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Pelosi visits Kyiv, meets with Ukraine president

cincylink — Mon, 17 Jul 2023 05:06:47 +0000

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has led a congressional delegation to Kyiv to meet with Ukraine's president before heading to Poland for talks with officials there on Sunday.Pelosi, a California Democrat who is second in line to the presidency after the vice president, is the most senior American lawmaker to visit Ukraine since Russia's war began more than two months ago. Her visit to Kyiv on Saturday marks a major show of continuing support for the country's struggle against Moscow.“Our delegation traveled to Kyiv to send an unmistakable and resounding message to the entire world: America stands firmly with Ukraine,” Pelosi said in a statement released Sunday.Footage released by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office showed Pelosi and other U.S. legislators in Kyiv. In video later released by Pelosi’s office, the speaker and Zelenskyy both thanked each other for their support in the war.“We’ll win and we’ll win together,” Zelenskyy said.Pelosi added: “We are here until victory is won.”The full congressional delegation included Democratic Reps. Gregory Meeks of New York who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee; Adam Schiff, of California who chairs the House Intelligence Committee; Jim McGovern of Massachusetts who chairs the House Rules Committee; Jason Crow of Colorado; Barbara Lee of California; and Bill Keating of Massachusetts.“You all are welcome,” Zelenskyy told the delegation.Pelosi told Zelenskyy: “We believe that we are visiting you to say thank you for your fight for freedom."“We are on a frontier of freedom and your fight is a fight for everyone. Our commitment is to be there for you until the fight is done,” Pelosi added.The visit wasn't previously announced.The delegation continued its trip in southeast Poland, and Pelosi said they would later visit the capital, Warsaw, to meet with President Andrzej Duda and other senior officials. Poland has received more than 3 million refugees from Ukraine since Russia launched its war on Feb. 24.“We look forward to thanking our Polish allies for their dedication and humanitarian efforts,” she said.In a news conference in Poland, Pelosi said she and others in the delegation applauded the courage of the Ukrainian people. She added that the delegation brought Zelenskyy “a message of appreciation from the American people for his leadership.”Schiff said the U.S. lawmakers had a three-hour meeting with Zelenskyy and his administration, talking about sanctions, weapons and aid assistance. Schiff promised that intelligence sharing would continue between Ukraine and the U.S.“This is a struggle of freedom against tyranny,” Schiff said. “And in that struggle, Ukraine is on the front lines.”McGovern said Russia's war had repercussions far beyond Ukraine, saying it was exacerbating a food crisis that would be disastrous for poor people across the globe.“Putin’s brutal war is no longer only a war against the people of Ukraine,” McGovern said. “It’s also a war against the world’s most vulnerable.”He added that Ukraine is a “breadbasket of the world.”“I don’t think that Putin cares if he starves the world,” McGovern said.

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has led a congressional delegation to Kyiv to meet with Ukraine's president before heading to Poland for talks with officials there on Sunday.

Pelosi, a California Democrat who is second in line to the presidency after the vice president, is the most senior American lawmaker to visit Ukraine since Russia's war began more than two months ago. Her visit to Kyiv on Saturday marks a major show of continuing support for the country's struggle against Moscow.

“Our delegation traveled to Kyiv to send an unmistakable and resounding message to the entire world: America stands firmly with Ukraine,” Pelosi said in a statement released Sunday.

Footage released by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office showed Pelosi and other U.S. legislators in Kyiv. In video later released by Pelosi’s office, the speaker and Zelenskyy both thanked each other for their support in the war.

“We’ll win and we’ll win together,” Zelenskyy said.

Pelosi added: “We are here until victory is won.”

The full congressional delegation included Democratic Reps. Gregory Meeks of New York who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee; Adam Schiff, of California who chairs the House Intelligence Committee; Jim McGovern of Massachusetts who chairs the House Rules Committee; Jason Crow of Colorado; Barbara Lee of California; and Bill Keating of Massachusetts.

“You all are welcome,” Zelenskyy told the delegation.

Pelosi told Zelenskyy: “We believe that we are visiting you to say thank you for your fight for freedom."

“We are on a frontier of freedom and your fight is a fight for everyone. Our commitment is to be there for you until the fight is done,” Pelosi added.

The visit wasn't previously announced.

The delegation continued its trip in southeast Poland, and Pelosi said they would later visit the capital, Warsaw, to meet with President Andrzej Duda and other senior officials. Poland has received more than 3 million refugees from Ukraine since Russia launched its war on Feb. 24.

“We look forward to thanking our Polish allies for their dedication and humanitarian efforts,” she said.

In a news conference in Poland, Pelosi said she and others in the delegation applauded the courage of the Ukrainian people. She added that the delegation brought Zelenskyy “a message of appreciation from the American people for his leadership.”

Schiff said the U.S. lawmakers had a three-hour meeting with Zelenskyy and his administration, talking about sanctions, weapons and aid assistance. Schiff promised that intelligence sharing would continue between Ukraine and the U.S.

“This is a struggle of freedom against tyranny,” Schiff said. “And in that struggle, Ukraine is on the front lines.”

McGovern said Russia's war had repercussions far beyond Ukraine, saying it was exacerbating a food crisis that would be disastrous for poor people across the globe.

“Putin’s brutal war is no longer only a war against the people of Ukraine,” McGovern said. “It’s also a war against the world’s most vulnerable.”

He added that Ukraine is a “breadbasket of the world.”

“I don’t think that Putin cares if he starves the world,” McGovern said.

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Gator bites down on camera in wild GoPro video

cincylink — Mon, 17 Jul 2023 03:13:42 +0000

A Florida photographer caught an incredible video when an alligator bit down on his camera.Bobby Wummer said he used a 12-foot extension pole to place a GoPro in the face of the gator at the Big Cypress National Preserve. "As you can see I did get an EXTREME close up inside the gator's mouth. This was not done intentionally, I didn’t think that he would actually lunge up and bite down on the cam. I was lucky and didn’t play tug of war which would have probably been the end of the camera! The alligator then realized that the camera was not food and he released the camera," Wummer wrote.

OCHOPEE, Fla. —

A Florida photographer caught an incredible video when an alligator bit down on his camera.

Bobby Wummer said he used a 12-foot extension pole to place a GoPro in the face of the gator at the Big Cypress National Preserve.

"As you can see I did get an EXTREME close up inside the gator's mouth. This was not done intentionally, I didn’t think that he would actually lunge up and bite down on the cam. I was lucky and didn’t play tug of war which would have probably been the end of the camera! The alligator then realized that the camera was not food and he released the camera," Wummer wrote.

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Couple longing for grandchild sues son, his wife

cincylink — Sun, 16 Jul 2023 08:58:26 +0000

A retired Indian couple is suing their son and daughter-in-law, demanding that they produce a grandchild within a year or pay them 50 million rupees ($675,000).Sanjeev Ranjan Prasad, a 61-year-old retired government officer, said it was an emotional and sensitive issue for him and his wife, Sadhana Prasad, and they cannot wait any longer. His son, a pilot, was married six years ago."We want a grandson or a granddaughter within a year or compensation, because I have spent my life's earnings on my son’s education,” Prasad told reporters on Thursday.Prasad said he spent 3.5 million rupees ($47,300) for his son’s pilot training in the United States.“The main issue is that at this age we need a grandchild, but these people (my son and daughter-in-law) have an attitude that they don’t think about us,’’ Prasad said.“We got him married in the hope we would have the pleasure of becoming grandparents. It has been six years since their marriage,” Prasad said. "It feels as if despite having everything we have nothing.”The court accepted their petition and scheduled it for a hearing on Monday in Haridwar, a city in northern Uttarakhand state, media reports said.The son and daughter-in-law could not be reached for comment.Prasad said he and his wife love children.“We are not getting love and affection from where we want it the most,” he said. "I feel very unlucky.”

A retired Indian couple is suing their son and daughter-in-law, demanding that they produce a grandchild within a year or pay them 50 million rupees ($675,000).

Sanjeev Ranjan Prasad, a 61-year-old retired government officer, said it was an emotional and sensitive issue for him and his wife, Sadhana Prasad, and they cannot wait any longer. His son, a pilot, was married six years ago.

"We want a grandson or a granddaughter within a year or compensation, because I have spent my life's earnings on my son’s education,” Prasad told reporters on Thursday.

Prasad said he spent 3.5 million rupees ($47,300) for his son’s pilot training in the United States.

“The main issue is that at this age we need a grandchild, but these people (my son and daughter-in-law) have an attitude that they don’t think about us,’’ Prasad said.

“We got him married in the hope we would have the pleasure of becoming grandparents. It has been six years since their marriage,” Prasad said. "It feels as if despite having everything we have nothing.”

The court accepted their petition and scheduled it for a hearing on Monday in Haridwar, a city in northern Uttarakhand state, media reports said.

The son and daughter-in-law could not be reached for comment.

Prasad said he and his wife love children.

“We are not getting love and affection from where we want it the most,” he said. "I feel very unlucky.”

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Pandemic gets tougher to track as COVID testing plunges

cincylink — Sun, 16 Jul 2023 08:58:22 +0000

Testing for COVID-19 has plummeted across the globe, making it much tougher for scientists to track the course of the pandemic and spot new, worrisome viral mutants as they emerge and spread.Experts say testing has dropped by 70 to 90% worldwide from the first to the second quarter of this year — the opposite of what they say should be happening with new omicron variants on the rise in places such as the United States and South Africa.“We’re not testing anywhere near where we might need to,” said Dr. Krishna Udayakumar, who directs the Duke Global Health Innovation Center at Duke University. “We need the ability to ramp up testing as we’re seeing the emergence of new waves or surges to track what’s happening” and respond.Reported daily cases in the U.S., for example, are averaging 73,633, up more than 40% over the past two weeks, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. But that is a vast undercount because of the testing downturn and the fact tests are being taken at home and not reported to health departments. An influential modeling group at the University of Washington in Seattle estimates that only 13% of cases are being reported to health authorities in the U.S. — which would mean more than a half million new infections every day.The drop in testing is global but the overall rates are especially inadequate in the developing world, Udayakumar said. The number of tests per 1,000 people in high income countries is around 96 times higher than it is in low income countries, according to the Geneva-based public health nonprofit FIND.What’s driving the drop? Experts point to COVID fatigue, a lull in cases after the first omicron wave and a sense among some residents of low-income countries that there’s no reason to test because they lack access to antiviral medications.At a recent press briefing by the World Health Organization, FIND CEO Dr. Bill Rodriguez called testing “the first casualty of a global decision to let down our guard” and said “we’re becoming blind to what is happening with the virus.”Testing, genomic sequencing and delving into case spikes can lead to the discovery of new variants. New York state health officials found the super contagious BA.2.12.1 variant after investigating higher-than-average case rates in the central part of the state.Going forward, “we’re just not going to see the new variants emerge the way we saw previous variants emerge,” Rodriquez told The Associated Press.Testing increases as infections rise and people develop symptoms — and it falls along with lulls in new cases. Testing is rising again in the U.S. along with the recent surge.But experts are concerned about the size of the drop after the first omicron surge, the low overall levels of testing globally, and the inability to track cases reliably. While home tests are convenient, only tests sent to labs can be used to detect variants. If fewer tests are being done, and fewer of those tests are processed in labs, fewer positive samples are available for sequencing.Also, home test results are largely invisible to tracking systems.Mara Aspinall, managing director of an Arizona-based consulting company that tracks COVID-19 testing trends, said there’s at least four times more home testing than PCR testing, and “we are getting essentially zero data from the testing that’s happening at home.”That’s because there’s no uniform mechanism for people to report results to understaffed local health departments. The CDC strongly encourages people to tell their doctors, who in most places must report COVID-19 diagnoses to public health authorities.Generally, though, results from home tests fall under the radar.Reva Seville, a 36-year-old Los Angeles parent, tested herself at home recently after she began feeling symptoms such as a scratchy throat, coughing and congestion. After the results came back positive, she tested twice more just to be sure. But her symptoms were mild, so she didn't plan to go to the doctor or report her results to anyone.Beth Barton of Washington, Missouri, who works in construction, said she’s taken about 10 home tests, either before visiting her parents or when she’s had symptoms she thought might be COVID-19. All came back negative. She shared the results with the people around her but didn’t know how to report them.“There should be a whole system for that,” said Barton, 42. “We as a society don’t know how to gauge where we’re at.”Aspinall said one potential solution would be to use technology like scanning a QR code to report home test results confidentiality.Another way to keep better track of the pandemic, experts said, is to bolster other types of surveillance, such as wastewater monitoring and collecting hospitalization data. But those have their own drawbacks. Wastewater surveillance remains a patchwork that doesn’t cover all areas, and hospitalization trends lag behind cases.Udayakumar said scientists across the world must use all the tracking methods at their disposal to keep up with the virus, and will need to do so for months or even years.At the same time, he said, steps must be taken to boost testing in lower-income countries. Demand for tests would rise if access to antivirals were improved in these places, he said. And one of the best ways to increase testing is to integrate it into existing health services, said Wadzanayi Muchenje, who leads health and strategic partnerships in Africa for The Rockefeller Foundation.Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, said there will come a point when the world stops widespread testing for COVID-19 – but that day isn’t here yet.With the pandemic lingering and virus still unpredictable, “it’s not acceptable for us to only be concerned about individual health,” he said. “We have to worry about the population.”___AP reporters Bobby Caina Calvan in New York and Carla K. Johnson in Seattle contributed to this story.

Testing for COVID-19 has plummeted across the globe, making it much tougher for scientists to track the course of the pandemic and spot new, worrisome viral mutants as they emerge and spread.

Experts say testing has dropped by 70 to 90% worldwide from the first to the second quarter of this year — the opposite of what they say should be happening with new omicron variants on the rise in places such as the United States and South Africa.

“We’re not testing anywhere near where we might need to,” said Dr. Krishna Udayakumar, who directs the Duke Global Health Innovation Center at Duke University. “We need the ability to ramp up testing as we’re seeing the emergence of new waves or surges to track what’s happening” and respond.

Reported daily cases in the U.S., for example, are averaging 73,633, up more than 40% over the past two weeks, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. But that is a vast undercount because of the testing downturn and the fact tests are being taken at home and not reported to health departments. An influential modeling group at the University of Washington in Seattle estimates that only 13% of cases are being reported to health authorities in the U.S. — which would mean more than a half million new infections every day.

The drop in testing is global but the overall rates are especially inadequate in the developing world, Udayakumar said. The number of tests per 1,000 people in high income countries is around 96 times higher than it is in low income countries, according to the Geneva-based public health nonprofit FIND.

What’s driving the drop? Experts point to COVID fatigue, a lull in cases after the first omicron wave and a sense among some residents of low-income countries that there’s no reason to test because they lack access to antiviral medications.

At a recent press briefing by the World Health Organization, FIND CEO Dr. Bill Rodriguez called testing “the first casualty of a global decision to let down our guard” and said “we’re becoming blind to what is happening with the virus.”

Testing, genomic sequencing and delving into case spikes can lead to the discovery of new variants. New York state health officials found the super contagious BA.2.12.1 variant after investigating higher-than-average case rates in the central part of the state.

Going forward, “we’re just not going to see the new variants emerge the way we saw previous variants emerge,” Rodriquez told The Associated Press.

Testing increases as infections rise and people develop symptoms — and it falls along with lulls in new cases. Testing is rising again in the U.S. along with the recent surge.

But experts are concerned about the size of the drop after the first omicron surge, the low overall levels of testing globally, and the inability to track cases reliably. While home tests are convenient, only tests sent to labs can be used to detect variants. If fewer tests are being done, and fewer of those tests are processed in labs, fewer positive samples are available for sequencing.

Also, home test results are largely invisible to tracking systems.

Mara Aspinall, managing director of an Arizona-based consulting company that tracks COVID-19 testing trends, said there’s at least four times more home testing than PCR testing, and “we are getting essentially zero data from the testing that’s happening at home.”

That’s because there’s no uniform mechanism for people to report results to understaffed local health departments. The CDC strongly encourages people to tell their doctors, who in most places must report COVID-19 diagnoses to public health authorities.

Generally, though, results from home tests fall under the radar.

Reva Seville, a 36-year-old Los Angeles parent, tested herself at home recently after she began feeling symptoms such as a scratchy throat, coughing and congestion. After the results came back positive, she tested twice more just to be sure. But her symptoms were mild, so she didn't plan to go to the doctor or report her results to anyone.

Beth Barton of Washington, Missouri, who works in construction, said she’s taken about 10 home tests, either before visiting her parents or when she’s had symptoms she thought might be COVID-19. All came back negative. She shared the results with the people around her but didn’t know how to report them.

“There should be a whole system for that,” said Barton, 42. “We as a society don’t know how to gauge where we’re at.”

Aspinall said one potential solution would be to use technology like scanning a QR code to report home test results confidentiality.

Another way to keep better track of the pandemic, experts said, is to bolster other types of surveillance, such as wastewater monitoring and collecting hospitalization data. But those have their own drawbacks. Wastewater surveillance remains a patchwork that doesn’t cover all areas, and hospitalization trends lag behind cases.

Udayakumar said scientists across the world must use all the tracking methods at their disposal to keep up with the virus, and will need to do so for months or even years.

At the same time, he said, steps must be taken to boost testing in lower-income countries. Demand for tests would rise if access to antivirals were improved in these places, he said. And one of the best ways to increase testing is to integrate it into existing health services, said Wadzanayi Muchenje, who leads health and strategic partnerships in Africa for The Rockefeller Foundation.

Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, said there will come a point when the world stops widespread testing for COVID-19 – but that day isn’t here yet.

With the pandemic lingering and virus still unpredictable, “it’s not acceptable for us to only be concerned about individual health,” he said. “We have to worry about the population.”

___

AP reporters Bobby Caina Calvan in New York and Carla K. Johnson in Seattle contributed to this story.

