Month: November 2020

Most of the country will have a quiet Thanksgiving in terms of sensible weather.

The holiday storm that has been tracking across the country brought some severe weather and heavy rain to parts of the Midwest and the south on Wednesday.

There was one reported tornado in Mississippi that did some damage as well as strong thunderstorm wind reports in parts of Indiana and Ohio.

Heavy rain in the South also brought some flash flooding, especially in parts of the New Orleans metropolitan area.

This morning, heavy rain forming along the frontal system associated with the holiday storm is bringing heavy rain to the Northeast, including to major metro areas.

Locally, over an inch of rain could be possible from this storm, which could cause some flash flooding on area roadways.

For those that are headed out and about for Thanksgiving, it could be treacherous with heavy rain at times and some flooding in spots.

The other weather story for Thanksgiving is a critical fire threat in Southern California.

Dry and gusty Santa Ana winds are expected in the region starting today and lasting through Friday and gusts, especially in the mountains, could reach 65 mph and relative humidity could be as low as 5%.

These are critical fire conditions and any fires that do develop could become quite erratic. The fire danger is expected to persist into Friday.

While most of the country will get away with a quiet Thanksgiving in terms of sensible weather, there are indications that the weather pattern is about to change.

A new storm will develop in the southern U.S. as early as late Friday and Saturday and the initial impacts of this storm will be widespread heavy rain that will be moving across the southern U.S. this holiday weekend.

The rainfall is expected to be somewhat excessive, with a widespread 2 to 4 inches of rain expected from Texas to Georgia, and locally 4 to 6 inches of rain in parts of extreme Southeast Texas and Louisiana which could result in flash flooding concerns this weekend.

By early next week the precise placement of this storm and a blast of colder air become a little more complicated and forecast confidence begins to decrease.

However, forecast models are indicating that the storm will become pretty well organized and pull a surge of cold air down into parts of the eastern U.S. with a surge of moisture along the East Coast.

Perhaps the more concerning issue with this set up is that storm slows down and stalls over the eastern U.S., which means there could be several days in a row next week of unsettled weather from the Midwest to the Northeast.

The likely impacts include a very heavy rain even for the Northeast major cities with flooding possible.

Gusty winds along the coast will also be possible, as will coastal flooding.

However, on the colder western side of the storm, areas of snow are likely to develop but it remains too early to determine where the heaviest snow will occur.

But due to the rush of cold air, there could be snowfall well into the Tennessee Valley.

Overall, it remains too early to determine the precise impacts of this storm but it appears several days of unsettled weather is ahead beginning in the South this weekend and then the Midwest and Northeast next week.

The company said it and Kelby Krabbenhoft have “mutually agreed to part ways.”

The head of one of the largest regional health systems in the Midwest announced his retirement this week, following a controversy over recent statements he made about COVID-19.

Sioux Falls, South Dakota-based Sanford Health announced Tuesday it has parted ways with longtime CEO Kelby Krabbenhoft.

The announcement comes after Krabbenhoft sent an email on Nov. 18 to health system employees, saying he won’t be wearing a mask at work because he recovered from COVID-19, according to the Associated Press. The letter was obtained by several news organizations, including the AP and North Dakota-based wire service Forum News Service, which printed it in full here.

Sanford Health distanced itself from Krabbenhoft following the email’s publication.

“Kelby Krabbenhoft’s email was based on his own experience with COVID-19 and his personal opinions about the virus. They do not reflect the views of our health system as a whole,” the organization said on Twitter on Nov. 20.

“Sanford Health’s position is the same as it has always been – consistently wearing masks, avoiding crowds and staying home if you’re sick are critical to preventing the spread of the virus. It is important to follow [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] guidelines,” it continued.

In a news release Tuesday, Sanford Health officials did not mention the email, merely saying that the organization and Krabbenhoft have “mutually agreed to part ways.”

“Kelby’s impact on the organization and the communities it serves will be felt for generations to come,” Board of Trustees Chair Brent Teiken said in a statement.

In a statement sent to the Sioux Falls ABC affiliate KSFY-TV, Krabbenhoft said now was “a good time to retire.”

“Sanford is in a good place, strongest ever,” said Krabbenhoft, who had served as president and CEO since 1996. “It is Thanksgiving week and almost exactly 25 years since my family came here. It is a good time to say ‘goodbye.'”

