(ORLANDO, Fla.) — Family members of Miya Marcano said they’re holding out hope the 19-year-old woman missing since Friday will be found safe.
Caili Sue, a cousin of Marcano, spoke to reporters in Orlando on Tuesday as she and other relatives put up posters with Marcano’s photo and searched the woods near her apartment.
“I’m determined, and I’m still very hopeful we’re going find her,” Sue said.
Marcano, a Valencia College student, was last seen at approximately 5 p.m. on Friday at the Arden Villas apartments in Orlando, where she lived and worked, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
Armando Manuel Caballero also worked in the building as a maintenance employee and had expressed interest in Marcano, but she rebuffed his advances, police said.
Sue told reporters that Caballero, 27, was constantly texting Marcano, and that he “made her uncomfortable.”
Investigators said Caballero’s job included use of a key fob to access apartments, and his was used at Marcano’s unit just before her disappearance. Family who entered Marcano’s apartment after she went missing discovered broken jewelry on dirty floors and a messy bed, Sue said.
“It looked like there was a struggle because of the dirt and jewelry on the ground,” she continued. “The family is very meticulous with cleaning and keeping their place clean, so bed unmade and things scattered was odd.”
Caballero, identified as a person of interest in the case, was found dead on Monday from an apparent suicide, authorities said.
“I was really angry,” Sue said, “because if he knew anything, he took that information with him and could have given us a lead.”
Sue and other relatives said they urging anyone who may have any information to call the police. The Orange County Sheriff’s Office said anyone with details can call them at 407-836-4357.
Issa Rae is sharing rare details about her personal life in the September issue of Self magazine.
Rae, who recently tied the knot to longtime boyfriend Louis Diame over the summer, says married life is treating her well.
“I’m extremely happy,” she shares.
While Rae is clearly enjoying being a wife, the Insecure creator and star — who admits she’s definitely a “workaholic” — says she’s not yet ready to add mother to her priority list.
“I like my life, I like this selfishness, and I know that I have a window,” she explains. “Women, Black women especially — unless you’re Viola Davis or Angela Bassett — you have a window when people are going to want to continue to see you and see what you can do. Then there are so many limitations placed upon you, and that does keep me up.”
She continues, “I want to do as much as I can while I still can. I know it’s not the proper mentality to think that kids will slow you down, but I do feel that way.”
In addition to family life, Rae is also focusing on the fifth and final season of her hit HBO series Insecure. Rae says after an amazing run, she’s ready for the next chapter in her career.
“I’m definitely ready to let it go,” she said about the show ending. “I knew that I wanted to end it after five seasons. And I feel like I’m really proud of this season that we’re shooting now. It’s so much fun, and it’s made me appreciate the show in a different way.”
The fifth and final season of Insecure premieres Sunday, October 24 at 10 p.m. ET. As previously reported, Rae is expected to return, along with Yvonne Orji, Jay Ellis, Natasha Rothwell, Amanda Seales and Courtney Taylor.
(NEW YORK) — The unions representing American and Southwest airlines pilots are asking lawmakers and the White House for an exemption or an alternative to the federal mandate requiring companies with more than 100 people to get vaccinated.
Roughly 30% of American Airlines pilots are not vaccinated, according to the Allied Pilots Association, the union representing American’s 14,000 pilots. Southwest’s pilot union could not say how many of its members were unvaccinated.
“Some of APA’s members are unable to undergo vaccination for documented medical reasons, while others are reluctant to get vaccinated based upon concerns about the potential for career-ending side effects,” union president, Captain Eric Ferguson wrote in a letter to more than 15 people at the DOT, White House, and Congress.
Commercial airline pilots adhere to strict medical requirements and some pilots fear vaccine side effects like blood clots or heart problems could prevent them from maintaining a medical clearance, thus ending their careers as pilots.
The CDC reports there have been more than 200 million doses of vaccine administered already in the U.S. and serious safety problems are very uncommon.
Most side effects from COVID vaccines are mild and temporary and include things like soreness at the injection site or fatigue, headaches, chills and nausea. These side effects usually go away within a day or two.
There have been rare adverse events of blood clots — about 7 per million vaccinated women between 18 and 49 — with the J&J vaccine. Women in that age range may want to select a different vaccine.
There have been a small number of temporary heart problems associated with Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for young men. These reports are rare and the known and potential benefits of COVID-19 vaccination outweigh the known and potential risks of getting COVID — which include myocarditis or pericarditis.
