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US produced more plastic waste in 1 year than any other country on Earth: Study

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Galina Shafran/iStockBy JULIA JACOBO, ABC News

(NEW YORK) — The United States produced more plastic waste than any other country in the world in 2016 — about 92.6 billion pounds, researchers have now discovered.

The findings of a study published by Science on Friday also suggest that despite a “robust and accessible waste management system” between 309 million and 904 million pounds of plastic waste was illegally dumped in the U.S.

Another 331 million to 2.2 billion pounds was mismanaged after it was shipped to other countries for recycling, the study found. More than 88% of waste was shipped to countries that inadequately managed more than 20% of waste.

The authors of the study used data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency with an assumption of a 2% litter rate to make the determination.

The researchers also determined that the U.S. contributed up to five times more plastic waste to coastal environments in 2016 than it did in 2010.

Scientists have found that plastic waste contaminates all major ecosystems and are concerned about the potential for plastic to affect wildlife and human health. especially as smaller and more widespread plastic particles are identified in natural environments.

Global plastic production increased 26% between 2010 and 2016, from about 736,000 pounds to about 974,000 pounds, according to the study.

The countries that followed the U.S. in plastic waste production were also the ones with the highest populations, China and India, followed by the 28 countries collectively within the European Union.

However, the researchers cautioned that since the data in the study is now several years old, the plastic waste cycle may have been further altered by societal changes resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Coronavirus live updates: ICU beds are 80% filled in quarter of US hospitals

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Ovidiu Dugulan/iStockBy WILLIAM MANSELL, ABC News

(NEW YORK) — A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now killed more than 1.18 million people worldwide.

Over 45 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.

The United States is the worst-affected nation, with more than 8.9 million diagnosed cases and at least 228,668 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 Friday. All times Eastern:

Oct 30, 11:36 am
California reports case of flu, COVID-19 co-infection

A resident of Solano County, California, has a co-infection of COVID-19 and the flu, the county’s health department said.

The resident was not identified, but the health department said he or she is under the age of 65 and is the first person in the county with a confirmed co-infection.
 

“With the likelihood of both COVID-19 and seasonal flu activity this winter, contracting either disease may weaken your immune system and make you more susceptible to the other disease,” Solano County Health Officer Bela Matyas said in a statement. “Getting a flu vaccine this year is more important than ever.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that everyone at least 6 months old get a flu shot each year by the end of October.

Oct 30, 10:33 am
29 states reported record number of new cases in October

These 29 states, as well as Puerto Rico, hit a record number of new cases in October, according to the COVID Tracking Project: Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Forty-one states, as well as Washington, D.C., Guam and Puerto Rico are seeing an uptick in hospitalizations, according to the COVID Tracking Project.

The only states seeing a decrease in hospitalizations are Delaware, Hawaii and Kansas.

In six states, hospitalization rates are flat: Alaska, California, Maine, Oregon, South Carolina and Vermont.

Oct 30, 7:23 am
ICU beds are 80% filled in quarter of US hospitals

With COVID-19 cases spiking across the U.S., hospitals are once again filling up. At least 25% of hospitals across the country have more than 80% of their ICU beds filled, according to an internal Health and Human Services memo obtained by ABC News.

The percentage of hospitals at that number was 17-18% during the summertime peak.

Two of the hardest-hit states include Idaho and Wisconsin.

Hospitals in Idaho are so constrained that the governor is moving the state back to Stage 3 of reopening plans.

Death rates in Idaho doubled from 22 to 44 between Oct. 19-25, as the statewide test positivity rate rose from 16.7% to 18.7%. That rate is more than triple the national rate. Hospitalizations have climbed sharply since the beginning of October and now the state has reported a new four-month peak of 14.7 hospitalizations per 100,000 people during the week ending Oct 25.

In the southern town of Twin Falls, one out of every four hospitalized patients is infected with COVID-19 and regional hospitals have postponed non-emergency surgeries. At St. Luke Magic Valley, the COVID unit is 97% full, ICU units are running at least 125% above normal and adequate staffing is an issue, HHS said in its memo.

In Wisconsin, the state reported 5,262 new cases and a record 64 new deaths on Oct, 27, both of which were the highest for the state since the beginning of the pandemic.

The seven-day case average in the Badger State is 3,975 while the test-positivity rate is 25.7%.

