February 24, 2021 • No Comments • National News

ABCBy HALEY YAMADA and ERIC NOLL, ABC News

(AUSTIN, Texas) — As many struggle to get a vaccine appointment, two neighbors who met online found a way to help each other.

Grandmother Emily Johnson of Austin, Texas, was in need of open-heart surgery, but her doctor said she had to have one vaccination before the operation. After spending hours on the phone to set up a vaccination appointment, she reached out to her neighbors on the website Nextdoor.

“Hello Neighbors! I am a 68-yr-old female facing open heart surgery,” Johnson wrote on Jan. 7. “My doctors here in Austin have no access to the vaccine, so I have been spending up to an hour each morning, putting my name on lists and making dozens of phone calls. Has anyone out there heard anything or have a suggestion to make?”

A stranger came to her aid. Christy Lewis said Johnson could have her appointment.

“You need this much more than I do. If you can make this appointment, it’s yours,” Lewis shared in a message to Johnson.

“I was both stunned and obviously elated. I couldn’t believe that someone would be giving such a coveted thing to a complete stranger,” Johnson said.

On Jan. 8, Lewis, who has an autoimmune disease and is deemed a high-risk individual, and Johnson decided to go to the appointment together.

They said the supervisor listened to their story and vaccinated both of the women that day.

Johnson told “World News Tonight” she is now ready for surgery. She said she was overcome by Lewis’ kindness.

“What I realized through all this is that even though we hear all kinds of sad stories happening in our country, there are truly wonderful people amongst us committing incredible acts of kindness,” Johnson said.

Lewis said that she gave Johnson her appointment because it was the right thing to do.

“[Johnson] has a long road ahead of her,” Lewis said. “I was happy to help just a little bit.”

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February 24, 2021 • No Comments • National News

ABC NewsBy MAX GOLEMBO, ABC News

(NEW YORK) — It is starting to feel like spring from California to New York and around the rest of the country.

Record high temperatures were broken on Tuesday in the San Francisco Bay area with Oakland reaching 84 degrees and Napa hitting 81.

In Dallas, Texas, temperatures reached 81 degrees after being below zero last week and it was the warmest temperature in Dallas since last November.

Kansas City reached 69 degrees which made it the warmest temperatures there since November.

Elsewhere, Washington, D.C. reached 60 degrees Tuesday which was the warmest temperature there since before Christmas.

Some of this warmth will move into the Northeast Wednesday with New York City reaching the 50s and it could be the warmest temperatures there since Christmas as well.

There will be mild weather for the Eastern U.S. Wednesday with 70-degree weather in Nashville, Tennessee and temperatures in the 50s in Indianapolis and Columbus, Ohio.

This mild weather will be on and off through the weekend for the Eastern U.S. with temperatures nearing 50 degrees by Saturday, even in recently frozen Chicago.

Meanwhile, in the Rockies and the Pacific Northwest, a wintry scene is unfolding with many areas getting feet of snow in the last few days.

An avalanche warning continues for Idaho and Montana for the combination of heavy snow and windy conditions which is making the snowpack unstable.

Snow will move into Colorado Wednesday with Denver seeing a few inches while up to 8 inches of snow is possible just south and west of the city — and this is after Denver reached the 60s Wednesday.

Additional snow is also forecast in the Northwest where locally 1 to 2 feet of snow is expected in the Cascades of Washington and Oregon.

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February 23, 2021 • No Comments • National News

Oleksi Liskonih/iStockBy MARLENE LENTHANG, ABC News

(BOSTON) — Elementary school students in Massachusetts may return to in-person learning five days a week by April, education officials said Tuesday.

Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley announced Tuesday morning that he plans to ask for the authority to reverse pandemic education changes in March.

“At some point as health metrics continue to improve, we will need to take hybrid and remote learning models off the table and return to a traditional school format,” he said.

Riley said he will ask for the authority to determine when hybrid and remote school models will no longer count for learning hours.

He plans to take a phased approach by bringing back elementary students first by April and then extend to middle and high schoolers returning by the end of the school year.

Parents will have the option to have their kids work remotely through the end of the year, Riley said, and districts that need to take a more gradual approach can apply for waivers to start out with a hybrid model if they are currently fully remote.

Most public schools in the state have offered blended remote and in-person learning, and 23% were fully remote as of December, according to Massachusetts Live.

In his decision, Riley cited that COVID-19 cases have declined in the state, the vaccine rollout is well underway, the availability of pool testing for school districts and upcoming spring weather.

He also noted that medical experts state children are less likely to contract and transmit COVID-19, and younger students are easy to cohort.

