November 2, 2020 • No Comments • National News

Myriam Borzee/iStockBy MORGAN WINSOR, ABC News

(NEW YORK) — A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now killed more than 1.2 million people worldwide.

Over 46.5 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 national governments are hiding or downplaying the scope of their outbreaks. The criteria for diagnosis — through clinical means or a lab test — has also varied from country to country.

Since the first cases were detected in China in December, the virus has rapidly spread to every continent except Antarctica. The United States is the worst-affected nation, with more than 9.2 million diagnosed cases and at least 231,003 deaths.

Nearly 200 vaccine candidates for COVID-19 are being tracked by the World Health Organization, at least 10 of which are in crucial phase three studies. Of those 10 potential vaccines in late-stage trials, there are currently five that will be available in the United States if approved.

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

Nov 02, 10:37 am
Germany enters 4-week partial shutdown

A four-week partial shutdown began in Germany on Monday, with bars, cinemas, restaurants, theaters and other leisure facilities shuttered until the end of the month.

Unlike the lockdown imposed in the spring amid the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic, schools, nonessential shops and hair salons will remain open.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and regional authorities will review the situation after two weeks.

The new restrictions come after the European country reported on Saturday its highest number of COVID-19 infections within a 24-hour period — 19,059 — since the start of the pandemic. The cumulative total now stands at 545,027 cases with 10,530 deaths, according to the latest data from the Robert Koch Institute, Germany’s disease control agency.

Nov 02, 9:56 am
Italy’s prime minster announces new nationwide restrictions

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced new nationwide restrictions to tackle the coronavirus pandemic, including an evening curfew and limitations on movement between regions.

Conte outlined the planned measures to lawmakers on Monday, ahead of a new decree expected to be announced soon. He said the decree would include restrictions on movement in the late evening and for regions where the COVID-19 infection rate is highest. Arcades, betting shops, galleries and museums will all be closed, joining cinemas, gyms, pools and theaters which were shuttered under the last set of restrictions.

The new decree will also include the closure of shopping malls on weekends, except for any food stores, pharmacies and newsstands located inside. Meanwhile, high schools and middle schools will be asked to transition to full-time remote learning, according to Conte.

Italy, once the epicenter of the pandemic, is battling a rising number of COVID-19 infections as a second wave hits Europe. The country’s civil protection agency confirmed 29,907 new cases on Sunday, including 208 deaths, bringing its cumulative total to 709,335 cases with 38,826 deaths.

Nov 02, 9:23 am
White House adviser apologizes for interview with Russian state TV

Dr. Scott Atlas, an adviser on the White House coronavirus task force, has apologized after appearing on a Russian state-funded television network to criticize lockdown measures aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19.

Atlas addressed the matter via Twitter on Sunday, saying he was “unaware” that RT was a registered foreign agent.

“I regret doing the interview and apologize for allowing myself to be taken advantage of,” Atlas tweeted. “I especially apologize to the national security community who is working hard to defend us.”

Atlas, a neuroradiologist who was handpicked by President Donald Trump to join the coronavirus task force in August, told RT during a lengthy interview on Saturday that he considered the pandemic to be largely under control and that lockdowns are actually “killing people.”

RT, formerly called Russia Today, is registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, a U.S. law that applies to people or companies disseminating information in the United States on behalf of foreign governments, political parties and other “foreign principals.”

U.S. intelligence agencies have alleged that RT, which broadcasts around the world in English, served as a propaganda outlet for the Kremlin as part of efforts to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Russia denies interfering.

Nov 02, 8:09 am
Prince William tested positive back in April, sources say

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, tested positive for COVID-19 in April, royal sources told ABC News.

Wiliam’s diagnosis came shortly after his father, Charles, Prince of Wales, tested positive for the disease. Charles is the heir apparent to the British throne while his eldest son, William, is second in line.

The Court Circular, the official record of past royal engagements, shows that William had a joint engagement with his wife, the Duchess of Cambridge, on April 8 via Zoom. He did a solo virtual engagement — without Kate — the following day. His next joint engagement wasn’t until May 7.

Nov 02, 7:31 am
Trump suggests he may fire Fauci after election

President Donald Trump suggested to a Florida rally that he may fire Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top expert on infectious diseases and a leading member of the White House coronavirus task force.

