(DEKALB, Ill.) — A 17-year-old who has been named valedictorian is the first Black female to achieve the honor in her high school’s 159-year history.
Nina Mitchell graduated from DeKalb High School in DeKalb, Illinois, with a 4.549 GPA.
“I was very humbled and honored,” Nina told Good Morning America. “I am representing Black students and female students. They can look up to me and say, ‘Wow. Nina did it, so I can do it.’ That was really important for me.”
Nina was president of the Honor Society and Key Club. She was also a founder of the Spanish Honor Society, a member of Spanish Club, was part of the principal’s advisory board, a founding member of the peer mediation program, played volleyball and ran track.
In her community, Nina was the first Black chair of Youth Engaged in Philanthropy, a legislature with the Illinois YMCA Youth and Government and a member of the Youth Advisory Council.
During her free time, Nina enjoys reading and playing Scrabble with her two brothers: Robert, 21, and Michael, 20.
Academic success runs in Nina’s family. Robert graduated sixth in his class at DeKalb High School and Michael ranked seventh.
Nina’s grandmother, Pearlene Carter, 75, was also a valedictorian representing Walker High School’s class of 1959 in Coldwater, Mississippi.
“I didn’t get here alone,” Nina said. “My parents always set me up for success, and my brothers inspire me to do better.”
“My grandma has always been an inspiration for me, and a role model,” she added. “She’s a force to be reckoned with. She’s always bragged about me to her friends and has made me feel so loved.”
Nina’s father, Darren Mitchell, said his daughter’s goal was always to graduate at the top of her class.
“I know Nina has gotten a lot of attention for her academic achievement and leadership skills, but why I’m most proud of my daughter is she is a good person,” Mitchell told GMA.
“She treats people with kindness and respect,” he added. “She has a wonderful heart and is just a great human being.”
Nina was accepted to Harvard, Stanford, Northwestern and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she will attend as a business major.
Nina hopes to become a lawyer.
Her advice to rising students is to put school first, get involved in your community and “never give up.”
(NEW YORK) — A potential tropical cyclone is developing Wednesday morning in the Caribbean and is expected to become Tropical Storm Isaias Wednesday.
When the system officially receives the name Isaias, it will be the earliest “I” storm on record.
As of early Wednesday morning, the developing tropical system was located about five miles south of Dominica and 385 miles ESE of San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The system has winds of 45 mph and is traveling WNW at 23 mph.
There are Tropical Storm warnings for parts of the Lesser Antilles, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and Haiti as well as Tropical Storm watches for parts of the Dominican Republic, the Turks and Caicos Islands and parts of the Bahamas.
The system is expected to continue to move through the Leeward Islands in the next few hours before nearing the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico Wednesday night and the system will arrive in Hispaniola on Thursday and the Bahamas on Friday.
Some strengthening is likely Wednesday but the system will fluctuate in intensity over the next few days due to land interaction.
Current tropical storm force winds extend 275 miles from the center and Antigua reported a wind gust of 47 mph Wednesday morning.
The most dangerous threat with this system is rainfall. Locally, 3 to 6 inches of rain is possible with possibly over 10 inches in spots, particularly in parts of Puerto Rico and the Bahamas, which could cause major flash flooding as well as mudslides.
Winds are expected to be of tropical strength and could cause some power outages and downed trees, and surf in the Caribbean is expected to be quite dangerous over the next few days.
After the Caribbean, it is somewhat unclear where the system will go and what intensity it will have.
Spaghetti models are indicating that the storm will near the U.S. Southeast Coast in the latter part of the weekend and then eventually make the turn northward. But when the system could make the turn northward remains to be seen.
Even though the Global Forecast models seem to be trending a little more favorably for the storm to interact with Florida this weekend, the track remains quite uncertain because the central circulation is still not well defined.
But, at this point, it appears there is at least some possibility of impacts to Florida late in the weekend.
However, it is too early to determine what the magnitude of these impacts will be.
Even though the system will likely become a tropical storm later Wednesday, the system faces a lot of hurdles over the next few days that could hurt its ability to stay impactful.
