February 9, 2021 • No Comments • National News

kali9/iStockBy BILL HUTCHINSON, ABC News

(JACKSON TOWNSHIP, Ohio) — An Ohio police officer is being praised for showing restraint and providing a textbook example of his de-escalation training to peacefully end a standoff with an alleged armed robber who was threatening to kill himself, telling the suspect, “You’re too young, bud.”

Police body camera footage showed the Jackson Township officer, whose name was not immediately released, talking the suspect into putting down his gun and surrendering.

The episode came in sharp contrast to numerous high-profile incidents nationwide when law enforcement officers have come under criticism, and several criminally charged, for quickly resorting to the use of deadly force.

“The officer did do a fantastic job, there’s no question about that. I’m very proud of the way our guys handled that situation,” Jackson Township Police Chief Mark Brink told ABC News on Tuesday.

The incident unfolded just after 3 p.m. on Saturday when officers responded to a report of a robbery at a Dollar General store in Jackson Township, which is about 5 miles northwest of Canton, according to a statement from police.

Police said a woman who witnessed the robbery followed the suspect as he drove away from the store and reported his whereabouts to police.

At one point, the suspect, identified as 20-year-old Rashawn Harper of Tennessee, noticed the witness following him and allegedly opened fire on her car, striking it on the side, police said.

“He’s shooting at me! He’s got a gun!” the 51-year-old witness was heard telling a dispatcher in a 911 call obtained by ABC News affiliate WEWS in Cleveland.

Officers found the suspect’s car abandoned in front of a home, police said. An occupant of the residence told police the suspect ran through their backyard toward a golf course, according to the statement.

When officers caught up to the suspect, he was “sitting on a bench with a gun to his head,” the police statement reads.

Brink said all of his officers are trained in crisis intervention, and specifically taught how to deal with distraught or mentally ill suspects.

“It was a tough situation. The young man had just shot at a car,” said Brink, adding that during the investigation, police learned the suspect had also approached a man and allegedly threatened him with a handgun.

Instead of resorting to deadly use of force, the officer de-escalated the situation by calmly negotiating with the suspect to put down the gun, according to body-camera footage obtained by WEWS.

“We can help you, dude. We’re not going to hurt you. I promise you we are not going to hurt you. Put it down,” said an officer, who joined the Jackson Township Police Department as a part-time member in 2016 and became a full-time officer in September 2017.

During the standoff, Harper told the officer that he had stopped taking his medication for a mental disorder. The officer promised Harper that he would get him a therapist if he put down the gun.

“You toss that gun out of there. I put mine away, and I’ll come talk to you. I promise you. We can help you. It’s not the way,” the officer told Harper, according to the footage.

As they continued to speak, Harper told the officer his age, the video shows.

“Come on, bud, you have to talk to me. Dude, you’re 20. You’re still so young. Let’s go, dude, we don’t want to do this. Just put it (the gun) down, bud. We don’t want to do it. You don’t want to do it. You’re 20,” the officer said, according to the video.

Brink said the officer negotiated with Harper for three to five minutes before he put the gun down. The officer continued to console Harper even as he was handcuffing him.

“What’s up, dude? Look at me. What’s going on?” the officer asked.

Harper responded, “I made terrible decisions,” according to the video.

When asked why he allegedly committed the robbery, Harper said, “I didn’t want to do what I did.”

Harper remained in custody on Tuesday in the Stark County Jail on charges of aggravated robbery and felony assault. He was also charged with carrying a concealed weapon, aggravated menacing, obstructing official business and possessing a stolen gun.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

February 9, 2021 • No Comments • National News

Ovidiu Dugulan/iStockBy JON HAWORTH, ERIN SCHUMAKER and IVAN PEREIRA, ABC News

(NEW YORK) — A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now infected more than 106.5 million people worldwide and killed over 2.3 million, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

Here’s how the news is developing Tuesday. All times Eastern:

Feb 09, 9:52 am
‘Extremely unlikely’ virus came from Chinese lab, WHO experts say

An international team of World Health Organization experts investigating the origins of the coronavirus pandemic said Tuesday it’s “extremely unlikely” that the virus was leaked from a laboratory in the Chinese city of Wuhan.