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50 years in the making, Connie Puett, of Shawnee, takes part in cherished KU graduation tradition

cincylink — Sun, 16 Jul 2023 08:46:22 +0000

A Missouri woman waited 50 years to take part in a cherished graduation tradition.Connie Puett graduated from KU in 1972 but she never got to take part in the tradition of walking down the hill to the stadium on graduation day. That is until Sunday."Was walking down the hill everything you thought it would be?" sister station KMBC asked Puett."It was actually more than I thought it would be," said Puett, a retired teacher.Puett graduated in 1972, but because of bad weather on graduation day, everything was moved inside to Allen Fieldhouse. There was no walk down the hill to the stadium like generations of KU grads have done before."It is the tradition at KU to walk through the campanile and, you know, down the hill to graduation," Puett said.It wasn't just the class of ‘72. The class of 1970 never got to walk down the hill either.So when the KU Alumni Association began planning 50-year class reunions, the university said yes, allowing those graduates the chance to finally walk on Sunday with the class of 2022.For Puett, who's spent the last 50 years watching her husband, son, daughter, and her daughter-in-law walk down the KU hill, this was a big deal.“And it was just after walking through, I wasn't sure what to expect, you know, walking down the, I was always on the other side on the lawn, cheering on family members," Puett said. "You know, it's like it really went too fast except it like took forever to get all of these graduates down the hill so it was awesome."Puett said she is forever grateful to the KU Alumni Association. They tried to do that two years ago, but COVID-19 got in the way. There were about 60 graduates who finally walked down the hill. There were some anxious moments, especially when it rained early Sunday but the sun came out and it was a wonderful day.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. —

A Missouri woman waited 50 years to take part in a cherished graduation tradition.

Connie Puett graduated from KU in 1972 but she never got to take part in the tradition of walking down the hill to the stadium on graduation day. That is until Sunday.

"Was walking down the hill everything you thought it would be?" sister station KMBC asked Puett.

"It was actually more than I thought it would be," said Puett, a retired teacher.

Puett graduated in 1972, but because of bad weather on graduation day, everything was moved inside to Allen Fieldhouse. There was no walk down the hill to the stadium like generations of KU grads have done before.

"It is the tradition at KU to walk through the campanile and, you know, down the hill to graduation," Puett said.

It wasn't just the class of ‘72. The class of 1970 never got to walk down the hill either.
So when the KU Alumni Association began planning 50-year class reunions, the university said yes, allowing those graduates the chance to finally walk on Sunday with the class of 2022.

For Puett, who's spent the last 50 years watching her husband, son, daughter, and her daughter-in-law walk down the KU hill, this was a big deal.

“And it was just after walking through, I wasn't sure what to expect, you know, walking down the, I was always on the other side on the lawn, cheering on family members," Puett said. "You know, it's like it really went too fast except it like took forever to get all of these graduates down the hill so it was awesome."

Puett said she is forever grateful to the KU Alumni Association. They tried to do that two years ago, but COVID-19 got in the way. There were about 60 graduates who finally walked down the hill. There were some anxious moments, especially when it rained early Sunday but the sun came out and it was a wonderful day.

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House to vote on bill to prevent domestic terrorism in the wake of Buffalo mass shooting

cincylink — Sun, 16 Jul 2023 08:46:02 +0000

The House moved toward swift passage Wednesday of legislation that would devote more federal resources to preventing domestic terrorism in response to the racist mass shooting in Buffalo, New York.The legislative effort is not new, as the House passed a similar measure in 2020 only to have it languish in the Senate. But lacking support in the Senate to move ahead with the gun-control legislation that they say is necessary to stop mass shootings, Democrats are instead pushing for a broader federal focus on domestic terrorism."We in Congress can't stop the likes of (Fox News host) Tucker Carlson from spewing hateful, dangerous replacement theory ideology across the airwaves. Congress hasn't been able to ban the sale of assault weapons. The Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act is what Congress can do this week to try to prevent future Buffalo shootings," Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Ill., who first introduced the measure in 2017, said on the House floor Wednesday.The measure seeks to prevent another attack like the one that took place in Buffalo on Saturday when police say an 18-year-old white man drove three hours to carry out a racist, livestreamed shooting rampage in a crowded supermarket. Ten people were killed.The Democratic sponsors of the bill say it will fill the gaps in intelligence-sharing among the Justice Department, Department of Homeland Security and the FBI so that they can better track and respond to the growing threat of white extremist terrorism.Under current law, the three federal agencies already work to investigate, prevent and prosecute acts of domestic terrorism. But the bill would require each agency to open offices specifically dedicated to those tasks and create an interagency task force to combat the infiltration of white supremacy in the military.The Congressional Budget Office estimates the bill would cost about $105 million over five years, with most of the money going toward hiring staff."As we took 911 seriously, we need to take this seriously. This is a domestic form of the same terrorism that killed the innocent people of New York City and now this assault in Buffalo and many other places," Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin, who is sponsoring an identical bill in the Senate, said Wednesday. "The only thing missing between these organizations in the past are the white robes."Senate Democrats are pledging to bring up the bill for a vote next week. But its prospects are uncertain, with Republicans opposed to bolstering the power of the Justice Department in domestic surveillance.Republican lawmakers assert that the Justice Department abused its power to conduct more domestic surveillance when Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a memo in October aimed at combating threats against school officials nationwide. They labeled the memo as targeting concerned parents.GOP lawmakers also say the bill doesn't place enough emphasis on combatting domestic terrorism committed by groups on the far left. Under the bill, agencies would be required to produce a joint report every six months that assesses and quantifies domestic terrorism threats nationally, including threats posed by white supremacists and neo-Nazi groups."This bill glaringly ignores the persistent domestic terrorism threat from the radical left in this country and instead makes the assumption that it is all on the white and the right," said Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif.The divergence highlights the stubborn gap between Democrats and Republicans over domestic terrorism in the U.S. and how it should be defined and prosecuted.For decades, terrorism has been consistently tied with attacks from foreign actors, but as homegrown terrorism, often perpetrated by white men, has flourished over the past two decades, Democratic lawmakers have sought to clarify it in federal statute."We've seen it before in American history. The only thing missing between these organizations and the past are the white robes," Durbin said. "But the message is still the same hateful, divisive message, that sets off people to do outrageously extreme things, and violent things, to innocent people across America. It's time for us to take a stand."

WASHINGTON —

The House moved toward swift passage Wednesday of legislation that would devote more federal resources to preventing domestic terrorism in response to the racist mass shooting in Buffalo, New York.

The legislative effort is not new, as the House passed a similar measure in 2020 only to have it languish in the Senate. But lacking support in the Senate to move ahead with the gun-control legislation that they say is necessary to stop mass shootings, Democrats are instead pushing for a broader federal focus on domestic terrorism.

"We in Congress can't stop the likes of (Fox News host) Tucker Carlson from spewing hateful, dangerous replacement theory ideology across the airwaves. Congress hasn't been able to ban the sale of assault weapons. The Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act is what Congress can do this week to try to prevent future Buffalo shootings," Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Ill., who first introduced the measure in 2017, said on the House floor Wednesday.

The measure seeks to prevent another attack like the one that took place in Buffalo on Saturday when police say an 18-year-old white man drove three hours to carry out a racist, livestreamed shooting rampage in a crowded supermarket. Ten people were killed.

The Democratic sponsors of the bill say it will fill the gaps in intelligence-sharing among the Justice Department, Department of Homeland Security and the FBI so that they can better track and respond to the growing threat of white extremist terrorism.

Under current law, the three federal agencies already work to investigate, prevent and prosecute acts of domestic terrorism. But the bill would require each agency to open offices specifically dedicated to those tasks and create an interagency task force to combat the infiltration of white supremacy in the military.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates the bill would cost about $105 million over five years, with most of the money going toward hiring staff.

"As we took 911 seriously, we need to take this seriously. This is a domestic form of the same terrorism that killed the innocent people of New York City and now this assault in Buffalo and many other places," Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin, who is sponsoring an identical bill in the Senate, said Wednesday. "The only thing missing between these organizations in the past are the white robes."

Senate Democrats are pledging to bring up the bill for a vote next week. But its prospects are uncertain, with Republicans opposed to bolstering the power of the Justice Department in domestic surveillance.

Republican lawmakers assert that the Justice Department abused its power to conduct more domestic surveillance when Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a memo in October aimed at combating threats against school officials nationwide. They labeled the memo as targeting concerned parents.

GOP lawmakers also say the bill doesn't place enough emphasis on combatting domestic terrorism committed by groups on the far left. Under the bill, agencies would be required to produce a joint report every six months that assesses and quantifies domestic terrorism threats nationally, including threats posed by white supremacists and neo-Nazi groups.

"This bill glaringly ignores the persistent domestic terrorism threat from the radical left in this country and instead makes the assumption that it is all on the white and the right," said Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif.

The divergence highlights the stubborn gap between Democrats and Republicans over domestic terrorism in the U.S. and how it should be defined and prosecuted.

For decades, terrorism has been consistently tied with attacks from foreign actors, but as homegrown terrorism, often perpetrated by white men, has flourished over the past two decades, Democratic lawmakers have sought to clarify it in federal statute.

"We've seen it before in American history. The only thing missing between these organizations and the past are the white robes," Durbin said. "But the message is still the same hateful, divisive message, that sets off people to do outrageously extreme things, and violent things, to innocent people across America. It's time for us to take a stand."

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Grand jury indicts man accused in Buffalo supermarket shooting

cincylink — Sun, 16 Jul 2023 08:38:23 +0000

The white man accused of killing 10 Black people at a Buffalo supermarket appeared briefly in court Thursday after a grand jury indicted him on first-degree murder.Assistant district attorney Gary Hackbush said the indictment of Payton Gendron, 18, was handed up Wednesday.Gendron, wearing orange clothing and mask, was silent throughout the proceeding and sent back to jail. Someone shouted "Payton you're a coward!" as he was led out.Ten people were killed and three others wounded in the Saturday shooting at the Tops Friendly Market in a predominantly Black neighborhood of Buffalo. Authorities are continuing to investigate the possibility of hate crime and terrorism charge.This is a breaking news update. Earlier story follows below:The white man accused of killing 10 Black people at a Buffalo supermarket was scheduled to appear in court Thursday as authorities including the FBI continue to investigate the possibility of hate crime and terrorism charges.Payton Gendron, 18, livestreamed the attack from a helmet camera before surrendering to police outside the grocery store. Shortly before the attack last Saturday, he posted hundreds of pages of writings to online discussion groups where he detailed his plans for the assault and his racist motivation. Investigators have been examining those documents, which included a private diary he kept on the chat platform Discord.At his initial court appearance last week, Gendron's court-appointed lawyer entered a plea of "not guilty" on his behalf.Video: Social media scrutinized in Buffalo investigationThe massacre at the Tops supermarket was unsettling even in a nation that has become numb to mass shootings. All but two of the 13 of the people shot during the attack were Black. Gendron's online writings said he planned the assault after becoming infatuated with white supremacist ideology he encountered online.The diary said Gendron planned his attack in secret, with no outside help, but Discord confirmed Wednesday that an invitation to access his private writings was sent to a small group of people about 30 minutes before the assault began.Some of them accepted the invitation. It was unclear how many read what he had written or logged on to view the assault live. It also wasn't clear whether anyone tried to alert law enforcement. Video: Hochul signs executive order on guns after BuffaloBuffalo police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia has said investigators were working to obtain, verify and review Gendron's online postings.New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday authorized the state's attorney general, Letitia James, to investigate social media platforms used by Gendron to determine if they were liable for "providing a platform to plan and promote violence."

BUFFALO, N.Y. —

The white man accused of killing 10 Black people at a Buffalo supermarket appeared briefly in court Thursday after a grand jury indicted him on first-degree murder.

Assistant district attorney Gary Hackbush said the indictment of Payton Gendron, 18, was handed up Wednesday.

Gendron, wearing orange clothing and mask, was silent throughout the proceeding and sent back to jail. Someone shouted "Payton you're a coward!" as he was led out.

Ten people were killed and three others wounded in the Saturday shooting at the Tops Friendly Market in a predominantly Black neighborhood of Buffalo. Authorities are continuing to investigate the possibility of hate crime and terrorism charge.

This is a breaking news update. Earlier story follows below:

The white man accused of killing 10 Black people at a Buffalo supermarket was scheduled to appear in court Thursday as authorities including the FBI continue to investigate the possibility of hate crime and terrorism charges.

Payton Gendron, 18, livestreamed the attack from a helmet camera before surrendering to police outside the grocery store. Shortly before the attack last Saturday, he posted hundreds of pages of writings to online discussion groups where he detailed his plans for the assault and his racist motivation.

Investigators have been examining those documents, which included a private diary he kept on the chat platform Discord.

At his initial court appearance last week, Gendron's court-appointed lawyer entered a plea of "not guilty" on his behalf.

Video: Social media scrutinized in Buffalo investigation

The massacre at the Tops supermarket was unsettling even in a nation that has become numb to mass shootings. All but two of the 13 of the people shot during the attack were Black. Gendron's online writings said he planned the assault after becoming infatuated with white supremacist ideology he encountered online.

The diary said Gendron planned his attack in secret, with no outside help, but Discord confirmed Wednesday that an invitation to access his private writings was sent to a small group of people about 30 minutes before the assault began.

Some of them accepted the invitation. It was unclear how many read what he had written or logged on to view the assault live. It also wasn't clear whether anyone tried to alert law enforcement.

Video: Hochul signs executive order on guns after Buffalo

Buffalo police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia has said investigators were working to obtain, verify and review Gendron's online postings.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday authorized the state's attorney general, Letitia James, to investigate social media platforms used by Gendron to determine if they were liable for "providing a platform to plan and promote violence."

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COVID-19 pandemic causes spike in egg freezing, fertility experts say

cincylink — Sun, 16 Jul 2023 08:31:36 +0000

Since the start of the pandemic, Adjoa Anyane Yeboa's day-to-day schedule has changed."I was able to find more flexibility in my work life in order to take time and finally take time and do something for me," Yeboa said. More work from home means more time to make plans for the future. For Yeboa, who's in her mid-30s, that means family planning."I've been thinking about egg freezing for a long time and only recently I finally decided to take the leap," Yeboa said. Fertility experts say egg freezing has spiked about 20% during the pandemic."I see so many people settling for their partners or rushing to find somebody and to get engaged and get married because they're beating a clock and I didn't want to have to do that," Yeboa said. " I wanted to do things on my timeline."Dr. Rachel Ashby, a reproductive endocrinologist and fertility specialist at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston says there are key COVID-19 reasons more women are making the personal decision to freeze their eggs, including how isolation impacted relationships. "The pandemic has delayed a lot of social interaction, so for people who were dating and planning on dating and looking for partners," Ashby said. "There were a lot of patients I've seen that were in a long-term relationship with this idea that this person I plan to build a family around, and the relationship did not survive."There's been more time to think and for many, to turn to science.The egg freezing process takes about two weeks and involves daily injections of FSH hormones to stimulate the ovaries to grow as many eggs as possible. Then, the eggs are retrieved and preserved in a lab in subzero temperatures to be used at a later date."The biggest thing for women to know is that travel is not easily accomplished because you're coming in every few days, usually at 6:30 to 7 a.m. for bloodwork or ultrasound," Ashby said. "Over that two-week time frame, the follicles go from very small to mature."Ashby says women who are thinking about doing this should focus on getting all the information first, to see if it makes sense for them.The process can run anywhere from $5,000 to $10,000 to freeze your eggs. Ashby says more and more companies are including egg freezing in their health insurance but you should make sure your coverage also includes medication. She cautions there are no guarantees, so potential patients should ask a lot of questions about fertility and see what's best for them.

BOSTON —

Since the start of the pandemic, Adjoa Anyane Yeboa's day-to-day schedule has changed.

"I was able to find more flexibility in my work life in order to take time and finally take time and do something for me," Yeboa said.

More work from home means more time to make plans for the future. For Yeboa, who's in her mid-30s, that means family planning.

"I've been thinking about egg freezing for a long time and only recently I finally decided to take the leap," Yeboa said.

Fertility experts say egg freezing has spiked about 20% during the pandemic.

"I see so many people settling for their partners or rushing to find somebody and to get engaged and get married because they're beating a clock and I didn't want to have to do that," Yeboa said. " I wanted to do things on my timeline."

Dr. Rachel Ashby, a reproductive endocrinologist and fertility specialist at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston says there are key COVID-19 reasons more women are making the personal decision to freeze their eggs, including how isolation impacted relationships.

"The pandemic has delayed a lot of social interaction, so for people who were dating and planning on dating and looking for partners," Ashby said. "There were a lot of patients I've seen that were in a long-term relationship with this idea that this person I plan to build a family around, and the relationship did not survive."

There's been more time to think and for many, to turn to science.

The egg freezing process takes about two weeks and involves daily injections of FSH hormones to stimulate the ovaries to grow as many eggs as possible.

Then, the eggs are retrieved and preserved in a lab in subzero temperatures to be used at a later date.

"The biggest thing for women to know is that travel is not easily accomplished because you're coming in every few days, usually at 6:30 to 7 a.m. for bloodwork or ultrasound," Ashby said. "Over that two-week time frame, the follicles go from very small to mature."

Ashby says women who are thinking about doing this should focus on getting all the information first, to see if it makes sense for them.

The process can run anywhere from $5,000 to $10,000 to freeze your eggs.

Ashby says more and more companies are including egg freezing in their health insurance but you should make sure your coverage also includes medication.

She cautions there are no guarantees, so potential patients should ask a lot of questions about fertility and see what's best for them.

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A father says he put 1,000 miles on his car to find specialty formula

cincylink — Sun, 16 Jul 2023 08:20:09 +0000

Mac Jaehnert said he put 1,000 miles on his car in the last week looking for a specialty nutritional formula for daughter MacKenzie and other premature babies in his southeastern Washington state community."It's been a frustrating, heartbreaking, unnecessary challenge for a kid who has already overcome so much," Jaehnert told CNN Saturday, echoing the sentiments of parents caught up in a worsening nationwide baby formula shortage.Jaehnert described empty store shelves in his search for Similac NeoSure in the city of Richland and surrounding areas -- part of a growing national crisis that has forced the Biden administration to order the use of military aircraft to expedite the delivery of baby formula to the United States. Jaehnert and his wife, Emily, said they have been fortunate to receive donations of NeoSure after getting their story out but urged others to donate cans of formula to food banks to help meet the urgent demand across the country.At Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) Shawn Jenkins Children's Hospital, at least four babies were recently hospitalized due to complications from the ongoing shortage, according to spokeswoman Carter Coyle.Coyle said three babies were hospitalized due to intolerance of formulas parents used because of the shortages; another was sickened by mineral imbalances from caregivers mixing their own formula.Clinical dietitians at the hospital urged parents not to dilute formula or attempt to make their own, referring them to guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics. In Memphis, Tennessee, a doctor at Le Bonheur Children's Hospital said this week that a toddler and a preschooler were admitted because the specialty formula they needed was out of stock and they couldn't tolerate replacements.Video: U.S. invokes Defense Production Act for formula shortageThe toddler, who had been in the hospital for about a week, was discharged Tuesday. The preschooler, who was admitted in April, remains in the hospital, according to the hospital.The baby formula shortage is affecting parents coast to coast, including those who choose not to or cannot breastfeed and those whose medically fragile children can't tolerate other nutrition sources.Beyond scouring the internet, parents like the Jaehnerts tirelessly search store shelves daily. Others coordinate formula exchanges through Facebook pages and spend countless hours -- and sometimes huge sums of money -- to make sure their children have food.MacKenzie Jaehnert was born three months early in December and weighed 2 pounds, 5.7 ounces, her father said on Twitter. She spent more than 100 days in the neonatal intensive care unit. Jaehnert said Saturday he and his wife are "terrified" at the prospect of transitioning "a kid who is just barely hanging on" to a new nutritional formula."I fear that she'll fall off of her growth chart more than she already is," Emily Jaehnert said of MacKenzie. "I fear that she will have an upset stomach, that it won't sit well with her, that she won't get the nutrition that she needs, that this particular formula right now is providing for her."Officials in Washington are now confronting criticism that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration moved too slowly to address warning signs of the shortage. At the same time, they're attempting to learn whether formula companies are actually short on ingredients, while also trying to tackle potential price gouging.At the heart of the crisis is a shuttered manufacturing plant in Michigan. The Abbott Nutrition plant, which is poised to restart production soon, closed after two babies who had consumed formula produced there became ill and died, prompting an investigation.The closure exacerbated shortages caused by supply chain disruptions and highlighted how concentrated the formula industry is."I would really love for someone to figure out why we weren't warned as the parents of premature kids," Mac Jaehnert said Saturday. "This absolutely blindsided us... When did they know and why weren't we warned of this shortage, because it put a lot of families in a really devastating position."