Speaking to the crowd after midnight early Monday morning, the president was complaining about the news media coverage of the coronavirus pandemic when rally-goers began chanting, “Fire Fauci!”

“Don’t tell anybody, but let me wait until a little bit after the election,” Trump responded. “I appreciate the advice.”

“He’s been wrong a lot,” the president told the crowd of Fauci. “He’s a nice man though.”

Fauci has served as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for over 30 years.

Trump’s comments come after Fauci’s hard-hitting interview with The Washington Post in which he criticized the U.S. government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, including Dr. Scott Atlas, a neuroradiologist and the president’s hand-picked adviser on COVID-19.

Nov 02, 6:35 am
Nearly 50,000 Americans remain hospitalized

Nearly 50,000 people across the United States remain hospitalized for COVID-19.

As of Sunday, the number of current hospitalizations nationwide was 47,502, according to data collected by The COVID Tracking Project.

That figure has been steadily climbing since mid-September.

Nov 02, 6:01 am
Russia reports over 18,000 new cases for fourth straight day

Russia confirmed 18,257 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, according to the country’s coronavirus response headquarters.

It’s the fourth straight day that Russia has reported over 18,000 new infections. The latest daily tally falls just short of the country’s all-time high of 18,665 new cases in a 24-hour reporting period, which were confirmed a day earlier.

An additional 238 deaths from COVID-19 were also registered nationwide in the last 24 hours, down from last week’s peak of 366 fatalities, according to Russia’s coronavirus response headquarters.

Moscow remains the epicenter of the country’s outbreak and recent surge. More than 26% of the new cases — 4,796 — and over 22% of the new deaths — 53 — were reported in the capital.

The nationwide, cumulative total now stands at 1,655,038 cases with 28,473 deaths, according to Russia’s coronavirus response headquarters.

Last week, Russia’s health and consumer rights regulator, Rospotrebnadzor, introduced a nationwide mask mandate and ordered all clubs, bars, restaurants and other entertainment venues to be closed between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. Russian authorities have repeatedly said they will not impose another nationwide lockdown.

The Eastern European country of 145 million people has the fourth-highest tally of COVID-19 cases in the world, behind only the United States, India and Brazil, according to a real-time count kept by Johns Hopkins University.

Nov 02, 5:06 am
El Paso County gets fourth mobile morgue as death toll rises

The El Paso County Medical Examiner’s Office set up a fourth refrigerated mobile morgue as the COVID-19 death toll in the westernmost Texas county surpassed 600, according to a report by El Paso ABC affiliate KVIA-TV.

“My understanding is that we just got our fourth one,” El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego told KVIA on Sunday afternoon.

As of early Monday, El Paso county had confirmed a total of 50,114 cases of COVID-19 including at least 602 deaths. There were 943 patients who remained hospitalized with the disease, including 271 in intensive care units.

The death toll is expected to continue to rise as the number of COVID-19 patients hospitalized in ICUs and on ventilators reached an all-time high over the weekend. Health experts have said that many ventilator patients ultimately don’t survive the disease.

The El Paso County judge recently ordered a shutdown of all non-essential services and businesses for two weeks in a bid to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus. The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office announced Saturday that it would begin aggressively enforcing Samaniego’s shutdown order, which is being challenged in court.

Nov 02, 4:23 am
US reports more than 81,000 new cases

There were 81,493 new cases of COVID-19 identified in the United States on Sunday, according to a real-time count kept by Johns Hopkins University.

The latest daily tally is slightly higher than the day prior but still less than the country’s all-time high of 99,321 new cases set on Friday.

An additional 447 fatalities from COVID-19 were also registered nationwide Sunday, almost half the previous day’s count and down from a peak of 2,666 new deaths in mid-April.

A total of 9,207,364 people in the United States have been diagnosed with COVID-19 since the pandemic began, and at least 230,996 of them have died, according to Johns Hopkins. The cases include people from all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C. and other U.S. territories as well as repatriated citizens.

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 and crossing 90,000 for the first time on Oct. 30.

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November 1, 2020 • No Comments • National News

iStock/Zbynek PospisilBY: BILL HUTCHINSON, ABC News

(WASHINGTON) — With tensions already running high over the fatal shooting of a 21-year-old Black man by sheriff’s deputies, protests this weekend in Vancouver, Washington, devolved into reported vandalism of businesses and fights between demonstrators demanding justice and members of right-wing groups that converged in the city.