The Wuhan Institute of Virology, which is affiliated with the government-run Chinese Academy of Sciences, has collected extensive virus samples, sparking speculations that it may have caused the original outbreak by leaking the novel coronavirus into the surrounding community. The institute has strongly rejected that possibility.

“The findings suggest that the laboratory incident hypothesis is extremely unlikely to explain the introduction of the virus into the human population,” WHO food safety and animal diseases expert Peter Ben Embarek said at a joint press conference with Chinese counterparts on Tuesday. “Therefore, [it] is not in the hypotheses that we will suggest for future studies.”

The WHO team, which includes experts from 10 countries, is considering several possible scenarios for how the disease was transmitted to humans, leading to a pandemic that has claimed the lives of more than 2.3 million people worldwide. Embarek said it’s more likely that the virus jumped to humans from an animal.

“Our initial findings suggest that the introduction through an intermediary host species is the most likely pathway and one that will require more studies and more specific targeted research,” he said.

Transmission through the trade of frozen products was also likely, Embarek added.

As part of their investigation, the WHO team has visited key locations in Wuhan, where the first cases of COVID-19 were detected in December 2019.

A cluster of initial cases has been linked to a now-closed wet market in Wuhan. But Liang Wannian, the lead Chinese envoy who is working on the probe, said the market may not be the first location of the outbreak since transmission was also happening in other areas of the city at the time.

A review of mortality data, antibody tests of blood in blood banks in Wuhan and genome sequences showed there was “no indication of the transmission of the Sars-Cov-2 in the population” prior to December 2019, according to Liang.

There was also no evidence of “large outbreaks” in Wuhan or elsewhere before December 2019, according to Embarek.

Feb 09, 8:24 am
Major US pharmacies start accepting COVID-19 vaccine appointments

Major U.S. pharmacy chains are rolling out their COVID-19 vaccination programs this week, as part of the first phase of the Biden administration’s Federal Retail Pharmacy Program for COVID-19 Vaccination.

The program is a collaboration between the federal government, states and territories, and 21 national pharmacy partners and independent pharmacy networks to increase access to COVID-19 vaccinations across the country. The federal government will send an initial shipment of one million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to 6,500 locations across the country on Feb. 11.

Starting Tuesday, Walgreens will begin accepting appointments for COVID-19 vaccinations as early as Friday, the company told ABC News in an exclusive announcement on Good Morning America. Health care workers, people over the age of 65 and individuals with preexisting conditions will be prioritized.

“We’re just very excited to transition from Phase 1A to this next population and offer the vaccination to the communities we serve every single day,” Rina Shah, vice president of pharmacy operations at Walgreens, told ABC News.

However, the Walgreens rollout will be slow, starting in just 15 U.S. states and jurisdictions with limited vaccine doses and appointments available.

Meanwhile, CVS Pharmacy said it will begin accepting appointments on Thursday, with shots going into arms as early as Friday.

Feb 09, 6:58 am
US reports under 100,000 new cases for second straight day

There were 89,727 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in the United States on Monday, according to a real-time count kept by Johns Hopkins University.

It’s the second straight day that the U.S. has reported under 100,000 newly confirmed infections. Monday’s case count is also far less than the country’s all-time high of 300,282 new cases on Jan. 2. Meanwhile, Sunday’s case count of 89,581 was the lowest the U.S. has reported since Nov. 2, Johns Hopkins data shows.

An additional 1,596 fatalities from COVID-19 were registered nationwide on Monday, down from a peak of 5,085 new deaths on Feb. 4, according to Johns Hopkins data.

