February 14, 2021 • No Comments • National News

MattGush/iStockBy MEREDITH DELISO, ABC News

(NEW YORK) — A suspect has now been arrested and charged with murder in connection with multiple stabbings that left two victims dead on the New York City subway system within a 24-hour period, police said.

Rigoberto Lopez, 21, from Brooklyn, is facing one count of first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder, police said.

The incidents all occurred along the A subway line. At least three of the stabbings appear to be connected, and police were investigating whether the fourth is as well, NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said earlier Saturday during a press briefing.

The first incident occurred Friday at approximately 11:20 a.m., when a 67-year-old man was stabbed by an unknown man at the West 181st Street station in upper Manhattan, police said. He was treated at an area hospital and is recovering.

Later that day, shortly after 11 p.m., a man was found on the A train at the Far Rockaway-Mott Avenue station in Queens with stab wounds to his neck and torso, police said. EMS arrived and pronounced him dead at the scene.

Two hours later, at approximately 1:15 a.m. Saturday, an MTA employee found a 44-year-old woman unconscious on the train at the 207th Street station in upper Manhattan with multiple stab wounds, police said. She was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.

The fourth incident occurred back at the West 181st Street station in Manhattan, where a 43-year-old man was stabbed shortly before 1:30 a.m. Saturday, police said. He underwent surgery at a nearby hospital and was in stable condition.

All of the victims appear to be homeless and the stabbings were unprovoked, police said. The three late-night incidents are believed to be connected, police said.

Detectives stressed that the investigation is preliminary, and that they are trying to determine definitively if all four stabbings were committed by the same person.

In light of the deadly violence, the NYPD will immediately deploy an additional 500 officers throughout the city to patrol the transit system above and below ground, Shea said.

“I know what the train used to look like, and when you look at what the train looks like now and you look at how far crime has fallen over the years, but we don’t want to go one step back,” Shea said. “We want to do everything we can to make sure it remains the safest system, and that people also feel safe.”

The heads of the city’s transit system and transit workers union called the attacks “outrageous and unacceptable.”

“Every customer, and each of our brave, heroic transit workers deserve a safe and secure transit system,” New York City Transit interim President Sarah Feinberg and TWU Local 100 President Tony Utano said in a joint statement. “We have been calling on the city to add more police to the system, and to do more to assist those who desperately need mental health assistance. The time for action is now.”

ABC News’ Aaron Katersky contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

February 14, 2021 • No Comments • National News

ABC NewsBY: DAN MANZO, ABC NEWS

(NEW YORK) — The major winter blast that is gripping the nation will reach its peak beginning today and lasting through much of the week with two major storms to track along with the Arctic air surging into the southern U.S.

Seattle recorded 11.1 inches of snow on Friday and Saturday which is a top 10 two-day snowfall for the city.

On Saturday alone, Seattle recorded 8.9 inches of snow which made it the snowiest day for the city since 1969, 52 years ago.

In Portland, significant freezing rain accumulation, with locally up to 1 inch of freezing rain and sleet, caused widespread power outages and dangerous roads.

On the East Coast, Virginia and much of the state stretching into Maryland saw over a half inch of freezing rain and sleet on Saturday.

The National Weather Service in Wakefield, Virginia, is calling this likely the worst ice storm in 20 years for the region.

In northern Minnesota on Saturday morning, an actual low temperature of -48 degrees was recorded.

The widespread winter weather is already causing hundreds of thousands of power outages.

At least 46 states now have weather alerts due to this major winter blast and two more major storms to track.

Today the main action will be in the southern U.S. as heavy snow is already moving to parts of southern Plains along with freezing rain and sleet across Texas.

Severe storms will be possible across parts of Florida with tornadoes possible from Tampa to Jacksonville.

Roads will become increasingly dangerous through the southern Plains today from Houston to Austin to Dallas and Oklahoma City.

By Sunday night, the heaviest snow will be from Dallas to Oklahoma City and the heaviest wintry mix will be near Austin and San Antonio.

By Monday, heavy snow, freezing rain and sleet will be falling from Houston into Louisiana which will make the morning commute incredibly difficult and road conditions will be extremely dangerous there.

Another area of heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain will be falling across parts of the Midwest and into the Appalachians.