Thus, much remains uncertain as we head towards the second half of this week.
Lt. J.g. Luke Redito/U.S. NavyBy HALEY YAMADAVIA, GMA
(WASHINGTON) — One woman is soaring to new heights as the first Black female tactical jet pilot for the U.S. Navy.
“I don’t think the goal in my life is to necessarily be the first at anything. That was never something that I set out to do, [piloting] was just something I was interested in and I found out later,” Lt. j.g. Madeline “Maddy” Swegle said in a new video released by the Navy ahead of her July 31 winging ceremony. “I am really honored that I get to wear the wings and get to fly planes and call myself a pilot.”
A Virginia native, Swegle became the U.S. Navy’s first Black female tactical air (TACAIR) pilot on July 7 after she completed her final undergraduate training in a T-45C Goshawk jet trainer, according to the Navy.
“To show up here at this level, you need to be a top performer and then you have to continue to perform while you’re here. These are the best pilots in the world that are trained here — the very best,” Matthew Maher, commanding officer of training, said in the video.
“It takes long hours, a lot of blood, sweat and tears and a commitment to excellence day in and day out. … They’re going to go out and make all of us very proud,” he added.
Now, Swegle will receive her Wings of Gold during a small ceremony at Naval Air Station in Kingsville, Texas, on July 31.
“Lt. j.g. Swegle has proven to be a courageous trailblazer,” wrote Vice Adm. DeWolfe “Bullet” Miller III, commander of the Naval Air Forces, in a statement. “She has joined a select group of people who earned Wings of Gold and answered the call to defend our nation from the air. The diversity of that group — with differences in background, skill and thought — makes us a stronger fighting force.”
Swegle said that she’s dreamed of being a pilot ever since she was young and her parents would take her to see the Blue Angels, the Navy’s flight demonstration squadron, when they would come to her hometown.
“My parents raised me and they told me that I can be whatever I wanted to be. We would go see the Blue Angels when they were in town. I don’t remember specifically how old I was, but they were just so cool I loved them. I love fast planes,” said Swegle.
Swegle called the process of training with a higher-performance aircraft at this level “daunting,” but also exhilarating and “rewarding.”
“[Jet piloting] is fun because it is difficult at the same time. I know that I had to work to get [the jet] to behave and it took a lot of fighting the aircraft and figuring out how it was going to perform,” she explained in the video about her three years of training. “Looking back it’s amazing to think about where I started and I had never been in an airplane before so, it’s just one step at a time. It’s really cool to think of all of the things I’ve done now which I’d never think I’d be able to do.”
Swegle follows in the footsteps of Brenda E. Robinson, the first Black female naval aviator, who earned her Wings of Gold on June 6, 1980, according to the statement.
On July 7, Swegle’s friend took to Twitter to share the good news about her “best friend making history.” The post has since garnered more than 191,000 likes and many congratulations for Swegle on her success.
“Her story begins, we see you Captain Marvel,” read one comment.
“I don’t know this woman, but I am so proud of her and her accomplishment,” read another.
Swegle said that she wants to uplift other women and minorities with her story.
“I think that representation is important because we are a very diverse nation. So I would like everybody to believe that they can achieve whatever they want to do,” said Swegle.
“I guess I hope that my legacy will be that there will be a lot of other women and minority women and just different faces that come forward … be encouraged and just know that they have all the tools that they need and follow their dreams,” she added.
(TALLAHASSEE, Fla.) — Florida officials are working to stem a fast-growing coronavirus outbreak among inmates as the Sunshine State quickly becomes the nation’s ground zero for the virus.
Since Friday afternoon, the number of Florida inmates testing positive for COVID-19 has jumped 20%. In total, at least 6,217 inmates had tested positive at correctional facilities across the state as of Monday afternoon, according to the most recent data released by the state’s Department of Corrections.
Separately, at least 46 inmates had died from COVID-related illnesses as of Monday, with a 28% in COVID-related deaths in just the last 72 hours, according to department data.
At least 22 Florida inmates have died from the virus so far this month, making July the deadliest month for inmates in the state since the pandemic began. The second-deadliest month was recorded in June, when nine inmates died.