Mac Jaehnert said he put 1,000 miles on his car in the last week looking for a specialty nutritional formula for daughter MacKenzie and other premature babies in his southeastern Washington state community.

"It's been a frustrating, heartbreaking, unnecessary challenge for a kid who has already overcome so much," Jaehnert told CNN Saturday, echoing the sentiments of parents caught up in a worsening nationwide baby formula shortage.

Jaehnert described empty store shelves in his search for Similac NeoSure in the city of Richland and surrounding areas -- part of a growing national crisis that has forced the Biden administration to order the use of military aircraft to expedite the delivery of baby formula to the United States.

Jaehnert and his wife, Emily, said they have been fortunate to receive donations of NeoSure after getting their story out but urged others to donate cans of formula to food banks to help meet the urgent demand across the country.

At Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) Shawn Jenkins Children's Hospital, at least four babies were recently hospitalized due to complications from the ongoing shortage, according to spokeswoman Carter Coyle.

Coyle said three babies were hospitalized due to intolerance of formulas parents used because of the shortages; another was sickened by mineral imbalances from caregivers mixing their own formula.

Clinical dietitians at the hospital urged parents not to dilute formula or attempt to make their own, referring them to guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

In Memphis, Tennessee, a doctor at Le Bonheur Children's Hospital said this week that a toddler and a preschooler were admitted because the specialty formula they needed was out of stock and they couldn't tolerate replacements.

Video: U.S. invokes Defense Production Act for formula shortage

The toddler, who had been in the hospital for about a week, was discharged Tuesday. The preschooler, who was admitted in April, remains in the hospital, according to the hospital.

The baby formula shortage is affecting parents coast to coast, including those who choose not to or cannot breastfeed and those whose medically fragile children can't tolerate other nutrition sources.

Beyond scouring the internet, parents like the Jaehnerts tirelessly search store shelves daily. Others coordinate formula exchanges through Facebook pages and spend countless hours -- and sometimes huge sums of money -- to make sure their children have food.

MacKenzie Jaehnert was born three months early in December and weighed 2 pounds, 5.7 ounces, her father said on Twitter. She spent more than 100 days in the neonatal intensive care unit. Jaehnert said Saturday he and his wife are "terrified" at the prospect of transitioning "a kid who is just barely hanging on" to a new nutritional formula.

"I fear that she'll fall off of her growth chart more than she already is," Emily Jaehnert said of MacKenzie. "I fear that she will have an upset stomach, that it won't sit well with her, that she won't get the nutrition that she needs, that this particular formula right now is providing for her."

Officials in Washington are now confronting criticism that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration moved too slowly to address warning signs of the shortage. At the same time, they're attempting to learn whether formula companies are actually short on ingredients, while also trying to tackle potential price gouging.

At the heart of the crisis is a shuttered manufacturing plant in Michigan. The Abbott Nutrition plant, which is poised to restart production soon, closed after two babies who had consumed formula produced there became ill and died, prompting an investigation.

The closure exacerbated shortages caused by supply chain disruptions and highlighted how concentrated the formula industry is.

"I would really love for someone to figure out why we weren't warned as the parents of premature kids," Mac Jaehnert said Saturday. "This absolutely blindsided us... When did they know and why weren't we warned of this shortage, because it put a lot of families in a really devastating position."

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Pfizer says 3 COVID shots protect children under 5. Here’s what to know about the vaccine.

cincylink — Sun, 16 Jul 2023 04:20:56 +0000

Video above: Doctor discusses Moderna COVID-19 vaccine for young childrenThree doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine offer strong protection for children younger than 5, the company announced Monday. Pfizer plans to give the data to U.S. regulators later this week in a step toward letting the littlest kids get the shots.The news comes after months of anxious waiting by parents desperate to vaccinate their babies, toddlers and preschoolers, especially as COVID-19 cases once again are rising. The 18 million tots under 5 are the only group in the U.S. not yet eligible for COVID-19 vaccination.The Food and Drug Administration has begun evaluating data from rival Moderna, which hopes to begin offering two kid-sized shots by summer.Pfizer has had a bumpier time figuring out its approach. It aims to give tots an even lower dose — just one-tenth of the amount adults receive — but discovered during its trial that two shots didn’t seem quite strong enough for preschoolers. So researchers gave a third shot to more than 1,600 youngsters — from age 6 months to 4 years — during the winter surge of the omicron variant.In a press release, Pfizer and its partner BioNTech said the extra shot did the trick, revving up tots’ levels of virus-fighting antibodies enough to meet FDA criteria for emergency use of the vaccine with no safety problems.Preliminary data suggested the three-dose series is 80% effective in preventing symptomatic COVID-19, the companies said, but they cautioned the calculation is based on just 10 cases diagnosed among study participants by the end of April. The study rules state that at least 21 cases are needed to formally determine effectiveness, and Pfizer promised an update as soon as more data is available.The companies already had submitted data on the first two doses to the FDA, and BioNTech’s CEO, Dr. Ugur Sahin, said the final third-shot data would be submitted this week.“The study suggests that a low, 3-microgram dose of our vaccine, carefully selected based on tolerability data, provides young children with a high level of protection against the recent COVID-19 strains,” he said in a statement.What’s next? FDA vaccine chief Dr. Peter Marks has pledged the agency will “move quickly without sacrificing our standards” in evaluating tot-sized doses from both Pfizer and Moderna.The agency has set tentative dates next month for its scientific advisers to publicly debate data from each company.Moderna is seeking to be the first to vaccinate the littlest kids. It submitted data to the FDA saying tots develop high levels of virus-fighting antibodies after two shots that contain a quarter of the dose given to adults. The Moderna study found effectiveness against symptomatic COVID-19 was 40% to 50% during the omicon surge, much like for adults who’ve only had two vaccine doses.Complicating Moderna’s progress, the FDA so far has allowed its vaccine to be used only in adults.The FDA is expected to review Moderna's data on both the youngest age group, plus its study of teens and elementary-age children. Other countries already have expanded Moderna's shot to kids as young as 6.While COVID-19 generally isn’t as dangerous to youngsters as to adults, some children do become severely ill or even die. And the omicron variant hit children especially hard, with those under 5 hospitalized at higher rates than at the peak of the previous delta surge.It’s not clear how much demand there will be to vaccinate the youngest kids. Pfizer shots for 5- to 11-year-olds opened in November, but only about 30% of that age group have gotten the recommended initial two doses. Last week, U.S. health authorities said elementary-age children should get a booster shot just like everyone 12 and older is supposed to get, for the best protection against the latest coronavirus variants.___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Video above: Doctor discusses Moderna COVID-19 vaccine for young children

Three doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine offer strong protection for children younger than 5, the company announced Monday. Pfizer plans to give the data to U.S. regulators later this week in a step toward letting the littlest kids get the shots.

The news comes after months of anxious waiting by parents desperate to vaccinate their babies, toddlers and preschoolers, especially as COVID-19 cases once again are rising. The 18 million tots under 5 are the only group in the U.S. not yet eligible for COVID-19 vaccination.

The Food and Drug Administration has begun evaluating data from rival Moderna, which hopes to begin offering two kid-sized shots by summer.

Pfizer has had a bumpier time figuring out its approach. It aims to give tots an even lower dose — just one-tenth of the amount adults receive — but discovered during its trial that two shots didn’t seem quite strong enough for preschoolers. So researchers gave a third shot to more than 1,600 youngsters — from age 6 months to 4 years — during the winter surge of the omicron variant.

In a press release, Pfizer and its partner BioNTech said the extra shot did the trick, revving up tots’ levels of virus-fighting antibodies enough to meet FDA criteria for emergency use of the vaccine with no safety problems.

Preliminary data suggested the three-dose series is 80% effective in preventing symptomatic COVID-19, the companies said, but they cautioned the calculation is based on just 10 cases diagnosed among study participants by the end of April. The study rules state that at least 21 cases are needed to formally determine effectiveness, and Pfizer promised an update as soon as more data is available.

The companies already had submitted data on the first two doses to the FDA, and BioNTech’s CEO, Dr. Ugur Sahin, said the final third-shot data would be submitted this week.

“The study suggests that a low, 3-microgram dose of our vaccine, carefully selected based on tolerability data, provides young children with a high level of protection against the recent COVID-19 strains,” he said in a statement.

What’s next? FDA vaccine chief Dr. Peter Marks has pledged the agency will “move quickly without sacrificing our standards” in evaluating tot-sized doses from both Pfizer and Moderna.

The agency has set tentative dates next month for its scientific advisers to publicly debate data from each company.

Moderna is seeking to be the first to vaccinate the littlest kids. It submitted data to the FDA saying tots develop high levels of virus-fighting antibodies after two shots that contain a quarter of the dose given to adults. The Moderna study found effectiveness against symptomatic COVID-19 was 40% to 50% during the omicon surge, much like for adults who’ve only had two vaccine doses.

Complicating Moderna’s progress, the FDA so far has allowed its vaccine to be used only in adults.

The FDA is expected to review Moderna's data on both the youngest age group, plus its study of teens and elementary-age children. Other countries already have expanded Moderna's shot to kids as young as 6.

While COVID-19 generally isn’t as dangerous to youngsters as to adults, some children do become severely ill or even die. And the omicron variant hit children especially hard, with those under 5 hospitalized at higher rates than at the peak of the previous delta surge.

It’s not clear how much demand there will be to vaccinate the youngest kids. Pfizer shots for 5- to 11-year-olds opened in November, but only about 30% of that age group have gotten the recommended initial two doses. Last week, U.S. health authorities said elementary-age children should get a booster shot just like everyone 12 and older is supposed to get, for the best protection against the latest coronavirus variants.

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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Onlookers urged police to charge into Texas elementary school soon after shooting began

cincylink — Sun, 16 Jul 2023 04:07:54 +0000

Frustrated onlookers urged police officers to charge into the Texas elementary school where a gunman's rampage killed 19 children and two teachers, a witness said Wednesday, as investigators worked to track the massacre that lasted upwards of 40 minutes and ended when the 18-year-old shooter was killed by a Border Patrol team. Here's the latest:The father of a child who was killed in the attack says police were slow to move in and were unprepared.The 18-year-old shooter warned in online messages shortly before the shooting that he would shoot his grandmother and shoot at an elementary school, Gov. Greg Abbott said.President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that he will travel to Uvalde, Texas, "in the coming days" to meet the families of the 19 children and two teachers killed in the shooting.Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O'Rourke, who is running against Abbott for governor this year, interrupted the press conference, calling the shooting "totally predictable when you choose not to do anything."Several victims have been identified by family members. Among them are teacher Eva Mireles, 44; and students Uziyah Garcia, 8; Xavier Javier Lopez, 10; Amerie Jo Garza, 10; and Jose Flores Jr., 10.Officials say all of the victims were in the same classroom. The suspect, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, is dead.“Go in there! Go in there!” nearby women shouted at the officers soon after the attack began, said Juan Carranza, 24, who saw the scene from outside his house, across the street from Robb Elementary School in the town of Uvalde. Carranza said the officers did not go in.Javier Cazares, whose fourth grade daughter, Jacklyn Cazares, was killed in the attack, said he raced to the school when he heard about the shooting, arriving while police were still massed outside the building.Upset that police were not moving in, he raised the idea of charging into the school with several other bystanders.“Let’s just rush in because the cops aren’t doing anything like they are supposed to,” he said. “More could have been done.”“They were unprepared,” he added.Minutes earlier, Carranza had watched as Salvador Ramos crashed his truck into a ditch outside the school, grabbed his AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle and shot at two people outside a nearby funeral home who ran away uninjured.Officials say he “encountered" a school district security officer outside the school, though there were conflicting reports from authorities on whether the men exchanged gunfire. After running inside, he fired on two arriving Uvalde police officers who were outside the building, said Texas Department of Public Safety spokesperson Travis Considine. The police officers were injured. After entering the school, Ramos charged into one classroom and began to kill.He “barricaded himself by locking the door and just started shooting children and teachers that were inside that classroom,” Lt. Christopher Olivarez of the Department of Public Safety told CNN. “It just shows you the complete evil of the shooter.”All those killed were in the same classroom, he said.Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw said 40 minutes to an hour elapsed from when Ramos opened fire on the school security officer and when the SWAT-like Border Patrol team shot him. But a department spokesman said later in the day that they could not give a solid estimate of how long the gunman was in the school or when he was killed. “The bottom line is law enforcement was there," McCraw said. “They did engage immediately. They did contain (Ramos) in the classroom.”Meanwhile, a law enforcement official familiar with the investigation said the Border Patrol agents had trouble breaching the classroom door and had to get a staff member to open the room with a key. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the ongoing investigation.Carranza felt the officers should have entered the school sooner.“There were more of them, there was just one of him,” he said.Uvalde is a largely Latino town of some 16,000 people about 75 miles from the Mexican border. Robb Elementary, which has nearly 600 students in second, third and fourth grades, is a single-story brick structure in a mostly residential neighborhood of modest homes.Before attacking the school, Ramos shot and wounded his grandmother at the home they shared, authorities said. Neighbor Gilbert Gallegos, 82, who lives across the street and has known the family for decades, said he was puttering in his yard when he heard the shots.Ramos ran out the front door and across the small yard to the truck parked in front of the house. He seemed panicked, Gallegos said, and had trouble getting the truck out of park.Then he raced away: “He spun out, I mean fast,” spraying gravel in the air.His grandmother emerged covered in blood: “She says, ‘Berto, this is what he did. He shot me.’” She was hospitalized.Gallegos, whose wife called 911, said he had heard no arguments before or after the shots, and knew of no history of bullying or abuse of Ramos, who he rarely saw. Investigators also shed no light on Ramos' motive for the attack, which also left at least 17 people wounded. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Ramos, a resident of the small town about 85 miles (135 kilometers) west of San Antonio, had no known criminal or mental health history.“We don’t see a motive or catalyst right now,” said McCraw of the Department of Public Safety.Ramos had legally bought the rifle and a second one like it last week, just after his birthday, authorities said. About a half-hour before the mass shooting, Ramos sent the first of three online messages, Abbott said. Ramos wrote that he was going to shoot his grandmother, then that he had shot the woman. In the last note, sent about 15 minutes before he reached Robb Elementary, he said he was going to shoot up an elementary school, according to Abbott. Investigators said Ramos did not specify which school.Ramos sent the private, one-to-one text messages via Facebook, and they were “discovered after the terrible tragedy,” company spokesman Andy Stone said. He said Facebook is cooperating with investigators.Grief engulfed Uvalde as the details emerged. The dead included Eliahna Garcia, an outgoing 10-year-old who loved to sing, dance and play basketball; a fellow fourth-grader, Xavier Javier Lopez, who had been eagerly awaiting a summer of swimming; and a teacher, Eva Mireles, with 17 years’ experience whose husband is an officer with the school district’s police department.“You can just tell by their angelic smiles that they were loved,” Uvalde Schools Superintendent Hal Harrell said, fighting back tears as he recalled the children and teachers killed. “That they loved coming to school, that they were just precious individuals.”The tragedy was the latest in a seemingly unending wave of mass shootings across the U.S. in recent years. Just 10 days earlier, 10 Black people were shot to death in a racist attack at a Buffalo, New York, supermarket.The attack was the deadliest school shooting in the U.S. since a gunman killed 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, in December 2012.Amid calls around the U.S. for tighter restrictions on firearms, the Republican governor repeatedly talked about mental health struggles among Texas young people and argued that tougher gun laws in Chicago, New York and California are ineffective.Democrat Beto O’Rourke, who is running against Abbott for governor, interrupted Wednesday's news conference, calling the tragedy “predictable.” Pointing his finger at Abbott, he said: “This is on you until you choose to do something different. This will continue to happen.” O’Rourke was escorted out as some in the room yelled at him, with Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin calling him a “sick son of a bitch who would come to a deal like this to make a political issue!”Texas has some of the most gun-friendly laws in the nation and has been the site of some of the deadliest shootings in the U.S. over the past five years.“I just don’t know how people can sell that type of a gun to a kid 18 years old,” Siria Arizmendi, the aunt of victim Eliahna Garcia, said angrily through tears. “What is he going to use it for but for that purpose?” President Joe Biden said Wednesday that “the Second Amendment is not absolute” as he called for new limitations on guns in the wake of the massacre.But the prospects for reform of the nation’s gun regulations appeared dim. Repeated attempts over the years to expand background checks and enact other curbs have run into Republican opposition in Congress.The shooting came days before the National Rifle Association annual convention was set to begin in Houston, with the Texas governor and both of the state's Republican U.S. senators scheduled to speak. Dillon Silva, whose nephew was in a classroom, said students were watching the Disney movie “Moana” when they heard several loud pops and a bullet shattered a window. Moments later, their teacher saw the attacker stride past the door.“Oh, my God, he has a gun!” the teacher shouted twice, according to Silva. “The teacher didn’t even have time to lock the door,” he said. The close-knit community, built around a shaded central square, includes many families who have lived there for generations.Lorena Auguste was substitute teaching at Uvalde High School when she heard about the shooting and began frantically texting her niece, a fourth grader at Robb Elementary. Eventually she found out the girl was OK.But that night, her niece had a question.“Why did they do this to us?" the girl asked. “We’re good kids. We didn’t do anything wrong.”

