Jonathan Davis/Getty ImagesBy CHRISTINA CARREGA, ABC NEWS
(CHICAGO) — After weeks of protests, the mayor of Chicago has decided to temporarily remove two statues of Christopher Columbus until further notice.
During the early morning hours of Friday, the Columbus statues in Grant and Arrigo Parks were hoisted off their pedestals after the city consulted with “various stakeholders,” according to a statement issued by Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office.
This action “comes in response to demonstrations that became unsafe for both protesters and police as well as efforts by individuals to independently pull the Grant Park statue down in an extremely dangerous manner,” the mayor’s office said.
Protests sparked around the world after the May 25 death of George Floyd, which was captured on cellphone video and went viral online. The protesters, mostly led by Black Lives Matter activists, continued their case to end police brutality against people of color and propelled the call to remove the statues of controversial historic figures such as Columbus.
Columbus has been revered for centuries for discovering North America, despite his and his crew’s mistreating and murdering of Native Americans.
“Over the coming days, Mayor Lightfoot and the City will be announcing a formal process to assess each of the monuments, memorials, and murals across Chicago’s communities, and develop a framework for creating a public dialogue to determine how we elevate our city’s history and diversity,” according to the statement from the mayor’s office.
Lightfoot said all statues and murals across Chicago will be up for debate, not just the one of Columbus.
Nonetheless, some Italian-American residents in Chicago says the temporary removal of the Columbus statues are a form of betrayal.
“The Italian American community feels betrayed. The Mayor’s Office is giving in to a vocal and destructive minority. This is not how the Democratic process is supposed to work,” said Pasquale Gianni, of the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans, to ABC News affiliate WSL.
Sergio Giangrande, president of the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans, told the station that their community is “very hurt.”
“Columbus is a symbol of hope we’ve all celebrated for years. Maybe we all forgot why we celebrate Christopher Columbus, and to take somebody who’s a symbol of hope from us, we’re not OK with that,” said Giangrande.
Ovidiu Dugulan/iStockBy WILLIAM MANSELL and EMILY SHAPIRO, ABC News
(NEW YORK) — The novel coronavirus pandemic has now killed more than 634,000 people worldwide.
Over 15.5 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 million diagnosed cases and at least 144,552 deaths.
Here is how the news is developing today. All times Eastern. Check back for updates.
1:35 p.m.: Houston delays start of school year
Harris County, Texas, which includes Houston, is delaying the start of the year for public school students, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said Friday.
Schools will not start until at least Sept. 8. Hidalgo said that date is “probably too soon, but we’re going to aim for it.”
The Houston area is reporting a slight decline in ICU admissions and hospitalizations, but is still seeing a huge increase in cases.
Hidalgo said there are now 100 more cases per day than on July 13.
1:04 p.m.: Toronto Blue Jays to play in Buffalo
The Toronto Blue Jays, displaced from their home stadium due to the pandemic, will play the greater part of its home season at Sahlen Field in Buffalo, New York, the team announced Friday.
The Canadian government denied the Blue Jay’s request to play its games in Toronto because of concerns over teams crossing the border.
“This process has no doubt tested our team’s resilience, but our players and staff refuse to make excuses — we are determined to take the field on Opening Day today, and for the coming months, with the same intensity and competitiveness that our fans expect,” Toronto Blue Jays president and CEO Mark Shapiro said in statement.
The Blue Jays’ opening game will be Friday night against the Tampa Bay Rays. 12:45 p.m.: DC, Massachusetts impose new travel restrictions
Beginning Aug. 1, all Massachusetts visitors, residents reentering the state and students returning to college in Massachusetts must fill out a travel form and quarantine for two weeks, Gov. Charlie Baker said Friday.
The exceptions are people arriving from one of the eight states designated as a COVID-19 lower-risk state or if the traveler can submit a negative COVID-19 test result that was administered no more than three days before arriving in Massachusetts.
If your test result hasn’t been received when you arrive in Massachusetts, you must quarantine until getting the negative result, Baker said. Those who do not comply could be fined $500 per day.
The eight exempt states considered lower risk are New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Maine, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire and Hawaii.
