December, 2021 | últimas notícias

LAPD to release video in police killing of 14-old-girl in clothing store – The Guardian

The Los Angeles police department is due on Monday to release video in the case of an officer who shot and killed a 14-year-old girl inside a department store while firing at another person.

Last week, LAPD chief Michel Moore, announced that the department would release body camera footage, 911 calls, radio transmissions, CCTV and other case-related evidence.

The 14-year old victim has been identified as Valentina Orellana-Peralta, according to the LA county medical examiner’s office, which ruled the death to be a homicide from a gunshot wound to the chest.

Orellana-Peralta died after being hit by a bullet which went through the wall of the dressing room at a Burlington Coat Factory store in North Hollywood on Thursday as police officers responded to a call about an assault, officials said. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

The officer involved was put on paid leave, and has not been identified. When officers arrived, they fatally shot Daniel Elena Lopez, 24, who was accused of assault, officials said.

Police subsequently discovered a bullet hole in the dressing room wall, which was “directly behind the suspect and out of the officers’ view”, the department said.

Details of the alleged assault are unclear, but police said they retrieved a “very heavy lock” which they believe was involved in an assault that left a woman with head and arm injuries.

Orellana-Peralta had been shopping with her mother for a dress for a quinceañera – a 15th-birthday celebration – according to the Los Angeles Times.

“This chaotic incident resulting in the death of an innocent child is tragic and devastating for everyone involved. I am profoundly sorry for the loss of this young girl’s life and I know there are no words that can relieve the unimaginable pain for the family,” Moore said last week.

He went on to add, “My commitment is to conduct a thorough, complete and transparent investigation into the circumstances that led up to this tragedy and provide the family and public with as much information as possible.”

Both the California attorney general’s office and the California Department of Justice will be investigating the shooting.

The killing has sparked outrage across the US. Domingo García, president of the League of United Latin American Citizens, said in a statement: “It is indefensible that trained Los Angeles police officers could open fire in a crowded store at the height of Christmas shopping without first knowing for sure if the suspect was armed.”

The case has also drawn comparisons to an LAPD killing in 2018, when an officer fired at a suspect inside a Trader Joe’s store and in the process killed a store manager.

LAPD killings have sharply increased this year – the department has fatally shot 18 people in 2021, compared to seven in 2020, according to the LA Times. On Sunday, the department announced that an officer had fatally shot another man who was allegedly holding a knife.

Source Article from https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/dec/27/los-angeles-police-burlington-killing-video

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Trump’s 2020 fixation is putting him at odds with some of his biggest fans – NBC News

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Israel Study Will Test Effectiveness of 4th Vaccine Dose – The New York Times

The proposal is awaiting formal approval from the Ministry of Health, but questions have been raised about whether the recommendation was premature given the lack of data on the effects of a fourth shot. It was unclear whether the ministry would wait for the results of the hospital study to make its recommendation.

The advisory panel acknowledged uncertainty over the effects of Omicron, but pointed to evidence of decreased immunity in people who were among the first to receive a third dose in August. Israeli data showed a doubling of the rate of infection from the Delta variant, then dominant, among the 60-plus age group within four or five months of the third shot.

Israel, a relatively small country with an efficient public health system, was a leader in introducing the first round of Covid vaccinations and later in giving booster shots, putting it in position to assess early how effective the shots are and how quickly the protection wears off.

Most of the advisory panel argued that the potential benefits of a fourth dose outweighed any risks, and that there was no time to lose in making decisions to protect those most susceptible. But other experts argued that not enough was known about the effects of a fourth shot, and some scientists have raised concerns that too many shots might cause a sort of immune system fatigue, compromising the body’s ability to fight the virus, particularly among older people.

A senior Health Ministry official said last week that the ministry would gather more data from other countries, especially about the risk of severe illness from Omicron among older people, before deciding on whether to offer a fourth dose, and to whom.

Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/27/world/middleeast/israel-fourth-dose-covid-vaccine.html

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VP Kamala Harris says US will be ‘off the map as a role model’ if voting rights bill is sunk – Fox News

Video

Howard Kurtz: Kamala Harris was ‘bailed out’ of interview with Charlamagne

MediaBuzz host Howard Kurtz reacts to the heated exchange between the vice president and Charlamagne tha God

In her wide-ranging interview with CBS’ “Face the Nation” host Margaret Brennan on Sunday, Vice President Kamala Harris said America would lose its “role model” status if Congress fails to pass voting rights legislation.

With Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., essentially ending President Biden’s chances to pass Build Back Better, the administration appears to be pivoting to other policy areas. Harris was tasked with spearheading voting rights over the summer.

“In the days and weeks ahead, I will engage the American people, and I will work with voting rights organizations, community organizations, and the private sector to help strengthen and uplift efforts on voting rights nationwide. And we will also work with members of Congress to help advance these bills,” the vice president said in June, claiming that voting rights were “under assault.”

She urged lawmakers to pass the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.

KAMALA HARRIS CITES ‘NOT GETTING OUT OF DC MORE’ AS HER ‘BIGGEST FAILURE’ AS VP

In her latest comments on her voting rights mission, she warned Americans that if Congress doesn’t get it together on the bill, the country will be kicked down off its pedestal.

“We have been a role model saying, ‘You can see this and aspire to this and reject autocracies and autocratic leadership,'” Harris said in a pre-recorded interview with Brennan, which aired on Sunday. “Right now, we’re about to take ourselves off the map as a role model if we let people destroy one of the most important pillars of a democracy, which is free and fair elections.”

Politco failed to name the radio station in which callers are allegedly looking to smear the vice president.
(AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Harris added that while most Americans likely don’t see voting rights as an “urgent” matter, the more the administration spotlights it, the more people will realize that some are “suppressing the right of the American people to vote,” she predicted.

The Harris-Brennan interview made several headlines on Sunday. For instance, Harris fired back at Democrats who claimed she’s being “set up to fail.”

“No, I don’t believe I’m being set up to fail,” Harris said.

“I’m the vice president of the United States,” she continued. “Anything that I handle is because it’s a tough issue, and it couldn’t be handled at some other level. And there are a lot of big, tough issues that need to be addressed, and it has actually been part of my lifelong career to deal with tough issues – and this is no different.”

President Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris shake hands during a ceremony to sign the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act on the South Lawn at the White House in Washington, Nov. 15, 2021.
(REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst)

HARRIS FIRES BACK AT DEMOCRATS’ CLAIMS SHE’S BEING ‘SET UP TO FAIL’

She similarly raised eyebrows when she told Brennan that her biggest failure in office so far is her lack of travel.

“What do you think, as you come to the end of this first year, what do you think your biggest failure has been at this point?” Brennan asked.

“To not get out of D.C. more,” Harris said, laughing.

“I mean, and I actually mean that sincerely for a number of reasons,” she added. “You know, I, we, the president and I came in, you know, COVID had already started. It was, the pandemic had started. And when we came in we really couldn’t travel.”

Democratic U.S. vice presidential nominee Sen. Kamala Harris tours the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) training facility in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Sept. 7, 2020.
(REUTERS/Alex Wroblewski)

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Harris also recently had a disastrous interview with Charlamagne Tha God, in which she lost her temper at the TV host after he suggested Biden was not the person in charge at the White House.

Harris’ off-putting personality during interviews she’s granted during Biden’s first term may account in part for her historically low approval numbers. She has blamed race and gender for the negative media coverage, according to recent reports.

High-profile members of her staff have also headed for the exits in recent weeks amid reports of a toxic work environment.

Source Article from https://www.foxnews.com/media/vp-kamala-harris-us-role-model-votings-rights-bill

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Fauci wants to “seriously” consider vaccine mandate for domestic flights – Axios

A COVID vaccine requirement should “seriously” be considered for domestic air travel in the U.S. as a response to the Omicron variant of the virus, NIAID director Anthony Fauci told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Monday.

Why it matters: The U.S. is now experiencing another wave of coronavirus cases driven by the Omicron variant.

Early data from South Africa, where the variant was first discovered, suggests that it spreads easier but may cause milder disease than previous variants.

What he’s saying: “When you make vaccination a requirement, that’s another incentive to get more people vaccinated,” Fauci said. “If you want to do that with domestic flights, I think that’s something that seriously should be considered.”

“The group we’re really concerned about is the unvaccinated people because even if this virus is inherently less severe, just the volume of the number of cases that we’re going to have could actually put a stress on the hospital system,” he said earlier in the interview.