UVALDE, Texas —

Frustrated onlookers urged police officers to charge into the Texas elementary school where a gunman's rampage killed 19 children and two teachers, a witness said Wednesday, as investigators worked to track the massacre that lasted upwards of 40 minutes and ended when the 18-year-old shooter was killed by a Border Patrol team.

Here's the latest:

The father of a child who was killed in the attack says police were slow to move in and were unprepared.

The 18-year-old shooter warned in online messages shortly before the shooting that he would shoot his grandmother and shoot at an elementary school, Gov. Greg Abbott said.

President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that he will travel to Uvalde, Texas, "in the coming days" to meet the families of the 19 children and two teachers killed in the shooting.

Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O'Rourke, who is running against Abbott for governor this year, interrupted the press conference, calling the shooting "totally predictable when you choose not to do anything."

Several victims have been identified by family members. Among them are teacher Eva Mireles, 44; and students Uziyah Garcia, 8; Xavier Javier Lopez, 10; Amerie Jo Garza, 10; and Jose Flores Jr., 10.

Officials say all of the victims were in the same classroom.

The suspect, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, is dead.

“Go in there! Go in there!” nearby women shouted at the officers soon after the attack began, said Juan Carranza, 24, who saw the scene from outside his house, across the street from Robb Elementary School in the town of Uvalde. Carranza said the officers did not go in.

Javier Cazares, whose fourth grade daughter, Jacklyn Cazares, was killed in the attack, said he raced to the school when he heard about the shooting, arriving while police were still massed outside the building.

Upset that police were not moving in, he raised the idea of charging into the school with several other bystanders.

“Let’s just rush in because the cops aren’t doing anything like they are supposed to,” he said. “More could have been done.”

“They were unprepared,” he added.

Minutes earlier, Carranza had watched as Salvador Ramos crashed his truck into a ditch outside the school, grabbed his AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle and shot at two people outside a nearby funeral home who ran away uninjured.

Officials say he “encountered" a school district security officer outside the school, though there were conflicting reports from authorities on whether the men exchanged gunfire. After running inside, he fired on two arriving Uvalde police officers who were outside the building, said Texas Department of Public Safety spokesperson Travis Considine. The police officers were injured.

After entering the school, Ramos charged into one classroom and began to kill.

He “barricaded himself by locking the door and just started shooting children and teachers that were inside that classroom,” Lt. Christopher Olivarez of the Department of Public Safety told CNN. “It just shows you the complete evil of the shooter.”

All those killed were in the same classroom, he said.

Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw said 40 minutes to an hour elapsed from when Ramos opened fire on the school security officer and when the SWAT-like Border Patrol team shot him. But a department spokesman said later in the day that they could not give a solid estimate of how long the gunman was in the school or when he was killed.

“The bottom line is law enforcement was there," McCraw said. “They did engage immediately. They did contain (Ramos) in the classroom.”

Meanwhile, a law enforcement official familiar with the investigation said the Border Patrol agents had trouble breaching the classroom door and had to get a staff member to open the room with a key. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the ongoing investigation.

Carranza felt the officers should have entered the school sooner.

“There were more of them, there was just one of him,” he said.

Uvalde is a largely Latino town of some 16,000 people about 75 miles from the Mexican border. Robb Elementary, which has nearly 600 students in second, third and fourth grades, is a single-story brick structure in a mostly residential neighborhood of modest homes.

Before attacking the school, Ramos shot and wounded his grandmother at the home they shared, authorities said.

Neighbor Gilbert Gallegos, 82, who lives across the street and has known the family for decades, said he was puttering in his yard when he heard the shots.

Ramos ran out the front door and across the small yard to the truck parked in front of the house. He seemed panicked, Gallegos said, and had trouble getting the truck out of park.

Then he raced away: “He spun out, I mean fast,” spraying gravel in the air.

His grandmother emerged covered in blood: “She says, ‘Berto, this is what he did. He shot me.’” She was hospitalized.

Gallegos, whose wife called 911, said he had heard no arguments before or after the shots, and knew of no history of bullying or abuse of Ramos, who he rarely saw.

Investigators also shed no light on Ramos' motive for the attack, which also left at least 17 people wounded. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Ramos, a resident of the small town about 85 miles (135 kilometers) west of San Antonio, had no known criminal or mental health history.

“We don’t see a motive or catalyst right now,” said McCraw of the Department of Public Safety.

Ramos had legally bought the rifle and a second one like it last week, just after his birthday, authorities said.

About a half-hour before the mass shooting, Ramos sent the first of three online messages, Abbott said.

Ramos wrote that he was going to shoot his grandmother, then that he had shot the woman. In the last note, sent about 15 minutes before he reached Robb Elementary, he said he was going to shoot up an elementary school, according to Abbott. Investigators said Ramos did not specify which school.

Ramos sent the private, one-to-one text messages via Facebook, and they were “discovered after the terrible tragedy,” company spokesman Andy Stone said. He said Facebook is cooperating with investigators.

Grief engulfed Uvalde as the details emerged.

The dead included Eliahna Garcia, an outgoing 10-year-old who loved to sing, dance and play basketball; a fellow fourth-grader, Xavier Javier Lopez, who had been eagerly awaiting a summer of swimming; and a teacher, Eva Mireles, with 17 years’ experience whose husband is an officer with the school district’s police department.

“You can just tell by their angelic smiles that they were loved,” Uvalde Schools Superintendent Hal Harrell said, fighting back tears as he recalled the children and teachers killed. “That they loved coming to school, that they were just precious individuals.”

The tragedy was the latest in a seemingly unending wave of mass shootings across the U.S. in recent years. Just 10 days earlier, 10 Black people were shot to death in a racist attack at a Buffalo, New York, supermarket.

The attack was the deadliest school shooting in the U.S. since a gunman killed 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, in December 2012.

Amid calls around the U.S. for tighter restrictions on firearms, the Republican governor repeatedly talked about mental health struggles among Texas young people and argued that tougher gun laws in Chicago, New York and California are ineffective.

Democrat Beto O’Rourke, who is running against Abbott for governor, interrupted Wednesday's news conference, calling the tragedy “predictable.” Pointing his finger at Abbott, he said: “This is on you until you choose to do something different. This will continue to happen.” O’Rourke was escorted out as some in the room yelled at him, with Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin calling him a “sick son of a bitch who would come to a deal like this to make a political issue!”

Texas has some of the most gun-friendly laws in the nation and has been the site of some of the deadliest shootings in the U.S. over the past five years.

“I just don’t know how people can sell that type of a gun to a kid 18 years old,” Siria Arizmendi, the aunt of victim Eliahna Garcia, said angrily through tears. “What is he going to use it for but for that purpose?”

President Joe Biden said Wednesday that “the Second Amendment is not absolute” as he called for new limitations on guns in the wake of the massacre.

But the prospects for reform of the nation’s gun regulations appeared dim. Repeated attempts over the years to expand background checks and enact other curbs have run into Republican opposition in Congress.

The shooting came days before the National Rifle Association annual convention was set to begin in Houston, with the Texas governor and both of the state's Republican U.S. senators scheduled to speak.

Dillon Silva, whose nephew was in a classroom, said students were watching the Disney movie “Moana” when they heard several loud pops and a bullet shattered a window. Moments later, their teacher saw the attacker stride past the door.

“Oh, my God, he has a gun!” the teacher shouted twice, according to Silva. “The teacher didn’t even have time to lock the door,” he said.

The close-knit community, built around a shaded central square, includes many families who have lived there for generations.

Lorena Auguste was substitute teaching at Uvalde High School when she heard about the shooting and began frantically texting her niece, a fourth grader at Robb Elementary. Eventually she found out the girl was OK.

But that night, her niece had a question.

“Why did they do this to us?" the girl asked. “We’re good kids. We didn’t do anything wrong.”

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UK to hold days-long bash to celebrate Queen Elizabeth’s 70-year reign

cincylink — Sun, 16 Jul 2023 02:07:48 +0000

Video above: Queen Elizabeth makes surprise appearance to mark opening of new subway LineBritain is getting ready for a party featuring mounted troops, solemn prayers — and a pack of dancing mechanical corgis.The nation will celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s 70 years on the throne this week with four days of pomp and pageantry in central London. But behind the brass bands, street parties and a planned appearance by the aging queen on the balcony of Buckingham Palace lies a drive to show that the royal family still remains relevant after seven decades of change.“The monarchy is not elected, so the only way in which a monarch can demonstrate consent is not through the ballot box, but through people turning out on the streets,” said Robert Lacey, the historical adviser on “The Crown″ series. “And if the monarch turns up on the balcony and waves and there’s no one there, that’s a pretty definitive judgment on the monarchy."Well, when it comes to Elizabeth, the opposite has been the case. People can’t wait to mass and cheer together,” he added.And the royals, sometimes criticized as out of touch with modern Britain, want to show that their support comes from all parts of a society that has become more multicultural amid immigration from the Caribbean, South Asia and Eastern Europe.As part of the jubilee pageant, dancers from London's African-Caribbean community will don costumes of giant flamingos, zebras and giraffes to re-imagine the moment in 1952 when Princess Elizabeth learned she had become queen while visiting a game park in Kenya. Another group will recall the queen’s 1947 marriage to Prince Philip and celebrate weddings around the Commonwealth with Bollywood-style dancing.The jubilee is an opportunity for the royals to demonstrate their commitment to change and diversity, something the queen has embodied as she traveled the world over the last 70 years, said Emily Nash, royal editor of HELLO! magazine.“She’s been everywhere and she has engaged with people from all walks of life, from all creeds and colors and faiths,” Nash said. “I think it’s easy to see, in the sort of pomp and pageantry, perhaps more of a lack of diversity. But if you look at what the royal family actually do, the people they engage with, the places they go to, I think it’s perhaps a little unfair to say that it's not as diverse as it could be.”If the depleted stock at the Cool Britannia gift shop is any indication, the jubilee has caught public attention. The shop around the corner from Buckingham Palace has run out of Platinum Jubilee tea towels. Spoons are sparse. Mugs are in short supply.And it’s not just foreign tourists who are buying all things Elizabeth. Visitors from around the U.K. are also hunting for jubilee mementos, said Ismayil Ibrahim, the man behind the counter.“It’s a very special year,” he said. "They’re celebrating it as a big event.”The question for the House of Windsor is whether the public will transfer their love for the queen to her son and heir, Prince Charles, when the time comes.It is a problem that stems, in part, from the queen’s unprecedented reign, the longest in British history. The only monarch most people have ever known, she has become synonymous with the monarchy itself.Since assuming the throne after the death of her father on Feb. 6, 1952, Elizabeth has been a symbol of stability as the country negotiated the end of Empire, the birth of the computer age and the mass migration that transformed Britain into a multicultural society.The shy woman with a small handbag, a trailing corgi and passion for horses presided over an era that spawned Monty Python, the Beatles and the Sex Pistols. People who thought they knew her thought wrong — as evidenced by her star turn as a Bond Girl at the 2012 London Olympics.Yet through it all, the queen has built a bond with the nation through a seemingly endless series of public appearances as she opened libraries, dedicated hospitals and bestowed honors on deserving citizens.Susan Duddridge feels that connection. The administrator from Somerset will dance in the Platinum Jubilee pageant, 69 years after her father marched in the queen’s coronation parade.“I think it’s amazing that the country always comes together when there’s a wedding, a royal jubilee, whatever the royals are involved in,” she said. “We love the queen!’’The past two years have highlighted the monarchy’s strengths as the queen alternately consoled a nation isolated by COVID-19 and thanked doctors and nurses battling the disease.But its frailties were also on display as the 96-year-old monarch buried her husband and was slowed by health problems that forced her to turn over important public duties to Charles. That came amid the all-too-public tensions with Prince Harry and his wife, the Duchess of Sussex, who made allegations of racism and bullying in the royal household, and the sordid allegations about Prince Andrew’s links to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.Against this backdrop, the jubilee is also part of the effort to prepare the public for the day when Charles takes the throne. Now 73, Charles has spent much of his life preparing to be king and battling a somewhat stuffy image that wasn’t helped by his ugly divorce from the still-adored Princess Diana.Charles reportedly may play a key role during the first event of the jubilee weekend, taking the salute of passing soldiers during the annual military review known as Trooping the Colour. The queen will attend the more than 400-year-old ceremony that marks her official birthday if she feels OK, but will decide on the day.Elizabeth, who only recently recovered from COVID-19 and has begun using a walking stick, has given Charles an increasingly important role as the public face of the monarchy. Earlier this month, he stood in for his mother when what the palace describes as “episodic mobility problems” prevented her from presiding over the state opening of Parliament.Still, in the days afterward, she turned up at a horse show, opened a subway line and toured the Chelsea Flower Show in a chauffeur-driven royal buggy — a sort of luxurious golf cart.“There is no blueprint for a reign of this length and, subsequently, I think the palace and courtiers are having to improvise all the time,” said Ed Owens, a royal historian and author of “The Family Firm: Monarchy, Mass Media and the British Public 1932-1953.”“In the case of Elizabeth II, we haven’t had a monarch this elderly who has reigned for so long and is so meaningful to so many people having to essentially transfer her role to the next in line.''But don’t expect the queen to leave the scene any time soon.Robert Hardman, biographer and author of “Queen of Our Times: The Life of Elizabeth II’’ said he expects to see an even bigger party four years from now when Elizabeth turns 100.“A 100th birthday raises the intriguing prospect: Will she send a card to herself?” Hardman mused, referencing the queen’s tradition of sending a personal birthday card to anyone who reaches that milestone. “I’m looking forward to that debate in 2026.”

Video above: Queen Elizabeth makes surprise appearance to mark opening of new subway Line

Britain is getting ready for a party featuring mounted troops, solemn prayers — and a pack of dancing mechanical corgis.

The nation will celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s 70 years on the throne this week with four days of pomp and pageantry in central London. But behind the brass bands, street parties and a planned appearance by the aging queen on the balcony of Buckingham Palace lies a drive to show that the royal family still remains relevant after seven decades of change.

“The monarchy is not elected, so the only way in which a monarch can demonstrate consent is not through the ballot box, but through people turning out on the streets,” said Robert Lacey, the historical adviser on “The Crown″ series. “And if the monarch turns up on the balcony and waves and there’s no one there, that’s a pretty definitive judgment on the monarchy.

"Well, when it comes to Elizabeth, the opposite has been the case. People can’t wait to mass and cheer together,” he added.

And the royals, sometimes criticized as out of touch with modern Britain, want to show that their support comes from all parts of a society that has become more multicultural amid immigration from the Caribbean, South Asia and Eastern Europe.

As part of the jubilee pageant, dancers from London's African-Caribbean community will don costumes of giant flamingos, zebras and giraffes to re-imagine the moment in 1952 when Princess Elizabeth learned she had become queen while visiting a game park in Kenya. Another group will recall the queen’s 1947 marriage to Prince Philip and celebrate weddings around the Commonwealth with Bollywood-style dancing.

The jubilee is an opportunity for the royals to demonstrate their commitment to change and diversity, something the queen has embodied as she traveled the world over the last 70 years, said Emily Nash, royal editor of HELLO! magazine.

“She’s been everywhere and she has engaged with people from all walks of life, from all creeds and colors and faiths,” Nash said. “I think it’s easy to see, in the sort of pomp and pageantry, perhaps more of a lack of diversity. But if you look at what the royal family actually do, the people they engage with, the places they go to, I think it’s perhaps a little unfair to say that it's not as diverse as it could be.”

If the depleted stock at the Cool Britannia gift shop is any indication, the jubilee has caught public attention. The shop around the corner from Buckingham Palace has run out of Platinum Jubilee tea towels. Spoons are sparse. Mugs are in short supply.

And it’s not just foreign tourists who are buying all things Elizabeth. Visitors from around the U.K. are also hunting for jubilee mementos, said Ismayil Ibrahim, the man behind the counter.

“It’s a very special year,” he said. "They’re celebrating it as a big event.”

The question for the House of Windsor is whether the public will transfer their love for the queen to her son and heir, Prince Charles, when the time comes.

It is a problem that stems, in part, from the queen’s unprecedented reign, the longest in British history. The only monarch most people have ever known, she has become synonymous with the monarchy itself.

Since assuming the throne after the death of her father on Feb. 6, 1952, Elizabeth has been a symbol of stability as the country negotiated the end of Empire, the birth of the computer age and the mass migration that transformed Britain into a multicultural society.

The shy woman with a small handbag, a trailing corgi and passion for horses presided over an era that spawned Monty Python, the Beatles and the Sex Pistols. People who thought they knew her thought wrong — as evidenced by her star turn as a Bond Girl at the 2012 London Olympics.

Yet through it all, the queen has built a bond with the nation through a seemingly endless series of public appearances as she opened libraries, dedicated hospitals and bestowed honors on deserving citizens.

Susan Duddridge feels that connection. The administrator from Somerset will dance in the Platinum Jubilee pageant, 69 years after her father marched in the queen’s coronation parade.

“I think it’s amazing that the country always comes together when there’s a wedding, a royal jubilee, whatever the royals are involved in,” she said. “We love the queen!’’

The past two years have highlighted the monarchy’s strengths as the queen alternately consoled a nation isolated by COVID-19 and thanked doctors and nurses battling the disease.

But its frailties were also on display as the 96-year-old monarch buried her husband and was slowed by health problems that forced her to turn over important public duties to Charles. That came amid the all-too-public tensions with Prince Harry and his wife, the Duchess of Sussex, who made allegations of racism and bullying in the royal household, and the sordid allegations about Prince Andrew’s links to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Against this backdrop, the jubilee is also part of the effort to prepare the public for the day when Charles takes the throne. Now 73, Charles has spent much of his life preparing to be king and battling a somewhat stuffy image that wasn’t helped by his ugly divorce from the still-adored Princess Diana.

Charles reportedly may play a key role during the first event of the jubilee weekend, taking the salute of passing soldiers during the annual military review known as Trooping the Colour. The queen will attend the more than 400-year-old ceremony that marks her official birthday if she feels OK, but will decide on the day.

Elizabeth, who only recently recovered from COVID-19 and has begun using a walking stick, has given Charles an increasingly important role as the public face of the monarchy. Earlier this month, he stood in for his mother when what the palace describes as “episodic mobility problems” prevented her from presiding over the state opening of Parliament.

Still, in the days afterward, she turned up at a horse show, opened a subway line and toured the Chelsea Flower Show in a chauffeur-driven royal buggy — a sort of luxurious golf cart.