Sanford Health’s network includes 46 hospitals, spanning 26 states and 10 countries. It requires clinic employees, patients and visitors to wear masks, according to its website.

According to the copy of the email obtained by Forum News Service, Krabbenhoft said that people who have not yet contracted the virus should wear a mask. “It is important for them to know that masks are just plain smart to use and in their best interest,” the email said.

But for him to wear a mask “sends an untruthful message that I am susceptible to infection or could transmit it,” he wrote, adding that he had “no interest in using masks as a symbolic gesture.”

In the email, Krabbenhoft, who is not a physician, also said that he is immune to COVID-19 for at least seven months “and perhaps for years to come.”

Much is still unknown about COVID-19 immunity, though based on other coronaviruses, “people appear to become susceptible to reinfection around 90 days after onset of infection,” according to the CDC.

COVID-19 reinfection is “rare,” though such cases have been reported, the CDC noted. It recommends that people wear a mask in public “whether you have had COVID-19 or not.”

Krabbenhoft told Sioux Falls station KELO-TV last week that his email was misinterpreted.

“All I did in my letter was, again, in a hopeful way, in a positive way, as a recovering virus patient, suggest that there is a growing body of evidence and discussion about the longevity of the immunity that is garnered from this. That’s all I said,” he told the station, citing a New York Times piece on new COVID-19 immunity research that was published earlier this month.

The turnover at Sanford Health comes as South Dakota is experiencing a surge in hospitalizations. The state has the highest rate of hospitalizations in the United States, according to the COVID Tracking Project, with 649 hospitalizations per 1 million people.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has not issued any restrictions or a statewide mask mandate during the coronavirus pandemic. Last week, Sioux Falls officials approved an ordinance requiring masks inside retail businesses and city facilities when social distancing cannot be maintained.

Fuentes was crossing a street when he was first struck by a motorcycle.

A man was struck and killed by three separate hit-and-run drivers who all fled the scene after colliding with him while he was crossing a street and now police are appealing to the public for help in finding the perpetrators.

The incident occurred at approximately 7:39 p.m. in the South Los Angeles neighborhood of Florence when 50-year-old Jose Fuentes was crossing a street when a motorcycle traveling northbound collided with him, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

In video released by the LAPD, Fuentes can be seen lying in the road after being struck by the motorcycle as it speeds away. Just seconds later Fuentes is then hit by a white sedan which also fled the scene after the collision, according to ABC News’ Los Angeles station KABC.

In a separate video of the same accident that was released by the Los Angeles Police South Traffic Division, the man on the motorcycle can be seen stopped somewhere down the road before getting back on his motorcycle and fleeing.

“Nobody stopped and helped out Mr. Fuentes as he lied there,” said LAPD Detective Ryan Moreno is a statement in front of the press. “The guy on the motorcycle, he kind of went out onto the street, maybe [he could have] stopped to block traffic and prevented even the second or third collision from happening. But he elected to get on his motorcycle and took off and left and fled the scene.”

Fuentes was subsequently hit a third time following the motorcycle and the white sedan but police did not release any information on that vehicle or a possible description of the suspect. Not one of the three vehicles stopped after striking Fuentes.

Authorities are now looking for all three suspect but were only able to say that they are looking for a dark colored sports bike being driven by a man as well as a white colored sedan.

Said the LAPD in a separate written statement on their website: “On April 15, 2015, the City Council amended the Los Angeles Administrative Code and created a Hit and Run Reward Program Trust Fund. A reward of up to $50,000 is available to community members who provide information leading to the offender’s identification, apprehension, and conviction or resolution through a civil compromise.”

Anyone with information regarding Fuentes’ death is asked to contact the LAPD’s South Traffic Division.

The guilty plea is part of a settlement with the Justice Department.

Purdue Pharma is expected Tuesday to plead guilty to federal conspiracy and kickback charges and acknowledge that its aggressive marketing of opioids over the last three decades helped propel an addiction crisis that killed hundreds of thousands of Americans.

The guilty plea is part of a settlement with the Justice Department. Critics say that a separate deal with members of the Sackler family, who owned the company and made an estimated $10 billion from OxyContin, is too lenient since they will not admit to wrongdoing and face zero charges as part of the settlement.