The union representing Southwest’s pilot’s echoed American’s request to the federal government, saying in a statement: “Our pilots have shouldered an elevated risk of illness from the start of the pandemic, including well before the vaccines became available. And we are hopeful that our contributions are recognized and accounted for as we seek approval of an alternate means of compliance and an operationally feasible implementation period.”
Both unions say the 60-day-timeline for the requirement to get vaccinated could have a significant impact on holiday travel if pilots who choose not to get vaccinated are forced off the job.
“We are also concerned that the Executive Order’s anticipated 60-day implementation period for mandatory vaccinations could result in labor shortages and create serious operational problems for American Airlines and its peers. Airlines generate a substantial portion of their annual revenue during the holiday period, with a great many travelers depending on us to get them to their destinations. Our nation’s airlines, and the traveling public, cannot afford significant service disruptions due to labor shortages,” Ferguson wrote in the letter.
Meanwhile, United Airlines says 98.5% of its employees are now vaccinated after the company mandated the shot. At least seven United employees are suing the company to avoid getting the vaccine.
Delta Air Lines will soon charge unvaccinated employees $200 more per month for health insurance. The company says at least 82% of its employees are vaccinated.
Since live music is back, Billboard‘s Boxscore Charts, which rank the highest-grossing and highest-attended concerts of the week, is about to make its return. In advance of that, the publication has taken a look at which acts did the best over the summer on the road…and the winner is Bruno Mars.
Over June, July and August, Bruno raked in nearly $19.3 million, but you may not have noticed, because he only did 12 shows: 10 at the MGM Park Theater in Las Vegas and two at the MGM National Harbor in Maryland. Bruno played for some 59,000 fans, and because the average ticket price was a whopping $325, he came out on top in terms of total gross.
In fact, Billboard notes that Bruno’s MGM residency has now out-grossed Lady Gaga‘s MGM residency: She’s made $53.9 million, while Bruno’s made $56.2 million. However, Gaga may catch up, since she’s going to start a run of new shows on October 14.
Other acts that did well on the road over the summer, according to Billboard: Dead & Company, Usher, Zac Brown Band, Billy Joel, James Taylor, The Eagles, Dave Chappelle and Foo Fighters.
The recent Brian Wilson documentary Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road, which got its world premiere in June at New York City’s Tribeca Film Festival, will get its theatrical release and will debut on video-on-demand in November.
Long Promised Road features the legendary Beach Boys member discussing his life and music with Rolling Stone editor Jason Fine as the two drive around Los Angeles visiting sites of significance to Wilson and his famous band.
The film also includes interviews with various other music artists who have worked with or were inspired by Brian, including Bruce Springsteen, Elton John, founding Beach Boys singer/guitarist Al Jardine, producer/musician Don Was, pop star Nick Jonas, My Morning Jacket frontman Jim James, Jakob Dylan and Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins.
In addition, the documentary features concert and in-studio footage, and includes a new song titled “Right Where I Belong” that Brian co-wrote and recorded with Jim James specifically for the movie.
“As a lifelong fan, I knew this film would have to take some risks to give us insight into Brian’s complex world,” says Long Promised Road director Brent Wilson — no relation to Brian.
According to Deadline, the Screen Media company, which acquired the distribution rights for Long Promised Road, is planning an Oscar campaign that it hopes will include securing a best original song nomination for “Right Where I Belong.”
Meanwhile, Wilson recently announced plans to release a new instrumental album titled At My Piano that features solo piano versions of many classic Beach Boys songs. The album is due out on November 19, and can be pre-ordered now.
“God Only Knows”
“In My Room”
“Don’t Worry Baby”
“California Girls”
“The Warmth of the Sun”
“Wouldn’t It Be Nice”
“You Still Believe in Me”
“I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times”
“Sketches of Smile”
“Surf’s Up”
“Friends”
“Till I Die”
“Love and Mercy”
“Mt. Vernon Farewell”
“Good Vibrations”
After serving time over her involvement in the Varsity Blues college cheating scandal, ABC Audio has confirmed Lori Loughlin is returning to TV, on the series When Hope Calls.
The show is a spin-off of the Hallmark Channel’s When Calls the Heart, on which Loughlin starred for six seasons before being abruptly written off when the network cut ties with her over the scandal.
