September 22, 2020 • No Comments • National News

narvikk/iStockBy MORGAN WINSOR and EMILY SHAPIRO, ABC News

(NEW YORK) — A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now killed more than 966,000 people worldwide.

Over 31.4 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 criteria for diagnosis — through clinical means or a lab test — has varied from country-to-country. Still, 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.

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 country, with more than 6.8 million diagnosed cases and at least 200,284 deaths.

California has the most cases of any U.S. state, with more than 791,000 people diagnosed, according to Johns Hopkins data. California is followed by Texas and Florida, with over 735,000 cases and over 687,000 cases, respectively.

Nearly 170 vaccine candidates for COVID-19 are being tracked by the World Health Organization, at least six of which are in crucial phase three trials.

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

Sep 22, 2:52 pm
North Carolina outdoor event venues can soon open at very limited capacity

In North Carolina, larger outdoor event venues can reopen at 7% capacity on Oct. 2., Gov. Roy Cooper said Tuesday.

The state’s positive test percentage has been dropping and is now between 5 and 6%, state officials said.

Meanwhile, North Carolina’s Department of Health and Human Services announced a new contact tracing app called “SlowCOVIDNC.”

The app will alert people “when they may have been exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19,” the Department of Health and Human Services said Tuesday. “It is completely anonymous and does not collect, store or share personal information or location data.”

Sep 22, 12:30 pm
Wisconsin declares public health emergency due to ‘surge’ among young people

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers declared a public health emergency on Tuesday due to a “recent surge in cases among young people.”

Eighteen to 24 year olds have a COVID-19 case rate five times higher than any other age group, according to the governor.

“We are seeing an alarming increase in cases across our state, especially on campus,” Evers said in a statement. “We need folks to start taking this seriously, and young people especially—please stay home as much as you are able, skip heading to the bars, and wear a mask whenever you go out.”

Wisconsin is “experiencing unprecedented, near-exponential growth of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the governor’s office said.

On Aug. 31, the number of new daily cases reported in the state was at 678. On Monday, the number of daily cases reported was 1,791.

Evers on Tuesday also issued a new face covering order requiring residents ages 5 and older to wear a mask indoors.

Sep 22, 12:12 pm
US coronavirus death toll tops 200,000

The novel coronavirus has now killed 200,000 people in the United States, just eight months after the nation’s first confirmed case.

The U.S. death toll from COVID-19 currently stands at 200,005, according to a real-time count kept by Johns Hopkins University.

The first case of the novel coronavirus in the United States was reported in a patient in Washington state on Jan. 20, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Four months later, on May 27, the U.S. death toll reached 100,000.

The novel coronavirus has now killed nearly twice as many Americans as the 116,516 who died in World War I, the third-deadliest conflict in the nation’s history. More than 400,000 Americans died in World War II, while an estimated 655,000 died in the Civil War.

ABC News’ Marc Nathanson contributed to this report.

Sep 22, 11:25 am
Analysis shows cases rising in at least 33 US states

An ABC News analysis of COVID-19 trends across all 50 U.S. states as well as Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico found there were increases in confirmed cases over the past two weeks in 33 states, the nation’s capital and the U.S. island territory in the Caribbean.

The analysis also found increases in the daily positivity rate of COVID-19 tests in 16 states and Washington, D.C., increases in COVID-19 hospitalizations in 17 states as well as in D.C. and Puerto Rico, and increases in daily COVID-19 death tolls in 15 states as well as in Puerto Rico.

The trends were all analyzed from data collected and published by the COVID Tracking Project over the past two weeks, using the linear regression trend line of the seven-day moving average.

The nationwide rise in COVID-19 cases may be correlated to several factors. Although the increase may be partially related to Labor Day festivities, it may also be tied to the virus spreading to communities from outbreaks on college campuses.

Moreover, the rise in new cases may be related to increasing mobility across states and communities. Several states, such as Idaho, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Utah, have seen a rise in mobility, according to a tracking tool created by Apple.

ABC News’ Benjamin Bell, Brian Hartman, Soorin Kim and Arielle Mitropolous contributed to this report.

Sep 22, 10:28 am
Trump falsely claims COVID-19 ‘affects virtually nobody’

As the U.S. death toll from COVID-19 approaches the 200,000 mark, President Donald Trump has falsely claimed that the novel coronavirus “affects virtually nobody.”