Officials, according to the HHS memo, anticipate the situation will get worse in the coming weeks. At least 84% of all beds in the state are occupied with 447 patients on ventilators but Wisconsin does have 2,324 ventilators available.

Oct 30, 5:28 am
Global cases top 45 million, US nears nine million

As the number of new cases of COVID-19 surge across Europe and the United States, the global total of diagnosed coronavirus cases is now over 45 million, according to a count kept by Johns Hopkins University.

There are at least 8,945,891 cases as of 4 a.m. Friday in the U.S. and the country will likely hit nine million cases before the end of the day as cases, hospitalizations and deaths from the virus are increasing.

The U.S. on Thursday saw a record single-day high of coronavirus cases with more than 88,000 reported, according to the COVID Tracking Project. Deaths are up 3.6% week-over-week, while new cases are up 24.8% and the test-positivity rate increased to 6.2% from 6% over the same seven-day period, according to an internal Health and Human Service memo obtained by ABC News.

Forty-three states and territories are in an upward trajectory of new cases, while eight jurisdictions are at a plateau and five are going down, the HHS memo said.

Meanwhile, Europe now accounts for 46% of global coronavirus cases.

This month, many countries in the continent, such as France and Spain, have declared states of emergency, while many others are imposing more restrictions so that ICUs do not become overwhelmed.

Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Zeta latest: 5 dead, massive power outages, delayed early voting in Georgia

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ABC NewsBy EMILY SHAPIRO and MAX GOLEMBO, ABC News

(NEW YORK) — At least five people are dead after Hurricane Zeta slammed into the South, leaving a trail of destruction before turning toward the Northeast.

A 55-year-old died from electrocution in Louisiana, the governor said, and another person was killed in Biloxi, Mississippi. In Acworth, Georgia, a man died when a large oak tree was uprooted and fell through the corner of a mobile home, and in Gwinnett County, Georgia, two people were killed when a tree fell on their house, pinning them inside, authorities said.

More than 1.7 million customers still were without power Thursday afternoon across Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.

Due to the power outages, 15 counties in Georgia were forced to open early voting locations later in the day, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said Thursday morning.

In Douglas County, in the Atlanta metropolitan area, there wasn’t power at any of the six early voting locations, and none opened. Douglas County officials said the voting sites would reopen on Friday.

Georgia requires every county to have three weeks of early voting.

“We’re still assessing the situation … but we don’t see that to be an overall impact of voting at this time because we still have early voting for the balance of today and tomorrow, and obviously, the full election on Tuesday,” Raffensperger said. “Georgia Power understands the critical importance of elections and we’re really grateful for them and really getting these polling locations up and as soon as possible.”

In Louisiana, Gov. John Bel Edwards warned residents to not “go sightseeing” to inspect the damage.

“Zeta has left hazards like flooded roads, downed power lines and displaced wildlife in our communities that no one should take lightly,” he tweeted Thursday.

Zeta, with winds reaching 110 mph, made landfall Wednesday as a Category 2 storm in Cocodrie, Louisiana, just south of New Orleans. Zeta is the strongest storm to hit the U.S. this late in the season since 1899, and it’s the fifth to strike hard-hit Louisiana this hurricane season.

Zeta is now moving north, with gusty winds slamming the Carolinas and Virginia, and heavy rain battering much of the mid-Atlantic — Washington, Baltimore and Philadelphia could see up to 4 inches and potential flooding.

By Thursday evening, the heaviest rain will be hitting Philadelphia, New York City and southern New England, where residents should be on the lookout for flash flooding.

Further north, in upstate New York, Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire, as much as 4 inches of snow is possible by Friday morning.

A dusting of snow is possible in Connecticut and New York’s Hudson Valley. New York City could even see some snowflakes mixed in with the rain.

Behind the storm, the Northeast will be hit by the coldest air of the season with wind chills possibly plunging to the 20s.

ABC News’ Rachel Katz contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Coronavirus live updates: One boy likely responsible for over 100 cases at retreat: CDC

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Samara Heisz/iStockBy WILLIAM MANSELL and EMILY SHAPIRO, ABC News

(NEW YORK) — A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now killed more than 1.1 million people worldwide.

Over 44.6 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.

The United States is the worst-affected nation, with more than 8.8 million diagnosed cases and at least 227,968 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 Thursday. All times Eastern:

Oct 29, 1:36 pm
1 boy likely responsible for more than 100 cases at retreat: CDC

A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) case study released Thursday found that one ninth grade boy, who tested PCR negative before traveling, likely spread COVID-19 to over 100 people at a boys’ overnight summer school retreat in Wisconsin.