For When Hope Calls‘ second season, Loughlin will reprise her role in the period drama as Abigail Stanton, a widow and cafe-owner who becomes a small-town mayor in 1910 Canada.
The show, formerly on Hallmark Channel, will air on the GAC Family network — formerly known as Great American Country. The two-part premiere titled When Hope Calls: A Country Christmas debuts Saturday, December 18.
Loughlin and her husband Mossimo Giannulli pleaded guilty in May of 2020 to playing a role in the college admissions cheating scheme by paying $500,000 to get their two daughters into the University of Southern California as crew recruits, when neither child participated in the sport.
Both were sentenced to prison on conspiracy charges.
Loughlin pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, and was released from prison at the end of December of this year after serving two months behind bars.
Netflix has released the official trailer to their highly-anticipated Black Western, The Harder They Fall.
The star-studded film, which includes Idris Elba, Jonathan Majors, Lakeith Stanfield, Regina King, Zazie Beetz and Delroy Lindo, follows Majors as outlaw Nat Love, a man set on revenge after he learns that the man who killed his parents is being released from prison. Nat then reunites with his old gang to track down his enemy. As previously reported, The Harder They Fall will be the directorial debut of singer-songwriter Jeymes Samuel. It will also be produced by rapper Jay-Z, who will write and produce original music for the film with Samuel. The Harder They Fall hits select theaters October 22 and on Netflix November 3.
In other news, 2 Dope Queens‘ star Phoebe Robinson has landed her first-ever solo stand-up special, Phoebe Robinson: Sorry Harriet Tubman. Premiering on HBO Max on Thursday, October 14, the new special will feature Robinson’s unique brand of comedic commentary as she discusses therapy, interracial dating, reparations, hanging out with Michelle Obama, and more. The first trailer to the special is now available.
Finally, Tony Award winner Adrienne Warren, the powerhouse behind the Tina musical, and Olivier Award-winning actress Sheila Atim, have joined the cast of The Woman King, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. As previously noted, the film is inspired by real events that took place in the powerful African state of Dahomey in the 18th and 19th centuries. It centers on Nanisca, the general of an all-female military unit called the Amazons, and her daughter, Nawi, and their fight against the French and neighboring tribes who work to enslave their people. Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, the film also stars Viola Davis, Thuso Mbedu, and John Boyega.
(NEW YORK) — All eyes are on New York as its vaccination mandate for health care workers — among the first in the nation — takes effect on Tuesday.
Gov. Kathy Hochul signed an executive order just before midnight on Monday that aims to alleviate potential health care staffing shortages as the mandate takes effect. The order removes barriers and expands eligibility to allow additional health care workers to provide care.
The executive order, which also allows many out-of-state and out-of-country health care workers to practice in New York, waives re-registration fees and expedites the re-registration process for retirees looking to re-enter the workforce, and it allows practitioners to work or volunteer in certain facilities.
Moreover, it allows physician visits in nursing homes to be done using telemedicine and allows New York State-licensed providers without current registration to practice without potential penalties. It also lets recent grads in a variety of health care programs to get straight to work.
Finally, it removes barriers for EMTs to practice and assist in additional settings and allows basic EMTs to vaccinate and test for COVID-19. It also expands the scope of practice to let midwives, registered nurses, physicians and nurse practitioners to more easily administer and order COVID-19 vaccinations and tests, as well as flu vaccinations.
Hochul also said she plans to work with the federal government to look at ways to expedite visa requests for medical professionals from other countries.
Northwell Health, New York’s largest employer of health care workers with more than 74,000 staffers, said in a statement on Monday that almost 91% of its workforce had been vaccinated.
“Northwell wants to reassure the public that patient care will not be affected by the New York State’s 9/27 vaccine mandate,” the statement said. “A system-wide workforce planning taskforce is working on contingency plans to ensure that we can meet staffing needs.”
Dr. Dave A. Chokshi, commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, similarly downplayed any risk of a health care worker shortage, saying at a conference Monday, “I do believe that that hospitals will be prepared to get through this, again without a major impact to patient care.”
On Tuesday, all city-run and private hospitals appeared to be operating normally. About 500 nurses for New York City Health and Hospitals were not at work, but they had been preemptively replaced.
“We anticipated there would be some losses of staff. We knew that no matter what our efforts, some people would not get vaccinated, we planned appropriately,” Health and Hospitals President Dr. Mitch Katz said at a Tuesday news conference.