He made the comments to a crowd of supporters Tuesday night during a campaign rally in Swanton, Ohio.

“We now know the disease. We didn’t know it, now we know it. It affects elderly people — elderly people with heart problems and other problems. If they have other problems, that’s what it really affects — that’s it,” Trump claimed.

“You know, in some states, [it affects] thousands of people — nobody young. Below the age of 18, like, nobody,” he continued. “They have a strong immune system, who knows. Take your hat off to the young because they have a hell of an immune system. But it affects virtually nobody. It’s an amazing thing.”

Sep 22, 8:49 am
UK prime minister says tough new restrictions could stay for six months

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday unveiled a slew of tough new measures to curb the spread of COVID-19 in England, which he said may need to stay in force for six months.

“I fervently want to avoid taking this step, as do the devolved administrations, but we will only be able to avoid it if our new measures work and our behavior changes,” Johnson told members of Parliament in the House of Commons. “We will spare no effort in developing vaccines, treatments, new forms of mass-testing. But unless we palpably make progress, we should assume that the restrictions that I have announced will remain in place for perhaps six months.”

Johnson announced a 10 p.m. curfew for all hospitality venues in England starting Thursday. He said pubs, bars and restaurants throughout the country must also operate a table service only, except for takeaways.

Meanwhile, the use of face coverings will be extended to include all users of taxis and private-hire vehicles, all staff in retail, and all employees and customers at indoor hospitality venues except when seated at a table to eat or drink. The prime minister warned that businesses could be fined if they break the new rules.

Johnson also announced that, from Monday, there will be a 15-person limit on the number of attendees allowed at wedding ceremonies and receptions in England, as well as a 30-person cap for all funerals held in the country.

While Johnson said that people who can work from home should again do so, he stressed that his government “will do everything in our power” to keep schools open and children in classrooms.

The prime minister noted that the three other devolved governments of the United Kingdom — Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales — would adopt similar measures.

“For the time being, this virus is a fact of our lives,” he said, “and I must tell the House and the country that our fight against it will continue.”

Sep 22, 7:44 am
Former acting CDC director: ‘When you lose trust you lose lives’

The former acting director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday that the agency is losing the public’s trust by walking back its COVID-19 guidance.

“The problem is, there have been so many instances where there’s been political fingerprints on CDC documents, and CDC hasn’t been able to be out front to explain what’s going on. It leads to an undermining of trust and when you lose trust, you lose lives,” Dr. Richard Besser, who is now the president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, told ABC News chief anchor George Stephanopoulos during an interview on Good Morning America.

The CDC recently issued and later removed updated guidance on its official website to address growing evidence of limited airborne transmission of the virus that causes COVID-19. The agency said Monday that posting the new information was done in error.

“The CDC should be out there every day explaining what they’re learning, explaining why guidance is changing,” Besser said. “I talked to a leader at CDC and I expect very soon there will be guidance out that talks about other routes of transmission, like aerosols, and what can be done to reduce the risk of transmission as well.”

As the U.S. death toll from COVID-19 edges closer to 200,000, Besser described the pandemic as the worst public health crisis in his lifetime and discussed the danger of downplaying the situation.

“When you think about this loss of trust and loss of lives, you know, every community is affected but not equally. Black Americans, Latino Americans, Native Americans, low-income Americans are being hit the hardest,” he said. “So when people downplay the significance of this, there are certain groups that are really paying the price.”

Besser warned that coronavirus-related restrictions may need to be rolled out again this winter as people spend more time indoors, increasing the risk of catching respiratory viruses.

“Viruses do better in the winter,” he said. “That’s something people should anticipate.”

Sep 22, 6:54 am
UK prime minister to announce new restrictions for England

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected Tuesday to announce new measures in England to curb an alarming rise in COVID-19 infections.

Michael Gove, a senior member of Johnson’s cabinet, told Sky News that the clampdown will include ordering pubs and restaurants throughout England to close by 10 p.m. as well as restricting the entire hospitality sector to table service only. The government will also be encouraging people who can work from home to do so, reversing a push to get people back to the office, according to Gove.

It’s unknown whether the new restrictions would ultimately be extended U.K.-wide, with coronavirus-related policy responsibilities delegated to the devolved administrations in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

“They are reluctant steps that we’re taking,” Gove told Sky News in an interview Tuesday morning. “But they’re absolutely necessary because, as we were reminded yesterday and as you’ve been reporting, the rate of infection is increasing, the number of people going to hospital is increasing, therefore we need to act.”

