Hits 'keep coming': Hospitals struggle as COVID beds fill
DETROIT (AP) — Hospitals across the country are struggling to cope with burnout among doctors, nurses and other workers, already buffeted by a crush of patients from the ongoing surge of the COVID-19 delta variant and now bracing for the fallout of another highly transmissible mutation.
Ohio became the latest state to summon the National Guard to help overwhelmed medical facilities. Experts in Nebraska warned that its hospitals soon may need to ration care. Medical officials in Kansas and Missouri are delaying surgeries, turning away transfers and desperately trying to hire traveling nurses, as cases double and triple in an eerie reminder of last year's holiday season.
“There is no medical school class that can prepare you for this level of death," said Dr. Jacqueline Pflaum-Carlson, an emergency medicine specialist at Henry Ford Health System in Detroit. “The hits just keep coming.”
The national seven-day average of COVID-19 hospital admissions was 60,000 by Wednesday, far off last winter's peak but 50% higher than in early November, the government reported. The situation is more acute in cold-weather regions, where people are increasingly gathering inside and new infections are piling up.
New York state reported Saturday that slightly more than 21,900 people had tested positive for COVID-19 the day before, a new high since tests became widely available. Consequences of the latest surge have been swift in New York City: The Rockettes Christmas show was scratched for the season; some Broadway shows canceled performances because of outbreaks among cast members; and “Saturday Night Live” announced it was taping without a live audience and with only limited cast and crew.
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UK Brexit minister quits as new COVID rules spark anger
LONDON (AP) — A senior member of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Cabinet resigned Saturday night, adding to a sense of disarray within a government that has faced rebellion from his own lawmakers and voters this week.
Brexit Minister David Frost said in a letter to Johnson that he was stepping down immediately after a newspaper reported that he had planned to leave the post next month.
Frost said the process of leaving the EU would be a long-term job. “That is why we agreed earlier this month that I would move on in January and hand over the baton to others to manage our future relationship with the EU,'' he said in his resignation letter.
However, the Mail on Sunday said earlier that he resigned because of growing disillusionment with Johnson’s policies. The newspaper said Frost’s decision was triggered by last week’s introduction of new pandemic restrictions, including a requirement that people show proof of vaccination or a negative coronavirus test to enter nightclubs and other crowded venues.
And in his resignation letter, Frost said the UK needed to “learn to live with Covid. ... You took a brave decision in July, against considerable opposition, to open up the country again. Sadly it did not prove to be irreversible, as I wished, and believe you did too. I hope we can get back on track soon and not be tempted by the kind of coercive measures we have seen elsewhere.”
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Osaka arson suspect identified, all buildings to be checked
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese police on Sunday identified a 61-year-old man as a prime suspect behind a fire that engulfed a mental clinic in an eight-story building where he was a patient, killing 24 people who were trapped inside.
The government also announced plans to inspect all buildings nationwide. Authorities believe the massive death toll at the downtown Osaka building on Friday was largely because the fire made its only emergency stairway unusable.
Osaka police, which are investigating the case as arson and murder, identified the man as Morio Tanimoto. He is being treated in serious condition after he was rescued from the fire, police said. He has not been formally arrested or charged.
After verifying security cameras and searching his home, police said they suspect Tanimoto was responsible for setting fire to the mental clinic, an official at the prefectural police investigation department told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
“Nishi Umeda clinic for the mind and body" was on the fourth floor of an eight-story building in Osaka’s bustling business district of Kitashinchi, and was known for its support for mental health at work.
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Experts: Potter missed chance to explain Taser-gun mix-up
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The former Minnesota police officer who shot and killed Daunte Wright alternated between tears, statements of remorse and clipped, matter-of-fact answers as she testified at her trial on manslaughter charges in the death of the Black motorist.
But Kim Potter’s testimony on Friday was notably scant on a key element of her defense – that she made a mistake when she drew her handgun instead of her Taser and killed Wright during a traffic stop last April in Brooklyn Center.
One legal expert who spoke to The Associated Press said the defense may have been intentionally vague on that point, but others said it appeared to be a missed opportunity for Potter to tell jurors how a mix-up might have occurred and what she was thinking — something jurors were likely waiting to hear.
“I didn’t think they pulled enough out of Potter because we did not get into her mind,” said Marsh Halberg, a Minneapolis defense attorney who is not connected to the case.