Kevin Peterson Jr. was shot to death on Thursday evening by Clark County sheriff’s deputies in Hazel Dell, an unincorporated area of Vancouver, prompting consecutive nights of protests that led to at least six arrests early Saturday after authorities said some demonstrators ignored orders to disperse and began hurling rocks at law enforcement officers outside the Clark County Jail in Vancouver.

On Saturday night, members of a right-wing group gathered in Esther Park in Vancouver, prompting police to close the park. Those protesting Peterson’s shooting and counter-demonstrators stood on opposite sides of a downtown Vancouver street arguing as a large police presence attempted to prevent the confrontation from escalating into violence.

On Friday night, video taken by ABC affiliate KATU in Portland, Oregon, showed fights breaking out between protesters and counter-protesters in Vancouver following a vigil for Peterson.

Peterson was shot dead around 6 p.m. Thursday by three Clark County sheriff’s deputies in the parking lot of a bank in Hazel Dell, just north of downtown Vancouver, law enforcement officials said.

An independent investigation of the deadly encounter is being led by the Camas Police Department and the Southwest Washington Independent Investigative Response Team, which is comprised of certified peace officers and non-law enforcement community representatives.

During a brief news conference on Friday, Clark County Sheriff Chuck Atkins said the shooting unfolded as detectives of the Clark/Vancouver Drug Task Force were investigating suspected drug dealing in the parking lot of a motel in Hazel Dell. He said detectives spotted a man sitting alone in a car and as they approached the vehicle, the occupant got out and ran.

“A foot pursuit ensued where deputies from the Clark County Sheriff’s Office were chasing a man with a firearm,” Atkins said. “The information I have is that upon entering the parking lot of a bank, the man reportedly fired his weapon at the deputies. The deputies returned fire and the subject was tragically killed. It is my understanding that the man’s firearm was observed at the scene.”

The man who was killed was later identified by his family as Peterson.

“It’s important to relate that the loss of a young man’s life likely means there is a grieving father, mother and other family. It is right and correct that the community would grieve along with this family,” Atkins said.

He said that the three deputies who opened fire on Peterson have been placed on administrative leave while the results of the investigation are pending, in keeping with standard protocol for officer-involved shootings. The names of the deputies have not been released.

Battle Ground, Washington, Police Chief Mike Fort, the spokesman for the Southwest Washington Independent Investigative Response Team, released a statement saying that during the initial foot chase, Peterson allegedly pointed a gun at the narcotics detectives, causing them to back off as he kept running.

Fort said a short time later, the three Clark County deputies spotted the man and all three fired their handguns. Fort did not say in the statement that Peterson fired at the deputies.

He said a .40-caliber Glock handgun was found near the body of Peterson, who was pronounced dead at the scene.

Peterson’s father, Kevin Peterson, told The Oregonian that his son “wasn’t a problem child at all” and said that he was “a good kid.” He said that his son, one of six siblings, played high school basketball and football.

Peterson’s death follows months of protests nationwide over a string of police killings of Black people, including George Floyd, who died on May 25 after a Minneapolis police officer was captured on cellphone video digging his knee into Floyd’s neck as the 46-year-old cried out, “I can’t breathe.”

Derek Chauvin, the ex-Minneapolis police officer accused of killing Floyd, has been charged with second and third-degree murder and manslaughter in Floyd’s death. He was released from jail on $1 million bond, in early October.

The three other officers who were at the scene of Floyd’s death, Tou Thao, Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng, have been charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting manslaughter. They have all also been released from jail as the four former officers await their trial starting next March.

In March, Breonna Taylor was killed by police at her Louisville home. In September, a grand jury indicted one of the officers, Brett Hankison, on three counts of first-degree wanton endangerment for firing into the apartment directly behind Taylor’s, where three people were inside. Hankison pleaded not guilty. But none of the officers involved in Taylor’s death were charged in connection to her loss of life.

The Hazel Dell community is less than 20 miles from Portland, Oregon, where protests over Floyd’s death have turned violent and led to clashes with right-wing counter-protesters.

On Aug. 29, Aaron “Jay” Danielson, 39, a supporter of a right-wing group was shot to death in Portland allegedly during a confrontation with 48-year-old Michael Reinoehl, who claimed in an interview with Vice News that he was providing security for Black Lives Matter protests in Portland and shot Danielson in self-defense.