The big picture: Fauci also said the CDC is considering shortening the isolation and quarantine time for essential workers who have been exposed to or contracted the virus, after it shortened the quarantine time for health care workers last week.

Go deeper: The ongoing U.S. failure on rapid COVID tests

Source Article from https://www.axios.com/fauci-vaccine-mandate-domestic-flight-coronavirus-f9d7d6bc-1952-4e3f-8aa9-4cd9921f43ec.html

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UK PM Boris Johnson to assess latest omicron data before deciding on new Covid curbs – CNBC

LONDON — U.K. leader Boris Johnson will speak with his top medical advisors on Monday before deciding whether to impose any new Covid-19 restrictions for England this week.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have already started new curbs to help stop the spread of the omicron variant, largely focusing on indoor mixing. But England has so far held off on adding to current stay-at-home orders and increased mask-wearing.

Johnson will reportedly digest new data on Monday looking at case rates, hospitalizations and ICU figures, as well as deaths. The Christmas holiday meant official figures were paused over the weekend, but on Friday the U.K. reported a record of 122,186 infections over a 24-hour period.

Johnson has previously said that he would not hesitate to act and bring in new curbs after Christmas if needed, but research suggesting that the omicron variant may be less severe than the delta strain could cause him to hold fire. Information on the length of hospital stays and how many infections are leading to hospitalizations will no doubt prove crucial.

Any new restrictions will likely be unpopular within his own Conservative Party, with many lawmakers staging a recent rebellion against the prime minister. A significant number are unhappy at current Covid restrictions as well as a series of gaffes, scandals and embarrassments in recent weeks. Johnson’s ratings have also suffered badly in national voter polls.

CNBC Health & Science

Read CNBC’s latest global coverage of the Covid pandemic:

New York City scales back New Year’s Eve festivities in Times Square

Biden says he wishes he had ordered 500 million Covid test kits 2 months ago

New studies suggest omicron has lower hospitalization risk and is milder than other variants

Schools struggle with omicron surge as officials push for in-person learning after winter break

Some glimmers of hope are emerging on omicron, but experts stress caution

New measures would also have to be voted on by the wider House of Commons and lawmakers will have to be recalled from their Christmas vacations. Thus, Johnson may just urge caution to English citizens ahead of New Year’s Eve celebrations instead of launching formal restrictions.

A U.K. government study published Thursday said that people are far less likely to be admitted to the hospital with the Covid omicron variant than the previous delta strain.

The U.K. Health Security Agency said individuals with omicron are estimated to be between 31% and 45% less likely to attend emergency departments compared to those with delta, and 50%-70% less likely to require admission to a hospital.

The analysis is “preliminary and highly uncertain” due to the small numbers of omicron cases currently in hospitals, but it does tally with similar findings from scientists in South Africa and research teams at Imperial College London and the University of Edinburgh.

While the number of daily deaths remains low currently and initial research suggests that the omicron variant might not be as severe as other Covid strains, health experts have repeatedly warned that the sheer number of infections could lead to mounting fatalities and an overwhelmed health-care system.

The U.K. has reported nearly 12 million infections and at least 148,324 deaths since the onset of the pandemic in early 2020, according to data complied by Johns Hopkins University.

— CNBC’s Ryan Browne contributed to this article.

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Source Article from https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/27/covid-uk-pm-boris-johnson-to-assess-latest-omicron-data.html

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2020 was awful. 2021 wasn’t much better. What’s lurking around the corner in 2022? – USA TODAY

This New Year’s Eve, as you take a cup of kindness to your lips and hum a stanza of “Auld Lang Syne” – because who really knows the words, right? – it may be propitious to take stock not just of the year gone by, but the one before and the one to come.

Source Article from https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/12/27/predictions-brighter-2021-didnt-come-true-2022-better/8900480002/

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Republican legislatures in five states expand unemployment benefits in protest of federal vaccine mandate – The Washington Post

“These governors, who are using the unemployment insurance system in a moment of political theater to make a statement about the vaccine mandate, are the same folks who turned off unemployment benefits early for millions of workers over the summer,” said Rebecca Dixon, the executive director of the left-leaning National Employment Law Project. Arkansas, Iowa, Tennessee and Florida cut federal unemployment aid in June.

