ABC News' Becky Worley investigates the latest gadgets that claim to help improve your sleep.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's independent advisory committee has given the green light for Pfizer and BioNTech COVID-19 booster shots to be given to children ages 5 to 11 years old, paving the way for parents to get their children boosted as early as Friday morning. CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky is expected to make the final signoff to recommend the shots shortly. Earlier this week, the Food and Drug Administration authorized the use of the booster shots among younger children to be used at least five months after completing their first round of shots.
America's main nuclear deterrent glides undetected under the oceans as it carries a cargo of ballistic missiles that will hopefully never be used. Off the coast of Hawaii, ABC News visited the USS Maine, one of 14 Ohio Class U.S. Navy submarines capable of launching nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles. Each missile is capable of holding up to 14 nuclear warheads -- one reason why these submarines are able to carry about 70% of the nation's active nuclear arsenal allowed by the New START Treaty.
The Oklahoma Legislature passed a bill that would ban abortion at conception, making it the most restrictive abortion ban in the country if it goes into effect. Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a similar six-week ban into law earlier this month. Planned Parenthood has already said it plans to challenge the state's latest, more-restrictive abortion ban.
When President Joe Biden arrives in Seoul on Friday, on his first trip to the region as president, he'll be landing in a volatile region at a volatile time. Biden will seek to shore up ties with regional allies and advance his vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific region, but he'll so as the threat of another nuclear test from North Korea looms. At the same time, U.S. allies South Korea and Japan continue to squabble over historical grievances, blocking a breakthrough in bilateral relations.
Facing tough scrutiny from both Democrats and Republicans, FDA Commissioner Robert Califf ton Thursday told lawmakers the agency has made "significant progress" in working to reopen the closed Abbott baby formula plant that triggered the nationwide shortage, but conceded it will be weeks before the supply gets back to normal. "I'm pleased to say today we've already made significant progress, and I think we are on track to get it open within the next week to two weeks, most likely at the outerbound two weeks," Califf, testifying virtually, told a House Appropriations subcommittee. FDA regulators ordered the facility shut down in February after contamination issues at the factory had been linked to four infants being hospitalized with a rare but serious bacterial infection, two of whom ultimately died.
An Erie County, New York, 911 dispatcher could be fired after an employee at the Tops supermarket said the dispatcher hung up on her during Saturday's attack that killed 10 people. Latisha Rogers, an assistant store manager, told The Buffalo News that the dispatcher "was yelling at me" during those terrifying moments when the shooter was firing in the store. "You don't have to whisper," Rogers said the dispatcher told her as she tried to stay quiet so the gunman wouldn't find her.
Wynonna Judd will be joined on her upcoming concert tour by several big names in country music to pay tribute to her late mother, country music legend Naomi Judd, who died by suicide last month at the age of 76. Before Naomi's unexpected death in late April, she and daughter Wynonna, who together made up the legendary country music act The Judds, had made plans to launch a fall 2022 tour, "The Judds: The Final Tour." At a public memorial concert for Naomi over the weekend, Wynonna announced that the tour would continue, adding that it was what her mother would have wanted.
The Senate voted on Thursday to pass an additional $40 billion in new aid for Ukraine, after President Joe Biden called on Congress last month to deliver the additional funding, to help counter Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion over the long term. In his floor remarks before the 86 -11 vote, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer noted the significance of the package. With the House having passed the aid package earlier this month, it will now head next to Biden's desk.
Brandon Woodruff had appeared to live the normal life of a 19-year-old, small-town Texas kid - but that changed in 2005, when both of his parents were brutally murdered. After an investigation, Woodruff was charged with capital murder, found guilty and sentenced to life in prison. Now, Woodruff has served 13 years of his life sentence and said he’s finally ready to share his story in the first interview after his conviction.
Vin Diesel got "Fast and Furious" fans geared up for the forthcoming 10th installment in the film franchise when he shared a video of him and a shirtless Jason Momoa goofing off on set. "Jason, what are you doing on this car?" Diesel asked his co-star in the selfie-style video, as a shades-wearing Momoa attempted to seductively slide around on the car's hood. "I'm trying to do the new Whitesnake video!" Momoa joked, referencing the late Tawny Kitaen's famous gyrating atop Jaguars in the music video to the band's 1987 hit "Here I Go Again."