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker said in a press conference Tuesday he supports the move to open up schools.

“With COVID cases and hospitalizations continuing to decline and vaccines well underway, it is time to set our sights on eliminating remote learning by April, starting with elementary schools,” Baker said.

Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 540,794 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the state and 15,534 confirmed and 319 probable deaths from the virus, according to the state’s department of public health.

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February 23, 2021 • No Comments • National News

ABC NewsBy MAX GOLEMBO, ABC News

(NEW YORK) — Spring-like weather is on the way for millions of people from Denver to New York City on Tuesday.

The latest hit of snow that moved through the Northeast Monday is long gone, but not before leaving up to 10 inches of snow in upstate New York.

There was a general swath of heavy wet snow measuring 3 to 6 inches from West Virginia to Vermont and this snow made roads slick causing several spinouts and accidents in the Northeast.

Now, the warm up is on the way with temperatures this mild not seen in months.

On Monday, the Twin Cities in Minnesota reached 41 degrees, the warmest temperature there since before Christmas.

Elsewhere, Kansas City, Missouri surged to 60 degrees, the warmest temperature in the city since the middle of January, and Chicago hit 40 degrees, their warmest temperature since Jan. 14.

Some areas on Tuesday will warm even more and it will feel like the middle of Spring, not February.

Dallas, Texas, was hit so hard with cold and snow last week but it should be near 80 degrees Tuesday.

Even 50-degree temperatures are expected in the Dakotas and near 50 in Des Moines, Iowa.

Some of that spring-like warmth will move into the Northeast with temperatures reaching the 60s in Washington, D.C. and near 50 for New York City and Boston by Wednesday.

Meanwhile, a couple of storms are moving into the Pacific Northwest with heavy snow, flooding rain and damaging winds.

On Monday, due to several snow slides and avalanche danger, several main mountain passes have been shut down in Washington.

Some of these storm systems will move into the Upper Midwest and the Great Lakes Tuesday with snow expected.

On Tuesday, 12 states are on alert from Washington to Michigan for snow, avalanche danger, high winds, flooding and there is even a blizzard warning in Montana.

Snowfall totals will be measured in feet for the Cascades and northern Rockies where locally 3 feet could be possible through Wednesday.

Lighter snowfall totals are expected in the northern Plains and the Great Lakes as well where locally 2 to 6 inches could be possible from the Dakotas to Michigan.

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February 22, 2021 • No Comments • National News

iStock/grandriverBy: IVAN PEREIRA, ABC News

(NEW YORK) — New Jersey has officially become the latest state to permit recreational marijuana use.

The New Jersey state legislature approved a series of bills Monday that regulates the sale of cannabis to anyone over the age of 21. Gov. Phil Murphy said he signed the bills later in the day.

“This legislation will establish an industry that brings equity and economic opportunity to our communities while establishing minimum standards for safe products and allowing law enforcement to focus their resources on real public safety matters,” he said in a statement.

Voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot measure last November that changed the state constitution to allow for marijuana legalization.

Under the new rules, the state’s Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC) will oversee the applications for licensing of cannabis businesses.

“The legislation further provides for the Legislature to reinvest cannabis revenues in designated “impact zones”; directs the CRC to promote diversity and inclusion in business ownership; and contains critical employment protections for people who engage in lawful behavior with respect to cannabis,” the governor’s office said in a news release.

One of the new laws reforms penalties for low-level marijuana offenses. It “prevents low-level distribution and possession offenses from being used in pretrial release, probation, and parole decisions and provides certain protections against discrimination in employment, housing, and places of public accommodation,” according to the governor’s office.

Another piece of the approved legislation will enforce penalties for selling marijuana to those under 21.

State legislators took weeks to draft the bills and approve them due to some concerns over penalties and ensuring that sales were prohibited to minors.

“Although this process has taken longer than anticipated, I believe it is ending in the right place and will ultimately serve as a national model,” Murphy said in a statement.

Advocates who have been pushing states and the country to legalize and regulate marijuana said the passing of the bills was a major win. DeVaughn Ward, the senior legislative counsel for the non-profit group the Marijuana Policy Project told ABC News that the New Jersey legislation will “create pathways to restorative justice and equity.”

“It took a lot of compromise and hard work on behalf of legislative leaders and Gov. Murphy to get this across the finish line and they should be commended for their efforts,” he said in a statement.

Fourteen states and the District of Columbia allow for the sale of recreational and medicinal marijuana.

The Virginia state legislature is set to vote on a bill that would legalize marijuana in their state and Gov. Ralph Northam has expressed support.

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