“There is no blueprint for a reign of this length and, subsequently, I think the palace and courtiers are having to improvise all the time,” said Ed Owens, a royal historian and author of “The Family Firm: Monarchy, Mass Media and the British Public 1932-1953.”

“In the case of Elizabeth II, we haven’t had a monarch this elderly who has reigned for so long and is so meaningful to so many people having to essentially transfer her role to the next in line.''

But don’t expect the queen to leave the scene any time soon.

Robert Hardman, biographer and author of “Queen of Our Times: The Life of Elizabeth II’’ said he expects to see an even bigger party four years from now when Elizabeth turns 100.

“A 100th birthday raises the intriguing prospect: Will she send a card to herself?” Hardman mused, referencing the queen’s tradition of sending a personal birthday card to anyone who reaches that milestone. “I’m looking forward to that debate in 2026.”

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Uvalde school police chief says he’s still cooperating with investigators

cincylink — Sun, 16 Jul 2023 01:49:15 +0000

The school district police chief who served as on-site commander during last week's deadly shooting in Uvalde said Wednesday that he's talking daily with investigators, contradicting claims from state law enforcement that he's stopped cooperating.In a brief interview, Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Police Chief Pete Arredondo told CNN that he's speaking regularly with Texas Department of Public Safety investigators."I’ve been on the phone with them every day,” Arredondo said.Nineteen children and two teachers died in the attack at Robb Elementary School, the deadliest school shooting in nearly a decade. State officials have said 19 police officers waited outside the classroom where Salvador Ramos, 18, had opened fire, despite repeated pleas from children calling 911 for help.Travis Considine, chief communications officer for the Texas Department of Public Safety, said Tuesday that Arredondo had not responded to DPS requests for two days, while other officers in the Uvalde city and schools police departments continue to sit for interviews and provide statements.Arredondo has not responded to multiple requests for comment from The Associated Press.The confusing and sometimes contradictory responses in the week since the deadly shooting continued Tuesday with the revelation that the exterior door used by the gunman was not left propped open by a teacher, as police previously said.They have now determined that the teacher, who has not been identified, propped the door open with a rock, but then removed the rock and closed the door when she realized there was a shooter on campus, Considine said. But, Considine said, the door that was designed to lock when shut did not lock.“We did verify she closed the door. The door did not lock. We know that much and now investigators are looking into why it did not lock,” Considine said.Investigators confirmed the detail through additional video footage reviewed since Friday's news conference when authorities first said that the door had been left propped open. Authorities did not state at that time what had been used to prop open the door.Video: Funerals begin for Uvalde victimsConsidine said the teacher initially propped the door open but ran back inside to get her phone and call 911 when Ramos crashed his truck on campus."She came back out while on her phone, she heard someone yell, 'He has a gun!', she saw him jump the fence and that he had a gun, so she ran back inside," removing the rock when she did, Considine said.Steve McCraw, the head of DPS, hadn’t said why the teacher initially propped open the door when it was first detailed Friday. The first mention of a door left propped open, which officials now say didn't happen, led to questions about the teacher's actions and whether she had made a horrific mistake.Since the shooting, law enforcement and state officials have struggled to present an accurate timeline and details of the event and how police responded, sometimes providing conflicting information or withdrawing some statements hours later. State police have said some accounts were preliminary and may change as more witnesses are interviewed.San Antonio attorney Don Flanary told the San Antonio Express-News that the Robb Elementary School employee, whom he’s not naming, first propped open the door to carry food from a car to a classroom, and that she immediately moved to close it when she realized the danger."She kicked the rock away when she went back in. She remembers pulling the door closed while telling 911 that he was shooting," Flanary told the newspaper."She thought the door would lock because that door is always supposed to be locked,” Flanary said.Video: Flowers, tears as Bidens stop at Uvalde memorialFlanary did not immediately return telephone messages left at his office from The Associated Press.Later Tuesday, the Combined Law Enforcement Association of Texas, which represents police officers, urged its member officers to cooperate with "all government investigations" into the shooting and police response and endorsed a federal probe already announced by the Justice Department.The organization was also sharply critical of the constantly changing narrative of events that has emerged so far."There has been a great deal of false and misleading information in the aftermath of this tragedy. Some of the information came from the very highest levels of government and law enforcement," CLEAT said. "Sources that Texans once saw as iron-clad and completely reliable have now been proven false."

UVALDE, Texas —

The school district police chief who served as on-site commander during last week's deadly shooting in Uvalde said Wednesday that he's talking daily with investigators, contradicting claims from state law enforcement that he's stopped cooperating.

In a brief interview, Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Police Chief Pete Arredondo told CNN that he's speaking regularly with Texas Department of Public Safety investigators.

"I’ve been on the phone with them every day,” Arredondo said.

Nineteen children and two teachers died in the attack at Robb Elementary School, the deadliest school shooting in nearly a decade. State officials have said 19 police officers waited outside the classroom where Salvador Ramos, 18, had opened fire, despite repeated pleas from children calling 911 for help.

Travis Considine, chief communications officer for the Texas Department of Public Safety, said Tuesday that Arredondo had not responded to DPS requests for two days, while other officers in the Uvalde city and schools police departments continue to sit for interviews and provide statements.

Arredondo has not responded to multiple requests for comment from The Associated Press.

The confusing and sometimes contradictory responses in the week since the deadly shooting continued Tuesday with the revelation that the exterior door used by the gunman was not left propped open by a teacher, as police previously said.

They have now determined that the teacher, who has not been identified, propped the door open with a rock, but then removed the rock and closed the door when she realized there was a shooter on campus, Considine said. But, Considine said, the door that was designed to lock when shut did not lock.

“We did verify she closed the door. The door did not lock. We know that much and now investigators are looking into why it did not lock,” Considine said.

Investigators confirmed the detail through additional video footage reviewed since Friday's news conference when authorities first said that the door had been left propped open. Authorities did not state at that time what had been used to prop open the door.

Video: Funerals begin for Uvalde victims

Considine said the teacher initially propped the door open but ran back inside to get her phone and call 911 when Ramos crashed his truck on campus.

"She came back out while on her phone, she heard someone yell, 'He has a gun!', she saw him jump the fence and that he had a gun, so she ran back inside," removing the rock when she did, Considine said.

Steve McCraw, the head of DPS, hadn’t said why the teacher initially propped open the door when it was first detailed Friday. The first mention of a door left propped open, which officials now say didn't happen, led to questions about the teacher's actions and whether she had made a horrific mistake.

Since the shooting, law enforcement and state officials have struggled to present an accurate timeline and details of the event and how police responded, sometimes providing conflicting information or withdrawing some statements hours later. State police have said some accounts were preliminary and may change as more witnesses are interviewed.

San Antonio attorney Don Flanary told the San Antonio Express-News that the Robb Elementary School employee, whom he’s not naming, first propped open the door to carry food from a car to a classroom, and that she immediately moved to close it when she realized the danger.

"She kicked the rock away when she went back in. She remembers pulling the door closed while telling 911 that he was shooting," Flanary told the newspaper.

"She thought the door would lock because that door is always supposed to be locked,” Flanary said.

Video: Flowers, tears as Bidens stop at Uvalde memorial

Flanary did not immediately return telephone messages left at his office from The Associated Press.

Later Tuesday, the Combined Law Enforcement Association of Texas, which represents police officers, urged its member officers to cooperate with "all government investigations" into the shooting and police response and endorsed a federal probe already announced by the Justice Department.

The organization was also sharply critical of the constantly changing narrative of events that has emerged so far.

"There has been a great deal of false and misleading information in the aftermath of this tragedy. Some of the information came from the very highest levels of government and law enforcement," CLEAT said. "Sources that Texans once saw as iron-clad and completely reliable have now been proven false."

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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson survives no-confidence vote

cincylink — Sat, 15 Jul 2023 04:11:32 +0000

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson survived a no-confidence vote on Monday, securing enough support from his Conservative Party to remain in office despite a substantial rebellion that leaves him a weakened leader with an uncertain future.Known for his ability to shrug off scandals, the charismatic leader has struggled to turn the page on revelations that he and his staff repeatedly held boozy parties that flouted the COVID-19 restrictions they imposed on others. Support among his fellow Conservative lawmakers has weakened as some see a leader renowned for his ability to connect with voters increasingly as a liability rather than an asset in elections.Johnson won the backing of 211 out of 359 Conservative lawmakers in a secret ballot, more than the simple majority needed to remain in power, but still a significant rebellion of 148 MPs.Johnson called it a “convincing” win and said the party should now “come together.”“What it means is that as a government we can move on and focus on stuff that I think really matters to people,” he said.With no clear front-runner to succeed him, most political observers had predicted Johnson would defeat the challenge. But the rebellion could still be a watershed moment for him — and is a sign of deep Conservative divisions, less than three years after he led the party to its biggest election victory in decades.Johnson’s winning margin is less than that secured by his predecessor Theresa May in a similar vote in December 2018. She was forced to resign six months later.Since replacing May as prime minister in 2019, Johnson has led Britain out of the European Union and through a pandemic, both of which have shaken the U.K. socially and economically. The vote comes as Johnson’s government is under intense pressure to ease the pain of skyrocketing energy and food bills.But the main blow to his leadership has been revelations that he and his staff repeatedly held illegal parties during lockdowns. That caused anger in the country, and unease among many Conservatives.Discontent that has been building for months erupted after a 10-day parliamentary break that included a long weekend of celebrations of Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee. For many, the four-day holiday was a chance to relax — but there was no respite for Johnson, who was booed by some onlookers as he arrived for a service in the queen’s honor at St. Paul’s Cathedral on Friday.Conservative Party official Graham Brady announced Monday that he had received letters calling for a no-confidence vote from at least 54 Tory legislators, enough to trigger the measure under party rules. Hours later, party lawmakers lined up by the dozen in a corridor at Parliament to cast their ballots in a wood-paneled room, handing over their phones as they entered to ensure secrecy.Johnson addressed dozens of Conservative lawmakers in a House of Commons room before the vote as he tried to shore up support, vowing: “I will lead you to victory again.”Johnson’s allies had insisted he would stay in office if he won by even a single vote.Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi said Johnson had won the vote “handsomely,” and urged the party to “draw a line under this now.”Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, one of the favorites to succeed Johnson if he is ousted, tweeted: "Pleased that colleagues have backed the Prime Minister. I support him 100%. Now’s the time to get on with the job.”But previous prime ministers who survived no-confidence votes emerged severely weakened.Johnson became prime minister in July 2019, capping a rollercoaster journey to the top. He had held major offices, including London mayor and U.K. foreign secretary, but also spent periods on the political sidelines after self-inflicted gaffes. He kept bouncing back, showing an uncommon ability to shrug off scandal and connect with voters that, for many Conservatives, overshadowed doubts about his ethics or judgment.But concerns came to a head after an investigator’s report late last month that slammed a culture of rule-breaking inside the prime minister’s office in a scandal known as “partygate.”Civil service investigator Sue Gray described alcohol-fueled bashes held by Downing Street staff members in 2020 and 2021, when pandemic restrictions prevented U.K. residents from socializing or even visiting dying relatives.Gray said Johnson and senior officials must bear responsibility for “failures of leadership and judgment.”Johnson also was fined 50 pounds ($63) by police for attending one party, making him the first prime minister sanctioned for breaking the law while in office.The prime minister said he was “humbled” and took “full responsibility” — but insisted he would not resign.But a growing number of Conservatives feel that Johnson is now a liability who will doom them to defeat at the next election, which must be held by 2024.“Today’s decision is change or lose,” said Jeremy Hunt, who ran against Johnson for the Conservative leadership in 2019 but has largely refrained from criticizing him since. “I will be voting for change.”Lawmaker Jesse Norman, a longtime Johnson supporter, said the prime minister had “presided over a culture of casual law-breaking” and had left the government “adrift and distracted.”Despite his victory, Johnson is likely to face more pressure. The war in Ukraine, a simmering post-Brexit feud with the EU and soaring inflation are all weighing on the government.Polls give the left-of-center opposition Labour Party a lead nationally, and the Conservatives could lose special elections later this month for two parliamentary districts, called when incumbent Tory lawmakers were forced out by sex scandals.Johnson tried to focus on broader issues, promising colleagues he would cut taxes — a policy popular with Tories — and noting that he spoke Monday to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He has been a vocal supporter of Ukraine’s cause, a stance shared by his possible successors.Cabinet minister Steve Barclay, a Johnson ally, said toppling the leader now would be “indefensible.”But Steve Baker, a strong Brexit supporter whose opposition to May helped Johnson take power, said he was voting for Johnson to go because the prime minister had broken the law.He predicted before the vote that Johnson would likely “formally win” but said that would not settle the matter.“What that means over the months ahead, I don’t know,” Baker said.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson survived a no-confidence vote on Monday, securing enough support from his Conservative Party to remain in office despite a substantial rebellion that leaves him a weakened leader with an uncertain future.

Known for his ability to shrug off scandals, the charismatic leader has struggled to turn the page on revelations that he and his staff repeatedly held boozy parties that flouted the COVID-19 restrictions they imposed on others. Support among his fellow Conservative lawmakers has weakened as some see a leader renowned for his ability to connect with voters increasingly as a liability rather than an asset in elections.

Johnson won the backing of 211 out of 359 Conservative lawmakers in a secret ballot, more than the simple majority needed to remain in power, but still a significant rebellion of 148 MPs.

Johnson called it a “convincing” win and said the party should now “come together.”

“What it means is that as a government we can move on and focus on stuff that I think really matters to people,” he said.

With no clear front-runner to succeed him, most political observers had predicted Johnson would defeat the challenge. But the rebellion could still be a watershed moment for him — and is a sign of deep Conservative divisions, less than three years after he led the party to its biggest election victory in decades.

Johnson’s winning margin is less than that secured by his predecessor Theresa May in a similar vote in December 2018. She was forced to resign six months later.

Since replacing May as prime minister in 2019, Johnson has led Britain out of the European Union and through a pandemic, both of which have shaken the U.K. socially and economically. The vote comes as Johnson’s government is under intense pressure to ease the pain of skyrocketing energy and food bills.

But the main blow to his leadership has been revelations that he and his staff repeatedly held illegal parties during lockdowns. That caused anger in the country, and unease among many Conservatives.

Discontent that has been building for months erupted after a 10-day parliamentary break that included a long weekend of celebrations of Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee. For many, the four-day holiday was a chance to relax — but there was no respite for Johnson, who was booed by some onlookers as he arrived for a service in the queen’s honor at St. Paul’s Cathedral on Friday.

Conservative Party official Graham Brady announced Monday that he had received letters calling for a no-confidence vote from at least 54 Tory legislators, enough to trigger the measure under party rules. Hours later, party lawmakers lined up by the dozen in a corridor at Parliament to cast their ballots in a wood-paneled room, handing over their phones as they entered to ensure secrecy.

Johnson addressed dozens of Conservative lawmakers in a House of Commons room before the vote as he tried to shore up support, vowing: “I will lead you to victory again.”

Johnson’s allies had insisted he would stay in office if he won by even a single vote.

Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi said Johnson had won the vote “handsomely,” and urged the party to “draw a line under this now.”

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, one of the favorites to succeed Johnson if he is ousted, tweeted: "Pleased that colleagues have backed the Prime Minister. I support him 100%. Now’s the time to get on with the job.”

But previous prime ministers who survived no-confidence votes emerged severely weakened.

Johnson became prime minister in July 2019, capping a rollercoaster journey to the top. He had held major offices, including London mayor and U.K. foreign secretary, but also spent periods on the political sidelines after self-inflicted gaffes. He kept bouncing back, showing an uncommon ability to shrug off scandal and connect with voters that, for many Conservatives, overshadowed doubts about his ethics or judgment.

But concerns came to a head after an investigator’s report late last month that slammed a culture of rule-breaking inside the prime minister’s office in a scandal known as “partygate.”

Civil service investigator Sue Gray described alcohol-fueled bashes held by Downing Street staff members in 2020 and 2021, when pandemic restrictions prevented U.K. residents from socializing or even visiting dying relatives.

Gray said Johnson and senior officials must bear responsibility for “failures of leadership and judgment.”

Johnson also was fined 50 pounds ($63) by police for attending one party, making him the first prime minister sanctioned for breaking the law while in office.

The prime minister said he was “humbled” and took “full responsibility” — but insisted he would not resign.

But a growing number of Conservatives feel that Johnson is now a liability who will doom them to defeat at the next election, which must be held by 2024.

“Today’s decision is change or lose,” said Jeremy Hunt, who ran against Johnson for the Conservative leadership in 2019 but has largely refrained from criticizing him since. “I will be voting for change.”

Lawmaker Jesse Norman, a longtime Johnson supporter, said the prime minister had “presided over a culture of casual law-breaking” and had left the government “adrift and distracted.”

Despite his victory, Johnson is likely to face more pressure. The war in Ukraine, a simmering post-Brexit feud with the EU and soaring inflation are all weighing on the government.

Polls give the left-of-center opposition Labour Party a lead nationally, and the Conservatives could lose special elections later this month for two parliamentary districts, called when incumbent Tory lawmakers were forced out by sex scandals.

Johnson tried to focus on broader issues, promising colleagues he would cut taxes — a policy popular with Tories — and noting that he spoke Monday to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He has been a vocal supporter of Ukraine’s cause, a stance shared by his possible successors.

Cabinet minister Steve Barclay, a Johnson ally, said toppling the leader now would be “indefensible.”

But Steve Baker, a strong Brexit supporter whose opposition to May helped Johnson take power, said he was voting for Johnson to go because the prime minister had broken the law.

He predicted before the vote that Johnson would likely “formally win” but said that would not settle the matter.

“What that means over the months ahead, I don’t know,” Baker said.

