Perseverance through faith
ABC News’ Lataya Rothmiller has the inspiring story of how one woman went from being a foster youth without a permanent home to finding her calling and having a loving family to call her own.
ABC News’ Lataya Rothmiller has the inspiring story of how one woman went from being a foster youth without a permanent home to finding her calling and having a loving family to call her own.
The State Bar of California on Thursday filed a notice of disciplinary charges against former Donald Trump attorney John Eastman over what bar officials said were Eastman's alleged efforts to aid Trump in his bid to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The complaint levels 11 different disciplinary -- not criminal -- charges against Eastman detailing various efforts to craft and play a leadership role in trying to reverse Trump's loss to Joe Biden, which hinged on false claims about widespread election fraud that the state bar claims led to the deadly Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol.
FDA's Deputy Commissioner for Food Policy and Response, Frank Yiannas, has announced he is resigning from his post. The decision also comes amid the ongoing HHS-OIG audit into whether the FDA responded adequately to the mounting crisis, as ABC News was first to report -- and whether the agency followed proper recall protocol once a deadly bacteria had been detected inside Abbott's Michigan formula plant. Additionally, the FDA is preparing to give an update later this month on steps it plans to take to strengthen its foods program, following an independent review that found it lacks leadership and mission clarity.
President Joe Biden on Thursday held the White House's first-ever Lunar New Year reception only days after a mass shooting in Monterey Park, California, during a Lunar New Year celebration. "Our prayers are with the people of Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay, and after yet another spree of gun violence in America," Biden said, referring to both the Lunar New Year killings and a second mass shooting at two farms in California on Monday.
Why aren't the senators being given access to the sensitive materials, and how does that process normally work? In the last six months, federal authorities have taken possession of classified documents at both Biden and Trump's homes and said the men retained the records after they left office (in Biden's case, from his time as a vice president and senator).
For the first time in nearly seven years, the House on Thursday brought legislation to the floor under a "modified-open rule" -- a change that leads to more open debate on the floor, its supporters say, though others say it removes restrictions intended to efficiently move proposals through Congress. Republicans put an energy bill on the floor Thursday evening with a process that, prior to the vote, allowed any member to submit amendments in the Congressional Record. The rule change was negotiated during Kevin McCarthy's fight for the speakership when his detractors asked for more open debate on bills.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp declared a state of emergency Thursday in response to ongoing protests in downtown Atlanta. Kemp ordered the state's defense department to mobilize up to 1,000 state National Guard troops to be called up to active duty "as necessary." Authorities arrested six people Saturday when demonstrations over a proposed training ground for the Atlanta Police Department, which started peacefully, involved shooting fireworks, smashing windows, and igniting a police cruiser once protestors reached downtown.
Following four California mass shootings in the span of eight days that left 25 people dead and 17 injured, some gun violence researchers said they're concerned that a phenomenon known as "mass shooting contagion" is occurring across the state. The cluster of deadly incidents is not surprising, gun violence researchers told ABC News, saying studies have shown the probability is high that a mass shooting garnering national attention will be rapidly followed by another. "'Contagion' is a statistical process.
January's record rain and snowfall on the West Coast has had a positive side effect for over 27 million California residents. California's Department of Water Resources (DWR) announced Thursday that the extra rainwater will allow the State Water Project (SWP) to increase deliveries to 29 local water agencies this year. "The SWP's two largest reservoirs (Oroville and San Luis) have gained a combined 1.62 million acre-feet of water in storage -- roughly enough to provide water to 5.6 million households for a year," DWR said in a statement.
A risky military ground raid by U.S. special operations forces on a cave complex in northern Somalia on Wednesday night killed Bilal al-Sudani, a top leader and organizer with the Islamic State, U.S. officials said. Al-Sudani was killed in a firefight along with 10 other fighters, according to the officials. There were no U.S. casualties in the raid, the officials said, emphasizing that there were also no civilian casualties -- though officials later clarified that one of the U.S. service members had suffered a dog bite from a dog serving with U.S. forces.
