The latest on new variant of COVID-19 discovered in UK and vaccine rollouts

Dr. Todd Ellerin, infectious disease specialist, discusses the COVID-19 variant found in the U.K. and answers questions about the coronavirus vaccines.

Latest Stories

  • Mary Wilson says 'it's up to' Diana Ross for a Supremes reunion

    The Supremes are about to celebrate a major milestone, marking their 60th anniversary on Jan. 21 -- the day they were signed by Motown Records as The Primettes in 1961. Mary Wilson spoke to The Hollywood Reporter regarding the big anniversary and reflected on the possibility of reuniting with her former group members Cindy Birdsong, Jean Terrell and, of course, Diana Ross. Wilson and Ross are the only two founding members still alive.

  • Carrie Underwood reveals release date for her 1st gospel album, 'My Savior'

    Carrie Underwood is releasing her gospel album, "My Savior," on March 26. The album, which features a variety of traditional hymns Underwood grew up singing, is co-produced by the singer and "Cry Pretty" co-producer David Garcia. In a trailer for the project, Underwood refers to the songs as "legacy stuff," and says she was intentional about doing "the familiar" in terms of covering the songs she was raised on in church.

  • 'Drivers License' singer Olivia Rodrigo talks getting support from Niall Horan, Taylor Swift

    Ahead of "High School Musical: The Musical: The Series" star Olivia Rodrigo's No. 1 debut, "Drivers License," anticipated to top the Billboard Hot 100 list, the 17-year-old revealed that Niall Horan reached out to her to give some advice about sudden fame. Rodrigo's breakup song released at the beginning of January, earned praise from Taylor Swift. "Drivers License" also landed on top of several music charts in the United Kingdom and Australia, reports Billboard.

  • Democrats, weighing witnesses, plan to launch impeachment trial by end of week, sources say

    House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is expected to send the article of impeachment against President Donald Trump to the Senate later this week, sources familiar with the matter tell ABC News -- a move that would kick off formal proceedings the next day and opening arguments on the Senate floor the following week. The timing of formal transmission from the House to the Senate is significant, as the Constitution dictates that the trial begins at 1 p.m. the following day. Pushing that procedural step back until after President-elect Joe Biden takes office -- back to Thursday or Friday -- would also give his administration at least a day or two to gain its footing as the Senate begins the balancing act of putting Trump on trial while starting to take up Biden's agenda.

  • Garth Brooks on why he's performing at Biden’s inauguration

    Garth Brooks is performing at the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. The country singer -- who agreed to perform after "a very sweet ask" during a phone call with future first lady Jill Biden -- called the opportunity a chance "to serve" and "not a political statement, a statement of unity." Brooks recalled performing for every president since Jimmy Carter, except for Ronald Reagan, and having to turn down an invite to perform at President Donald Trump's inauguration due to concert date commitments.

  • Damaging winds and fire danger in California, wintry blast for East

    The National Weather Service is warning that winds 50 to 80 mph are expected for California today with extreme fire danger. The most dangerous winds and highest fire danger on Tuesday will be south of the San Francisco Bay area into Los Angeles. A red flag warning has been issued for the area where dry offshore winds could create extreme fire conditions.

  • WHO experts tweet from Wuhan quarantine ahead of much-anticipated mission into virus origins

    It’s a question that has generated yearlong discord between China and the West: how did this virus that plunged the world into crisis begin in the first place? Last Thursday, a team of World Health Organization experts touched down in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, where the coronavirus was first detected in 2019, to start a much-delayed mission into the origins of the virus that has now killed more than two million people worldwide. On Monday -- day four of their quarantine -- British-American zoologist Peter Daszak tweeted a picture of his breakfast along with a sunrise over Wuhan, ahead of "a day packed with meetings."

  • 9 in 10 say pandemic not controlled; two-thirds intend to vaccinate

    Nearly 9 in 10 Americans say the coronavirus pandemic is not under control in the United States, but far fewer say they'll get vaccinated against it, a new ABC News/Washington Post poll finds. The view is deeply partisan; 7 in 10 Democrats and 55% of independents say the virus is not at all under control, versus 28% of Republicans. The net (65%, due to rounding) is lower than the 71% who said they would get vaccinated in a similar question in late May. The decline is steepest among those who haven't gone beyond high school (-14 percentage points), Hispanics (-13 points), those ages 18 to 49 (-12 points) and Republicans and conservatives (each -12 points).

  • 2 dogs credited with saving owner's life from burning home die in same fire

    Two dogs are being credited with saving the life of their owner after they woke him up while his house was burning down before perishing in the fire themselves. The incident occurred at 6:24 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 18 in Dinwiddie, Virginia, when the Dinwiddie Emergency Communications Center dispatched fire and EMS units to a house fire and reports that an occupant and two dogs were still inside the building. The location of the two dogs remained unknown at this time.