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Biden administration lays out its plan for COVID-19 vaccinations for children under 5

cincylink — Fri, 14 Jul 2023 10:26:09 +0000

MARIA: TWO NEW SUBVARIANTS OF COVID-19 NOW ACCOUNT FOR ABOUT 7% OF ALL NEW INFECTIONS IN NEW ENAND.GL HERE TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS IS DR. TODD ELLERIN, CHIEF OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES AT SOUTH SHORE HEALTH. GOOD TO SEE YOU. ED: THERE’S NO NEW GREEK LETRTE YET.THERE’S NO NEW GREEK LETRTE WHEN WE HAVE ONE WE WILL HAVE MARIA PRONOUNCE THEM FOR US. B.A.4 AND B.A.5 ARE BOTH OFFSHOOTS OF THE ORIGINAL MARIA: OMICRON ED: VARIANT. BUT HOW ARE THEY DIFFERENT FROM THE OTHER SUBVARIANTS THAT ARE ALREADY CIRCULATING? >> T I IS PROBABLY MORE SIMILAR THAN DIFFERENT, THEY ARE COUSINS, THEN SUBVARIANTS OF OMICRON, THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT ILWHE THEY MAY BE MORE CONTAGIOUS, AND THEY MAY BE ABLE TO EVADEMM IUNITY, NATURAL INFECTION OR VACCINE A LITTLE BETTER THAN THE PRIOR ONE, IT DOES NOT LOOK LIKET IS I NECESSARILY ANYMORE VERLANDER IN REAL LIFE. IN -- VIRULENT AND REAL-LIFE. IN THE LAB AND LOOKS LIKE IT COULD INFECT THE CELLS BETTER. THISS I A GOOD OPPORTITUNY TO REMIND EACH OTHER THAT IT IS NOT TOO LATE TO GET VACCINATED, YOU MAY BE SURPRISE IF YOUR ME SAY THAT, ESPECIALLY IF YOU HAVE BEEN INFECDTE BEFORE, MET WITH A HYBRID IMMUNITY WE HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF BOTH, THAT’S PROBABLY THE BEST. MARIA: THESE TWO SUBVARIANTS ALREADY TRIGGERED A COVID WAVE IN SOUTH AFRICA. WHAT KIND OF IMPACT DID IT HEAV ON HOSPITALIZATIONS, AND DEATHS? >> THE FORECASTING OF SOUTH AFRICA CAN REALLY TELL US AND PREDICT WHAT IS GOINTOG HAPPEN INHE T U.S., THE ANSWER IS WHILE THERE WAS LOA OFT CASES, STILL THE NUMBER OF CASES IN SOUTH AFRICA WERE NOT THAT IMPRESSIVE, IT IS PROBABLY UNDERESTIMATED LIKE AN UNITED STATES BECAUS OEF A LOT OF HOME TESTING, WHAT IS CLR EAIS THAT TREHE IS A LITTLE SPIKE IN HOSPITALIZATIONS AND DEATHS REMAIN FT.LA I THINK THERE IS A GOOD SIGN, SOUTH AFRICAAS H NOT SEEN THE B. A.2 SPIKE WE HAVE SEEN. OVERALL I THNK THE CASES WILL RISE, BUT OVERALL THE SEVERITY WILL BE LOW, ESPECIALLY FOR THE VACCINATED. :ED AS YOU KNOW, FOR PEOPLE WHO TEST POSITIVE, THERE ARE MANY NEW TREATMENTS AVAILLEAB, INCLUDING THE ANTI-VIRAL PILL, PAXLOVID. YOU’VE SAID MANY TIMES, IT’S EFFECTIVE AND SAVES LIVES. BUT NOW WE’RE HEARING, THERE MAY BE AN UNPLEASANT SIDE EFFE.CT WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT IT? DO YOU STILL RECOMMEND IT TO YOUR PATIENTS? Y,ES THIS IS A MEDICATION THAT DOES NOT TASTE GOOD. MESO PEOPLE DESCRIBED AS METALLIC AND SOME DESCRIBED AS BITTER, SOMEAY S THEY WISH IT WAS JUST METALLIC OR BETTER, IT TASTE LIKE AAD B GRAPEFRUIT THEY RUB METAL ON. MARIA: HOW LONG DOES IT LAST? >> IT CAN START SOON AERFT YOU START TAKING THE MEDICATION, THE KEY IS A RESOLVES AND DOESOT N LAST LONGER AFTER YOU KETA IT. OVERALL THE STUDIES IT WAS BETWEEN 5%, 6% OF PATIENTS THAT TOOK IT, AND REAL-LIFE BIG MY GUESS IS IT IS HIGHER. 90% REDUCTION HOSPITALIZATION, THIS MEDICATION WORKS. >> I WAS CAN ASK FOR THE REMINDER, PERHAPS HE PUT UP FOR A BAD TASTE WITH THE BOTTOM LINE AND IT WORKS. >> IF I DID IT AGAIN I WILL TAKE PAXLOVID. >> GOOD TO TALK TO YOU. MAA:RI AND TO OUR VIEWERS IF YOU HAVE COVID RELATED QUESTIO

Biden administration lays out its plan for COVID-19 vaccinations for children under 5

Updated: 5:55 AM EDT Jun 9, 2022

Video above: Doctor breaks down difference between COVID-19 variantsThe White House is announcing a COVID-19 vaccine rollout plan Thursday for children under 5, partnering with state and local governments, health care providers, federal pharmacy partners, national and community-based organizations and other entities to ship and distribute vaccines across the country following next week's meeting of the FDA's vaccine advisers -- who will review data on these vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna -- and expected authorization from the full FDA."As the (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) and (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) conduct their independent review processes, the Biden Administration is planning for all scenarios, including for the first vaccinations to start as early as the week of June 20th —with the program ramping up over time as more doses are delivered and more appointments become available," the White House wrote in a fact sheet shared with CNN on Wednesday.The administration, it said, "has made 10 million vaccine doses available for states, Tribes, territories, community health centers, federal pharmacy partners, and others to pre-order. If the FDA authorizes a vaccine, the Administration will immediately begin shipping doses across the country — and will launch an effort to ensure that parents can get their youngest children vaccinated easily." FDA vaccine advisers are scheduled to meet next week to discuss authorizing emergency use of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine for children 6 months through 5 years of age and Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for children 6 months through 4 years of age, and pending those decisions, the CDC will make final recommendations about the vaccines.The administration estimates that 85% of children under the age of 5 live within five miles of a potential vaccination site at this time, though they're anticipating most parents seeking a vaccination for young children will do so at their pediatrician's or primary care provider's office.Per a senior administration official, however, additional vaccine clinics and sites will be set up at easy-to-access locations for parents, including pharmacies, schools, children's hospitals, diaper banks, community health centers, clinics, museums, libraries and organizations serving minority communities across the country.Jurisdictions across the country have been able to pre-order COVID-19 vaccine doses for children under 5 since last week -- in that time, of the initial 5 million doses available for pre-order pending FDA authorization, the administration has received requests for 2.3 million vaccine doses, including 1.45 million doses of Pfizer and 850,000 doses of Moderna.Still, the official suggested they anticipate an uptick in orders from jurisdictions over time."Our experience has been that people are slow to order, and this has been true across each of the times we've opened up ordering, so I wouldn't focus on those early numbers," the official told reporters on a call Wednesday. "Our experience is that the longer the ordering stays open, the more likely the states come forward, so some of this is a matter of letting them know the ordering is available, and that they can begin that process."To spread awareness, the administration will partner with the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program, which it estimates serves over 6 million people in the U.S., including almost half of all infants; with Head Start Programs through the Administration for Children and Families at the Department of Health and Human Services, which it estimates services approximately 1 million families; with Department of Housing and Urban Development programs, which it estimates serves more than 800,000 children under 5; and with Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which serves millions of children under 5, among others.They'll also partner with community organizations, including "What to Expect," a platform serving mothers and expectant mothers, to author a series of blog posts to dispel vaccine misinformation.

WASHINGTON —

Video above: Doctor breaks down difference between COVID-19 variants

The White House is announcing a COVID-19 vaccine rollout plan Thursday for children under 5, partnering with state and local governments, health care providers, federal pharmacy partners, national and community-based organizations and other entities to ship and distribute vaccines across the country following next week's meeting of the FDA's vaccine advisers -- who will review data on these vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna -- and expected authorization from the full FDA.

"As the (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) and (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) conduct their independent review processes, the Biden Administration is planning for all scenarios, including for the first vaccinations to start as early as the week of June 20th —with the program ramping up over time as more doses are delivered and more appointments become available," the White House wrote in a fact sheet shared with CNN on Wednesday.

The administration, it said, "has made 10 million vaccine doses available for states, Tribes, territories, community health centers, federal pharmacy partners, and others to pre-order. If the FDA authorizes a vaccine, the Administration will immediately begin shipping doses across the country — and will launch an effort to ensure that parents can get their youngest children vaccinated easily."

FDA vaccine advisers are scheduled to meet next week to discuss authorizing emergency use of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine for children 6 months through 5 years of age and Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for children 6 months through 4 years of age, and pending those decisions, the CDC will make final recommendations about the vaccines.

The administration estimates that 85% of children under the age of 5 live within five miles of a potential vaccination site at this time, though they're anticipating most parents seeking a vaccination for young children will do so at their pediatrician's or primary care provider's office.

Per a senior administration official, however, additional vaccine clinics and sites will be set up at easy-to-access locations for parents, including pharmacies, schools, children's hospitals, diaper banks, community health centers, clinics, museums, libraries and organizations serving minority communities across the country.

Jurisdictions across the country have been able to pre-order COVID-19 vaccine doses for children under 5 since last week -- in that time, of the initial 5 million doses available for pre-order pending FDA authorization, the administration has received requests for 2.3 million vaccine doses, including 1.45 million doses of Pfizer and 850,000 doses of Moderna.

Still, the official suggested they anticipate an uptick in orders from jurisdictions over time.

"Our experience has been that people are slow to order, and this has been true across each of the times we've opened up ordering, so I wouldn't focus on those early numbers," the official told reporters on a call Wednesday. "Our experience is that the longer the ordering stays open, the more likely the states come forward, so some of this is a matter of letting them know the ordering is available, and that they can begin that process."

To spread awareness, the administration will partner with the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program, which it estimates serves over 6 million people in the U.S., including almost half of all infants; with Head Start Programs through the Administration for Children and Families at the Department of Health and Human Services, which it estimates services approximately 1 million families; with Department of Housing and Urban Development programs, which it estimates serves more than 800,000 children under 5; and with Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which serves millions of children under 5, among others.

They'll also partner with community organizations, including "What to Expect," a platform serving mothers and expectant mothers, to author a series of blog posts to dispel vaccine misinformation.

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Senators look to announce initial agreement on guns as soon as Sunday

cincylink — Fri, 14 Jul 2023 09:59:09 +0000

Video above: Thousands rally in U.S. demanding action on gun laws Senate negotiators in both parties are pushing to announce as soon as Sunday the outlines of an agreement on new measures to address gun violence, according to sources familiar with the talks.The sources underscore that the agreement is in principle only and that thorny legislative text is not yet written.Still, the agreement would be significant given how divided lawmakers have been over the gun issue, even in the wake of a series of devastating mass shootings, including one that killed 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.One source with knowledge of the discussions said negotiators are hoping to get 10 Republican senators to sign on to the agreement before it is announced, in order to show they can overcome the 60-vote filibuster threshold. The Senate is currently evenly divided between the Democratic and GOP conferences with 50 seats each.Sources involved in the talks said the agreement outline includes providing funding to incentivize states to implement "red flag" laws, an expansion of mental health services by growing a 10-state pilot program for behavioral health services to all 50 states, allowing juvenile records to be searched during background checks for those under 21 years of age, and funding for school security measures. It would also change the background check system to better crack down on criminals who evade that system by using smaller "hobbyists" to illegally buy guns.The agreement is not expected to include a number of provisions pushed by President Joe Biden and gun control advocates, namely a renewal of the so-called assault weapons ban and raising the age to purchase semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21.The four main Senate negotiators -- Democratic Sens. Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and GOP Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina -- have been in talks all weekend to hammer out the final details and have also been in discussions with a larger bipartisan group of negotiators.The House voted 223-204 last week to pass a wide-ranging package of gun control legislation called the Protecting Our Kids Act. The measure is not expected to pass the Senate, however, amid widespread GOP opposition to stricter gun control.Passage of the legislation in the House took place hours after an emotional hearing on gun violence in which families of victims pleaded for more action.Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland on Sunday praised the Senate negotiators for their work on the legislation but stopped short of voicing his support for the forthcoming package."Well, we would certainly vote on it and work on it," he said on "State of the Union" when asked if would vote for the bill, adding: "It's moving in the right direction. We're glad the Senate is finally awake about this."

Video above: Thousands rally in U.S. demanding action on gun laws

Senate negotiators in both parties are pushing to announce as soon as Sunday the outlines of an agreement on new measures to address gun violence, according to sources familiar with the talks.

The sources underscore that the agreement is in principle only and that thorny legislative text is not yet written.

Still, the agreement would be significant given how divided lawmakers have been over the gun issue, even in the wake of a series of devastating mass shootings, including one that killed 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.

One source with knowledge of the discussions said negotiators are hoping to get 10 Republican senators to sign on to the agreement before it is announced, in order to show they can overcome the 60-vote filibuster threshold. The Senate is currently evenly divided between the Democratic and GOP conferences with 50 seats each.

Sources involved in the talks said the agreement outline includes providing funding to incentivize states to implement "red flag" laws, an expansion of mental health services by growing a 10-state pilot program for behavioral health services to all 50 states, allowing juvenile records to be searched during background checks for those under 21 years of age, and funding for school security measures. It would also change the background check system to better crack down on criminals who evade that system by using smaller "hobbyists" to illegally buy guns.

The agreement is not expected to include a number of provisions pushed by President Joe Biden and gun control advocates, namely a renewal of the so-called assault weapons ban and raising the age to purchase semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21.

The four main Senate negotiators -- Democratic Sens. Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and GOP Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina -- have been in talks all weekend to hammer out the final details and have also been in discussions with a larger bipartisan group of negotiators.

The House voted 223-204 last week to pass a wide-ranging package of gun control legislation called the Protecting Our Kids Act. The measure is not expected to pass the Senate, however, amid widespread GOP opposition to stricter gun control.

Passage of the legislation in the House took place hours after an emotional hearing on gun violence in which families of victims pleaded for more action.

Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland on Sunday praised the Senate negotiators for their work on the legislation but stopped short of voicing his support for the forthcoming package.

"Well, we would certainly vote on it and work on it," he said on "State of the Union" when asked if would vote for the bill, adding: "It's moving in the right direction. We're glad the Senate is finally awake about this."

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FDA finds Moderna, Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective in younger kids

cincylink — Fri, 14 Jul 2023 09:58:47 +0000

Federal health officials said Sunday that kid-sized doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccines appear to be safe and effective for kids under 5, a key step toward a long-awaited decision to begin vaccinating the youngest American children.The Food and Drug Administration posted its analysis of the Pfizer shot ahead of a Wednesday meeting where outside experts will vote on whether the shots are ready for the nation’s 18 million babies, toddlers and preschoolers. Kids under 5 are the only group not yet eligible for COVID-19 vaccination in the U.S.Late last week the FDA posted a similar analysis of Moderna’s shots for children under 6. The FDA's vaccine advisers will evaluate Moderna's COVID-19 vaccines this week for children 6 months through 5 years and 6 years through 17 years should be granted emergency use authorization.Children under 5 years old — about 18 million people — are the only U.S. age group that still aren't eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. Moderna's vaccine is currently available only to people 18 and older. Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine is already authorized for children age 5 and older; FDA's advisers will also evaluate its vaccine for younger children this week.Briefing documents posted ahead of the FDA committee meetings describe how Moderna's vaccine was assessed by immunobridging studies to see if the immune response among younger people was comparable to that of 18-to-25-year-olds, who are already eligible to receive the vaccine."Immunobridging success criteria were met for all four pediatric age cohorts," the FDA's document stated.If regulators clear the shots by one or both companies, vaccinations could begin as soon as next week with the drugmakers ready to rapidly ship doses ordered by the government. Parents have been pressing federal officials for months for the opportunity to protect their smallest children as more adults shed masks and abandon other public health precautions.While only about 3% of U.S. COVID cases are in the age group 6 months to 4 years, hospitalization and death rates in that group are higher than those for older children, according to the FDA’s analysis — one reason experts have said protecting this group is important.The FDA said children who received Pfizer’s shots during testing developed high levels of virus-fighting antibodies expected to protect them against coronavirus. That’s the basic threshold needed to win FDA authorization. But additional testing turned up key differences, with stronger results for Pfizer.Pfizer’s vaccine, given as a three-shot series, appeared 80% effective in preventing symptomatic COVID-19, although that calculation was based on just 10 cases diagnosed among study participants, and before the super-contagious omicron variant of the virus was dominant. The figure could change as Pfizer’s study continues.Moderna’s two-dose series was only about 40% to 50% effective at preventing milder infections, though it was tested during the omicron wave. Moderna has begun testing a booster for tots.On Wednesday, the FDA will ask an independent panel of vaccine experts to debate both companies’ data before voting. The FDA is not required to follow the group’s recommendations, but the process is seen as a key step in publicly vetting the shots.The FDA is expected to make its official decision shortly after Wednesday’s all-day meeting. The next step: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which recommends how to use vaccines, will convene its own expert panel to debate which tots need vaccinations.It’s not clear how much demand there will initially be for the shots. A recent survey suggests only 1 in 5 parents of young children would get their kids vaccinated right away. Vaccines have been available since November for older U.S. schoolchildren, yet less than a third of those ages 5 to 11 have gotten the two recommended doses, according to government figures.For the youngest children, each company is offering different dose sizes and number of shots, beginning at 6 months through 4 years for Pfizer and through 5 years for Moderna.Pfizer and its partner BioNTech plan to offer two shots three weeks apart followed by a third at least two months later — each one-tenth the dose given to adults. Pfizer is currently the only company with a COVID-19 vaccine for older U.S. children.Moderna is seeking FDA clearance for two shots, each a quarter of its adult dose, given about four weeks apart.The FDA currently allows Moderna’s vaccine to be used only in adults. But some countries allow full-size doses for teens and half-size shots for kids ages 6 to 11 — a step the FDA also is considering.More than 30,000 U.S. children younger than 5 have been hospitalized with COVID-19 and nearly 500 coronavirus deaths have been reported in that age group, according to U.S. health officials.The government allowed pharmacies and states to start placing orders for tot-sized doses last week, with 5 million initially available — half made by Pfizer and half by Moderna.CNN contributed to this report.

Federal health officials said Sunday that kid-sized doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccines appear to be safe and effective for kids under 5, a key step toward a long-awaited decision to begin vaccinating the youngest American children.

The Food and Drug Administration posted its analysis of the Pfizer shot ahead of a Wednesday meeting where outside experts will vote on whether the shots are ready for the nation’s 18 million babies, toddlers and preschoolers. Kids under 5 are the only group not yet eligible for COVID-19 vaccination in the U.S.

Late last week the FDA posted a similar analysis of Moderna’s shots for children under 6.

The FDA's vaccine advisers will evaluate Moderna's COVID-19 vaccines this week for children 6 months through 5 years and 6 years through 17 years should be granted emergency use authorization.