In Washington, D.C., Muriel Bowser said Friday she’s signing an order that will require travelers from coronavirus hot spots to quarantine for two weeks when arriving in the district.
The order, which takes effect July 27, will not apply to Maryland and Virginia.
Earlier this week, Bowser said masks would be required in D.C. for people ages 3 and older. Violators could be fined up to $1,000.
12 p.m.: Cases rising in Maryland, Virginia after falling in June
In Maryland and Virginia, COVID-19 cases have been steadily on the rise the last few weeks after case numbers fell in June.
In Maryland, cases rose by 930 in the last 24 hours — the highest daily increase since the end of May, the state’s Department of Health said.
According to The Baltimore Sun, this is Maryland’s 11th straight day of more than 500 new daily COVID-19 cases.
In neighboring Virginia, after a major decline in June, cases this week rose by about 800 to 1,000 per day.
11 a.m.: 16% of Florida ICU beds remain available
Just 16.1% of Florida’s adult intensive care unit beds were available as of Friday morning, according to Florida’s Agency for Healthcare Administration.
In Miami-Dade County, just 10.85% of ICU beds were open, the agency said.
Those numbers will fluctuate throughout the day as hospitals and medical centers provide updates.
At least 5,767 people in Florida have died from COVID-19. Over 402,000 people in the state have been diagnosed, putting the state third in number of cases, behind California and New York.
10 a.m.: About 20 cases linked to teens’ NJ house party
About 20 teenagers diagnosed with COVID-19 have been linked to a July 11 house party in Middletown, New Jersey, reported ABC New York station WABC.
The diagnosed party-goers were between the ages of 15 and 19. Some of them are not cooperating with contact tracers, WABC reported.
“If you think your child may have attended such a party or participates in sports or any other group activity that may have included anyone potentially exposed, please ask them to self-quarantine for 14 days to monitor for signs and symptoms,” the Middletown health department said.
9:15 a.m.: Arizona patients taken to NM hospitals due to bed, staffing shortages
An internal FEMA memo obtained by ABC News details new COVID-19 problems across the U.S.
In Arizona, COVID-19 patients are being transferred to New Mexico hospitals because of staffing shortages and a lack of beds, according to the memo.
In Georgia, where last week saw a record single-day case total, 85% of critical care beds are in use across the state, the memo said.
And in Arkansas, the Hot Springs area reported a 198.1% increase in new cases this past week, with 145 new cases, the memo said. Most new cases are in the Ouachita River Unit prison where there are hundreds of cases among staff and inmates.
8:30 a.m.: Controlling the virus takes ‘an all-of-government approach,’ WHO says
While the U.S. remains the nation with the most coronavirus cases and fatalities, some countries “have been able to control the virus,” said Dr. Maria VanKerkhove, the World Health Organization’s lead expert on COVID-19.
“We do see signs of hope. In some countries they have been able to control the virus. This virus is controllable,” VanKerkhove told ABC News’ Good Morning America Friday. “Even countries that are really overwhelmed right now can turn things around.”
No matter if a country is wealthy or poor, urban or rural, VanKerkhove said control is due to “quick isolation, identification, care of patients.”
“This is not just a health sector response. This is an all-of-government approach — meaning that every sector needs to be involved,” she said.
VanKerkhove also stressed the importance of “empowering individuals so that they know what they can do to prevent themselves from getting infected” — like social distancing, hand washing, wearing masks and being vigilant.
5:40 a.m.: US COVID-19 death tally 18.7% higher than last week
The deadly impact of the novel coronavirus continues to show no signs of slowing down in the U.S. In the past week, the national death toll grew 18.7%, according to an internal Federal Emergency Management Agency Memo obtained by ABC News. The U.S. COVID-19 death toll, as of Friday morning, now stands at 144,305.
The U.S. reported 1,039 new coronavirus deaths on Thursday, according to the COVID Tracking Project.
A large portion of the new deaths are in the South, where the number of cases and hospitalizations have been on the rise for weeks. The staggering number of cases also means hospital beds are in short supply for several states and cities.