Purdue Pharma said it knowingly and willfully offered payments to health care providers to induce them to write more prescriptions of its opioid products.

It also admitted to aiding and abetting the dispensing of opioids without a legitimate medical purpose or valid prescription and failing to provide the Drug Enforcement Administration with accurate information about OxyContin.

Until it stopped marketing opioids in February 2018, prosecutors said Purdue sought to increase sales by sending sales representatives to prescribers’ offices and pharmacies to deliver company-developed messaging, give the prescribers meals and marketing materials and provide information about pharmacies stocking Purdue opioids.

The settlement agreement quoted an executive who said in a September 2010 presentation to Purdue’s sales supervisors: “As I have stated several times, we know increases in the prescriber call average will have the single largest impact of anything you can do to increase prescriptions of Purdue products with our core and super core prescribers.”

During an all-day hearing in a White Plains, New York, bankruptcy court last week on Tuesday, a judge authorized the settlement between Purdue and the DOJ.

Winter Weather Advisories have been issued for parts of Wisconsin and Illinois.

A large storm system is developing in the central U.S. and it is bringing some snow to parts of the Rocky Mountains and the upper Midwest.

Winter Weather Advisories have been issued for parts of both regions, including large parts of Wisconsin, Michigan and Illinois.

Roadways this morning in and around Chicago, Rockford, Milwaukee and Cedar Rapids could be slippery this morning due to the snow.

Temperatures in the region are pretty close to freezing so the snow will have trouble accumulating on some surfaces, with much of the accumulation being on grassy surfaces where most spots will see 1 to 3 inches of snow.

On the southern side of this storm system we will see the chance for severe storms to develop later today in parts of the Southern Plains, especially in Oklahoma where damaging winds and brief tornadoes will be possible.

By Wednesday morning as the storm moves east, some of those strong to severe storms will move through parts of Louisiana up through parts of Indiana and Kentucky.

Once again, the main threat will be damaging winds, although isolated tornadoes will also be possible once again.

On Thanksgiving morning, the storm system will reach the East Coast and heavy rain will overspread much of the Northeast including the major I-95 cities where localized flooding will be possible.

The good news is the bulk of the rain will clear the East Coast by the evening hours on Thanksgiving.

Behind this system on Thanksgiving, much of the country will be dry and mild with no real organized weather threat. This is perfect for many who are aiming to safely see relatives outdoors or with windows open given the current health crisis.

The next organized weather threat appears to be immediately after Thanksgiving during the extended holiday weekend as a slow moving storm system is likely to develop and move through the southern U.S.

Based on the latest forecast guidance, it appears there could be a potential rainfall and flooding threat on the way to region that could last into early next week.

If confirmed, Yellen would become the first woman to hold the top treasury job.

President-elect Joe Biden is expected to name Janet Yellen as his pick for treasury secretary, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.

If confirmed by the Senate, Yellen, 74, will be the first woman to hold the top job.

Biden’s selection of Yellen is a signal of stability at a time of economic fragility amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Having previously led the Federal Reserve, Yellen will bring her deep background of experience to the top job at the Treasury Department and will require no on-the-job training.

Yellen will have to hit the ground running on her first day in the job, as one of Biden’s first tasks upon taking office will likely be resurrecting and passing a coronavirus relief package that has for months been stalled on Capitol Hill, as the nation continues to struggle economically amid the ongoing pandemic.

Yellen is seen as a consensus candidate, who is viewed as palatable within the progressive wing of the Democratic Party and is not expected to face strong opposition from Republicans in a Senate confirmation process.

At least one Republican economist has already praised the choice of Yellen. President Donald Trump’s former National Economic Council director Gary Cohn extended his congratulations on Twitter.

“Janet Yellen is an excellent choice for Treasury Secretary. Having had the opportunity to work with then-Chair Yellen, I have no doubt she will be the steady hand we need to promote an economy that works for everyone, especially during these difficult times,” Cohn wrote.

Yellen served as the chair of the Federal Reserve from 2014 to 2018 and was replaced after one term on the job by Trump, who installed current chair Jerome Powell in her place.

Agents in Trump’s detail have been asked about relocating to West Palm Beach.