The move comes a day after the government’s chief scientific officer, Sir Patrick Vallance, warned that the United Kingdom could see about 50,000 new COVID-19 cases a day by mid-October if the current rate of infection is not curbed.

Sep 22, 6:52 am
23 US states and territories in an upward trend of new cases

An internal memo from the Federal Emergency Management Agency obtained by ABC News on Monday night shows that the number of new cases and the number of new deaths recorded in the United States are both increasing in week-over-week comparisons.

Twenty-three U.S. states and territories are in an upward trajectory of COVID-19 infections, while 14 jurisdictions are at plateau and 19 others are in a downward trend, the memo said.

There were 283,332 new cases confirmed across the nation during the period of Sept 14-20, a 17.2% jump from the previous week. Meanwhile, 5,319 coronavirus-related deaths were recorded during that same period, a 2.4% increase compared with the seven days prior, according to the memo.

The national positivity rate for COVID-19 tests ticked downward slightly to 4.4%, compared with 4.6% for the previous week, the memo said.

Alabama recorded a 46.5% increase in the state’s seven-day death rate during the period of Sept. 9-15, compared with the week prior. Meanwhile, the Alabama Hospital Association confirmed a statewide shortage of nurses in both hospitals and universities due to a lack of faculty, facilities and funds, according to the memo.

In Florida’s Alachua County, 90% of recently reported cases are among individuals between the ages of 15 and 25, and 70% of those cases are college students, according to the memo.

Meanwhile, a recent increase in new cases in Kentucky’s Hardin County is attributable to roughly 75% of students returning to school for in-person instruction, the memo said.

New Jersey’s positivity rate for COVID-19 tests rose from 3% to 7% among 14-18 year-olds and from 2.7% to 7.1% among 19-24 year-olds. Nearly 20% of the state’s confirmed cases are individuals below the age of 30, according to the memo.

Pennsylvania’s Centre County, home to Pennsylvania State University, remains a COVID-19 hotspot, reporting a 291.3% relative increase in new cases during the period of Sept. 9-15 compared with the previous week. The county’s hospitals are under strain, with inpatient beds at 88% capacity and intensive care unit beds at 81% capacity, the memo said.

South Dakota reported its highest single-day death toll of eight coronavirus-related fatalities on Sept. 16. The state saw a 21% increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations, setting a record high on Sept. 15. A major outbreak in the state’s capital, Pierre, has led to at least 105 cases among inmates at a minimum-security women’s prison as well as rising cases among community members, according to the memo.

Sep 22, 4:50 am
US death toll less than 200 away from hitting 200,000 mark

An additional 356 coronavirus-related fatalities were recorded in the United States on Monday, bringing the country’s death toll even closer to the 200,000 mark, according to a real-time count kept by Johns Hopkins University.

Monday’s tally of COVID-19 deaths is well under the country’s record set on April 17, when there were 2,666 new fatalities in a 24-hour reporting period.

There were also 52,070 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed across the nation on Sunday, down from a peak of 77,255 new cases reported on July 16.

A total of 6,857,967 people in the United States have been diagnosed with COVID-19 since the pandemic began, and at least 199,884 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 70,000 for the first time in mid-July. The daily tally of new cases has gradually come down since then.

Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

September 21, 2020 • No Comments • National News

Breonna Taylor FamilyBY: IVAN PEREIRA AND STEPHANIE WASH, ABC NEWS

(NEW YORK)— Six Louisville Metro Police officers are under an internal investigation into their actions related to the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor, a police spokesman told ABC News.

The department’s Professional Standards Unit has begun its probe into Det. Myles Cosgrove and Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly, who fired their weapons into Taylor’s apartment on March 13; Det. Joshua Jaynes, who sought the search warrant for her apartment; and Det. Tony James, Det. Michael Campbell and Det. Michael Nobles, according to spokesman Sgt. Lamont Washington.

Internal investigators will see if the officers violated any police policies during the incident, the spokesman said. Disciplinary action could include written reprimand and extend all the way up to termination, according to Washington.

Taylor, 26, and her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, were sleeping inside their Louisville apartment when three plainclothes officers — Mattingly, Cosgrove and Det. Brett Hankison — attempted to execute a “no-knock” search warrant. The officers were investigating a suspected drug operation linked to Taylor’s ex-boyfriend.

