony Pictures would not comment on Richards but did tell the outlet that they were having conversations with several potential candidates. However, an insider dished that Richards is leading the pack.
For his part, Richards has previous experience as a host on the game shows Divided and The Pyramid. He also hosted the reality shows High School Reunion and Beauty and the Geek. Aside from his hosting gigs, Richards has also served as an executive producer on shows like Let’s Make a Deal and the celebrity version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.
(WASHINGTON) — The Federal Aviation Administration is calling on U.S. airports to help put an end to the recent spike in unruly passenger cases.
The FAA is urging airport police to arrest more people who are unruly or violent on flights and asking airport bars and restaurants to stop serving alcoholic drinks to go.
“Even though FAA regulations specifically prohibit the consumption of alcohol aboard an aircraft that is not served by the airline, we have received reports that some airport concessionaires have offered alcohol ‘to go,'” FAA Administrator Steve Dickson wrote to airport leaders nationwide. “And passengers believe they can carry that alcohol onto their flights or they become inebriated.”
The agency’s investigations into the surge in aggressive behavior on-board has shown that alcohol is often a contributing factor.
“Airports can help bring awareness to this prohibition on passengers carrying open alcohol onboard their flights through signage, public service announcements, and concessionaire education,” Dickson said.
Some major U.S. airlines, including American Airlines and Southwest Airlines, have prohibited purchasing alcohol on board until the mask mandate expires. It is currently in place until mid-September.
Southwest was prompted to make the change in June after an unruly passenger allegedly knocked a flight attendant’s two front teeth out.
“Certainly with the number of incidents you can tell why flight attendants would feel leery about beginning to sell alcohol onboard the aircraft again,” Lyn Montgomery, a spokesperson for the union that represents Southwest flight attendants told ABC News.
Alcohol was reported to be a factor in one of the most recent unruly passenger incidents that occurred on a Frontier Airlines flight on Saturday.
The 22-year-old had at least two drinks on the flight, according to authorities, before allegedly groping two flight attendants and punching a third flight attendant in the face. The crew resorted to duct taping the man to his seat for the duration of the flight.
He was arrested when the plane landed in Miami and is now facing three counts of battery.
But not all unruly passengers face criminal charges, the FAA said.
“While the FAA has levied civil fines against unruly passengers, it has no authority to prosecute criminal cases,” Dickson told airport executives.
The agency has received more than 3,700 reports of unruly passengers since January with more than 2,700 of them involving fliers who refuse to wear a mask.
He said they see many passengers — some who physically assaulted flight attendants — interviewed by local police and then released “without criminal charges of any kind.”
“When this occurs, we miss a key opportunity to hold unruly passengers accountable for their unacceptable and dangerous behavior,” he said.
The FAA is still enforcing its zero-tolerance policy for in-flight disruptions which could lead to fines as high as $52,500 and up to 20 years in prison. The agency has looked into more than 628 potential violations of federal law so far this year — the highest number since the agency began keeping records in 1995.
The largest flight attendant union in the U.S. doubled down on its call last week for the FAA and Department of Justice to “protect passengers and crew from disruptive and verbally and physically abusive travelers.”
A DOJ spokesperson told ABC News that “interference with flight crew members is a serious crime that deserves the attention of federal law enforcement.”
“As with any case, we exercise prosecutorial discretion in deciding which cases to charge federally,” the spokesperson continued. “Factors include egregiousness of the offense, were lives in danger, victim impact, mental health, did the plane have to make an unscheduled landing, is this a repeat offense, are there mitigating factors, etc. This is a serious crime that carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.”
(NEW YORK) — Recent deadly flooding events around the world are evidence of the planet’s changing relationship with precipitation as global temperatures continue to warm, according to environmental experts.
While the link between the climate change and extreme precipitation is straightforward, quantifying the link remains a critical area of research, Frances Davenport, a doctoral candidate at Stanford University’s Earth System Science program told ABC News Chief Meteorologist Ginger Zee.