As states begin to certify election results that seal a victory for President-elect Joe Biden, even though Donald Trump hasn’t conceded there is one clear sign his post-presidency life is taking shape: Secret Service agents in the president’s detail are being asked whether they’re interested in transferring to Palm Beach, Florida, sources have told ABC News.

The Secret Service’s Miami field office also has begun looking at physical reinforcements to Mar-a-Largo, the president’s club to which he refers as “the winter White House,” the sources added. These moves are considered unofficial as Trump has yet to concede to Biden.

Trump, a longtime New Yorker born in the borough of Queens, changed his residency to Florida last year and voted there in late October.

When reached by ABC News, a secret service spokesperson said: “For operational security reasons, the Secret Service does not discuss specifically or in general terms the means, methods or resources we utilize to carry out our protective mission.”

A Trump Organization spokesperson declined to comment.

Renovations to living quarters expected to be occupied by Trump and first lady Melania Trump are underway, ahead of when they’ll be living there full time after the Jan. 20 inauguration, sources familiar with the planning told ABC News.

Sources have described the renovations as “updates” to living quarters, in part because the residence has been used only on a temporary basis. The Mar-a-Lago club also had been opened only seasonally, and it remains unclear how a permanent residency by Donald and Melania Trump could change that.

While Trump will be required to spend at least six months per calendar year in Florida to maintain his residence status, the 74-year-old is expected to spend time at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, and in New York, according to the sources, who added that all post-presidency plans remain fluid.

A police source told ABC News that, come Jan. 21, the New York Police Department is planning to work with the Secret Service to reduce the law enforcement footprint around Trump Tower in Manhattan since it will no longer be Trump’s primary residence.

The result, the source said, will be a freer flow of traffic along Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue.

The NYPD is also expecting 56th Street adjacent to Trump Tower to reopen to traffic, easing Midtown congestion, according to the source.

Police initially received a call reporting a possible bomb inside of a truck.

A suspect is under arrest and charged in connection with a shooting at a Sonic Drive-In late Saturday evening that killed two people and left two others hospitalized, according to police.

At approximately 9:23 p.m. police in Bellevue, Nebraska, received a call about reports of a possible bomb inside a moving truck in the parking lot of a Sonic Drive-In, according to local authorities.

In a statement released by the Bellevue Police Department, numerous officers immediately responded to the scene of the incident, which was then updated at 9:24 p.m. to a shooting, with the first officers arriving only two minutes later at 9:26 p.m. to discover four victims with gunshot wounds.

“Two victims were transported to the University of Nebraska Medical Center,” the Bellevue Police Department said in its statement. “Two additional victims were determined to be deceased on the scene. The victims will be identified after the completion of appropriate family notifications.”

On Sunday evening, police released the names of the shooting victims, all who were employees of Sonic: Nathan Pastrana, 22, and Ryan Helbert, 28, both died at the scene. Kenneth Gerner, 25, and Zoey Reece Atalig Lujan, 18, were injured.

Roberto Carlos Silva Jr., 23, was taken into custody shortly after police arrived on scene, according to authorities. He was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of arson, the police said Sunday.

At a press conference late Sunday, police showed bodycam video of Silva Jr. being arrested in the parking lot of the Bellevue restaurant. In one part of the video — which was shown on a screen at the presser and is not being released beyond that — one can see the U-Haul truck burning in the background.

Police did not release any details on why the U-Haul was on fire, only that they believe the truck was in fact brought there by the suspect..

Police did not give any updates on the condition of the two victims who were taken to hospital, and the motive behind the shooting is currently not known.

Authorities also said that there are no indications of any additional suspects involved in the shooting.

The investigation is ongoing.

ABC News’ Ivan Pereira contributed to this report.

Some heavy snow of locally up 10 to 20 inches will be possible in areas.

A quick moving and rather weak storm system moved through parts of the Midwest this weekend and a quick burst of snow fell on Sunday in parts of Indiana and Michigan, where locally 1 to 2 inches accumulated.

This same frontal system is on the East Coast this morning and will bring a quick round of very heavy rain to the major I-95 cities this morning including Philadelphia, New York City, Hartford and Boston. A couple of strong wind gusts and a few embedded thunderstorms will also be possible.

In the interior Northeast, some precipitation could change to snow briefly, especially in the higher elevations of the Catskills and Adirondacks where very light accumulation will be possible.