Walker said he received no response from the other side of the door when he called out after the officers rammed the door.

Walker took his licensed firearm and shot at the door, and the officers returned fire, striking Taylor eight times and killing her in her sleep, according to investigators. No drugs or drug money were found in the apartment, investigators said.

Taylor’s death has sparked nationwide protests against police violence targeting minorities and strong calls for the officers to be charged.

The officers were placed on administrative duty following the incident, and Hankison was fired. The incident is currently under investigation by state Attorney General Daniel Cameron.

Cameron has not given a timetable for when he will reveal the findings of the investigation, but the police are already preparing for it.

Louisville Metro Police Chief Robert J. Schroeder issued a state of emergency for his department Monday in anticipation of an update on the state investigation.

In two memos sent to officers, Schroeder said the department will be increasing its staffing ahead of Cameron’s pending announcement.

All requests by officers for time off and vacation will be canceled, according to the memo.

“To ensure we have the appropriate level of staffing to provide for public safety services and our policing functions, effective immediately the LMPD will operate under the emergency staffing and reporting guidelines,” Schroeder wrote in his memo.

On Sept. 15, the city of Louisville reached a $12 million settlement with Taylor’s family, who filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the police. The settlement included a commitment by the city to institute police reforms.

ABC News’ Josh Hoyos contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

September 21, 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 961,000 people worldwide.

Over 31.1 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 criteria for diagnosis — through clinical means or a lab test — has varied from country-to-country. Still, 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.

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 country, with more than 6.8 million diagnosed cases and at least 199,552 deaths.

California has the most cases of any U.S. state, with more than 786,000 people diagnosed, according to Johns Hopkins data. California is followed by Texas and Florida, with over 713,000 cases and over 683,000 cases, respectively.

Nearly 170 vaccine candidates for COVID-19 are being tracked by the World Health Organization, at least six of which are in crucial phase three trials.

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

Sep 21, 1:15 pm
CDC adds then removes guidance on airborne spread

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued and later removed updated guidance on its website to address growing evidence of limited airborne transmission of the virus that caused COVID-19.

It’s already known that the novel coronavirus is most commonly transmitted “through respiratory droplets or small particles, such as those in aerosols, produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes, sings, talks, or breathes.”

On Friday, the CDC also included that “There is growing evidence that droplets and airborne particles can remain suspended in the air and be breathed in by others, and travel distances beyond 6 feet (for example, during choir practice, in restaurants, or in fitness classes),” noting that “In general, indoor environments without good ventilation increase this risk.”

But on Monday morning, the updated information on airborne transmission was removed from the site and in its place, the agency explained that posting the new information was done in error.

“A draft version of proposed changes to these recommendations was posted in error to the agency’s official website. CDC is currently updating its recommendations regarding airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19). Once this process has been completed, the update language will be posted.”

The World Health Organization acknowledged in July that the novel coronavirus could spread through the air, after hundreds of scientists called for the global health arm of the United Nations to recognize the risk of airborne transmission.

ABC News’ Eric Strauss and Sony Salzman contributed to this report.

Sep 21, 11:20 am
Eastern Michigan University to test campus wastewater for COVID-19

Eastern Michigan University said it will soon begin testing wastewater on campus for signs of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases.

As part of its return-to-campus plan, the public research university is partnering with Michigan-based firm Aquasight to track the presence of the novel coronavirus in wastewater flowing from residence halls and apartment complexes on the school’s campus in Ypsilanti, west of Detroit.

Tests have shown that wastewater contains infectious biomarkers that can signal the growth or reduction of the virus in a community or around a college campus, according to Eastern Michigan University President James Smith.

“This monitoring process, while not diagnostic, may provide early detection of asymptomatic cases,” Smith said in a statement Friday. “The results of the tests will help us pinpoint any concerning trends and expand individual testing among specific populations as necessary.”

Other schools, including the University of Arizona and Utah State University, are reportedly doing similar testing.

Sep 21, 10:52 am
Hundreds of asylum seekers test positive for COVID-19 in Greece

More than 200 asylum seekers who recently resettled at a new temporary camp on the Greek island of Lesbos, after the old one had burned down, have tested positive for COVID-19, according to Greek government spokesmen Stelios Petsas.

During a regular press briefing Monday, Petsas said that all 7,064 individuals who were admitted to the new Kara Tepe camp, near the island’s capital Mytilene, had been tested for COVID-19 and that 243 of them were found to be infected.