Source Article from https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/12/27/5-gop-led-states-extend-unemployment-aid-workers-who-lose-jobs-over-vaccine-mandates/

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As South Africa mourns Desmond Tutu, so do LGBTQ groups, Palestinians and climate activists – CNN

(CNN)On Monday, cathedral bells tolled at midday in Cape Town as South Africa began a week of mourning for the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who died on Sunday.

Palestine mourns the passing of Desmond Tutu, whose humanity & compassion were equalled only by his courage & principled commitment in our shared struggle for justice & freedom. His support for Palestine was an embrace of love & empathy. I’m honoured to have had him as a friend.

— Hanan Ashrawi (@DrHananAshrawi) December 26, 2021

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CNN’s Tamara Qiblawi and Riuki Gakio contributed reporting.

Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/27/africa/desmond-tutu-lgbtq-climate-palestine-reaction-intl/index.html

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Covid-19, Omicron and Vaccine News: Live Updates – The New York Times

At least 2,100 more flights were canceled globally on Monday, including about 700 U.S. flights, as travel disruptions from one of the year’s busiest weekends for flying spilled into the workweek.

Over the holiday weekend, airlines canceled thousands of flights as the Omicron variant of the coronavirus hit flight crews. In all, about 2,300 U.S. flights were canceled on Saturday and Sunday of the Christmas holiday weekend, with more than 3,500 more grounded globally, according to FlightAware, which provides aviation data. On Sunday alone, more than 1,300 U.S. flights and nearly 1,700 additional ones worldwide were canceled.

While some of the groundings were caused by bad weather and maintenance issues, several airlines acknowledged that the current wave of coronavirus cases, which has risen in the United States to levels not seen since last winter, contributed significantly. A JetBlue spokesman said that the airline had “seen an increasing number of sick calls from Omicron.”

Twelve percent of JetBlue flights, 6 percent of Delta Air Lines flights, 5 percent of United Airlines flights and 2 percent of American Airlines flights on Sunday had been canceled, according to FlightAware.

Southwest Airlines canceled just 68 flights, or 1 percent, according to FlightAware, and the cancellations were caused entirely by weather, said Dan Landson, a Southwest spokesman. “We haven’t had any operational issues related to Covid,” he said in an email.

The stock prices of United, Delta, American and Southwest — the four largest U.S. carriers — were 1-2 percent lower in premarket trading on Monday.

Traveling rebounded sharply this year, making the situation at airports worse: Roughly two million people passed through screening checkpoints each day last week, according to the Transportation Security Administration. The numbers on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were much higher than the equivalent figures last year, and some figures even exceeded those of the same days two years ago, when virtually no Americans were aware of a virus then beginning to circulate halfway around the world.

There were hints that the worst of the cancellations may be over in the United States. For instance, Delta was expecting to cancel about 200 flights on Sunday, fewer than the 300 it had predicted a day earlier, according to a spokeswoman, and it is forecasting only 40 cancellations on Monday.

On the other hand, airlines also expect lots of travel on Jan. 2, a Sunday. And the Omicron variant, which is now responsible for more than 70 percent of the new coronavirus cases in the United States, has already helped push daily case averages in the United States above 200,000 for the first time in nearly 12 months, according to The New York Times’s coronavirus tracker.

An airline trade group has asked the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to shorten the recommended isolation period for fully vaccinated employees who test positive to a maximum of five days, from 10 days, before they can return with a negative test.

“Swift and safe adjustments by the C.D.C. would alleviate at least some of the staffing pressures and set up airlines to help millions of travelers returning from their holidays,” said Derek Dombrowski, a JetBlue spokesman.

The flight attendants’ union, however, has argued that reductions in recommended isolation times should be decided on “by public health professionals, not airlines.”

Some of this weekend’s delays had little to do with the pandemic. Alaska Airlines had instituted an extensive program to keep crews healthy and even had members of its management team who are trained to be crew members step in, said a spokeswoman, Alexa Rudin.

On Saturday and Sunday, it had only a handful of cancellations related to crew exposures to the coronavirus, according to Ms. Rudin. Yet it had canceled 170 flights those two days, according to FlightAware, including 21 percent of its Sunday flights, because of unusually cold and snowy weather in the Pacific Northwest, which affected its hub, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/12/27/world/omicron-covid-vaccine-tests

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