The Democratic congressman from Rhode Island said, “We were told to shelter in place.”
Super Bowl LV, featuring the Kansas City Chiefs against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, will look a lot different this year, but there are still fun ways to partake in the festivities. Ahead, "GMA" has scanned around for several items you can shop ahead of Super Bowl 55.
The Capitol Police Union blasted the department's leadership one day after congressional testimony by acting Police Chief Yogananda Pittman, who said that the department knew two days before Jan. 6 that there was a "strong potential for violence and that Congress was the target." "The disclosure that the entire executive team (former Chief [Steven] Sund, now Acting Chief Pittman, and Assistant Chief [Chad] Thomas) knew what was coming but did not better prepare us for potential violence, including the possible use of firearms against us, is unconscionable," union Chairman Gus Papathanasiou said in a statement Wednesday. The acting chief of the U.S. Capitol Police apologized to lawmakers during Tuesday's hearing for not being more prepared for the attack.
A Minnesota pillow company famous for its infomercials suddenly became embroiled in political controversy as its CEO refused to back down from ardently defending former President Donald Trump and baseless claims of election fraud. My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell was permanently banned from Twitter earlier this week for peddling unfounded claims that Trump won the election. The social media giant had permanently barred Trump earlier this month in the wake of the deadly Jan. 6 mob attack at the U.S. Capitol.
It's been less than three months since the U.S. saw a record-breaking election turnout, and state leaders across the country are introducing legislation that changes how their localities would operate future elections. The Brennan Center for Justice, a non-partisan, independent organization that analyzes election rules, released a study Tuesday that found 28 states have introduced 106 bills that would restrict voting access by various means, including mandating voter ID and adding more conditions for requesting mail-in ballots. Eliza Sweren-Becker, voting rights and elections counsel for the Brennan Center, told ABC News state legislators are reacting to the overwhelming turnout during last year's election, where over 155 million Americans cast a ballot.
Liceny Espaillat has worked her entire life toward reaching the middle class and, as an immigration lawyer, she always thought she would be beyond the reach of poverty. “I went from almost up the ladder -- I'm getting there, I'm almost there -- and, all of a sudden, this happens, and that's it, no more money,” Espaillat told “Nightline” five months after she had lost her job. Since then, Espaillat has been through a harrowing journey navigating the COVID-19 relief system.
Three male teenagers were arrested Wednesday in connection with a mysterious six-month-old arson in Colorado that killed five members of a Senegalese family, including a toddler and an infant. Two of the juveniles are 16 years old and one is 15, Denver Police Chief Paul Pazen said. "These are the individuals that we believe are responsible for this horrific crime," Pazen said at an afternoon news conference in Denver.
Over the last decade, federal officials misappropriated millions of dollars designated for biomedical research, including vaccine research, emergency preparedness for public health threats like Ebola, Zika -- and now, COVID-19 -- according to the findings from an investigation into a whistleblower complaint to the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, shared with ABC News. The Health and Human Services Department's inspector general conducted the investigation, overseen by the Office of Special Counsel. The whistleblower, who chose to remain anonymous, alleged that the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response tapped into those funds earmarked for scientific advancement under the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority in the years leading up to the coronavirus pandemic -- dollars "intended for the development of public health countermeasures," -- and instead used them to pay for "myriad unrelated expenses, including the removal of office furniture, administrative expenses, news subscriptions, legal services, and the salaries of personnel who did not work for BARDA," the inspector general report found.
Cloris Leachman, the versatile Oscar-winning actress whose career on stage, television and film spanned more than seven decades, has died at age 94. "It’s been my privilege to work with Cloris Leachman, one of the most fearless actresses of our time," her longtime manager, Juliet Green, said in a statement. Leachman, equally adept at comedy and drama, was perhaps best known for her TV roles on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and its spinoff "Phyllis," as well as "The Facts of Life," "Malcolm in the Middle" and "Raising Hope."
President Joe Biden was clear on the campaign trail that he would roll back several actions taken by the Trump administration, many of them having to do with climate and the environment. Throughout his presidency, Trump reversed several American commitments to mitigating climate change that were made during the Obama administration -- most notably pulling out of the Paris Agreement, removing clean water protections and seeking to fast-track environmental reviews of dozens of major energy and infrastructure projects, such as drilling, fuel pipelines and wind farms. After Biden was sworn in as the 46th president on Jan. 20, he was ready with pen in hand to begin signing executive actions -- 33 in less than a week, with nearly two dozen of them aimed specifically at undoing what was on Trump's agenda.
