Capitol police officer on siege: 'I was scared. I was absolutely scared'
Capitol police officer Harry Dunn recounts the moment he confronted rioters who stormed the Capitol.
Capitol police officer Harry Dunn recounts the moment he confronted rioters who stormed the Capitol.
From gracing the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition to starring in such blockbusters as "Just Go With It" and "Battleship," Brooklyn Decker's move from magazines to movies wasn't easy. The model-turned-actress has starred alongside powerhouses such as Jane Fonda, Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler, all of whom have shared some of their wisdom with her. "I've noticed that when people just sink into themselves fully without any sort of fear or trepidation, they're really the fullest version of themselves," Decker told "Good Morning America."
Kristyn Watkins got her first menstrual cycle when she was 10 years old and then suffered from what she describes as debilitating, heavy periods for nearly the next three decades. Watkins said her mother had experienced the same complications, as had Watkins's grandmother, whom she said underwent a hysterectomy at age 32 because of her excessive bleeding. Watkins lived with her heavy periods -- which would often force her to stay home or stay near a restroom -- without knowing any better or having any relief until the age of 33, when she gave birth to her first child, a daughter named Georgia.
As a teenager, Ceyenne Doroshow, the founder and now-executive director of Gays and Lesbians Living in a Transgender Society (G.L.I.T.S), said she was rejected by her family because she identified as a woman. Doroshow is not alone in her struggles. One in five transgender people have experienced homelessness during their lives, according to the National Center for Transgender Equality, and more than one in 10 transgender people have been evicted from their homes because of their gender identity.
A teenage girl has died after saving her brother when they both fell into a frozen lake in Ohio, officials said. An officer who responded to the drowning incident also died, authorities said. The 16-year-old girl and 13-year-old boy fell through the ice near boat docks at Rocky Fork State Park in Hillsboro on Tuesday evening, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
President Joe Biden signed a new executive order Wednesday mandating a 100-day review of critical product supply chains in the U.S., focused on those for computer chips, large capacity batteries, active pharmaceutical ingredients and critical minerals and strategic materials, including rare-earth minerals. The order is part of the administration's effort to secure domestic supply chains in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic that highlighted vulnerabilities that currently exist. "The bottom line is simple: The American people should never face shortages in the goods and services they rely on, whether that's their car or their prescription medicines or the food at the local grocery store," Biden said in remarks prior to signing the order.
According to a Gallup poll released Wednesday, 5.6% of United States adults identify as LGBT. For the first time, Gallup also asked respondents to indicate their precise sexual orientation, as opposed to responding "yes" or "no" to whether they identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. The poll found that more than half of LGBT adults (54.6%) identify as bisexual, about a quarter (24.5%) as gay, 11.7% as lesbian and 11.3% as transgender.
For millions of Americans like 27-year-old Edvonte Copeland, stimulus checks from the federal government have provided a financial lifeline. A special education assistant and assistant athletic director at a high school in Minneapolis, Copeland’s work became unpredictable as the pandemic forced classrooms to go virtual. When the most recent $600 check arrived in the mail, Copeland immediately used it to help pay his bills.
Nearly a week after the South Dakota attorney general was charged with three misdemeanors for fatally striking a pedestrian on a highway last year, the South Dakota governor has called on him to resign and released investigation interviews that detail the incident, and state lawmakers have begun impeachment proceedings against him. Jason Ravnsborg, 44, was charged with operating a motor vehicle while using a mobile device, lane driving violation and careless driving stemming from the Sept. 12 crash. Ravnsborg was not on his cell phone at the time of the impact but was outside the lanes of travel, state attorneys said, when he hit the 55-year-old victim, Joseph Boever, on U.S. Highway 14, about a mile west of Highmore, South Dakota.
As many struggle to get a vaccine appointment, two neighbors who met online found a way to help each other. Grandmother Emily Johnson of Austin, Texas, was in need of open-heart surgery, but her doctor said she had to have one vaccination before the operation. After spending hours on the phone to set up a vaccination appointment, she reached out to her neighbors on the website Nextdoor.
Officials have promised an investigation into the handling of the crisis, during which at least 32 people have died. As some face mounting hardships, people from far and wide have stepped up to help.