A panel of public health experts for the Food and Drug Administration convened for an all-day meeting on Thursday to discuss whether the U.S. is ready to start treating COVID boosters like an annual flu vaccine, a move that would normalize COVID shots as permanent public health upkeep. Creating a yearly COVID shot schedule would mean updating the shot once a year and hoping that it matches whichever variant is circulating that upcoming winter season, similar to how the flu shot schedule works. No longer would public health agencies and vaccine companies attempt to reactively update the COVID vaccine when variants come on the scene.
As the buzz has continued to grow over Ozempic and other new drugs targeted for Type 2 diabetes and obesity, some users are claiming a new side effect. The term "Ozempic face" has been coined and used on social media to describe what some people say is an aged or gaunt look on the faces of people who use the medication. The hashtag #Ozempicface delivers dozens of results on social media platforms like TikTok, and some dermatologists say they are seeing the phenomenon in their practices too.
Human-made chemicals known as PFAS are back in the spotlight after the feminine hygiene company Thinx settled a class-action lawsuit earlier this month for millions of dollars. The lawsuit was brought against Thinx by customers who claimed testing showed the brand's period underwear -- advertised by the company as sustainable, organic and reusable -- contained PFAS, otherwise known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or forever chemicals. PFAS are manufactured chemicals that have been used in products like nonstick cookware, cosmetics and water-repellent clothing for decades, but have more recently been discovered to cause adverse health effects in some instances, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Continued recession fears and a cascade of tech industry layoffs have drawn renewed attention to severance packages, the compensation offered to some departing employees. Severance packages, which range widely in size and duration, offer newly unemployed workers a financial buffer as they face an uncertain job market. As employees depart a company, they should be fully informed of the details of a separation and negotiate for the best outcome they can get, the experts added.
The five Memphis police officers who were fired in connection with the death of Tyre Nichols after a traffic stop on Jan. 7 have each been charged with murder and are in custody Thursday, according to Shelby County, Tennessee, jail records. Memphis police identified the officers last week as Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr. and Justin Smith.
New data from the American Heart Association highlights the major impact COVID-19 had on cardiovascular health and death rates during the first year of the pandemic. "This is our first real evidence based on the impact of the early years of the pandemic," Dr. Connie Tsao, chair of the Statistical Update writing group and assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, said. It's something experts had predicted.
Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, was pulled over by police for alleged reckless driving. According to Nichols' mother, Rowvaughn Wells, Tyre was 2 minutes away from his home when he was pulled over. Officials said that Memphis officers approached Nichols, who ran away.
"Grey's Anatomy" and "Station 19" showrunner Krista Vernoff is exiting both series after their current 19th and sixth seasons, respectively. "It has been the privilege of a lifetime to be entrusted to run 'Grey's Anatomy' for the past six years and 'Station 19' for the last four," Vernoff said in a statement. Vernoff paid tribute to the "two extraordinary casts" she works with and the "two brilliant writers rooms" she leads, as well as calling out the crews who "work magic week after week."
Four House Democrats launched the Congressional Dads Caucus on Thursday, joining together around a legislative agenda that includes expanding parental leave, the child tax credit and other family-first initiatives. Reps. Jimmy Gomez of California, Andy Kim of New Jersey and Dan Goldman of New York -- all fathers -- announced the formation of the caucus alongside Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., a member of the Moms in the House. "The formation of this caucus is rooted in a simple idea that dads need to do our part in advancing policies that will make a difference in the lives of so many working families across the country," Gomez said.
Sayfullo Saipov, an Uzbek native who drove a rented truck down a Manhattan bike path adjacent to the Hudson River in an ISIS-inspired terror attack that killed eight people, was convicted Thursday by a federal court jury of murder and attempted murder in order to gain entry to ISIS, making him eligible for the death penalty. The trial, which began in Manhattan federal court earlier this month, marked the first federal death penalty trial of the Biden administration. Jurors will decide next month whether Saipov should face the death penalty.
Just in time for Super Bowl LVII (and Rihanna's upcoming halftime show, of course), Fenty Beauty has released a collection of makeup essentials that are perfect for the big game. The "Game Day Essentials" collection features a mashup of new and existing products that are all housed in fun football-themed packaging. The lineup includes Gloss Bomb Universal Lip Luminizers, a football-shaped sponge and mini Gloss Bomb keychains that have football charms attached.