The average age of those who tested positive was 24, and most didn’t have any symptoms, according to Petsas.

Another 160 people who had come into contact with the migrants, mostly police officers and administrative staff at the camp, were also tested for the virus but all had negative results, Petsas said.

The new facility is not far from the remains of the Moria camp, where fires forced some 12,000 migrants to flee last week and seek shelter. Greek police believe the blazes were set deliberately by a small group of migrants angered by a lockdown imposed after a COVID-19 outbreak at the overcrowded camp. Six people, all Afghan nationals, have been arrested on suspicion of arson.

Sep 21, 9:21 am
CDC updates COVID-19 guidance to acknowledge airborne spread

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has updated its guidance on its website to say the novel coronavirus is most commonly transmitted “through respiratory droplets or small particles, such as those in aerosols, produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes, sings, talks, or breathes.”

“These particles can be inhaled into the nose, mouth, airways, and lungs and cause infection,” the site now says. “This is thought to be the main way the virus spreads.”

Previously, the CDC website said that COVID-19 most often spreads between people who are in close contact with one another — within about 6 feet — “through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes or talks.” The page was updated Friday.

“There is growing evidence that droplets and airborne particles can remain suspended in the air and be breathed in by others, and travel distances beyond 6 feet (for example, during choir practice, in restaurants, or in fitness classes),” the site now says. “In general, indoor environments without good ventilation increase this risk.”

The World Health Organization acknowledged in July that the novel coronavirus could spread through the air, after hundreds of scientists called for the global health arm of the United Nations to recognize the risk of airborne transmission.

Sep 21, 7:42 am
New Zealand to lift restrictions except in its biggest city

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Monday that all remaining coronavirus-related restrictions will be lifted across much of the country, except for the most populous city.

The restrictions will end late Monday.

Auckland, where a fresh outbreak now appears to be under control, will continue to have some regulations for at least another 16 days. The plan is to increase the cap on gatherings in the city from 10 to 100 on Wednesday and then remove the limit altogether two weeks later, according to Ardern.

“Auckland needs more time,” Ardern told reporters Monday. “Whilst we have reasonable confidence we are on the right track, there is still a need in Auckland for that cautious approach.”

A cluster of cases emerged in Auckland last month, ending New Zealand’s 102-day streak without any local transmission of the novel coronavirus. The outbreak prompted the government to impose a temporary lockdown in the region and reschedule national elections.

Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, New Zealand’s Ministry of Health has identified 1,815 confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases as well as 25 coronavirus-related deaths. There are currently 62 active cases and three coronavirus-related hospitalizations in the country.

There were no new cases confirmed in the nation of five million people on Monday.

Sep 21, 6:55 am
UK could see 50,000 new cases per day, chief medical officer warns

The United Kingdom could see about 50,000 new COVID-19 cases a day by mid-October if the current rate of infection is not curbed, the government’s chief scientific adviser warned Monday.

“At the moment we think the epidemic is doubling roughly every seven days,” Sir Patrick Vallance said in a televised address from London. “If, and that’s quite a big if, but if that continues unabated and this grows doubling every seven days… if that continued, you would end up with something like 50,000 cases in the middle of October per day.”

That rate of infection would be expected to lead to 200-plus deaths per day by mid-November, according to Vallance, who noted that there are already measures in place to prevent the country from hitting those grim milestones.

“That requires speed, it requires action, he said, “and it requires enough in order to be able to bring that down.”

Vallance said the increase in COVID-19 infections has been among “every age group” and that the number of people in the country showing antibodies for the disease remains low, meaning the “vast majority of the population remain susceptible.”

“As the disease spreads, as it spreads across age groups, we expect to see increasing hospitalizations,” he added. “And unfortunately, those increasing hospitalizations will lead to increasing deaths.”

Sep 21, 6:13 am
California’s death count surpasses 15,000

California’s death toll from COVID-19 has surpassed 15,000, according to a real-time count kept by Johns Hopkins University.

The state’s tally of coronavirus-related fatalities, which currently stands at 15,016, is the fourth-highest in the country, after New York, New Jersey and Texas.

California has reported the most COVID-19 infections of any U.S. state since the start of the pandemic, with more than 786,000 confirmed cases.