On Sept. 3, Reinoehl was shot to death in Lacy, Washington, by a federal fugitive task force attempting to arrest him on a second-degree murder charge stemming from Danielson’s killing.

ABC News’ Ahmad Hemingway contributed to this report.

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October 31, 2020 • No Comments • National News

pinkomelet/iStockBy AARON KATERSKY and MEREDITH DELISO, ABC News

(NEW YORK) — New York state is moving away from a travel advisory that required a two-week quarantine for people coming from COVID-19 hotspots and instead will mandate that all travelers test negative for the virus before and after coming to the state, the governor announced Saturday.

“There will be no quarantine list, there will be no metrics,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo told reporters. “There will be one rule that applies across the country.”

That rule requires that those coming to New York must test negative for COVID-19 within three days before their arrival, and have proof of the test. Once in New York, they must quarantine for three days and take another test on the fourth day. If they test negative, they can end their quarantine.

Residents of New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania are exempt from this requirement, Cuomo said.

New York residents who travel to another state for 24 hours or fewer must take a COVID-19 test within four days of arrival, the governor said. Any longer and, like non-residents, they must take a test within three days of travel and test negative, quarantine for three days upon return and get tested on the fourth day. If they test negative, “you go about your business,” Cuomo said.

It is unclear when the new requirements go into effect.

Cuomo stressed the need for the new policy as Thanksgiving approaches.

“Just because they’re your family, doesn’t mean they’re safe from COVID,” he said. “And that’s where we’re seeing increases.”

The original travel advisory, which the governors of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut announced in late June, required that people coming to the region from states with a positive case rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents, or higher than a 10% test positivity rate over a seven-day rolling average, must quarantine for 14 days.

Nine states were on the travel advisory list at the time. On Tuesday, California was the latest state to be added to New York’s travel advisory, for a total of 41 states and territories. Neighboring states Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey and Pennsylvania had also met the criteria, but a quarantine was not required given the level of travel between the states. Instead, officials discouraged non-essential travel to those states.

Connecticut’s and New Jersey’s travel advisories are still in effect, according to their state websites. As of Tuesday, Connecticut had 42 states and territories on its list, while New Jersey had 41. Anyone traveling from those regions is asked to self-quarantine for two weeks.

The announcement comes as New York is targeting “micro-clusters” that have higher testing positivity rates. On Saturday, the positivity rate in these focus areas was 3.01%, while the statewide positivity rate excluding those areas was 1.3%. The statewide positivity rate is 1.49%.

New York has continued to see outbreaks linked to mass gatherings at houses of worship, weddings, funerals and other events, Cuomo said this week.

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October 31, 2020 • No Comments • National News

Breonna Taylor FamilyBy EMILY SHAPIRO, ABC News

(LOUISVILLE, Ky.) — Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron is defending his decision to not give the grand jury on the case surrounding the death of Breonna Taylor the option to consider murder charges.

“It was not our judgment that there should be other charges that the grand jury should be advised of,” Cameron told ABC affiliate WBKO in Bowling Green, Kentucky, on Thursday.

“The grand jury can, you know, as an independent body, bring up other questions or other issues,” Cameron said.

“I fully take responsibility for the recommendation that we made,” he said. “Based on the facts, that was the appropriate recommendation to make.”

Six months after Taylor was killed in March by police at her Louisville home, Cameron convened a grand jury to investigate possible charges against the officers.

In September a grand jury indicted one officer, Brett Hankison, on three counts of first-degree wanton endangerment for firing into the apartment directly behind Taylor’s, where three people were inside. Hankison pleaded not guilty.

Hankison was fired and the other officers were placed on administrative duty.

But none of the officers involved in Taylor’s death were charged in connection to her loss of life, which ignited months of protests in Louisville and across the U.S.

Taylor, 26, was fatally shot in the early hours of March 13, when Louisville police tried to execute a search warrant as part of an investigation into a suspected drug operation allegedly linked to Taylor’s ex-boyfriend.

Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, said he thought intruders were breaking in, so he fired one shot from his licensed gun.

One officer was struck in the leg. Police opened fire and Taylor was struck multiple times.

Cameron told WBKO that the officers who opened fire were “justified” because they “returned fire after having been fired upon.”

