National News - Page 77

Virginia attorney general sues town over police treatment of Black people after Caron Nazario investigation

By Jay Croft, More than a year after two policemen pepper-sprayed a Black and Latino US Army officer, Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring has sued the town of Windsor, alleging its police department has discriminated against African Americans and violated their civil rights. It is the first case brought under a new law that allows the state’s leading law-enforcement officer “to sue to stop systemic violations of Virginians’ rights,” according to a release from Herring’s office. The suit was spurred by an incident in December 2020, when two Windsor Police Department officers pulled over 2nd Lt. Caron Nazario and repeatedly used pepper spray

Children’s hospitals across the US are reporting pandemic-high hospitalizations as doctors say vaccinations for kids are critical

By Travis Caldwell, With tens of millions of unvaccinated Americans at higher risk for severe disease from Covid-19 infections, doctors and health care facilities nationwide are reporting a rising number of young people hospitalized, some of whom are too young to receive vaccine doses. The nation’s largest pediatric hospital, Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, is reporting a more than four-fold increase in child hospitalizations from Covid-19 over the last two weeks, spurred by the spread of the Omicron and Delta variants over the holiday season. “We have staggering numbers here from this Omicron surge already,” Dr. Jim Versalovic, pathologist-in-chief at Texas Children’s, said Monday. “We shattered prior

US shatters its average daily Covid-19 case record again. Experts describe coming weeks as a ‘tidal wave’ and ‘blizzard’

By Christina Maxouris, A day after reporting its highest average daily Covid-19 case number, the US shattered the record Thursday, with an average of 355,990 infections reported every day in the past week, according to Johns Hopkins University. As the latest surge sweeps across the US, pushing cases and hospitalizations to unprecedented levels and altering daily life again, experts warn a turning point could be weeks away. “Given the size of our country — and the diversity of vaccination versus not vaccination — that it likely will be more than a couple of weeks (until Covid-19 cases peak) … probably by the end of January,” Dr. Anthony

Desmond Tutu, South Africa’s ‘national conscience,’ laid to rest at state funeral

By Joshua Berlinger and Tara John, Family, friends and dignitaries gathered for Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s official state funeral on New Year’s Day in Cape Town, capping a week of events honoring a man long considered to be the moral compass of South Africa. Tutu died last Sunday at the age of 90, sparking a global outpouring of tributes to the anti-apartheid hero. He had been in poor health for several years. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who delivered the main eulogy during the service at St. George’s Cathedral on Saturday, hailed Tutu as “our national conscience.” Tutu’s widow Nomalizo Leah, known as “Mama Leah,”

After a muted New Year’s weekend, US braces for more Covid disruptions as students return to school

By Derrick Hinds, After a weekend of muted celebrations, Americans face the uncertainty of a new year as the nation battles another coronavirus wave. And concerns are growing about the impact the virus could have over the next several weeks as students return to school. In Atlanta, at least five metro-area school districts will begin with remote learning this week, as students prepare to return from the holiday break amid rising cases in the region. And in Washington, DC, public schools will be closed until Thursday as a winter storm thwarted plans for students and staff to pick up Covid-19 tests

Biden and Harris to deliver remarks on January 6 anniversary

By Paul LeBlanc and Allie Malloy, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will deliver remarks on Thursday to mark the one-year anniversary of the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, the White House said Sunday. Their remarks will come alongside a slate of events prepared by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to commemorate the insurrection, including a moment of silence on the House floor and a prayer vigil on the steps of the Capitol. The White House had said last month that it would mark the anniversary, but did not provide further details. “January 6 was one of the darkest days in

CDC director explains new Covid-19 guidance as the US heads into a harrowing phase of the pandemic

By Holly Yan and Aya Elamroussi, Sweeping new Covid-19 isolation and quarantine guidelines were spurred by scientific research and what Americans would likely tolerate, the director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday. They come as doctors expect the holiday coronavirus surge, driven by the highly contagious Omicron variant, to get worse following New Year’s Eve. The average number of daily US Covid-19 cases on Tuesday reached 265,427 — a new pandemic high, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. In guidance issued this week, the CDC said: • Anyone who tests positive for Covid-19, regardless of vaccination status, can stop isolating after five

Studies indicate J&J Covid-19 vaccine booster protects people against severe illness from Omicron variant

By Maggie Fox, Two reports released Thursday show that people who get booster doses of Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine are well protected against severe disease and hospitalization from the Omicron variant of coronavirus, the company said. Researchers said the findings indicate that most of the Covid-19 vaccines will protect people against the worst outcomes from infection — and show some of the emphasis on how the various vaccines affect immune system components called antibodies may be misleading. One real-life study from South Africa showed vaccine effectiveness against hospitalization from Covid-19 rose to 85% after a booster dose of the J&J vaccine,

Biden administration signals pandemic strategy shift in the face of Omicron

By Stephen Collinson, America is plunging into a fast-worsening and frightening winter bout with Covid-19 that will leave few citizens and communities untouched. But as the highly transmissible Omicron variant roars across the country, the Biden administration is revealing the most tangible signs of a shifting pandemic strategy several weeks in the making. It is preparing a nation exhausted by two years of battling the invisible enemy to live more feasibly alongside it. The new strain of a virus that had already killed more than 800,000 Americans is forcing quick government course alterations. President Joe Biden’s White House faces a dilemma rooted in increasing evidence that Omicron causes more mild

Dr. Sanjay Gupta: Resolutions for making 2022 a better, healthier year

By Dr. Sanjay Gupta, It’s almost the new year and along with it comes the admittedly aspirational tradition of setting New Year’s resolutions — ones that we hopefully can stick to and not abandon after Week 3, or even Day 3, of 2022. At the same time, we’re sliding into our third year of battling a novel coronavirus that continues to keep the world in pandemic mode. That’s why it is more important now than ever — as the Delta variant gets squeezed out by Omicron in this country and around the globe, and as Covid-19 haltingly evolves from pandemic to

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