By Monday night, the heavy snow will overtake the Ohio and Tennessee Valley and there will be an area of wintry mix moving into the Northeast and impacting metro areas from Philadelphia to Boston.

On Tuesday morning, very heavy snow will be falling in in the interior Northeast and a wintry mix will be possible from Philadelphia to New York City and Boston.

Some of the latest computer guidance is suggesting that the major cities themselves will be just at or near freezing during this time frame.

While ice accumulation will be possible in the major cities, significant ice accumulation is expected north and west of Philadelphia, New York City and through much of southern New England.

Immediately after this storm, attention will turn to another major storm that will follow a very similar track.

Through Friday, snow accumulations from both storms could exceed a foot from northern Texas to New England.

Anywhere from San Antonio to Boston could see significant ice accumulation from these storms and when there is any ice accumulation, roadways become very dangerous.

In addition, fallen trees and power lines become a major concern and we could be seeing a situation for parts of this week that includes widespread power outages across large parts of the U.S.

In addition, all this winter weather is likely to continue to cause COVID-19 vaccine facilities to face delays and closures across large regions of the country.

All of this active weather is being fueled by a major Arctic blast that will surge south towards the Gulf of Mexico this week.

There will be widespread record lows across the central U.S. on Monday and Tuesday.

In the Southern U.S., particularly Texas and Louisiana, the wind chills will be absolutely brutal since this region does not usually see cold weather of this magnitude.

The good news is, by Saturday of this week, the weather pattern looks to become more stabilized and a period of quieter weather should begin.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

February 13, 2021 • No Comments • National News

pinkomelet/iStockBy MEREDITH DELISO, ABC News

(LOS ANGELES) — California marked a grim milestone this week, as it surpassed New York for the highest number of COVID-19 deaths in the United States.

As of Feb. 12, 46,022 Californians have died due to the virus, according to Johns Hopkins University. New York, which had held that morbid distinction since it was the epicenter of the pandemic last spring, has reported 45,453 deaths, per JHU’s tally.

The lead comes after a winter surge in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths that has only recently begun receding. But California’s death toll tells another troubling tale — as of Feb. 10, Latino people represent 46.3% of COVID-19 deaths, despite making up 38.9% of the state’s population, per state data. Latino people — who are often on the front lines as essential workers — also make up more than half (55%) of the state’s cases and have the greatest share of cases and deaths at every age group, except among ages 80 and up.

For Hernan Hernandez, executive director of the California Farmworker Foundation, the novel coronavirus has further illustrated that there are “two different worlds” in California.

“It took a pandemic to see exactly the devastation that it has brought upon our communities, but also the unequal world that we live in in California,” Hernandez told ABC News.

Hernandez’s foundation offers services to help improve the quality of life of the state’s agricultural workforce, an overwhelming majority of whom are Hispanic, he said. During the pandemic, that has meant bringing COVID-19 testing to work sites and, in recent weeks, helping register farmworkers to receive the vaccine. In the past two weeks, the organization registered over 500 farmworkers in the Central Valley — the hub of agricultural production in the state — he said.

Many workers are experiencing anxiety and depression as the pandemic has worn on, Hernandez said.

“It’s been quite tough,” he said. “A lot of them have suffered losses. They experienced COVID themselves.”

“You have no idea how many farmworkers we talked to already that lost parents, cousins, uncles or friends,” he said.

Hernandez has heard several incidences of workers bringing COVID-19 home, often to multigenerational housing, and family members subsequently dying from the virus.

“It’s horrible what’s happening,” he said. “It really took a toll on the whole family structure.”

Vaccination rates are only further exposing disparities. State data shows that out of 5.5 million vaccine doses administered, 15.8% of people who received at least one dose identified as Latino. That’s half the rate (32.6%) of white residents, who make up 36.6% of the state’s population.

Among its efforts to address health equity during the pandemic, the state is looking to ramp up vaccine distribution in the Central Valley by converting some of its COVID-19 testing sites created in partnership with OptumServe into vaccine distribution sites, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced this week. The state is also looking to open a mass vaccination site in the Central Valley, he said, calling the region a “top priority.”

Yet, Hernandez said COVID-19 testing has taught them that mega-sites “don’t encompass the population that we serve” — who can’t afford to take the day off of work and potentially wait several hours for an appointment.