COVID-19 data may be skewed due to possible lags in reporting over the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday weekend last month as well as during storm-related closures in some northeastern states last week.

A total of 27,097,346 people in the U.S. have been diagnosed with COVID-19 since the pandemic began, and at least 465,083 have died, according to Johns Hopkins data. The cases include people from all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., and other U.S. territories as well as repatriated citizens.

Much of the country was under lockdown by the end of March as the first wave of the pandemic hit. By May 20, all U.S. states had begun lifting stay-at-home orders and other restrictions put in place to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. The day-to-day increase in the country’s cases then hovered around 20,000 for a couple of weeks before shooting back up over the summer.

The numbers lingered around 40,000 to 50,000 from mid-August through early October before surging again to record levels, crossing 100,000 for the first time on Nov. 4, then reaching 200,000 on Nov. 27 before topping 300,000 on Jan. 2.

So far, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has authorized two COVID-19 vaccines for emergency use — one developed by U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech, and another developed by American biotechnology company Moderna and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. More than 42 million vaccine doses have been administered nationwide, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

February 8, 2021 • No Comments • National News

ABC NewsBy JON HAWORTH, ABC News

(NEW YORK) — A quick moving storm brought heavy snow to the Northeast on Sunday as the snow came down at rates up to 2 inches per hour in some spots.

Fourteen inches of snow was reported in Pascoag, Rhode Island, and 12 inches of snow was reported in Norfolk, Massachusetts.

Parts of New Jersey, and New York reported up to 9 inches of snow and some spots in Connecticut and Pennsylvania reported over 10 inches of snow while Central Park in New York City reported 4.5 inches.

In the Midwest, polar air continued to grip nearly the entire region on Sunday morning as parts of northern Minnesota and North Dakota reported wind chills below -50 degrees and Chicago reported a wind chill of -24 degrees on Sunday morning.

On Monday, wind chills are not as bad but it is still absolutely frigid across much of the Midwest.

It feels like the -20s in Minneapolis Monday morning while in Chicago, it is feeling like 5 degrees.

Elsewhere, wind chills are in the teens and single digits as well in much of the Northeast.

The Arctic air is locking into place over the Midwest, with no real significant warm up in sight.

Additionally, at the southern edge of the Arctic air is a stalled frontal boundary that is going to cause numerous weather concerns through the week.

A quick moving storm will develop Monday in the central U.S. as it races towards the East Coast and, as it arrives near the Northeast by Tuesday, it will be just organized enough to bring a thump of snow to major northeast cities.

The burst of snow will arrive in the morning hours of Tuesday and the snow should have no problem accumulating, and although accumulations should be limited to a couple of inches, it will likely cause hazardous travel.

Another system will arrive in the Midwest by Wednesday and this one will bring snow from Kansas City to Chicago as well as a wintry mix from Oklahoma to Kentucky.

Once again accumulations should be rather light but likely just enough to cause impacts on roadways in the region.

On Thursday morning, this latest round of snow and ice will arrive in the Northeast — once again for the morning hours meaning dangerous road conditions are expected.

Through Thursday, the combination of these systems should bring a wide swath of 3 to 6 inches of snow from Missouri to New England with a few locations likely to exceed 6 inches.

This snowfall forecast is from both systems so many people could see 2 to 3 inches by Tuesday and another 2 to 3 inches by Thursday — just enough to cause treacherous roads.

Believe it or not, this pattern doesn’t seem to change too much over the upcoming weekend and there will likely be more opportunities for snow in these regions.

While there is some indication a more organized storm could be an issue later this upcoming weekend, there is not nearly enough agreement with the forecast models to place the magnitude or scope of potential upcoming snow.

However, one thing that does seem certain is the cold air that is really locked in place.