“We’re seeing that climate change increases extreme precipitation and makes the most extreme events bigger,” Davenport said.
Attempts to quantify a flooding event often involves the use of the term “a one in 100-year event.” In terms of floods, it pertains to the flood flow rate that has a 1% chance of being equaled or exceeded in a given year, Robert Mason, extreme hydrologic events coordinator and Delaware River master for the U.S. Geological Survey, told ABC News.
But this term is expected to change because it is only an estimate based on data, Mason said, and it is possible for major floods to happen in back-to-back years.
“The ‘back-to-back’ phenomena is difficult to explain,” Mason said. “It happens even without any trend in the data and is likely just chance events.”
The USGS is looking at different ways of quantifying back-to-back major flooding events, Mason said.
In some incidents, the flooding comes with little warning.
The death toll from flash flooding in central China tripled to more than 300 on Wednesday with another 50 people missing, according to officials. Record rain in the Henan province on July 20 turned streets in Zhengzhou into rushing rivers strong enough to sweep vehicles away.
In western Europe, more than 100 people died last month after a catastrophic flood triggered flash floods in parts of western Germany and eastern Belgium. The region also saw record rain from a slow-moving system, causing banks at rivers and reservoirs to burst, sending raging floodwater into streets, swallowing cars, homes, businesses and even entire villages.
A ferocious storm on July 24 flooded Interstate 94 and many other roadways around the Detroit area, as well as some homes. The storm knocked out power to nearly 140,000 customers in Michigan.
While scientists have understood the link between climate change and flooding for some time, the severity of recent events is signaling an indisputable presence of climate change, Davenport said.
The increases in extreme precipitation have also had a direct economic impact, she added.
“We’ve looked at data flood damage over the past 30 years, and we have estimated that a third of the damages from that period were because of increases in precipitation,” Daveport said, citing research published earlier this year.
In a 30-year period from 1988 to 2017, the cost in additional flood damages from increased precipitation totaled about $73 billion, she said.
Climate change is arguably changing Earth’s relationship with water overall, according to scientists. For a region like the Western U.S., the snowpack that builds up during the winter is critical as a water resource.
“When storms that used to bring snow are now bringing rain, this can lead to pretty severe flooding in the winter that we didn’t see in the past,” Davenport said. “Unfortunately, it both increases flooding and can exacerbate some of our drought conditions in the spring and summer.”
ABC News’ Samara Lynn, Morgan Winsor and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Kathy Griffin penned an empowering message Wednesday to let her fans know she’s on the road to recovery following surgery to address Stage 1 lung cancer, during which half of her left lung was removed.
“To be honest, this cancer surgery was a little more than I had anticipated,” the 60-year-old comic wrote on Twitter. “Tonight will be my first night without any narcotic pain killers. Hello Tylenol, my new best friend!”
The comedian recently opened up in an interview with ABC News about recovering from a painkiller addiction, and a suicide attempt — both of which she addressed in her Twitter update.
“The last time I was in a hospital it was June 2020 when I tried to take my life and overdosed on prescription pills,” she wrote. “With over a year clean and drug free, I now know I can do this and anything I want without those devil pills. Y’know what? I fear drugs and addiction more than I fear cancer. So, I think I’ll be okay.”
“Surgery went well and as planned,” Griffin’s rep said in a statement to Good Morning America following the procedure. “Kathy is now in recovery now and resting. Doctors say the procedure was normal without any surprises.”
If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide or worried about a friend or loved one, help is available. Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 [TALK] for free, confidential emotional support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can also reach the Trevor Project at 1-866-488-7386 or the Crisis Text Line by texting “START” to 741741.
(NEW YORK) — Governor Andrew Cuomo is facing further scrutiny after the New York attorney general’s office concluded he violated state and federal law in sexually harassing at least 11 women.