In Alabama, the state is seeing many health care facilities reach capacity as staffing shortages are increasing strains on the system, according to the FEMA memo. COVID-19 patients in Arizona are being transferred to New Mexico because of a lack of beds.
Some hospitals in Louisiana are also at capacity. Facilities in Lake Charles and Lafayette are transferring patients to New Orleans for treatment, the memo said. And in Texas, Hidalgo County for weeks has warned its hospitals are at capacity. The crematorium in the county, according to the FEMA memo, has a two-week waitlist. It is now relying on refrigerated morgue trucks.
Meanwhile, Georgia and Kentucky saw their single-day biggest case totals in a week that also saw California (157), Florida (173), and Texas (197) all report record daily death tolls.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its U.S. coronavirus death toll projection Thursday, saying it now expects 175,000 deaths by Aug. 15.
(RICHMOND, Va.) — While the fate of the controversial Robert E. Lee outdoor statue in Richmond, Virginia, remains in limbo in court, state leaders and county school officials in Northern Virginia decided to end their association with the Confederate general.
The speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates announced Friday morning that they removed busts of Lee and eight other Confederate leaders from the Old House Chamber in the state Capitol Building overnight. The move at the statehouse came hours after the Fairfax County School Board voted to change the name of the Robert E. Lee High School, in Springfield, to the John Lewis High School, in honor of the recently deceased Georgia congressman and civil rights leader.
“Representative Lewis was a champion of the Civil Rights movement, and our Board strongly believes this is an appropriate tribute to an individual who is a true American hero,” School Board Chair Ricardy Anderson said in a statement Thursday night.
The school’s new name will go into effect this fall, according to the board.
“The name Robert E. Lee is forever connected to the Confederacy, and Confederate values are ones that do not align with our community,” Tamara Derenak Kaufax, a board member who proposed the name change, said in a statement.
The House of Delegates, which became a Democratic majority earlier this year, has the power to remove the busts from their section of the Capitol, according to Speaker Eileen-Fuller Corn. Some of the other busts removed from the House of Delegates include Stonewall Jackson and Jefferson Davis.
The Virginia State Legislature made several moves this year to lessen Confederate memorials in the state, such as a measure that allowed local municipalities to remove their Confederate monuments and another piece of legislation that swapped state holidays honoring Confederate generals for Election Day.
The recent actions by officials took place in the backdrop of the legal battle over Gov. Ralph Northam’s order to remove the Robert E. Lee statue in Richmond. The order, which was prompted by the Black Lives Matter protests following George Floyd’s death, has been blocked by an injunction filed by Virginians who want to keep the statue in place. The statue, atop a pedestal on Richmond’s historic Monument Avenue, features Lee on a horse.
During a court hearing over the case on Thursday, Attorney General Mark R. Herring requested that Richmond Circuit Court Judge W. Reilly Marchant dismiss the injunction and the suit.
“It was raised as part of a deliberate effort to intimidate and demean Black Virginians and it should come down as part of a deliberate effort to heal, reconcile, and grow,” Herring said of the statue in a statement.
The judge ordered the injunction to remain for another 30 days but said he would have a written ruling within a week.
(NEW YORK) — A new report published on Friday revealed a majority of public schools across the United States have physical barriers that potentially limit access for individuals with disabilities.
Nearly two-thirds of public schools contained things like inaccessible door handles, steep ramps, playground barriers and door vestibules that limit accessibility, the report said.
“According to our national survey, an estimated 63 percent of school districts have barriers that may limit access for people with disabilities in a quarter or more of their school facilities,” the report published by the Government Accountability Office said.
“Additionally, we estimated that 17 percent of districts nationwide — enrolling over 16 million students — have one or more schools that are not typically attended by students with physical disabilities due to the number of barriers.”
“Sadly, this GAO report shows that 30 years after the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law, its promise has yet to fully be realized,” House Education and Labor Committee Chairman Bobby Scott said in a statement, responding to the report.
In the report, schools cited funding constraints as the main reason for not improving facilities’ accessibility, although it said an estimated “70 percent of school districts have some plans to improve the physical accessibility of their school facilities” in the next three years.
However, with states facing potential budget shortfalls due to COVID-19, there could be more roadblocks for schools looking to improve accessibility.