According to the Florida Department of Corrections, which operates 145 facilities statewide, including 50 correctional institutions, about 1,417 staff members have also tested positive for the virus.
Staff members who test positive for COVID-19 are not allowed to return to work until a “full recovery is documented by a medical professional,” state officials said.
Infected inmates are typically relocated until they recover, the department said.
“These inmates are placed in medical isolation under the care of their treating clinician,” says the department’s website. “Inmates who have tested positive for COVID-19 receive the appropriate level of care based on their individual treatment needs.”
Once recovered, inmates are then “moved into appropriate housing based on their care and custody requirements,” the website says.
However, the state’s fast-rising numbers have raised concerns among prison reform advocates and inmates’ families about whether officials are doing enough to protect inmates from the virus.
States like Florida and Georgia, where officials were quick to reopen for business, have been hard-hit by the virus. Some 6,120 Florida residents have died from the virus while nearly 436,900 others have been infected, according to state data.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis faced harsh criticism after prematurely bragging in May about the state’s victory over the novel coronavirus.
“We succeeded and people just don’t want to recognize it,” he said outside the White House on May 20.
“You’ve got a lot of people in your profession who waxed poetically for weeks and weeks about how Florida was going to be just like New York,” he told reporters at the time.
Florida, like most states, has seen its infection rate soar since then.
Overall, more 16.5 million people across the globe have been diagnosed with COVID-19, according to data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.
America has become the worst-affected nation, with more than 4.3 million diagnosed cases and at least 148,298 deaths. Health experts say the infection rates could actually be much higher than reported.
Samara Heisz/iStockBy JON HAWORTH and EMILY SHAPIRO, ABC News
(NEW YORK) — The novel coronavirus pandemic has now killed more than 655,000 people worldwide.
Over 16.5 million people across the globe have been diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the new respiratory virus, according to data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. The actual numbers are believed to be much higher due to testing shortages, many unreported cases and suspicions that some governments are hiding or downplaying the scope of their nations’ outbreaks.
The United States has become the worst-affected country, with more than 4.2 million diagnosed cases and at least 148,298 deaths.
Here is how the news is developing on Tuesday. All times Eastern:
2:40 p.m.: 12 NYC bars get liquor licenses suspended for ‘egregious’ violations
New York state has suspended liquor licenses at 12 New York City bars, alleging they made “egregious violations” of COVID-19 rules, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a statement Tuesday.
“The bars and restaurants that ignore public health guidance are disrespecting their sacrifices which have saved lives while allowing us to sustain the reopening of our economy,” Cuomo said.
A state task force conducted over 1,300 compliance checks this weekend and reported 132 violations, Cuomo said. Over 600 more compliance checks were done Monday night and the task force found 26 violations in New York City, he said.
Businesses violating coronavirus rules can be fined up to $10,000 per violation. “Egregious violations can result in the immediate suspension of a bar or restaurant’s liquor license,” the governor’s statement said.
2:10 p.m.: 30% of new Louisiana cases are among young people
In Louisiana, 30% of the coronavirus cases reported on Tuesday are among people ages 29 and under, the state’s Department of Health said.
Twenty-six new fatalities were reported on Tuesday, bringing Louisiana’s death toll to 3,700, the Department of Health said.
As of July 25, all bars and restaurants in New Orleans are prohibited from selling takeout alcohol. A statewide rule prohibits bars from serving people on the premises.
1:35 p.m.: Columbus, Ohio, schools will begin year fully virtual
Columbus city schools — Ohio’s biggest school district — will have 100% virtual learning for the beginning of the year, from Sept. 8 to Oct. 27, officials announced Tuesday.
While it was recommended on June 30 that high schoolers go fully virtual and younger students have blended learning, since then, “public health conditions have dramatically worsened” in the county, Columbus City schools said in a statement Tuesday.
Franklin County, which includes Columbus, has at least 3,993 confirmed COVID-19 cases and at least 124 deaths, according to Monday’s data from the county.