  • How Trump obliterated norms and changed the presidency

    President Donald Trump's four years in the White House were marked by an unconventional, norm-busting approach to the country's institutions that will likely outlast the one-term leader, leaving a transformative and divisive legacy in Washington. From his earliest days as a candidate, through his attempts to subvert the 2020 election, the New York businessman-turned reality TV star reshaped the presidency to center on him to a degree unlike any of his predecessors, exploiting the country's deepening divisions and fears and demanding loyalty above all else. The MAGA movement, fueled by massive rallies and an unrelenting social media blitz, helped him to pull off an improbable victory in 2016 with narrow margins in key states, despite losing the popular vote by nearly 3 million.

  • How COVID-19 vaccinations are going, on a global scale

    "The world is on the brink of a catastrophic moral failure," World Health Organization Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Monday at the opening of the WHO's annual executive board meeting. According to Dr. Penny Ward, visiting professor in pharmaceutical medicine at Kings College London, even if wealthier nations are vaccinated, there is a chance "if a new mutation arises in strains circulating elsewhere which is a poor match to the vaccine, then a new outbreak can occur in a vaccinated population." The Trump administration has been criticized for its effort, vaccine supply is in short demand in some places, and anti-vaxxers are campaigning hard across the globe.

  • A look at Trump's economic legacy

    President Donald Trump campaigned as a billionaire businessman and champion of the working class with the economic prowess and deal-cutting skills that politicians in Washington, D.C., lacked. On the campaign trail, Trump claimed to be laser-focused on bringing back manufacturing and mining jobs, renegotiating trade deals that led to work disappearing overseas and curtailing immigration. Economists say Trump’s economic legacy will be defined by his failure in leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic that exacerbated the financial downturn, domestic policies that overwhelmingly benefited the wealthy, and international trade policies that hurt U.S. industry while simultaneously alienating allies.

  • Biden's pick for secretary of state commits to diplomacy, diversity, alliances in confirmation hearing

    After serving for decades at Joe Biden's side, Anthony Blinken will step into the driver's seat on Tuesday as the president-elect's choice to be the next secretary of state faces his Senate confirmation hearing. Like his boss did during the 2020 presidential campaign, Blinken is expected to commit the incoming administration to repairing U.S. alliances and the State Department itself, according to prepared remarks obtained by ABC News. The former second-in-command at the agency is a longtime aide to Biden -- a close personal relationship that will be key to effectively speaking on behalf of the president while overseas.

  • Biden to pitch an eight-year pathway to citizenship in day 1 immigration reform bill

    President-elect Joe Biden will send to Congress an extensive immigration reform bill that includes an eight-year pathway to citizenship on Wednesday, following through on a long-standing campaign pledge to move on immigration on day one of a Biden presidency. The new details of Biden’s legislation were first reported by The Washington Post, and confirmed by Biden transition officials. Biden will send to Congress on Wednesday a policy that will include an eight-year pathway to citizenship for immigrants without legal status, and expand admissions for refugees to the country.

  • How Dry January changed my dating life — and ultimately my relationship

    Hilary Sheinbaum is a journalist and author of “The Dry Challenge: How to Lose the Booze for Dry January, Sober October, and Any Other Alcohol-Free Month." Extracting alcohol from the dating-game equation impacts much more than where you go on said date.

  • Blended families see themselves in Kamala Harris as she becomes 1st stepmom vice president

    When Kamala Harris takes the oath of office Wednesday to become vice president, she will be the first woman and first woman of color to serve in that elected position. Harris will also make history as the first stepmother to be America's vice president, a moment that blended families across the country say they are planning to watch with joy.

  • I'm pregnant and a doctor: This is why I got the COVID-19 vaccine

    Dr. Nayeli Rodulfo-Zayas, an emergency medicine physician in San Antonio, Texas, was 35 weeks pregnant when she received her second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine earlier this month. Rodulfo-Zayas, also the mother of a 2-year-old, is speaking out about her decision in hopes of inspiring other pregnant women to have important, educated conversations with their health care providers about getting the vaccine. Pregnant women have not been actively included in the late-stage clinical trials for any COVID-19 vaccines, including the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines in the U.S.

  • Spirit agent hospitalized, passengers arrested after bag dispute

    Two Spirit Airlines agents were injured on Sunday after three passengers "attacked them" while trying to board a flight from Detroit to Atlanta "without authorization" on Sunday, the airline said. Spirit Airlines told ABC News that the group became combative after the agents asked the passengers to verify that their carry-on bags met the airline's luggage size requirements. "The agents attempted to calmly defuse the situation," Spirit said in a statement, "but were physically assaulted by these passengers as they closed a door to stop them from boarding the aircraft."

  • Ohio police officer shot and killed following hours long standoff

    The Toledo Police Department announced that 24-year-old officer Brandon Stalker was shot and killed after a standoff situation at a home Monday afternoon. Officer Stalker was killed when SWAT teams forced an unnamed suspect out of the home he had been hiding in after hours of negotiations were unsuccessful, Toledo Police Chief George Kral said at a news conference Monday. Stalker had been assigned to cover the perimeter and was not part of the SWAT team, Kral said.

  • 8 apps to support your mental health during the coronavirus pandemic

    The coronavirus pandemic and the social distancing that comes with it can be isolating, anxiety-producing and stressful. State-by-state orders to stay home can also make it hard to seek mental health help in a traditional way. Here are eight apps that provide mental health and mindfulness support on the go.