Among the 152 high school aged boys, counselors and staff members, there were 118 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 38 probable cases, the CDC said.

The tightly packed students, in session from July 2 to Aug. 11, didn’t wear masks and shared dorms with beds close together.

The ninth grade boy who likely set off the spread had a negative PCR test less than a week before the retreat, but he developed symptoms the day after arriving, according to the CDC. A family member of the boy tested positive while he was at the retreat.

In order to lower the risk in this type of setting, the CDC said it is critical to implement pre-arrival quarantine and testing, symptom monitoring, early identification and isolation of cases, mask use, distancing and enhanced hygiene and disinfection practices.

ABC News’ Eric Strauss contributed to this report.


Oct 29, 12:36 pm
Hospitals full in Belgian city with 41% infection rate

Liege, Belgium, is emerging as an epicenter of Europe’s worsening coronavirus crisis.

In Liege, where there’s a roughly 41% infection rate, the local hospital is at full capacity. ICU numbers have tripled in the last three weeks.

A doctor told ABC News that health workers who have tested positive for COVID-19 are still treating patients to keep the hospital system from crashing.

ABC News’ James Longman contributed to this report.


Oct 29, 11:48 am
New York City’s positivity rate ‘worrisome,’ mayor says

New York City’s positivity rate on Thursday jumped to 2.7%, “a worrisome number,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

“It is literally twice yesterday,” he said. “We cannot allow that number to keep growing. We really have to double down.”

The mayor said there’s no particular reason for the uptick. The city’s seven-day positivity rate average is 1.92%.

De Blasio repeated his message that “people really should not travel for the holidays unless it’s absolutely necessary.”
 
“Unfortunately, pretty much everywhere is doing worse at fighting coronavirus,” he said. “And if you go someplace else, the chance of bringing it back with you is high.”

The mayor also warned New Yorkers to avoid large gatherings for Halloween.

“People want to trick or treat outdoors, small groups with masks on, that’s great. Big gatherings, parties, that’s not great at all,” he said, warning, “we find out about them, we are going to break them up.”

ABC News’ Aaron Katersky contributed to this report.

Oct 29, 9:24 am
Hospitalizations in Oklahoma could triple by December: Officials

Officials in Oklahoma are warning that COVID-19 hospitalizations in the Sooner State could triple by the end of December if people don’t change their personal behaviors or if local ordinances are not enacted.

Projections from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation showed that if local mask and social distancing mandates don’t change, cases, hospitalizations and deaths will all increase in Oklahoma.

“We elected leaders to protect us, that’s one of their main responsibilities,” Dr. George Monks, president of the Oklahoma State Medical Association, told ABC News affiliate KTUL-TV in Tulsa. “To protect their citizens, you may upset a minority number of citizens in your district, but you’ve got to step up.”

If mandates are eased, those numbers could go up even more, officials said.

From Oct. 16-22, the number of cases in Oklahoma increased 20.2% and the week-over-week deaths increased 34.5%, according to the Oklahoma Department of Health.

Monks said IHME projects said the state would reach its maximum need of 2,711 beds for COVID patients on Dec. 28. It doesn’t have to be that way, he said, if everyone wore masks.

“It is projected we will reach our maximum number of new COVID-19 cases per day on 12/09/2020 at 5,005 cases/day,” Monks said on Twitter. “This number changes significantly if we implement universal masking.”

In Oklahoma, more than 119,000 people have been diagnosed with COVID-19, with at least 1,286 deaths.

Oct 29, 9:21 am
Vaccine effectiveness will be known by December, Fauci says

Researchers should know by December whether the vaccines in development are safe and effective, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

“I can predict, I believe with some degree of certainty, that by the end of November to the beginning of December, we will know — based on the size of the trial and rate of infections that are ongoing in this country — if we will have a safe and effective vaccine,” Fauci said Wednesday in a virtual keynote address at the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s COVID-19 research symposium.

Fauci added that he’s “cautiously optimistic that we will have a safe and effective vaccine even though you can never make absolute predictions.”

Oct 29, 8:30 am
Tents set up at every hospital in El Paso

Hospitals in El Paso, Texas, are setting up tents to deal with the increase in COVID-19 patients as the U.S. sees a surge of new cases across the country.