Columbus City Council President Shannon Hardin said the council stands with the school officials’ decision.
“While this is a tough decision, it will save lives and prevent the spread,” Hardin tweeted Tuesday.
Earlier Tuesday, Dr. Anthony Fauci said he was concerned about the Midwest reopening, noting that hard-hit South and West states like Florida, Texas, Arizona and California look like “they may be cresting and coming back down.”
States like Ohio, Indiana, Tennessee and Kentucky are “starting to have” a “very early indication” of rising COVID-19 positivity rates — a “surefire sign that you’ve got to be really careful,” the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases told Good Morning America.
12:20 p.m.: DC, Illinois now on New York travel advisory list
Illinois, Kentucky and Minnesota have been added to New York’s travel advisory list, as well as Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said on a conference call Tuesday.
Anyone traveling to New York, New Jersey or Connecticut from a state with a high coronavirus test-positivity rate must quarantine for two weeks.
Thirty-four states, plus D.C. and Puerto Rico, are now on the list, according to ABC New York station WABC.
11 a.m.: Florida reports new daily death toll record
In Florida, a record 186 new fatalities were reported in one day, according to data released by the Florida Department of Health Tuesday morning.
The previous one-day record was 173 fatalities, reported on July 23.
Coronavirus cases in the state have jumped by 9,230, bringing the total to over 441,900, according to the Department of Health.
Florida has the second-most COVID-19 cases, behind California.
Of those tested in Miami-Dade County on Monday, 17.5% were positive, officials said.
Throughout Florida, 16.86% of the state’s adult ICU beds are available, according to Florida’s Agency for Healthcare Administration.
Two counties — Monroe and Putnam — had no ICU beds, the agency said.
These numbers will fluctuate throughout the day as hospitals and medical centers provide updates.
9:30 a.m.: Hospitals overwhelmed in Florida, Texas
An internal FEMA memo obtained by ABC News has detailed the latest on overwhelmed hospitals in Florida and Texas, and the strain on EMS systems in Georgia.
In Florida, hospitalizations statewide have increased 79% since July 4, with 8,974 current COVID-19 patients, the memo said.
In hard-hit Miami-Dade County, ICU beds were at 146% capacity, the memo said.
In Georgia, where the test-positivity has reached 15.6%, the EMS systems are under strain with staff out sick, according to FEMA.
And in Texas, as of July 22, five ICU beds were available in Laredo and none were available in Galveston, the memo said.
4:58 a.m.: Russia coronavirus cases pass 820,000
Russia reported 5,395 new COVID-19 cases and 150 coronavirus-related deaths in the past 24 hours, according to the coronavirus response headquarters statement on Tuesday.
“Over the past day, 5,395 cases of the COVID-19 novel coronavirus infections were confirmed in 84 regions of Russia, including 1,620 active asymptomatic cases (30.0%),” the headquarters said.
Russia’s total case count currently stands at 823,515 and 13,504 coronavirus patients died.
Moscow on Tuesday reported 674 new COVID-19 cases and 10 deaths.
3:35 a.m.: COVID-19 linked hunger killing 10,000 children per month, says UN
COVID-19 and its ramifications are pushing children who already live in hunger to beyond the breaking point, killing an estimated 10,000 more youngsters a month as meager farms have no way of delivering produce to markets while villages are isolated from food and medical supplies, the United Nations has warned.
Furthermore, more than 550,000 additional children each month are being struck by what is called wasting, which manifests in spindly limbs and distended bellies, according to the U.N.
3:16 a.m.: Trump Jr. shares video of doctor claiming hydroxychloroquine is a cure for COVID-19
Donald Trump Jr. shared a bizarre video on Twitter featuring what appears to be doctor that blasts the science and medical health experts recommendations about wearing masks and saying there are cures for COVID-19, including hydroxychloroquine.
Trump Jr. says “This is a much watch!!! So different from the narrative that everyone is running with.”
The doctor calls the science and studies against hydroxychloroquine fake studies and says they’re sponsored by big pharmaceutical companies.
Darren MitchellBy NICOLE PELLETIERE, ABC NEWS