“We need to go directly to their worksite, or to their communities, at appropriate hours, so that therefore they can receive the vaccine,” Hernandez said.

The foundation plans to open up vaccination pods, too — once there is enough supply.

In Santa Clara County, a walk-up vaccination site opened at the Mexican Heritage Plaza in East San Jose, to target the area’s Latino immigrant community.

Fresno County, in the Central Valley, wrapped up a pilot vaccination program that offered approximately 3,200 doses to farm and agriculture workers on Thursday. The program helped bring the community together to protect themselves from the virus, Fresno County Community Health Division Manager Joe Prado said during a media briefing Friday.

“You saw farming groups come together and bring other farmers, other packing houses, to get people vaccinated,” he said.

This week, Long Beach, in Los Angeles County, launched mobile vaccine clinics to “take the vaccine directly to neighborhoods that need it most,” Mayor Robert Garcia said in a statement.

Garcia told ABC News Live last week that the clinics are modeled after the city’s mobile outreach for COVID-19 testing, which brought bilingual workers into undocumented communities to help residents feel more comfortable.

“If we don’t hyperfocus on some of the cultural needs and awareness around the Latino population and how they relate to vaccination or testing, we’ll continue to lose a lot more lives,” he said.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

February 13, 2021 • No Comments • National News

ABC NewsBY: DANIEL MANZO, ABC NEWS

(NEW YORK) — The major winter blast occurring across the United States is about to get much worse.

Nearly every part of the U.S. is going to seeing dangerous weather over the next week.

At least 40 states have weather alerts Saturday morning, as multiple storms are moving from coast to coast and a dangerous arctic air is about to hit the Gulf Coast.

A major winter storm is brining heavy snow and freezing rain to the Pacific Northwest, including the cities of Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington. Over 0.8 inch of ice has been reported in some places just south of Portland and 2 to 3 inches of snow have already fallen in both Portland and Seattle, with more expected to come.

Over 200,000 customers are currently without power in Oregon because of the ice.

The East Coast is experiencing a major storm with freezing rain, sleet and snow. Of particular concern is the significant ice (over a quarter of an inch) expected in Virginia. That’s enough to cause downed power lines and trees.

The snow and ice will spread into parts of the Northeast Saturday from Washington, D.C., to New York. This will likely cause roads to be slippery and dangerous.

On Sunday, the major storm from the West will dig into the Southern Plains with heavy snow expected from Colorado to North Texas. Significant snow is expected in Oklahoma. This will make travel very difficult.

Of even greater concern is the snow, freezing rain and sleet moving into Texas. Heavy snow will make travel nearly impossible around Dallas Sunday and Early Monday.

Also by Monday morning, a heavy wintry mix will move across Houston into Louisiana and Mississippi. Travel will be very dangerous as ice accumulates in the region.

Ahead of this storm, more snow and wintry mix will form across parts of the Midwest and the Appalachians. By Tuesday, the storm will have spread into the Northeast. Areas near the major cities may see freezing rain on Monday and Tuesday.

This weather pattern will bring heavy snow from Seattle to Dallas and from Dallas to Maine. Additionally, and perhaps more dangerously, widespread ice accumulation is expected from Houston to New York City. Anywhere where there is ice, there is a risk of serious impacts to travel, power lines and trees.

Additionally, the arctic air will bring record low temperatures to the Central U.S. on Monday and Tuesday. Wind chills well below zero degrees will travel all the way into Texas. Houston will feel like -3 on Tuesday morning, which is very cold for the area.

ABC’s Travis Herzog at KTRK-TV is saying this cold weather could break records. The NWS in Dallas is calling the snow threat a historic winter storm. The NWS Weather Prediction Center is calling this a “once in a decade” event.

Overall, temperatures will be nearly 50 degrees below average in some parts of the U.S. through the first half of the upcoming week.

Parts of the Midwest have been suffering from the arctic air for over a week now. Chicago has not been above freezing since Feb. 4.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

February 12, 2021 • No Comments • National News

Minerva Studio/iStockBy ERIN SCHUMAKER, ABC News

(CHICAGO) — Chicago’s oldest hospital filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this week, frustrating city and state officials who pledged to keep the safety-net hospital open.

