Month: August 2021

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo released a farewell message on his last day in office on Monday, defiantly citing himself as the victim of a “political stampede” that cut his term short. Cuomo’s resignation follows an investigation conducted by private attorneys that concluded he sexually harassed 11 women during his time in office, some of whom were employed by the state. The findings were released in a 165-page report by Attorney General Letitia James.

In a pre-recorded message, Cuomo questioned the fairness of that report and its findings, saying he authorized the attorney general’s investigation in February and repeatedly asked constituents and critics alike to wait for their findings before issuing judgement upon his administration. Cuomo said Monday, “The truth is, ultimately, always revealed. The attorney general’s report was designed to be a political firecracker on an explosive topic and it worked. There was a political and media stampede.”

However, the governor reaffirmed his decision to step down amid growing bipartisan calls at both a state and federal level. New York Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul will be sworn in as governor at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, scheduled to serve the remainder left in Cuomo’s term. Hochul will become the first woman to hold the position of NY governo, and has also announced plans to run for governor once this partial term ends.

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The US Food and Drug Administration has fully approved the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for people age 16 and older, and authorized it for people as young as 12. However the agency is warning against using the vaccine “off-label” in children younger than 12, saying it “would not be appropriate.” The Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine is not currently approved nor authorized for children younger than 12, and the appropriate dosage for this age group has yet to be determined.

‘Off-label’ refers to an approved product being used in a way or in a patient that it wasn’t necessarily approved for; it happens commonly with some drugs, such as when a chemotherapy approved for one type of cancer is used to treat a different type.

The FDA and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) both strongly recommend that all eligible adolescents ages 12 to 17, be vaccinated as soon as possible, especially as the highly transmissible Delta coronavirus variant continues to circulate nationwide. As of last week, the AAP reported 180,000 new cases of Covid-19 among children and adolescents, according to the Academy. Currently approximately 8.5 million or 34% of all adolescents ages 12 to 17 are fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

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On Sunday, defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered the emergency use of 18 U.S. commercial aircrafts to transport Afghan evacuees out of Kabul. The U.S. continues to evacuate Americans and Afghan people with special immigrant visas, a week since the Taliban entered Afghanistan’s capital city and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled. Seventeen thousand people have been taken out of Afghanistan in the past week; however, the scene at Hamid Karzai International Airport remains chaotic.

The Defense Department is acting under Stage I of the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) and confirmed the commercial aircraft wouldn’t be flying in and out of Kabul.  Instead, officials say the planes will move evacuees “from bases in Germany, Qatar and Bahrain to ease overcrowding pressure and transport bottlenecks.”

Among the airlines who will provide commercial aircrafts are American Airlines, Atlas Air, Delta Air Lines and Omni Air, each of which will contribute three planes; Hawaiian Airlines, which will contribute two; and United Airlines, four.

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The death toll has risen to 22 in catastrophic flooding in Middle Tennessee over the weekend. Twelve additional deaths were reported by the sheriff in Humphreys County on Sunday, adding to the 10 confirmed Saturday night. The number of missing is now estimated at 50, with the hardest-hit area being 40 miles west of Nashville.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said during a Sunday evening press conference: “It is a devastating picture of loss and heartbreak in one of our Tennessee communities.”  The state of Tennessee activated its Emergency Operations Center as searchers continued to look for survivors on Sunday. At least 100 homes and 25 businesses had been searched as of 10 a.m. Sunday, while multiple bridges and roadways remained close in the area. More than 10,000 customers were without power.

Between 15 and 17 inches of rain was reported in 24 hours in areas around Dickson, Houston, Humphreys and Hickman counties. The flooding from the torrential rainfall trapped residents in their homes, closed highways and prompted multiple water rescues, where people took to their roofs and attics to escape the floodwaters. Homes were swept away and communities destroyed. The Tennessee National Guard has also deployed soldiers and airmen to the area in response to the flooding. Three helicopter aquatic rescue teams from the state, as well as swift water rescue teams from Nashville, were also sent to assist.

A man was arrested Thursday after an hours-long standoff near the U.S. Capitol during which he claimed to have an explosive device. Police have identified the suspect as 49-year-old Floyd Ray Roseberry of Grover, North Carolina, and was described as having a history of supporting former President Donald Trump, who said “all Democrats need to step down.”

The U.S. Capitol Police wrote on Twitter that the incident on Thursday prompted multiple buildings in the area to be evacuated in what was labelled an “active bomb threat investigation.”  The USCP later said in a news release that no bomb was found in Roseberry’s truck but that he did possess suspected bomb-making material.  USCP Chief Tom Manger told reporters on Thursday that authorities couldn’t yet identify a motive, said that so far there is “no indication” Roseberry was acting with others. Manger revealed that Roseberry had been live-streaming from the scene and a half-hour Facebook video showed him inside a truck, holding a canister that he said was a bomb, speaking about a “revolution.” The video and Roseberry’s Facebook profile have since been removed. On Roseberry’s now-removed Facebook page, he frequently made pro-Trump posts and posted videos from Trump’s “Million MAGA March” on November 14.

Tropical Storm Henri is forecast to become a hurricane by Friday. The National Hurricane Center (“NHC”) said Henri had maximum sustained winds of 65 mph and was moving west at 10 mph as of Thursday night.

Henri is expected to speed up before taking a turn toward north; the storm is now on a track to possibly make landfall somewhere along the New England coast as early as Sunday night, potentially affecting the northeast from Long Island, NY to Cape Cod, MA.  The NHC said:  “Henri is forecast to be near the northeast coast of the U.S. on Sunday and Monday, and the risks of storm surge, wind and rain impacts in portions of southern New England and eastern Long Island, [N.Y.], are increasing. Watches will likely be required for portions of this area early Friday.”

As of the National Hurricane Center’s latest complete update, Henri was about 800 miles south of Nantucket, Massachusetts, with maximum sustained winds near 70 mph and higher gusts expected to extend up to 90 miles from the center.  The storm is still expected to impact the coast, creating dangerous rip currents, rough surf and beach erosion.