Children under 5 years old — about 18 million people — are the only U.S. age group that still aren't eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. Moderna's vaccine is currently available only to people 18 and older. Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine is already authorized for children age 5 and older; FDA's advisers will also evaluate its vaccine for younger children this week.

Briefing documents posted ahead of the FDA committee meetings describe how Moderna's vaccine was assessed by immunobridging studies to see if the immune response among younger people was comparable to that of 18-to-25-year-olds, who are already eligible to receive the vaccine.

"Immunobridging success criteria were met for all four pediatric age cohorts," the FDA's document stated.

If regulators clear the shots by one or both companies, vaccinations could begin as soon as next week with the drugmakers ready to rapidly ship doses ordered by the government. Parents have been pressing federal officials for months for the opportunity to protect their smallest children as more adults shed masks and abandon other public health precautions.

While only about 3% of U.S. COVID cases are in the age group 6 months to 4 years, hospitalization and death rates in that group are higher than those for older children, according to the FDA’s analysis — one reason experts have said protecting this group is important.

The FDA said children who received Pfizer’s shots during testing developed high levels of virus-fighting antibodies expected to protect them against coronavirus. That’s the basic threshold needed to win FDA authorization. But additional testing turned up key differences, with stronger results for Pfizer.

Pfizer’s vaccine, given as a three-shot series, appeared 80% effective in preventing symptomatic COVID-19, although that calculation was based on just 10 cases diagnosed among study participants, and before the super-contagious omicron variant of the virus was dominant. The figure could change as Pfizer’s study continues.

Moderna’s two-dose series was only about 40% to 50% effective at preventing milder infections, though it was tested during the omicron wave. Moderna has begun testing a booster for tots.

On Wednesday, the FDA will ask an independent panel of vaccine experts to debate both companies’ data before voting. The FDA is not required to follow the group’s recommendations, but the process is seen as a key step in publicly vetting the shots.

The FDA is expected to make its official decision shortly after Wednesday’s all-day meeting. The next step: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which recommends how to use vaccines, will convene its own expert panel to debate which tots need vaccinations.

It’s not clear how much demand there will initially be for the shots. A recent survey suggests only 1 in 5 parents of young children would get their kids vaccinated right away. Vaccines have been available since November for older U.S. schoolchildren, yet less than a third of those ages 5 to 11 have gotten the two recommended doses, according to government figures.

For the youngest children, each company is offering different dose sizes and number of shots, beginning at 6 months through 4 years for Pfizer and through 5 years for Moderna.

Pfizer and its partner BioNTech plan to offer two shots three weeks apart followed by a third at least two months later — each one-tenth the dose given to adults. Pfizer is currently the only company with a COVID-19 vaccine for older U.S. children.

Moderna is seeking FDA clearance for two shots, each a quarter of its adult dose, given about four weeks apart.

The FDA currently allows Moderna’s vaccine to be used only in adults. But some countries allow full-size doses for teens and half-size shots for kids ages 6 to 11 — a step the FDA also is considering.

More than 30,000 U.S. children younger than 5 have been hospitalized with COVID-19 and nearly 500 coronavirus deaths have been reported in that age group, according to U.S. health officials.

The government allowed pharmacies and states to start placing orders for tot-sized doses last week, with 5 million initially available — half made by Pfizer and half by Moderna.

CNN contributed to this report.

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Ireland-based family in Florida to search for missing dad

cincylink — Fri, 14 Jul 2023 09:47:25 +0000

A family from Ireland has flown to Florida to search for a missing man. First Coast News reports that 47-year-old John McNamee has been living in Jacksonville for 13 years, but he was born in Ireland and he normally is in contact daily. McNamee's sister told the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office he "is going through a divorce and has not been heard from since May 25, 2022."A truck registered to McNamee has reportedly been in a Quality Inn parking lot since May 26, but he was not registered as a guest at the hotel. The truck hadn't been reported stolen and deputies found no evidence of foul play inside. “John had two kids which he loved dearly and it’s totally out of John’s character to do anything like this," John McNamee, an uncle who came from Ireland, said.McNamee's wife told authorities she was trying to serve him with an injunction and she thought he was hiding because he did not want to receive it. She said he did not seem suicidal and did not own any weapons. “None of it makes sense, " Jennifer McNamee, John's wife, said. “I just don’t know if he was just going through a mental breakdown, or what was happening but he lived for those two girls and he’s never been away from them this long. You know they miss their daddy. It’s almost been three weeks now." News4Jax reports bloodhounds and dive teams were called to search a wooded area near the Quality Inn where McNamee's truck was found, but they found nothing helpful."We would be grateful for anyone in the Jacksonville area to come out and help us search for John, we just need him found," a GoFundMe page created by the family states. " Please continue to keep John in your prayers that he is back with his family soon."

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. —

A family from Ireland has flown to Florida to search for a missing man.

First Coast News reports that 47-year-old John McNamee has been living in Jacksonville for 13 years, but he was born in Ireland and he normally is in contact daily.

McNamee's sister told the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office he "is going through a divorce and has not been heard from since May 25, 2022."

A truck registered to McNamee has reportedly been in a Quality Inn parking lot since May 26, but he was not registered as a guest at the hotel. The truck hadn't been reported stolen and deputies found no evidence of foul play inside.

“John had two kids which he loved dearly and it’s totally out of John’s character to do anything like this," John McNamee, an uncle who came from Ireland, said.

McNamee's wife told authorities she was trying to serve him with an injunction and she thought he was hiding because he did not want to receive it. She said he did not seem suicidal and did not own any weapons.

“None of it makes sense, " Jennifer McNamee, John's wife, said. “I just don’t know if he was just going through a mental breakdown, or what was happening but he lived for those two girls and he’s never been away from them this long. You know they miss their daddy. It’s almost been three weeks now."

News4Jax reports bloodhounds and dive teams were called to search a wooded area near the Quality Inn where McNamee's truck was found, but they found nothing helpful.

"We would be grateful for anyone in the Jacksonville area to come out and help us search for John, we just need him found," a GoFundMe page created by the family states. " Please continue to keep John in your prayers that he is back with his family soon."

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Mother-daughter duo create College World Series tradition

cincylink — Fri, 14 Jul 2023 04:11:25 +0000

The College World Series is a lot of things and for one Nebraska family, it's tradition. Baseball has been in Ashley Schrad and Sandy Petry’s lives for a long time and the pair have been attending the College World Series for more than two decades.In 1996, the duo decided they no longer wanted to sit in general admission seats.“We would get in line at 9 o'clock in the morning and waited until the game started,” Schrad said. They applied for season tickets, but had to get on a waiting list.“First of all they told me a five-year waiting list and I’m like OK, five years is fine. Poor lady, I called there every year after that like where are we on the list, where are we on the list,” Petry said. Those five years would swiftly pass and it wasn't until 2017 they finally received the email they've been waiting on -- 21 years later."I walked out to my husband and I’m like, 'oh my gosh, I’m going to have heart failure.' He's like, 'what do you mean?' I go, 'we have tickets,'" Petry said.Those tickets gave them the seats they wanted and became the start of something new.“Twenty-one years of being on a list and I knew that Ashley and I would be spending a lot of time together even as she grew up,” Petry said.Their tradition now is to attend the opening ceremony and the first four games together, getting a chance to see all eight teams on the diamond.“It is amazing! I have an unbreakable bond with my mom, no matter what. We've been through hell and high water together,” Schrad said.Ashley now has two sons and plans to pass on the tradition.“One of them is old enough that he can go with my mom by himself if he wants to,” she said.But for now, they'll enjoy watching the first pitch, calling those tickets and their bond a home run.“We know change happens, but the memories and love don't change. It will always be with us even when it's time to not go anymore,” Petry said.

OMAHA, Neb. —

The College World Series is a lot of things and for one Nebraska family, it's tradition.

Baseball has been in Ashley Schrad and Sandy Petry’s lives for a long time and the pair have been attending the College World Series for more than two decades.

In 1996, the duo decided they no longer wanted to sit in general admission seats.

“We would get in line at 9 o'clock in the morning and waited until the game started,” Schrad said.

They applied for season tickets, but had to get on a waiting list.

“First of all they told me a five-year waiting list and I’m like OK, five years is fine. Poor lady, I called there every year after that like where are we on the list, where are we on the list,” Petry said.

Those five years would swiftly pass and it wasn't until 2017 they finally received the email they've been waiting on -- 21 years later.

"I walked out to my husband and I’m like, 'oh my gosh, I’m going to have heart failure.' He's like, 'what do you mean?' I go, 'we have tickets,'" Petry said.

Those tickets gave them the seats they wanted and became the start of something new.

“Twenty-one years of being on a list and I knew that Ashley and I would be spending a lot of time together even as she grew up,” Petry said.

Their tradition now is to attend the opening ceremony and the first four games together, getting a chance to see all eight teams on the diamond.

“It is amazing! I have an unbreakable bond with my mom, no matter what. We've been through hell and high water together,” Schrad said.

Ashley now has two sons and plans to pass on the tradition.

“One of them is old enough that he can go with my mom by himself if he wants to,” she said.

But for now, they'll enjoy watching the first pitch, calling those tickets and their bond a home run.

“We know change happens, but the memories and love don't change. It will always be with us even when it's time to not go anymore,” Petry said.

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Yellowstone River flooding is a 1 in 500-year event, US Geological Survey says

cincylink — Thu, 13 Jul 2023 04:17:30 +0000

The devastating flooding that occurred along the Yellowstone River last week constitutes a 1 in 500-year event, according to a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) news release.Unprecedented rain and rapid snowmelt in recent days have caused rivers in parts of Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho to burst their banks, swallowing bridges and sweeping away entire sections of roadway.More than 10,000 visitors to Yellowstone National Park have been forced to evacuate. All entrances to the park are expected to remain closed until at least Monday."At two streamgages, Yellowstone River at Corwin Springs and Yellowstone River at Livingston, the peak streamflow was higher than the 0.2% (or 1 in 500-years) flood (level)," said USGS hydrologist Katherine Chase in the release.Farther downstream, "the Yellowstone River at Billings was between the 1% (or 1 in 100-years) and 0.2% (1 in 500-years) flood," according to the release, which notes that streamflow data is "currently being reported as 'provisional' until follow up analyses of the stream channel and data are completed."However, Chase notes in the release that, "while these floods are often referred to as greater than (or rarer than) a 1 in 500-year event, there is the same probability that they could occur in any given year."The USGS frequencies are calculated from historical data for the Yellowstone River's locations. As CNN has reported last week, scientists have shown that climate change is impacting the frequency at which extreme weather events occur, and that trend is expected to continue as the planet continues to warm.In a three-day period last week, Yellowstone National Park received about two to three times the typical rainfall for the whole month of June, and precipitation this month has already been more than 400% of the average across northwestern Wyoming and southern Montana, according to the National Weather Service.Video: Couple describes moment home was swept into Yellowstone River Yellowstone south loop to reopenAll five of Yellowstone's park entrances remained closed Friday as flood recovery and repair efforts are underway in preparation for the park's reopening, according to a release from the park's superintendent's office.According to the release, the National Park Service does not yet have an estimated reopening date for the entire park -- nor an idea of total repair costs. The release outlines an extensive list of needed repairs to roads and infrastructure in each section of the park in order for it to reopen."We have made tremendous progress in a very short amount of time but have a long way to go," Superintendent Cam Sholly said in the release. "All emergency and life safety objectives within the park have been accomplished or stabilized within the first 96 hours of the flood event, without major injury or death."The park service announced on Saturday the south loop of the park will reopen to the public on Wednesday."At 8 a.m. Wednesday, June 22, Yellowstone National Park will begin allowing visitors to access the south loop of the park," according to a news release from Yellowstone National Park. "The south loop is accessed from the East (Cody), West (West Yellowstone), and South (Grand Teton/Jackson). Areas accessible include Madison, Old Faithful, Grant Village, Lake Village, Canyon Village and Norris."Backcountry areas accessible from roads open to the public will be available for day use only, according to the release. Overnight use from trailheads in the south will open on July 1.While the north loop is closed, "park staff have engaged over 1,000 business owners, park partners, commercial operators and residents in surrounding gateway communities to determine how to manage summer visitation," the park service said.Video: Yellowstone River flooding aerialsTo ensure the south loop does not become overwhelmed by visitors and to balance the demand for visitor access, the park will institute an interim visitor access plan," according to the release."The interim plan, referred to as the Alternating License Plate System (ALPS), was suggested as a solution by gateway communities during major public engagement with the park this past week," the release read.Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte struck an optimistic tone about flood recovery and rebuilding as he encouraged continued tourism to the Big Sky State. The "best days are ahead of us," he told reporters Friday."We're open. You've got to come," Gianforte said of Yellowstone Park. "The vitality of our communities depends on it. We're open for business, and we want you to come."Officials have previously said the northern section of the park will likely remain closed through the remainder of the season.

The devastating flooding that occurred along the Yellowstone River last week constitutes a 1 in 500-year event, according to a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) news release.

Unprecedented rain and rapid snowmelt in recent days have caused rivers in parts of Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho to burst their banks, swallowing bridges and sweeping away entire sections of roadway.

More than 10,000 visitors to Yellowstone National Park have been forced to evacuate. All entrances to the park are expected to remain closed until at least Monday.

"At two streamgages, Yellowstone River at Corwin Springs and Yellowstone River at Livingston, the peak streamflow was higher than the 0.2% (or 1 in 500-years) flood (level)," said USGS hydrologist Katherine Chase in the release.

Farther downstream, "the Yellowstone River at Billings was between the 1% (or 1 in 100-years) and 0.2% (1 in 500-years) flood," according to the release, which notes that streamflow data is "currently being reported as 'provisional' until follow up analyses of the stream channel and data are completed."

However, Chase notes in the release that, "while these floods are often referred to as greater than (or rarer than) a 1 in 500-year event, there is the same probability that they could occur in any given year."

The USGS frequencies are calculated from historical data for the Yellowstone River's locations. As CNN has reported last week, scientists have shown that climate change is impacting the frequency at which extreme weather events occur, and that trend is expected to continue as the planet continues to warm.

In a three-day period last week, Yellowstone National Park received about two to three times the typical rainfall for the whole month of June, and precipitation this month has already been more than 400% of the average across northwestern Wyoming and southern Montana, according to the National Weather Service.

Video: Couple describes moment home was swept into Yellowstone River

Yellowstone south loop to reopen

All five of Yellowstone's park entrances remained closed Friday as flood recovery and repair efforts are underway in preparation for the park's reopening, according to a release from the park's superintendent's office.

According to the release, the National Park Service does not yet have an estimated reopening date for the entire park -- nor an idea of total repair costs. The release outlines an extensive list of needed repairs to roads and infrastructure in each section of the park in order for it to reopen.

"We have made tremendous progress in a very short amount of time but have a long way to go," Superintendent Cam Sholly said in the release. "All emergency and life safety objectives within the park have been accomplished or stabilized within the first 96 hours of the flood event, without major injury or death."

The park service announced on Saturday the south loop of the park will reopen to the public on Wednesday.

"At 8 a.m. Wednesday, June 22, Yellowstone National Park will begin allowing visitors to access the south loop of the park," according to a news release from Yellowstone National Park. "The south loop is accessed from the East (Cody), West (West Yellowstone), and South (Grand Teton/Jackson). Areas accessible include Madison, Old Faithful, Grant Village, Lake Village, Canyon Village and Norris."

Backcountry areas accessible from roads open to the public will be available for day use only, according to the release. Overnight use from trailheads in the south will open on July 1.

While the north loop is closed, "park staff have engaged over 1,000 business owners, park partners, commercial operators and residents in surrounding gateway communities to determine how to manage summer visitation," the park service said.

Video: Yellowstone River flooding aerials

To ensure the south loop does not become overwhelmed by visitors and to balance the demand for visitor access, the park will institute an interim visitor access plan," according to the release.

"The interim plan, referred to as the Alternating License Plate System (ALPS), was suggested as a solution by gateway communities during major public engagement with the park this past week," the release read.

Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte struck an optimistic tone about flood recovery and rebuilding as he encouraged continued tourism to the Big Sky State. The "best days are ahead of us," he told reporters Friday.

"We're open. You've got to come," Gianforte said of Yellowstone Park. "The vitality of our communities depends on it. We're open for business, and we want you to come."

Officials have previously said the northern section of the park will likely remain closed through the remainder of the season.

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Winds fan wildfire to more than 2,000 acres in New Jersey

cincylink — Thu, 13 Jul 2023 04:17:03 +0000

A wildfire in southern New Jersey more than doubled in size Sunday to at least 2,100 acres, according to the New Jersey Forest Fire Service.Firefighters are battling a blaze at Wharton State Forest across four townships -- Washington, Shamong, Hammonton and Mullica -- that has been "fueled by dry and breezy conditions," the service said on social media.The fire is 20% contained, the service said Sunday night, up from 600 acres scorched and 10% contained only hours earlier. No injuries have been reported.Two roads and a number of trails have been closed because of the wildfire, the fire service said."Batsto Village and all associated hiking and mountain bike trails are closed to visitors. The Mullica River Campground, Mullica River Trail and boat launches along the Mullica River are closed from the Atsion Recreation Area to Batsto Village," the service said.The fire is threatening six structures in the Paradise Lakes Campground, and local volunteer fire departments from Atlantic, Burlington and Ocean counties are providing assistance there and at Batsto Village, the update said."Please remember, 'No Drones in Fire Zones - If YOU fly, WE can't!'" the service added.Weather conditions are forecast to ease on Monday, with a high of 80 and winds between 5-10 mph. Winds are expected to trail off by the evening hours and there is a slight chance for showers on Tuesday.Wharton State Forest is the largest single tract of land within the New Jersey State Park System, according to the state's park service. It is about 20 miles northwest of Atlantic City, New Jersey.

HAMMONTON, N.J. (Video by KYW via CNN) —

A wildfire in southern New Jersey more than doubled in size Sunday to at least 2,100 acres, according to the New Jersey Forest Fire Service.

Firefighters are battling a blaze at Wharton State Forest across four townships -- Washington, Shamong, Hammonton and Mullica -- that has been "fueled by dry and breezy conditions," the service said on social media.

The fire is 20% contained, the service said Sunday night, up from 600 acres scorched and 10% contained only hours earlier. No injuries have been reported.

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WILDFIRE UPDATE: Wharton State Forest – Mullica River Fire@njdepforestfire continues to fight a wildfire fueled by dry and breezy conditions in Wharton State Forest - Washington, Shamong, Hammonton & Mullica Townships- which has reached 2,100 acres in size and is 20% contained. pic.twitter.com/6W1iAZNnyZ

— New Jersey Forest Fire Service (@njdepforestfire) June 20, 2022

Two roads and a number of trails have been closed because of the wildfire, the fire service said.