This storm system quickly moves out later today with some clearing arriving in the afternoon.

Elsewhere, attention turns to a rather large storm system that will develop in the central U.S. beginning mainly on Tuesday.

On the western side of this storm system, some heavy mountain snow of locally up 10 to 20 inches will be possible across parts of the Colorado Rockies.

Some snow will also likely sneak into parts of the immediate Denver metro area and the Colorado high plains. However, it will be tough for the snowfall to accumulate due to mild temperatures.

Meanwhile, on the eastern side of the snow, a burst of snow will also move into parts of the Upper Midwest and especially in parts of Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota.

Again, accumulations should be light, because of temperatures near the freezing mark. The best chance for over 3 inches of snow appears to be Central and Southern Wisconsin. Regardless of precise snowfall amount, however, wet snow could make roads slippery in the region.

Meanwhile, on the southern side of the storm in the warm sector, some scattered severe storms could move across parts of Texas, Oklahoma on Tuesday sliding to the Mississippi River valley by Wednesday morning.

The strong storms could bring some gusty winds and perhaps a couple of brief tornadoes and the threat area will include places like Dallas, Shreveport, Little Rock and Memphis.

The good news is by Thanksgiving on Thursday, the bulk of the impacts of this storm system are done.

Some leftover showers will be possible on the East Coast but most of it should remain pretty scattered.

It will not be a washout, nor will it be cold, so on the East Coast there likely will be an opportunity to meet family members or friends outside for safe and socially distant Thanksgiving activities.

The rest of the country is looking rather quiet on the holiday with no real organized weather concerns. Perhaps most notably, is that there is no real big blast of cold air anywhere.

It could a little seasonably cool in the Northwest, but nothing too unbearable. This is very good news coast to coast because just about everyone should be able to find an acceptable time frame to spend outdoors, safe and socially distant.

“He was a blessing to us all in so many ways,” his family said.

The co-creator of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge died Sunday following his long battle with the neurodegenerative disease.

Pat Quinn’s family posted on social media that the 37-year-old from Yonkers, New York, passed away in the morning. Quinn and Pete Frates launched the viral video campaign where people around the world poured ice-cold water over themselves and then nominated others to do the same to raise awareness and fund research into ALS.

“He was a blessing to us all in so many ways,” the family wrote on his social media page.

ALS, also called Lou Gehrig’s Disease after the Yankees legend who lost his life to it in 1941, is a neurological disease that mainly affects nerve cells responsible for controlling voluntary movements, such as walking, chewing and talking, according to the National Institutes of Health. There is no known cure, and scientists have worked for decades to determine a cause.

Quinn was diagnosed with ALS in 2013, a month after his 30th birthday, according to the ALS Association. He and Frates were friends and started two online groups, Quinn for the Win and Team Frate Train, to raise awareness and funds for the fight against ALS.

Their online presence and connections led to the co-creation of the Ice Bucket Challenge in 2014. Quinn and Frates saw fellow New York ALS patient Anthony Senerchia, perform the challenge on his social media page and amplified the campaign, the ALS Association said.

Quinn and Frates recorded their own Ice Bucket videos and reached out to athletes, including Matt Ryan of the Atlanta Falcons, to participate and raise awareness and donations.

During the summer of 2014, the Ice Bucket Challenge included several big-name supporters and donors including Lady Gaga, Oprah Winfrey and Meghan Markle. Quinn told ABC’s “Nightline” in an interview last year that he was surprised by how fast the campaign grew around the world.

“I am a huge basketball fan, so when people like Michael Jordan and Lebron James got involved, I lost it,” he told “Nightline.”

The campaign raised $220 million for ALS research and sparked a wave of studies and development into finding new treatments.

“Pat fought ALS with positivity and bravery and inspired all around him. Those of us who knew him are devastated but grateful for all he did to advance the fight against ALS,” the ALS Association said in a statement.

Frates died last year, and Senerchia died in 2017.

Quinn continued to conduct the challenge in the subsequent years, and he spoke around the country about the need for more awareness about the disease.

“The Ice Bucket Challenge connected with a sweet left hook to the jaw of ALS and shook the disease up, but by no means is this fight over. We need to knock this disease out,” he said at an event in Boston last year to mark the campaign’s fifth anniversary.