All hospitals in the city, according to ABC News affiliate KVIA-TV, have now started to build tents as of Wednesday night.

“Our hospitals continue to implement our surge plans to expand capacity to help manage the influx of Covid-19 patients to meet the rapidly expanding needs of El Paso,” a Hospitals of Providence spokesperson told the station. “Medical tents will help decompress the Emergency Departments.”

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott also announced on Wednesday that the El Paso Convention Center is being converted into a health care facility to expand hospital capacity in the area.

“The State of Texas is also providing local hospitals with auxiliary medical units, medical staffing, and medical equipment,” the Texas Division of Emergency Management said.

There were 845 new cases of COVID-29, which brings the city to at least 13,653 active cases as of Wednesday, according to local officials. There were three new deaths, which brings the death toll in El Paso to 583.

The seven-day rate of positivity in El Paso is 15.57%. There are 908 people currently hospitalized with coronavirus in the city, with 223 patients in ICUs and 111 on ventilators. There are 285 ICU beds in total in El Paso.

With the spike in cases in El Paso, city officials asked residents this week to largely stay at home: “For the next two weeks, we are asking you to please stay home unless for essential activities to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and prevent strain on our hospitals.”

In Texas, there have been more than 911,000 diagnosed cases since the pandemic began, with at least 18,162 deaths.

Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

3 men facing firearms charges had extremist ties, possible list of targets: Official

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Marilyn Nieves/iStockBy LUKE BARR, ALEXANDER MALLIN, and LUIS MARTINEZ, ABC News

(WASHINGTON) — A senior law enforcement official told ABC News Wednesday that three men charged with federal firearms violations earlier this week have alleged ties to a white supremacist extremist group and were found to be in possession of what is being investigated as a possible list of targets.

Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza tweeted last week that she received a visit from the FBI and agents informed her that they had arrested a man in Idaho on weapons charges who they described as a white supremacist with a list that included her name.

Garza declined ABC News’ request for further comment, and the Justice Department declined to comment when asked about any connection between the ‘list’ and the arrests announced Tuesday. The senior official who spoke to ABC News also declined to further characterize the list.

The three men – Liam Collins, Jordan Duncan and Paul Kryscuk — are facing gun trafficking charges. According to a report from Newsweek last year, prior to officially joining the Marines, Collins was a frequent poster on a message board associated with white supremacists and neo-Nazis.

For the moment, prosecutors have kept further details of the case under seal. Listed attorneys for all three men did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.

The Marine Corps confirmed to ABC News that both Collins and Duncan were former Marines former stationed at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina and that Collins was discharged prematurely last month.

“The Marine Corps will continue to assist the investigating authorities in any way we can,” the Marine Corps said in a statement. “The serious allegations are not a reflection of the Marine Corps, do not reflect the oath every Marine takes to support and defend the constitution, and do not align with our core values of honor, courage, and commitment.”

In a follow-up statement Wednesday, U.S. Marine Corps spokesman Capt. Joe Butterfield confirmed Collings was investigated “on allegations of white supremacist activity” but that “actions resulting from that investigation are administrative in nature and therefore not releasable.”

FBI Director Christopher Wray recently warned that white supremacy-motivated extremists make up the most prevalent type of domestic terrorism threat the bureau is observing around the U.S.

“Within the domestic terrorism bucket, the category as a whole, racially motivated violent extremism is, I think, the biggest bucket within that larger group. And within the racially motivated violent extremist bucket, people subscribing to some kind of white supremacist-type ideology is certainly the biggest chunk of that,” Wray said.

“Lately we’ve been having about 1,000 domestic terrorism cases each year. It is higher this year,” Wray added. “I know we’ve had about 120 arrests for domestic terrorism this year.”

In February of this year, the Justice Department announced a series of nationwide arrests of members of the group Atomwaffen, as the FBI steps up its policing of neo-Nazi groups in the U.S.

John Denton, the former leader of Atomwaffen, was arrested in Virginia for his alleged role in coordinating several “swatting events” that targeted a university, a Baptist church and a news organization, among others.

According to a criminal affidavit, Denton allegedly conspired with others to make prank calls through the encrypted app Mumble in order to trick law enforcement dispatchers into believing Denton’s intended targets were in imminent danger of death or causing harm to others, often generating significant emergency responses to unwitting individuals or groups.

Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.