Sep 21, 5:54 am
England introduces hefty fines for breaking self-quarantine

People in England who violate an order to self-quarantine will face fines of up to 10,000 British pounds, amid an alarming rise in COVID-19 infections.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the new penalties mean people “are legally obliged” to self-isolate if they test positive for COVID-19 or are traced as a close contact to someone who did. The fines, which take effect next week, will start at 1,000 British pounds (approximately $1,300) but could increase to up to 10,000 pounds (about $13,000) for repeat offenders.

The higher fines could be applied to “the most egregious breaches,” including those who prevent others from self-isolating, such as business owners who threaten employees with losing their jobs if they don’t come into work.

Low-income workers who face a loss of earnings as a result of having to self-quarantine will be eligible for a one-time support payment of 500 British pounds (approximately $650).

The new fines will come into force in England on Sept. 28. Officials are in talks with the devolved governments of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales about expanding them U.K.-wide.

“The best way we can fight this virus is by everyone following the rules and self-isolating if they’re at risk of passing on coronavirus,” Johnson said while announcing the new rules over the weekend. “People who choose to ignore the rules will face significant fines. We need to do all we can to control the spread of this virus, to prevent the most vulnerable people from becoming infected, and to protect the NHS and save lives.”

An official estimate shows that new COVID-19 infections and hospital admissions are doubling every seven to eight days in the United Kingdom. There were 3,899 new infections and 18 fatalities reported Sunday, bringing the country’s tally to 394,257 cases and 41,777 deaths, according to the latest figures from the U.K. government

Sep 21, 4:40 am
US death toll from COVID-19 inches closer to 200,000

An additional 230 coronavirus-related fatalities were recorded in the United States on Sunday, as the country’s death toll inches closer to the 200,000 mark, according to a real-time count kept by Johns Hopkins University.

Sunday’s tally of COVID-19 deaths is well under the country’s record set on April 17, when there were 2,666 new fatalities in a 24-hour reporting period.

There were also 38,978 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed across the nation on Sunday, down from a peak of 77,255 new cases reported on July 16.

A total of 6,805,630 people in the United States have been diagnosed with COVID-19 since the pandemic began, and at least 199,512 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 70,000 for the first time in mid-July. The daily tally of new cases has gradually come down since then.

Week-over-week comparisons show that the number of new cases and the number of new deaths recorded in the United States are both decreasing, according to an internal memo from the Federal Emergency Management Agency obtained by ABC News last week.

Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

September 20, 2020 • No Comments • National News

milehightraveler/iStockBY: LEIGHTON SCHNEIDER, ABC NEWS

(NEW YORK) — The United States experienced historic natural disasters last week, with unprecedented wildfires torching the West and the Atlantic hurricane season setting a record for the number of named storms at this point of the year.

Officials in California and the Pacific Northwest, as well as scientists, pointed to these natural disasters as hard evidence that climate change is a global threat and scientific reality impacting American communities.

Last Monday, President Trump pointed to forest mismanagement as one reason behind the fires and expressed skepticism about climate change at a press briefing after Wade Crawfoot, California’s state secretary for natural resources, said people need to follow the science.

“It’ll start getting cooler, you just watch,” said the President

“I wish science agreed with you,” Crawfoot replied.

“I don’t think science knows actually,” responded President Trump.

ABC meterologist Melissa Griffin tells ABC’s Perspective Podcast that the President is correct in saying that the weather will start getting cooler, but only because of the changing season’s.

“Winter will cool down and fire season 2020 comes to an end, and that’s it. But then what about fire season 2021? When it does cool down, we seem to forget that [the next] fire season will be around the corner again and what’s to say that the next fire season isn’t going to be worse? That’s the weather aspect, but when it comes to climate, nothing is cooling down. All of the scientific research, when it comes to our warming climate, just has these graphs going up,” said Griffin.  

Climate change is warming the surface of the Earth at a faster rate then ever before and it is leading to fire friendly conditions, but how forests are managed also impacts fires. 

Forest management, according to Griffin, is the administration of forests and it includes “the scientific and technical aspects of managing a forest” and it does play a role in wild fires.

“It’s pretty much forest regulation. For example, if you have a dead tree that falls in one of the forests out West forest management is the one that are in charge of removing it so it’s not a danger to anything else. And if it does fall and it is dead, it is going to dry up even rapidly. And that’s going to be an issue when it comes to these wildfires,” said Griffin.  

She says the combination of forest management and climate change are leading to bigger fires.