Saturday’s wind chill is looking pretty similar to Monday’s and this weekend’s wind chill with some of the Arctic air reaching further south and further east.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

February 8, 2021 • No Comments • National News

kali9/iStockBy JON HAWORTH, ABC News

(TAMPA BAY, Fla.) — A 14-year-old boy was run over and killed by a woman in her 20s who herself sustained a gunshot wound following a physical altercation with the teen, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.

The incident occurred at approximately 9:30 p.m. in the Carrollwood neighborhood of Tampa Bay, Florida — just 6 miles north of where the Super Bowl was being played the same evening — when authorities were dispatched to The Place at Carrollwood apartment complex following reports of an incident.

According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, deputies learned that the female driver and the teenage boy had gotten into a physical altercation just minutes before the boy was run over. Authorities say that the driver of the vehicle is believed to have been involved in the initial confrontation.

“At some point, shots were fired toward the driver, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release. “The woman, in her early twenties, was transported to the Citrus Park Emergency Room, where she is currently in critical condition.”

The 14-year-old boy died after being struck by the vehicle but it is unclear whether he died at the scene of the incident or if he was taken to the hospital.

“We are extremely saddened by the tragedy that resulted from a meaningless fight,” said Sheriff Chad Chronister. “A child is dead because of the irresponsible actions of adults who engaged in a verbal dispute and allowed it to escalate. Our detectives are processing the scene, interviewing witnesses, and working to determine who fired the shots. At this time, no arrests have been made and the motive is under investigation. Those who saw or heard something are urged to come forward.”

It is not currently known if the two people involved in the incident knew each other but the case is still under active investigation and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office has asked anyone with information to contact them regarding the case.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

February 7, 2021 • No Comments • National News

ABC NewsBY: DANIEL MANZO, ABC NEWS

(NEW YORK) — Two weather stories continue to unfold across the U.S. this weekend, one being a winter storm moving into the Northeast and the other being a major push of polar air into the Midwest that will linger through the next week.

The trailing cold front from the storm in the east is bringing some severe weather to parts of Florida and a tornado watch has been issued for parts of the state until 7 a.m., including Tampa Bay which is hosting the Super Bowl on Sunday.

Heavy snow is moving through the mid-Atlantic this morning and will begin to push into the major northeast cities through the morning hours.

Snowfall rates could reach 2 inches per hour in the heaviest bands of snow during the day today.

The ultimate location of these heavy bands will determine which areas get the most snow and which areas will get only a little.

In those heavier bands, visibility could quickly deteriorate and the most intense snowfall is expected in the Northeast through afternoon with the storm leaving the region early evening hours.

The latest computer model guidance is identifying that some of the heaviest bands of snow will likely remain just offshore.

However, there still is a potential for a couple of scattered heavy bands to moving to the northeast region on Sunday.

Due to some of these changes, anywhere from 1 to 6 inches of snow is possible in the Northeast on Sunday with the most being in southeast New England.

In and around the New York City area, 2 to 4 inches of snow is likely and, regardless of exact snow amounts, dangerous travel is expected.

Behind this storm, life threatening wind chills continues to dominate the Midwest with wind chills reaching as low as -50.

Wind chills this morning in major cities like Chicago and Indianapolis are well below zero and even parts of the South are getting some of their coldest air of the season with wind chills in the teens and single digits.

The main weather story through the upcoming week with be the brutally cold air that will persist over the central U.S.

The most notable point about this cold air is the duration of how long the cold air seems to be sticking around in the Midwest.

Several disturbances will ride the jet stream at the edge of this brutally cold air and bring some quick moving hits of snow across parts of the Midwest and Northeast this week.

Most of these systems appear to be quick moving though and only should only bring light snow to most regions.

Toward the end of the week, however, a couple of more organized systems could bring some widespread winter weather impacts, although it remains unclear how impactful the end of the week wintry weather will be at this point.

Unfortunately, the brutally cold air looks like it will expand its grip significantly by the end of the week and will dominate much of the eastern and central U.S. with even the east coast and southern regions seeing well below average temperatures.

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