While the push to get Americans vaccinated continues across the country, preliminary data has emerged that lab-created monoclonal antibodies could be a treatment for COVID-19. The pharmaceutical company Regeneron said Wednesday its antibody cocktail appears to hold up against the U.K. and South African variants. Researchers at Columbia University and Regeneron scientists each independently confirmed in tests the antibodies' success in neutralizing both variants.
Throughout the pandemic, more than 2.6 million children in the U.S. have tested positive for COVID-19, representing 12.7% of all cases, according to the AAP and CHA. "Children absolutely can be infected with COVID and they're less likely to spread it, but they can spread it," Dr. Lee Ann Savio Beers, president of the AAP, told "Good Morning America." "And as the number of cases in our communities rise, the percentage of the number of cases of children infected with COVID will rise."
Marvel fans are already scrambling to figure out what happens next on "WandaVision," but series star Paul Bettany hints the biggest surprise isn't on anyone's radar. Speaking to the "Lights Camera Barstool" podcast, the actor -- who plays Vision on the Disney+ series -- teased that a major Marvel character soon will debut. Bettany, 49, added that the character is such a big deal, folks have gone into overdrive to keep their identity a secret.
Shayna Zweiback is a survivor of the coronavirus. After contracting the viral infection in March last year, she was sick for weeks. “All of a sudden, later into June, early July, I just had a slew of new symptoms … namely severe muscle pain,” Zweiback told “Nightline.”
Dangerous mudslides have trapped residents and damaged 20 to 25 homes in the coastal California county of Monterey, fire officials said. Many have been rescued, but others are in homes cut off by mud and are awaiting help, according to the Monterey County Fire Department. The mudslides, which are near the burn scar area from last summer's River Fire, come as rain pounds Monterey County.
As much of the nation waits on vaccines and variants swirl the globe, experts said President Joe Biden's plan to tackle the pandemic this year will hinge on his ability to bulk up the nation's ability to test for the coronavirus -- a massive undertaking that will require cash and industry cooperation. Biden has laid out a $50 billion plan that would boost the nation's testing capacity through the increase of rapid antigen tests, testing centers, expand lab test processing, provide uniform guidance for in-school COVID testing and establish a national pandemic testing board. According to the Rockefeller Foundation, the United States needs 193 million tests monthly for schools and nursing homes "to open safely and in stages" -- a threshold the nation has never reached.
The indie movie company Neon has released its first image of Kristen Stewart as Diana, Princess of Wales, in its upcoming drama "Spencer." Production on the film just got underway in Germany for a planned release this fall, ahead of 2022's 25th anniversary of Diana's death. The photo shows Stewart as the spitting image of the princess turned human rights advocate.
Women in the U.S. Army can soon wear nail polish, lipstick and earrings as well as their hair in more natural hairstyles thanks to what the Army calls "major revisions" to its regulations. In addition to relaxed grooming standards, women in the Army who are breastfeeding or pumping will also have the option to wear an undershirt. "We are continuously assessing our policies to identify areas for improvement, then implementing policies that demonstrate our commitment to ensuring all Soldiers feel as though they are valued members of the Army team," Lt. Gen. Gary Brito, Army deputy chief of staff for personnel, said in a statement Monday announcing the changes.
Meena Harris, the niece of Vice President Kamala Harris, said that growing up she was taught that ambition was a "good thing" and explained why family is the inspiration behind her children's book, "Ambitious Girl." "Everything that inspires me really goes back to family," Harris said of her children's book. "When I got to the working world, I realized that society tells us something much different and that we do not view female ambition so positively."
President Joe Biden took a series of actions on climate change on his seventh full day in office, fulfilling campaign promises such as freezing new oil and gas leasing on federal land and kicking off his ambitious agenda to reduce greenhouse gas emissions -- making tackling climate change a priority across the federal government. Biden’s actions Wednesday will follow up on several climate-related executive orders he signed in his first few days in office, including rejoining the Paris Agreement on climate, and revoking the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline. Biden and his top climate advisers, former Secretary of State John Kerry and former EPA administrator Gina McCarthy, said the steps to tackle climate change will also be good for the economy and create jobs for former energy industry workers struggling with a downturn in industries like coal or oil production.
Amanda Gorman, the poet who captivated the country's attention at the inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harrs, can add another title to her resume: model. The 22-year-old Los Angeles native has signed with IMG Models, the same agency that represents supermodel sisters Gigi and Bella Hadid. IMG Models confirmed in a tweet that they are now representing Gorman, but have not yet released further details on partnerships or deals for the Harvard graduate.