“Management policies have created tinderboxes and that’s because they’re not removing these dead trees and dead brush fast enough in a forest. Climate change has only made it more likely that these tinder boxes, that forest management is creating, will explode into massive fires and they will spread, and grow faster and bigger than what we’ve ever seen before,” Griffin said.

Wildfires are not just burning in forests far from populated regions. They are also happening around cities like Los Angeles or San Francisco, which Griffin says is a sign that climate change, and not just forest management, is having an impact on fires.

“We’re talking about neighborhoods. We’re talking about building areas. It’s more populated regions and that does have to do with climate change. Anywhere can see these massive fires grow, especially out west. The entire world is warming at an alarming rate, but the Pacific Coast they’ve seen some of the most dramatic temperature increases,” said Griffin.

The worst case for scenario for Griffin is humans don’t do anything to stop or slow climate change.

“If we don’t do anything this just continues to exasperated itself each and every year. We keep seeing the climate, the global temperatures and the global ocean waters continue to rise. That is what we’re really trying to avoid here, because the more that happens, the more we’re going to see glaciers melting. We’re going to see things that we have never seen in our lifetime before. It’s almost a question mark. Who knows what’s going to happen if this continues,” said Griffin. 

Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

September 20, 2020 • No Comments • National News

Prude FamilyBY MEREDITH DELISO AND JULIA JACOBO, ABC News

(ROCHESTER, N.Y.) — An independent investigation into the government handling of the death of Daniel Prude moved forward on Friday when the Rochester City Council authorized the power to subpoena several city departments, including Mayor Lovely Warren’s office and the Rochester Police Department.

The City Council voted 8-0 during a special virtual meeting Friday morning to authorize the subpoenas, which support an “independent investigation into the internal communications, processes and procedures that took place related to the death of Daniel Prude” and grants authority to “investigate all city departments including the right to review records and papers” and issue subpoenas.

City Council President Loretta Scott said the investigation would start with the first 911 phone call placed on March 23 regarding Prude, 41, a Black man who died a week after being restrained by Rochester police during a mental health emergency.

Andrew G. Celli Jr., an attorney with the New York law firm Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP, will lead the independent investigation, which the City Council approved on Tuesday.

“[Rochester] is a community that’s asking hard questions and it’s a community that deserves clear answers,” Celli said during a media briefing Friday after the City Council’s vote. “And that’s what I’m committed to do.”

The investigation will look to determine “who knew what when” in the death of Prude, Celli said. “There’s really one question here, and that is: Was there a cover-up? That’s a blunt way to put it, but that’s the question we are seeking to answer.”

The team plans to gather sworn testimony from witnesses, emails, text messages, memos and other documents as it seeks to determine a timeline of events, examine how city departments communicated with each other behind closed doors, and what city officials said publicly, versus what they knew at the time, Celli said.

Celli acknowledged that some of these documents have already been released in a 300-plus-page report commissioned by Rochester Deputy Mayor James Smith, which includes police reports and emails.

“We’re going to go much deeper than the deputy mayor did, and we’re going to get to the bottom of this,” Celli said.

His team plans to issue subpoenas to four Rochester agencies — the mayor’s office, the police department, the law department and the City Council — by Monday, Celli said. They haven’t decided whose testimony they will take, though Celli said that the mayor is under consideration.

The investigation should take about three months, at which point they will release their report to the public, including transcriptions of collected testimonies, Celli said.

The intragovernmental study is one of several investigations stemming from Prude’s death, including one from his family, who has alleged an internal cover-up in a federal lawsuit against the city. The state attorney general’s office also has moved to empanel a grand jury, which would determine whether criminal charges should be brought in the case, as part of its investigation.

On Monday, Warren announced she would enact several reviews from the deputy mayor’s report. She has called for the City Office of Public Integrity to initiate a thorough investigation to determine if any employees, including herself, violated city policies or ethical standards, and she called on the U.S. attorney general to investigate whether Prude’s civil rights were violated.

Earlier this month, police body camera footage was released showing the incident between the officers and Prude. In the video, officers are seen pinning Prude to the ground while a spit bag is on his head, and he eventually appears to go unconscious. Prude died a week later. The Monroe County medical examiner listed his death as a homicide caused by “complications of asphyxia in the setting of physical restraint.”

Seven officers involved in the incident have been suspended as the state attorney general conducts her investigation. On Monday, Warren also fired Rochester Police Chief La’Ron Singletary, two weeks before he was set to retire, amid shakeups in the department.

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