While State Attorney General Letitia James’ civil probe didn’t include a criminal referral, several district attorney offices from across the New York area have asked to review the investigation’s materials to determine whether criminal charges could be filed.
James’ findings, released on Tuesday, concluded that Cuomo “sexually harassed current and former New York state employees by engaging in unwelcome and non-consensual touching and making numerous offensive comments of a sexually suggestive nature that created a hostile work environment for women.”
Cuomo has denied all allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct, including inappropriate touching and sexual advances.
The attorney general’s report also concluded that Cuomo may have violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlaws discrimination in the workplace on the basis of sex and prohibits gender-based harassment in the workplace. The report also cited the New York State Human Rights Law, which is similar to the federal law.
Under that law, an employee can be held liable if they engaged in conduct that violates those guidelines or if they aided and abet conduct that violates state laws. “Failure to investigate [discriminatory acts] can constitute ‘active participation’ to support an ‘aiding and abetting’ claim,” the report stated.
In 2019, Cuomo signed legislation, to much fanfare, to strengthen protections against discrimination and harassment under New York State Human Rights Law, including extending the statute of limitations for employment harassment claims to three years from one year.
James’ report also concluded that Cuomo allegedly violated federal and state law in retaliating against one of his accusers, Lindsey Boylan, who came forward with her allegations in December, by “actively engaged in an effort to discredit her,” the report stated.
“The Governor and some of his senior staff questioned at the time (and continue to question) Ms. Boylan’s motivations, claiming that she made her allegations of sexual harassment for political reasons, i.e., to bolster her political campaign, or generally to be vindictive or retaliatory herself. But retaliation is unlawful regardless of whether the employer believes the complainant is acting with a good faith belief that she was harassed,” the report stated.
Further, Cuomo and his office failed to report and investigate the allegations of sexual harassment, in violation of their own internal policies and procedures, the report found.
Karen Agnifilo, a lawyer at Geragos & Geragos and a former prosecutor with the Manhattan district attorney’s office, told ABC News the allegations contained in the report released on Tuesday “absolutely articulates criminal behavior in many of the instances.”
Whether charges are pursued depends largely on “if the victims are willing to come forward, if it’s within the statute of limitations for a misdemeanor, and if there’s jurisdiction,” Agnifilo added. “This report couldn’t have been clearer. It found over and over again, that the victims were credible and, stunningly, the governor was not credible.”
ABC News Legal Analyst Dan Abrams said it’s important to note the difference between potential civil and criminal charges.
“It’s very important to distinguish between sexual harassment, which is a civil law issue, meaning people can sue over it, but the remedy is money damages — it’s an individual suing him,” Abrams said. “A criminal case is the government saying, ‘We are going to seek to punish you and potentially take away your freedom,’ and in a criminal case, the legal standard is also higher. It’s proof beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Abrams said the strongest case is for a misdemeanor criminal charge in connection with the claim that Cuomo allegedly groped the breast of his executive assistant who worked at the executive chamber in 2020.
“The criminal law in New York that I think that most people will be focusing on is a law called ‘forcible touching’ — it’s a class A misdemeanor, it’s up to a year in prison,” Abrams explained. “And the definition of it is forcibly touching the sexual or other intimate parts of another person for the purpose of degrading or abusing such person, or for the purpose of gratifying the actor’s sexual desire.”
“I think we are still a ways away from criminal charges,” said Abrams, adding that even if Cuomo is charged with the misdemeanor “you still have to also prove that it’s for the purpose of gratifying the actor’s sexual desire. And that’s one of these legal things people don’t think about every day, but in the very definition of the statute makes it harder to prove.”
That woman came forward anonymously to the Albany Times-Union in April.
Cuomo’s lawyer, Rita Glavin, issued a denial after the report was released on Tuesday that Cuomo ever groped this anonymous assistant.
“The Governor was stunned by her claim made for the first time in early March 2021 that he groped her breast,” Glavin said in a statement. “This claim is false, as the Governor has stated repeatedly and unequivocally.”