Isla Bates, of Ashton-in-Makerfield, recreated the queen's signature look of a monochromatic hat and coat paired with pearls. Dressed as the queen, Isla went on the road to attend several "royal engagements" in honor of Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee, a milestone the 96-year-old monarch will mark publicly in June. Isla visited nearly one dozen nursing homes in Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Nottingham, run by New Care, a company for which her mom works.
President Joe Biden welcomed Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson and Finnish President Sauli Niinistö to the White House on Thursday to discuss their historic bids to join NATO. All three leaders called for swift acceptance of the applications amid resistance from Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who announced Thursday that his country will oppose Finland and Sweden joining the alliance. "Finland and Sweden make NATO stronger, not just because of their capacity, but because of their strong democracies and a strong united NATO is the foundation of America's security."
Two national forests in New Mexico are fully closed to the public due to extreme fire danger as several wildfires, including the largest in the state's history, also burn. The Carson National Forest and the Santa Fe National Forest in northern New Mexico are barring visitors, effective Thursday, due to fire risk that is only expected to get worse due to drought conditions. "The hot and dry conditions we're experiencing pose a dire risk for wildfires to quickly ignite and spread rapidly," Carson National Forest supervisor James Duran said in a statement.
Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee celebration, which marks her 70th year on the British throne, just got a lot more star-studded. The lineup for the Platinum Party at the Palace, a massive concert set for June 4 in front of Buckingham Palace in London, was revealed on Thursday and includes an array of high-profile names from across the musical spectrum. Sir Elton John and Sir Rod Stewart are among the performers, as are Diana Ross and, fittingly, Queen + Adam Lambert.
President Joe Biden's administration this week took necessary -- if incremental -- steps to address the lack of affordable housing across the country, advocates and experts say. The White House on Monday introduced the "Housing Supply Action Plan," which aims through a combination of incentives, reforms, financial mechanisms and legislative lobbying to expand housing access for owners and renters amid still-soaring inflation. The administration staked a timeline on its work, saying that the plan would "help close America's housing supply shortfall in 5 years, starting with the creation and preservation of hundreds of thousands of affordable housing units in the next three years."
A new documentary on Elton John is heading to Disney+. "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road: The Final Elton John Performances and The Years That Made His Legend" features unseen concert footage from the past 50 years, modern-day footage of John and his family, and a look at his hand-written journals. The documentary will have a limited theatrical run and will also screen at festivals ahead of its arrival on Disney+.
Now, a mass shooting allegedly by a self-proclaimed white supremacist targeting a predominantly Black neighborhood in Buffalo, New York, has sparked fears about banning race education in schools, advocates who spoke with ABC News said. Research shows that children become aware of race and racial inequality at a young age and may develop racial biases by ages 3 to 5. Studies, including those from award-winning social-developmental psychologist Phyllis A. Katz, have long shown that children engaged in honest and frequent conversations about race, racial inequity, and racism, lead to lower levels of bias in young children.
A Neil Diamond musical is coming to Broadway. "A Beautiful Noise, The Neil Diamond Musical" is based on the life of the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer and features all his famous songs, including "Sweet Caroline," "America" and "Cracklin’ Rosie." It is currently rehearsing for a six-week engagement at Boston's Emerson Colonial Theatre from June 21 through July 31.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and for Brothers Osborne's John Osborne, that's personal. Osborne has previously discussed his battles with depression and anxiety, saying he went through a difficult period of depression and suicidal ideation in late 2019 that led to a hospitalization. In partnership with ACM Lifting Lives, Osborne opened up about how he maintains his mental health with music.
Spiders, tarantulas and scorpions may be creepy to many, but it turns out there's a gargantuan market for arachnids as pets, and it is mostly unregulated -- posing problems for the sustainability of their species. Nearly 80% of the global arachnid trade, which is quite larger than previously estimated, is not monitored or regulated, researchers who studied the market over two decades discovered. More than 1,200 species of arachnids, including spiders and scorpions, have been or are currently being traded around the world, according to the findings of a study published in Nature on Tuesday.