"Batsto Village and all associated hiking and mountain bike trails are closed to visitors. The Mullica River Campground, Mullica River Trail and boat launches along the Mullica River are closed from the Atsion Recreation Area to Batsto Village," the service said.

The fire is threatening six structures in the Paradise Lakes Campground, and local volunteer fire departments from Atlantic, Burlington and Ocean counties are providing assistance there and at Batsto Village, the update said.

"Please remember, 'No Drones in Fire Zones - If YOU fly, WE can't!'" the service added.

This content is imported from Twitter.
You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

Six structures are threatened in the Paradise Lakes Campground. Structure protection is in place at Batsto Village and Paradise Lake Campground provided by local volunteer fire departments from Atlantic, Burlington and Ocean counties, we thank them for their assistance.

— New Jersey Forest Fire Service (@njdepforestfire) June 20, 2022

Weather conditions are forecast to ease on Monday, with a high of 80 and winds between 5-10 mph. Winds are expected to trail off by the evening hours and there is a slight chance for showers on Tuesday.

Wharton State Forest is the largest single tract of land within the New Jersey State Park System, according to the state's park service. It is about 20 miles northwest of Atlantic City, New Jersey.

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These are the world’s most liveable cities for 2022

cincylink — Wed, 12 Jul 2023 04:51:34 +0000

***.

These are the world's most liveable cities for 2022

Updated: 6:41 AM EDT Jun 23, 2022

Considering a big move this year? You may want to think about Canada or western Europe.The annual ranking of the world's most liveable cities has just been released by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), and 2022's Global Liveability Index shows some marked differences from the previous year.The EIU, which is a sister organization to The Economist, ranked 173 cities around the world on a variety of factors, including health care, crime rates, political stability, infrastructure and access to green space.Big winnersOverall, Europe dominated the list, with six spots in the top 11 (there was a tie for 10th place). Copenhagen, which CNN Travel pronounced Europe's capital of cool in December 2021, nabbed second place on the Global Liveability Index.Switzerland was the only country in Europe to have two entries in the top 10, with Geneva in sixth position and Zurich landing in third.However, the overall country winner was Canada. The Great White North had three of its cities represented — Calgary, Vancouver and Toronto."Cities that were towards the top of our rankings before the pandemic have rebounded on the back of their stability, good infrastructure and services, as well as enjoyable leisure activities," the index's authors wrote.Big droppersLast year's winner, New Zealand's Auckland, fell out of the top 10 in 2022 to land at a surprising 34th place.Neighboring Australia had the most noticeable drop in the rankings this year. Despite having topped the list in the past, Melbourne fell to 10th place in 2022.In 2021, Australia dominated the EIU index, with Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth all joining Melbourne in the top 10. This year, they rank 27th, 30th and 32nd respectively.Wellington, New Zealand's capital, was in fourth place in 2021 but also dropped out of the top 10 this year.Though Europe had a very good showing in 2022, there are two noticeable entries missing — London and Paris. Increased cost of living expenses played a role in both metropolises, as did the UK's decision to leave the European Union.Ongoing global conflict was the number-one factor determining which countries ranked at the bottom of the list. Damascus, Lagos and Tripoli were rated the three least liveable cities in the world.Meanwhile, Kyiv was not analyzed this year due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.Liveability versus cost of livingEarlier this month, global mobility company ECA International released its list of the world's most expensive cities to live in, with a focus on expats.Hong Kong had the dubious honor of coming in first place, with New York City, Geneva, London and Tokyo rounding out the top five.The only city to appear on both the ECA and EIU indexes was Geneva.The most expensive cities ranking was determined solely by economic factors — average rent, the price of gas and the like — as opposed to the EIU list, which looks at a city's cultural attractions like museums and concerts as well as infrastructure like mass transit.2022's Global Liveability Index: The top 101. Vienna, Austria2. Copenhagen, Denmark3. Zurich, Switzerland4. Calgary, Canada5. Vancouver, Canada6. Geneva, Switzerland7. Frankfurt, Germany8. Toronto, Canada9. Amsterdam, Netherlands10. Osaka, Japan and Melbourne, Australia (tie)

Considering a big move this year? You may want to think about Canada or western Europe.

The annual ranking of the world's most liveable cities has just been released by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), and 2022's Global Liveability Index shows some marked differences from the previous year.

The EIU, which is a sister organization to The Economist, ranked 173 cities around the world on a variety of factors, including health care, crime rates, political stability, infrastructure and access to green space.

Big winners

Overall, Europe dominated the list, with six spots in the top 11 (there was a tie for 10th place). Copenhagen, which CNN Travel pronounced Europe's capital of cool in December 2021, nabbed second place on the Global Liveability Index.

Switzerland was the only country in Europe to have two entries in the top 10, with Geneva in sixth position and Zurich landing in third.

However, the overall country winner was Canada. The Great White North had three of its cities represented — Calgary, Vancouver and Toronto.

"Cities that were towards the top of our rankings before the pandemic have rebounded on the back of their stability, good infrastructure and services, as well as enjoyable leisure activities," the index's authors wrote.

Big droppers

Last year's winner, New Zealand's Auckland, fell out of the top 10 in 2022 to land at a surprising 34th place.

Neighboring Australia had the most noticeable drop in the rankings this year. Despite having topped the list in the past, Melbourne fell to 10th place in 2022.

In 2021, Australia dominated the EIU index, with Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth all joining Melbourne in the top 10. This year, they rank 27th, 30th and 32nd respectively.

Wellington, New Zealand's capital, was in fourth place in 2021 but also dropped out of the top 10 this year.

Though Europe had a very good showing in 2022, there are two noticeable entries missing — London and Paris. Increased cost of living expenses played a role in both metropolises, as did the UK's decision to leave the European Union.

Ongoing global conflict was the number-one factor determining which countries ranked at the bottom of the list. Damascus, Lagos and Tripoli were rated the three least liveable cities in the world.

Meanwhile, Kyiv was not analyzed this year due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Liveability versus cost of living

Earlier this month, global mobility company ECA International released its list of the world's most expensive cities to live in, with a focus on expats.

Hong Kong had the dubious honor of coming in first place, with New York City, Geneva, London and Tokyo rounding out the top five.

The only city to appear on both the ECA and EIU indexes was Geneva.

The most expensive cities ranking was determined solely by economic factors — average rent, the price of gas and the like — as opposed to the EIU list, which looks at a city's cultural attractions like museums and concerts as well as infrastructure like mass transit.

2022's Global Liveability Index: The top 10

1. Vienna, Austria

2. Copenhagen, Denmark

3. Zurich, Switzerland

4. Calgary, Canada

5. Vancouver, Canada

6. Geneva, Switzerland

7. Frankfurt, Germany

8. Toronto, Canada

9. Amsterdam, Netherlands

10. Osaka, Japan and Melbourne, Australia (tie)

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Russia strikes Kyiv as troops consolidate gains in the east

cincylink — Wed, 12 Jul 2023 04:26:18 +0000

Russia attacked the Ukrainian capital in the early hours of Sunday morning, striking at least two residential buildings, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said, as elsewhere Russian troops consolidated their gains in the east.Associated Press journalists in Kyiv saw rescue services battling flames and rescuing civilians. Klitschko said four people were hospitalized with injuries and a 7-year-old girl was pulled alive from the rubble. Culture minister Oleksandr Tkachenko said on Telegram that a kindergarten was hit in the attacks.Ukraine Member of Parliament Oleksiy Goncharenko wrote on the Telegram messaging app that “according to prelim data 14 missiles were launched against Kyiv region and Kyiv.” Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ignat said the missiles were Kh-101 air-launched cruise missiles fired from planes over the Caspian Sea.Before Sunday’s early morning attack, Kyiv had not faced any such Russian airstrikes since June 5.Klitschko told journalists that he believed “it is maybe a symbolic attack” ahead of this week's NATO summit in Madrid.Two more explosions were later heard in Kyiv, but their cause and possible casualties were not immediately clear.President Joe Biden, asked for his reaction to Russian missile strikes Sunday on Kyiv, said: “It’s more of their barbarism,” as he stood with Olaf Scholz as the German chancellor greeted leaders arriving to open the Group of Seven summit.Meanwhile, Russian forces have been seeking to swallow up the last remaining Ukrainian stronghold in the eastern Luhansk region, pressing their momentum after taking full control Saturday of the charred ruins of Sievierodonetsk and the chemical plant where hundreds of Ukrainian troops and civilians had been holed up.Serhiy Haidai, governor of the Luhansk region that includes Sievierodonetsk, said Sunday that Russia was conducting intense airstrikes on the adjacent city of Lysychansk, destroying its television tower and seriously damaging a road bridge.“There's very much destruction — Lysychansk is almost unrecognizable,” he wrote on Facebook.Also Sunday, U.S. President Joe Biden said the United States and other Group of Seven leading economies intend to announce a ban on imports of gold from Russia. They hope that measure will further isolate Russia economically over its invasion of Ukraine.Senior Biden administration officials said gold is Moscow’s second largest export after energy, and that banning imports would make it more difficult for Russia to participate in global markets.Biden’s Twitter feed said Russia “rakes in tens of billions of dollars” from the sale of its gold, its second largest export after energy.On Saturday, Russia also launched dozens of missiles on several areas across the country far from the heart of the eastern battles. Some of the missiles were fired from Russian long-range Tu-22 bombers deployed from Belarus for the first time, Ukraine’s air command said.The bombardment preceded a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, during which Putin announced that Russia planned to supply Belarus with the Iskander-M missile system.Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said late Saturday that Russian and Moscow-backed separatist forces now control Sievierodonetsk and the villages surrounding it. He said the attempt by Ukrainian forces to turn the Azot plant into a “stubborn center of resistance” had been thwarted.Haidai confirmed Saturday that Sievierodonetsk had fallen to Russian and separatist fighters, who he said were now trying to blockade Lysychansk from the south.Russia’s Interfax news agency quoted a spokesman for the separatist forces, Andrei Marochko, as saying Russian troops and separatist fighters had entered Lysychansk and that fighting was taking place in the heart of the city. There was no immediate comment on the claim from the Ukrainian side.Lysychansk and Sievierodonetsk have been the focal point of a Russian offensive aimed at capturing all of the Donbas and destroying the Ukrainian military defending it — the most capable and battle-hardened segment of the country’s armed forces.Capturing Lysychansk would give Russian forces control of every major settlement in the province, a significant step toward Russia’s aim of capturing the entire Donbas. The Russians and separatists control about half of Donetsk, the second province in the Donbas.

KYIV, Ukraine —

Russia attacked the Ukrainian capital in the early hours of Sunday morning, striking at least two residential buildings, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said, as elsewhere Russian troops consolidated their gains in the east.

Associated Press journalists in Kyiv saw rescue services battling flames and rescuing civilians. Klitschko said four people were hospitalized with injuries and a 7-year-old girl was pulled alive from the rubble. Culture minister Oleksandr Tkachenko said on Telegram that a kindergarten was hit in the attacks.

Ukraine Member of Parliament Oleksiy Goncharenko wrote on the Telegram messaging app that “according to prelim data 14 missiles were launched against Kyiv region and Kyiv.” Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ignat said the missiles were Kh-101 air-launched cruise missiles fired from planes over the Caspian Sea.

Before Sunday’s early morning attack, Kyiv had not faced any such Russian airstrikes since June 5.

Klitschko told journalists that he believed “it is maybe a symbolic attack” ahead of this week's NATO summit in Madrid.

Two more explosions were later heard in Kyiv, but their cause and possible casualties were not immediately clear.

President Joe Biden, asked for his reaction to Russian missile strikes Sunday on Kyiv, said: “It’s more of their barbarism,” as he stood with Olaf Scholz as the German chancellor greeted leaders arriving to open the Group of Seven summit.

Meanwhile, Russian forces have been seeking to swallow up the last remaining Ukrainian stronghold in the eastern Luhansk region, pressing their momentum after taking full control Saturday of the charred ruins of Sievierodonetsk and the chemical plant where hundreds of Ukrainian troops and civilians had been holed up.

Serhiy Haidai, governor of the Luhansk region that includes Sievierodonetsk, said Sunday that Russia was conducting intense airstrikes on the adjacent city of Lysychansk, destroying its television tower and seriously damaging a road bridge.

“There's very much destruction — Lysychansk is almost unrecognizable,” he wrote on Facebook.

Also Sunday, U.S. President Joe Biden said the United States and other Group of Seven leading economies intend to announce a ban on imports of gold from Russia. They hope that measure will further isolate Russia economically over its invasion of Ukraine.

Senior Biden administration officials said gold is Moscow’s second largest export after energy, and that banning imports would make it more difficult for Russia to participate in global markets.

Biden’s Twitter feed said Russia “rakes in tens of billions of dollars” from the sale of its gold, its second largest export after energy.

On Saturday, Russia also launched dozens of missiles on several areas across the country far from the heart of the eastern battles. Some of the missiles were fired from Russian long-range Tu-22 bombers deployed from Belarus for the first time, Ukraine’s air command said.

The bombardment preceded a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, during which Putin announced that Russia planned to supply Belarus with the Iskander-M missile system.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said late Saturday that Russian and Moscow-backed separatist forces now control Sievierodonetsk and the villages surrounding it. He said the attempt by Ukrainian forces to turn the Azot plant into a “stubborn center of resistance” had been thwarted.

Haidai confirmed Saturday that Sievierodonetsk had fallen to Russian and separatist fighters, who he said were now trying to blockade Lysychansk from the south.

Russia’s Interfax news agency quoted a spokesman for the separatist forces, Andrei Marochko, as saying Russian troops and separatist fighters had entered Lysychansk and that fighting was taking place in the heart of the city. There was no immediate comment on the claim from the Ukrainian side.

Lysychansk and Sievierodonetsk have been the focal point of a Russian offensive aimed at capturing all of the Donbas and destroying the Ukrainian military defending it — the most capable and battle-hardened segment of the country’s armed forces.

Capturing Lysychansk would give Russian forces control of every major settlement in the province, a significant step toward Russia’s aim of capturing the entire Donbas. The Russians and separatists control about half of Donetsk, the second province in the Donbas.

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3 Americans found dead at a Sandals in the Bahamas died due to carbon monoxide poisoning

cincylink — Wed, 12 Jul 2023 04:08:24 +0000

we have completed the identification Of the three deceased. They are identified as follows. Mr Michael phillips and 68 mill american national and resident of Tennessee. Next deceased is Robbie phillips age 65 female american resident of Tennessee, United States. All of these occupants were the occupants of one villa on the promises of sandals and the third deceased is Vincent paul Carella Age 64 years of the United States and he's the resident of florida. He occupied *** separate villa with the female survivor and wife MS Dhoni's Cinderella. *** 65 years of the United States. Also american citizen Mr citarella was airlifted to *** hospital in florida and was last listed in serious condition. The pathologist has extracted samples from all of the persons and our forensic scientists have collected those samples for examination. We are actively engaging *** lab in philadelphia pennsylvania. United States. To assist us with the expediting the toxicological toxicological examinations of all of these samples. Once that those examinations are done, our pathologists would be able to provide us with an official report as to the exact cause of death and help us to determine exactly what has happened. Our forensic scientists have also collected samples from both of the rooms and the properties of sandals, hotel and exam and an Exuma to determine whether or not any contaminants present. In the meantime we ask that you rely on official updates which we will seek to provide in *** timely manner. We are making arrangements to have all of the victims properties handed over two representatives from the United States embassy here and I saw it today and there will be also making arrangements to have the bodies prepared for repatriation to the families in the United States. As more information becomes available. We will make it available to you family as well as members off the press. That is my update as is for now. And I can say that the pathologist has uh consented to doing those uh autopsies today. We will not have answers on those until I get feedback from the pathologist, hopefully later on today or whenever it's available and we'll make it available to you, perhaps through *** press release.

Police: 3 Americans found dead at a Sandals in the Bahamas died due to carbon monoxide poisoning

Updated: 5:38 AM EDT Jun 29, 2022

Three Americans found dead at a Sandals resort on the Bahamas' Great Exuma island on May 6 died due to carbon monoxide poisoning, local authorities said Tuesday."At this juncture of the investigation, we can officially confirm that all three of the victims died as a result of asphyxiation due to carbon monoxide poisoning," the Royal Bahamas Police Force announced in a news release. "This matter remains under active investigation."No signs of trauma were found on the bodies, police previously told CNN, and Bahamian acting Prime Minister Chester Cooper had said foul play was not suspected. Police would not comment beyond the cause of death for all three U.S. citizens in the latest news release.The Americans -- Michael Phillips, 68, and his wife, Robbie Phillips, 65, from Tennessee, and Vincent Paul Chiarella, 64, from Florida -- died over the course of one evening. Chiarella's wife, Donnis, 65, was airlifted to the nation's capital of Nassau for further treatment before being transferred to Florida.The two couples had reported feeling ill the night prior and were seen by medical staff, Bahamas Police Commissioner Paul Rolle said in May, and had eaten at different locations.Staff discovered the couples in separate villas the following morning and alerted police.Sandals Resorts said in a statement to CNN at the time, "Nothing is more important to Sandals Resorts than the safety of our guests," and expressed "deep sadness" confirming the deaths.

Three Americans found dead at a Sandals resort on the Bahamas' Great Exuma island on May 6 died due to carbon monoxide poisoning, local authorities said Tuesday.

"At this juncture of the investigation, we can officially confirm that all three of the victims died as a result of asphyxiation due to carbon monoxide poisoning," the Royal Bahamas Police Force announced in a news release. "This matter remains under active investigation."

No signs of trauma were found on the bodies, police previously told CNN, and Bahamian acting Prime Minister Chester Cooper had said foul play was not suspected. Police would not comment beyond the cause of death for all three U.S. citizens in the latest news release.

The Americans -- Michael Phillips, 68, and his wife, Robbie Phillips, 65, from Tennessee, and Vincent Paul Chiarella, 64, from Florida -- died over the course of one evening. Chiarella's wife, Donnis, 65, was airlifted to the nation's capital of Nassau for further treatment before being transferred to Florida.

The two couples had reported feeling ill the night prior and were seen by medical staff, Bahamas Police Commissioner Paul Rolle said in May, and had eaten at different locations.

Staff discovered the couples in separate villas the following morning and alerted police.

Sandals Resorts said in a statement to CNN at the time, "Nothing is more important to Sandals Resorts than the safety of our guests," and expressed "deep sadness" confirming the deaths.

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