“It is a sad case,” he said. “But my responsibility and job as the prosecutor is to make sure that the facts are presented to the grand jury, we made the recommendation as it relates to wanton endangerment to this other officer.”

Cameron told WBKO, “Not everybody is going to be happy with your decision. And I have to to live with that. But we did the right thing in this process.”

Attorneys for Hankison and Walker as well as Taylor’s family advocated for the release of the grand jury transcript and evidence connected to the case. Walker’s civil lawyers filed a successful motion this month to have the evidence collected by Louisville police department’s Professional Integrity Unit released to the public.

Last week a judge ruled in favor of an anonymous grand juror in the case, allowing the juror to come forward and speak publicly about the court proceedings. Cameron had argued against grand jurors speaking out, saying it could set a dangerous precedent for courtroom privacy. But after the judge’s decision, Cameron said he would not appeal.

Federal officials are also investigating possible civil rights violations.

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October 30, 2020 • No Comments • National News

Marilyn Nieves/iStockBy STEPHANIE WASH, ABC News

(LOUISVILLE, Ky.) — Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly, the officer shot and wounded during the raid on Breonna Taylor’s apartment has filed a counterclaim against Kenneth Walker following Walker’s lawsuit against the city of Louisville, numerous Louisville Metro Police Department officers, and city and state officials.

In the filing, Mattingly’s attorneys claim that he is entitled to compensatory and punitive damages for battery, assault, and intentional emotional distress. They claim that Mattingly nearly died and needed five hours of surgery for his injury.

Mattingly is requesting a trial by jury and all legal costs to be paid by Walker.

“Walker did intentionally shoot Mattingly or acted recklessly in firing his pistol in the direction of the Police Officers who were serving a search warrant,” the filing reads. “Walker’s conduct in shooting Mattingly is outrageous, intolerable, and offends all accepted standards of decency and morality.”

“Walker’s conduct has caused Defendant Mattingly severe trauma, mental anguish, and emotional distress,” the filing states.

On March 13, at Taylor’s home, Louisville Metro Police Sgt. Mattingly, officer Myles Cosgrove and former police officer Brett Hankison executed what was initially supposed to be a “no-knock” search warrant. In a briefing shortly before the raid, police officers were instructed to knock and announce at Taylor’s home, several officers told the public integrity unit in their interview. The plainclothes officers were investigating a suspected drug operation allegedly linked to Taylor’s ex-boyfriend.

Mattingly said Taylor’s boyfriend, 27-year-old Kenneth Walker, shot him in the leg when police entered the apartment, and Walker opened fire. The police fired 32 shots, eight striking and killing Taylor.

Officials determined Mattingly was shot by Walker, according to Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron. While a Kentucky State Police ballistics report could not determine whether the bullet that hit Mattingly came from Walker’s gun, they determined it was his because no one else was carrying that caliber weapon. ABC News has not seen the FBI’s report.

Walker and his attorneys dispute Cameron’s claim.

Walker, a licensed gun owner, told investigators that he and Taylor asked who was at the door several times but heard no answer. Walker said he only fired a warning shot when the door broke open, because he didn’t know who entered the residence. Walker initially was charged with attempted murder of a police officer following the incident, but those charges have since been dropped without prejudice.

Kenneth Walker’s attorneys Steve Romines and Frederick Moore III, issued a statement about Mattingly’s lawsuit on Thursday.

“This is the latest in a cycle of police aggression, deflection of responsibility, and obstruction of the facts. The counterclaim just brings it full circle. If Kenny can be sued for defending himself, make no mistake, all lawful gun owners’ rights are at risk. And that should scare everyone. We intend to defend Kenny — once again — from baseless charges intended to harm, intimidate, and cover up the events of March 13, 2020,” the statement read

In an exclusive interview with ABC News and Louisville’s Courier Journal, Mattingly, a 20-year veteran of the Louisville Metro Police Department, said one of the biggest things he would have done differently was to storm Taylor’s residence without giving her time to answer what he claims were multiple knocks on her door accompanied by repeated announcements of “Police, search warrant!”

Several neighbors dispute Mattingly’s account and claim they never heard police announce themselves.

Mattingly also told ABC News he was a victim as well. “My family has been a victim in this. They have to go in hiding. They have had death threats,” he said.

ABC News’ Christina Carrega, Bill Hutchinson, Samara Lynn, Sabina Ghebremedhin and Emily Shapiro contributed to this report.

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