The hospital plans to cease all operations except for basic emergency services on May 31.

“We recognize the community’s desire that Mercy should stay open, but Mercy has provided as much care as possible while incurring losses that no single entity can afford alone,” Mercy said in a statement. “The system of care for the underserved on Chicago’s South Side is badly broken, and it is the system that must be fixed so patients can access the care they deserve.”

Mercy Hospital and Medical Center is owned by Trinity Health, the fifth-largest health care system in the country, which bought the hospital in 2012. Safety-net hospitals like Mercy tend to serve patients who are people of color, poor, old and either uninsured or on Medicaid, and typically operate on razor-thin margins.

Mercy was profitable when it was purchased, with assets exceeding liabilities by $140.8 million. In 2014, the hospital started losing money, according to tax documents. By 2017, it was in the red.

“Mercy tried for many years to find a path to financial sustainability,” the hospital said in a statement. “This included a multi-year national search for buyers and a robust transformation plan with other safety net hospitals. Unfortunately, neither path provided a viable future.”

The bankruptcy filing comes weeks after the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board voted for a second time to deny Trinity permission to close the hospital and open an urgent care center in its place. Community members and doctors argued that the plan to replace the hospital with urgent care would worsen health care access for the hospital’s predominately Black patients and create a health care desert on the South Side — with the nearest emergency department at least 5 miles away.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and state Rep. Lamont Robinson, who counts Mercy in his district, are among the elected officials trying to find a buyer to take over Mercy with the help of state funding.

Robinson said the bankruptcy news came as a surprise. “At no time during talks with Gov. Pritzker, other elected officials, nor myself, did Trinity ever mention bankruptcy as an option,” Robinson told ABC News.

A spokesperson for Pritzker said the governor called Trinity’s CEO to express his frustration. Pritzker also signed a statement with other elected officials asserting that Trinity’s call to close the hospital had hastened its decline. Uncertainty about Mercy’s future forced key staff to leave their jobs, the officials argued.

“They have continually dismantled Mercy Hospital piece by piece, including stripping the hospital of emergency staff ahead of its intended closing schedule,” Robinson said.

“This is truly inhumane and unconscionable, especially during a pandemic,” the officials wrote. “We asked them to work with us on a smooth transition, to allow another entity to take over. They refused to talk to us and chose instead to operate in secrecy, strategically dismantling a once-vibrant hospital and creating their own financial dilemma.”

While state law requires hospitals to get permission from the review board in order to close, the state is limited in its ability to force Mercy to stay open. The $10,000 a month fine the state could impose for closing without permission wouldn’t be much of a penalty to the fifth-biggest health care system in the country. Halting Medicaid payments to Mercy, where Medicaid patients make up the bulk of inpatient visits, would make the hospital even less financially viable. A third option for the state would be threatening Trinity’s tax-exempt status as a nonprofit since Trinity owns other hospitals in the Chicago area.

“We’re just kind of reaching a point where the old solutions aren’t working,” said Nancy Kane, an adjunct professor of management at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Kane has noticed a trend in the for-profit hospital world of big hospital systems buying up bundles of hospitals to gain market dominance and then closing the low-income facilities. Nonprofit hospital systems like Trinity have now gotten so big that the same tactics are possible in the nonprofit world.

“It’s very much part of a growing trend,” Kane said. “The worst part is what it does to the populations that these providers serve. No one is stepping in to take care of them,” she added. “A 5-mile distance in an emergency in a city is huge, especially if you don’t have a car.”

Hospitals with fewer private payers and more Medicaid reimbursement face significant financial challenges, according to Felicia Perlman, an attorney at McDermott, Will & Emery in Chicago, who often works with the health care industry on restructuring matters.

“There have been recent bankruptcy filings among urban hospitals, such as Mercy,” Perlman said. “I think we will see more of that.”

The next review board meeting about Mercy’s closure is scheduled for March 16.

Dr. David Ansell, senior vice president for community health equity at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, called the situation “a slow death by a thousand paper cuts.”

“We’ve seen this play out in Chicago before. A health system writ large that treats health as a commodity rather than a human right,” Ansell said. “It will become a self-fulfilling prophecy. It’s tragic.”

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.