The sweeping action from Hochul’s office comes as small factions of health care workers in New York are still resisting the vaccine, despite a resurgence of virus cases linked to the highly contagious delta variant.
Despite some pushback, preliminary data from Hochul’s office indicates the mandate has been effective in boosting vaccination rates. The percentage of nursing home staff who had received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose was at 92% as of Monday evening, up from 70% on Aug. 15, before to the mandate was announced. Moreover, 89% of adult care facility staff members have received at least one dose of the vaccine, up from 76% on Aug. 15.
Some 92% of hospital staff in the state had received at least one dose as of Monday evening, and 84% had been fully vaccinated as of Sept. 22 — up from 77% on Aug. 10.
“The only way we can move past this pandemic is to ensure that everyone eligible is vaccinated, and that includes those who are taking care of our vulnerable family members and loved ones,” Hochul said in a statement accompanying the executive order.
Hochul said she’s also directed an “around-the-clock operations center to assist local partners and troubleshoot staffing issues in real time.”
Workplace vaccine mandates have courted controversy for months despite assurances from public health officials that COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective.
The Equal Opportunity Employment Commission said employers legally can require COVID-19 vaccines to re-enter a physical workplace as long as they follow requirements to find alternative arrangements for employees unable to get vaccinated for medical reasons or because they have religious objections. Still, the mandates have spurred a handful of lawsuits across the U.S.
As of Monday, 83.7% of New Yorkers 18 or older had received at least one dose, and 75.1% were fully vaccinated. Nationally, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data indicated that 77.1% of the population ages 18 and up had received at least one dose, and 66.6% were fully vaccinated.
-ABC News’ Aaron Katersky and Matt Foster contributed to this report.
(Az.) — One Arizona dad wants to give immunocompromised kids some of their childhood back by creating a hyper-clean space where they can safely play.
Brad Taylor’s daughter, Lily, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia when she was 3 years old in December 2017. The diagnosis came after the family took Lily to the hospital for what they thought was an ear infection.
“We went into the hospital with an ear infection expecting to get some antibiotics and go home,” Taylor, 41, told “Good Morning America.” “We were told our daughter has cancer at 10 o’clock at night and by the following morning, she was in surgery. That’s how fast it changed my life.”
For the next two and a half years, Taylor said Lily underwent a treatment program that included chemotherapy and she became immunocompromised as a result.
“When Lily would go through chemotherapy, her body would go in and out of a place called neutropenia, which means you have no immune system,” he said.
According to the National Cancer Institute, leukemia is the most common cancer found in children ages 0-19. The main treatment for the disease is chemotherapy, though depending on the case, treatment can include surgery, radiation therapy, targeted therapy drugs, immunotherapy, and stem cell transplants.
“Chemotherapy is going to kill the cancer cells, but it’s also going to kill some good cells along the way,” Dr. Bijal Shah, of the Moffitt Cancer Center, told “GMA.” “For folks who are neutropenic, when those neutrophil cells are low, it sort of unlocks the barriers, so when you’re exposed to infection, it’s much more easy to succumb to that infection.”
Being immunocompromised meant the things Lily could do were heavily impacted, from playing in public spaces to interacting with people outside her home and the hospital to the food she could eat.
“We try to do a lot of things to protect our patients,” Shah said. “Normally, we tell them to avoid fruits and vegetables unless their parents can wash them at home. With meats, it has to be well done — no medium, no rares, nothing. We have to be very careful, even on a fundamental dietary level. And if anyone’s sick, you can’t be around them.”
How Lily’s Pad came to be The idea for Lily’s Pad came after one particular day in Lily’s cancer journey.
“Lily had no life, so I asked the doctors, ‘We’ve watched all the YouTube videos, we’ve watched all the shows, we’ve played all the games. There’s got to be somewhere I can take her,'” Taylor recalled. “They said, ‘Why don’t you take her on a drive? That way you can at least have her in a confined area.'”
While on a drive through a quiet residential area full of nature, Taylor said they passed by what looked like a brand-new park and Lily was “begging to get out of the car” to go play in it.
“By that time, she had kind of learned the rules like we couldn’t go to public places,” he said. “She finally was at her breaking point and lost it. She was throwing shoes at me from the back, just furious that I wouldn’t stop the car. She cried herself to sleep, she was so worked up.”