According to projections by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, states could be looking at an estimated “$555 billion in shortfalls over state fiscal years 2020-2022.”
“Without more federal aid, cash-strapped states — which must balance their budgets each year — likely will continue cutting school funding, forcing more layoffs and other cuts in school support,” said Michael Leachman, CBPP’s vice president of state fiscal policy.
According to GAO, schools that the agency observed with the most barriers were more than 25 years old and faced more sweeping issues concerning the state of the facilities.
“For example, nearly all district officials we interviewed noted that keeping their school facilities warm, dry, and safe are among their highest priorities,” the report said.
Last month, GAO issued a report that included a national survey, which found that “about half (an estimated 54 percent) of public school districts need to update or replace multiple building systems or features in their schools.”
“This is the now second GAO report in two months that identifies the need for significant investment in improving school facilities,” Scott said, noting that “the devastating impact of COVID-19 on school resources is putting these necessary improvements at risk.”
“It is clear that the Senate must pass both the Heroes Act and the Moving Forward Act, which will provide states, localities, and school districts the resources they need to make schools safe and accessible for all students,” he added.
The ADA prohibits disability discrimination, including in schools, and is enforced by the U.S. Justice Department.
In response to the report, Democratic Rep. Jose Serrano of New York said the Justice Department has “failed” to provide “technical assistance and guidance” to help school districts with interpreting the Americans with Disabilities Act.
“Every student deserves equal access to a quality public education under the law,” he said in a statement.
“This is an issue that not only limits our students’ full potential, but also the full participation of family members, teachers, and staff with physical disabilities in a public school facility. The report is clear: the federal government must do more to provide basic tools to help schools become compliant and enforce this vital law,” Serrano added.
In 2015, the Southern District of New York published a report on the accessibility of schools in New York City and found that 83% of elementary schools were not “fully accessible.”
A letter penned by members of Congress in 2018 requesting the GAO analysis, cited the 2015 report, and noted that this “places an undue burden on these students and their families, especially those living in underserved communities of color that continue facing other systemic barriers in most aspects of their lives.” Editor’s note: An outdated Center on Budget and Policy Priorities projection has been updated.
(NEW YORK) — Tropical Storm Hanna is moving towards Texas Friday and now a tropical storm warning has been issued for parts of the state, including south of Galveston, all the way down to the Mexican border, including Corpus Christi.
A tropical storm watch continues for the city of Galveston and east of Houston.
Texas, however, isn’t the only state that could feel the impacts of Hanna. A coastal flood advisory has been issued for New Orleans and the state of Louisiana.
Hanna’s path shows the storm making landfall sometime around noon Saturday, near Corpus Christi, Texas.
Tropical Storm Hanna is expected to have winds near 65 mph, which could down some trees and produce some minor damage, but the biggest threat with Hanna will be flash flooding.
Up to half a foot of rain is forecast for southern Texas, but some areas could see near 10 inches of rain. Meanwhile, 1 to 3 inches of rain is in the forecast from Houston to New Orleans, where localized flooding is possible.
There are two other major systems worth monitoring, including Hurricane Douglas, which is now a major Category 4 storm.
Hurricane Douglas is in the Pacific Ocean, with winds currently up to 130 mph.
Thankfully, Douglas has probably already peaked in its intensity and is expected to weaken as it moves over the cooler Pacific Ocean water, on its way to Hawaii.
While it’s expected to weaken, Hurricane Douglas is still expected to be a Category 1 hurricane with winds near 75 mph as it approaches Hawaii on Sunday morning.
The biggest threat in Hawaii will be flash flooding, but gusty winds could also down trees and damage homes.
Finally, Tropical Storm Gonzalo poses no threat to the U.S. as it approaches Barbados and the southeastern Caribbean islands this weekend.
It is expected to bring gusty winds and some heavy rains to the southeastern Caribbean islands.
After it leaves the islands, Gonzalo is expected to weaken and dissipate in the middle of the Caribbean Sea with no threat to any land.
Jonathan Davis/Getty ImagesBy CHRISTINA CARREGA, ABC NEWS