NASA released an immersive new panoramic image with 360-degree views of Mars on Wednesday that was taken by its Perseverance rover. The photo is the latest in a series being sent back by the rover, which arrived at the red planet last week. The rover, nicknamed "Percy," snapped the image by rotating its head 360 degrees to allow its Mastcam-Z instrument to capture Mars' Jezero Crater from all angles.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are urging people to stop ignoring face covering and social distancing rules when they hit the gym after two new studies confirmed they are strong spreader locations. The agency released findings Wednesday on research it undertook at gyms located in Chicago and Hawaii that saw a high "attack rate" associated with outbreaks last summer. In Hawaii, 21 people contracted the virus in July from a cycling fitness instructor who had the disease and taught classes for three days.
Moderna, which produces one of two coronavirus vaccines authorized for use in the U.S., announced on Wednesday that it has shipped a vaccine modified to fight the variant first discovered in South Africa to the National Institutes of Health for testing in humans. The company said the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the NIH, will conduct a phase one trial to determine if the modified vaccine boosts immunity against the variant, which has caused concerns due to being more resistant to the current vaccines. "We look forward to beginning the clinical study of our variant booster and are grateful for the NIH's continued collaboration to combat this pandemic," Stéphane Bancel, Moderna's chief executive officer, said in a statement.
People who test positive for antibodies after being sick with the virus that causes COVID-19 may have protection against reinfection for at least a few months, according to a new study. Researchers from the National Institutes of Health analyzed 3 million antibody test results, also known as serology tests, from five commercial labs and two health care data analytics companies between January and August of 2020. The researchers found that people with positive antibody tests were only about one-tenth as likely as those who didn't have antibodies to test positive for the virus 90 days after their initial antibody test.
In prepared testimony she's set to deliver Thursday before the House Appropriations Committee, the acting U.S. Capitol Police chief defends the actions of her department on Jan. 6, but admits the force was "overwhelmed by thousands of insurrectionists" who made it inside the Capitol and had "internal challenges" as the assault was underway. It protected Congressional Leadership. Pittman, who was the assistant chief of police of the department’s Protective & Intelligence Operations on Jan. 6, says she was responsible for member details and the Department’s Intelligence and Interagency Coordination Division (IICD).
As lawmakers and investigators dig into the roots of the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, the question of who funded one of the galvanizing forces behind pro-Trump efforts to challenge election results remains shrouded in mystery. The nationwide "Stop the Steal" movement represented one of the most vocal efforts to contest the outcome of the 2020 election. The name, coined in 2016 by Donald Trump's longtime political adviser, Roger Stone, resurfaced during the 2020 race in a new effort led by far-right activist Ali Alexander, who is now the self-proclaimed national organizer of the "Stop the Steal" movement.
Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said he believes President Joe Biden’s nominee for attorney general could look into conspiracy charges surrounding former President Donald Trump's potential involvement in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. “Certainly we know that the activities of this group, this mob, this insurrection are being held to account by the Department of Justice, over 200 have been arrested and 500 under investigation,” Durbin told Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl and Political Director Rick Klein on ABC’s “Powerhouse Politics” podcast Wednesday. In his Senate Judiciary confirmation hearing on Tuesday, attorney general nominee Merrick Garland told senators he plans to pursue leads “wherever the investigation takes us,” in response to a question from Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., encouraging Garland to look “upstream” for connections.
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy on Wednesday offered a sobering review of the mail agency’s finances and performance capabilities but reaffirmed his intention to overhaul the agency and remain at its helm, telling one Democratic lawmaker: "Get used to me." Tapped to lead the Postal Service last summer, DeJoy’s tumultuous tenure has been marked by intense partisan scrutiny and a reform effort that slowed mail deliveries across much of the country. DeJoy apologized Wednesday for "unacceptable" mail delays during the holiday season.
Former President Donald Trump and his future with the GOP was the subject of an awkward clash Wednesday between two House Republican leaders. House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy was unequivocal when asked if Trump should be speaking this Sunday at CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference -- the large gathering of GOP and conservative leaders.
Vivek Murthy, President Joe Biden's nominee to serve as U.S. Surgeon General, plans to tell Congress on Thursday that his top priority, if confirmed, will be ending the pandemic -- which has taken the lives of seven of his own family members in the U.S. and India. In January, Murthy lost his great uncle, who he was very close with, an aide said. As "America's doctor," the potential surgeon general would play a central role in crafting the public message on the coronavirus, which has claimed more than 500,000 American lives.