The next day, Taylor began researching to see if there was a space specifically for immunocompromised kids to play in so that he could take Lily to it. When he saw that there really wasn’t anything available, he decided to make it happen himself.
“I had checked with social workers and they had never heard of anything like it,” he said. “So that’s where the concept of Lily’s Pad was born. I just wanted to give her back a piece of her childhood.”
A healing space for kids to just be kids and a resource for caregivers
One of the hardest things for Taylor, he said, was seeing Lily go to chemotherapy and then have nothing afterward for her to look forward to.
“After the hospital, what do you do?” Taylor said. “So kids have to suit up every single day to go through painful procedures and then to look forward to what? To go home? So we’re trying to give them an opportunity to mentally heal along with physically.”
In addition to the physical changes brought on by chemotherapy, Taylor noted that Lily was affected mentally and emotionally as well.
“My child went from the leader of the pack to a very shy child,” he said. “She never spoke like a child anymore. Her friends and playmates were nurses and doctors.”
On a psychosocial level, the idea of Lily’s Pad is hugely profound, according to Shah.
“When you’re getting this kind of therapy, there’s lots of changes that occur — like losing hair — and you become very conscious of it,” Shah said. “Being able to be in a particularly fun space outside of the hospital where you can interact with others who may be going through similar issues without having to think twice is amazing.”
“My daughter was the only bald one in her school, and that was devastating for her,” Taylor said. “It became a fight every day to get her to school.”
Another of Taylor’s goals for Lily’s Pad is to give caregivers a place to rest and regroup. There will be a parent lounge, marriage and grievance counseling, and information on financial resources available.
“One of the hardest things my wife and I dealt with was there’s no time when the child is not begging for your attention or comfort because they don’t feel good and they’re going through really tough times,” he said. “So this would give parents time to step away from the battle for a minute.”
To protect the immunocompromised kids that will be visiting Lily’s Pad, Taylor said he consulted the medical community on the feasibility of the space as well as safety measures needed to operate.
“We’re having an HVAC system designed right now that’s similar to a hospital so it’s got HEPA filters in it and it’s got UV cleaning in it as well,” he said.
When completed, Lily’s Pad will offer three 90-minute play sessions daily, which parents have to reserve online in advance, with a maximum of 15 kids allowed per session. Kids will be looked after by the qualified nursing students on staff. The facility will be cleaned with Decon7 in between each session, with a deep cleaning in the evening. Masks will also be required.
“We wanted to give kids back a chance to go to the park — a chance to go to a playground,” Taylor said. “My daughter is so excited to be able to open this place and point to the name on the wall and say ‘I’m Lily, and you can beat this.'”
Construction on the 5,800-square-foot space was scheduled to begin in April 2020, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Taylor now hopes to finish everything by April 2022, for the two-year anniversary of Lily’s last chemotherapy treatment.
(NEW YORK) — Whitney Houston will always be remembered as an extraordinary musician, actress and beauty icon.
MAC Cosmetics is honoring her life and legacy by launching a makeup collection that’s being created through a long-term collaboration with the Whitney Houston Estate.
The collection is slated to launch in 2022 and will support Houston’s upcoming biopic “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” through makeup support, and recreating some of Whitney’s most iconic looks of all time.
“Whitney Houston is a true legend whose talent has and will continue to transcend decades,” said Aïda Moudachirou-Rebois, chief marketing officer, MAC Cosmetics, in a statement.
She continued, “Just like the depths of her vocal range, she was a true beauty and MAC lover who could seamlessly go from a natural ‘no makeup-makeup look’ to full glam and bold colors without missing a beat. We are honored to support Whitney’s upcoming biopic and to continue to help tell her beauty story in many moments to come.”
While this is the first time MAC Cosmetics is creating a makeup line inspired by Houston, the brand has launched other collections inspired by musical greats such as the late Mexican-American singer Selena as well as singer and actress Aaliyah who died in 2001.
Now, Houston will join the brand’s lineup of dedicated makeup collections honoring some of the most beloved beauty chameleons.
On behalf of The Whitney Houston Estate, her sister, Pat Houston, shared in a statement, “Whitney possessed once-in-a-lifetime inner and outer beauty. As the film begins production, it’s so gratifying to develop a brand partnership with MAC Cosmetics. MAC was Whitney’s favorite cosmetics line and I know they will honor her legacy and her beauty.”