Under questioning from her attorney Earl Gray, Potter testified that as officers were struggling with Wright, she saw her supervisor, Sgt. Mychal Johnson, leaning into the car with “a look of fear in his face.” As she cried on the stand, she went on to say: “I remember yelling, ‘Taser, Taser, Taser,’ and nothing happened, and then he told me I shot him." Body camera video recorded Wright saying, “Ah, he shot me" before the car took off.
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'SNL' to air without live audience, Charli XCX amid omicron
NEW YORK (AP) — People's Sexiest Man Alive of 2021 is set to be inducted into the vaunted Five-Timers Club on “Saturday Night Live,” but the surging omicron variant of the coronavirus means there won't be a live audience to see it happen.
The long-running sketch comedy show announced on social media Saturday afternoon that the night's episode, featuring “Ant-Man” star Paul Rudd as host, would tape without a live audience and with only limited cast and crew “due to the recent spike in the Omicron variant and out of an abundance of caution."
British pop star Charli XCX had been scheduled to perform but announced Saturday afternoon on Twitter that she would not be allowed to perform.
“Due to the limited crew at tonight's taping of snl my musical performances will no longer be able to go ahead,” she wrote. “I am devastated and heartbroken.”
She then urged her fans to “look after yourselves out there and make sure you get vaccinated if you haven't already.”
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How COVID-19 upended Blinken's diplomatic mission
HONOLULU, Hawaii (AP) — U.S. Air Force Special Air Mission 50601 departed from Joint Base Andrews on the night of Dec. 9 with an ambitious journey ahead — an eight-day, around-the-world trip with America's top diplomat, Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
But the diplomatic mission to Britain, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand would soon be upended by the global surge in coronavirus cases. At least three members of the traveling party tested positive for COVID-19 and forced the abrupt cancellation of the last stop and a frantic re-calculation of the remaining itinerary.
The Air Force confirmed on Saturday that at least two members of its crew on the plane had tested positive for COVID. That followed the State Department's announcement that a journalist among the traveling press corps had tested positive, which alarmed the rest of the party and resulted in the trip being cut short.
“Two U.S. Air Force aircrew members supporting the Secretary of State’s international travel tested positive for COVID-19," Ann Stefanek, the chief of media operations for the Air Force, said in a statement. “Both aircrew members were fully vaccinated. Neither had come into close contact with the Secretary of State or senior staff.”
She said one is asymptomatic, while the other is experiencing mild symptoms and that both are following host nation COVID protocols, which generally mandate a 10-day quarantine.
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Hong Kong votes for legislature with only loyalists approved
HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong was voting Sunday in the first election since Beijing amended the laws to reduce the number of directly elected lawmakers and vet candidates to ensure that only those loyal to China can run.
The semi-autonomous territory was rocked by pro-democracy protests in 2014 and 2019, but they were crushed by security forces, followed by the imposition of a sweeping national security law that silenced most of the city's opposition activists and led others to flee abroad.
Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Minister Erick Tsang warned Saturday that foreign forces may be attempting to undermine the elections after overseas activists urged a boycott of the vote. Under the new election laws, incitement to boycott and casting invalid votes can lead up to three years in jail and a 200,000 Hong Kong dollar ($26,500) fine.
Low turnout was widely expected, with the latest survey by the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute finding that 39% of respondents indicated that they are unlikely to vote.
Some 4.4 million residents are eligible to vote. The elections were originally scheduled to take place in September last year, but were postponed with authorities citing public health risks due to the pandemic. The decision was opposed by the pro-democracy camp, which accused the government of using the outbreak to delay the vote.
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In Missouri, Greitens' comeback bid has some in GOP on edge
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens is banking on Republican voters forgiving his past indiscretions when they choose a U.S. Senate nominee next August. Many in the GOP establishment are hoping they don't forget.
Greitens resigned as governor in 2018 amid an investigation of an extramarital affair with his St. Louis hairdresser allegedly involving bondage and blackmail and leading to criminal and legislative investigations. The allegation of a photo taken without the woman's consent for the purposes of blackmail led to a felony criminal charge, which was eventually dropped.
Now, he is among the frontrunners in a crowded field of Republican Senate candidates that includes U.S. House members Vicky Hartzler and Billy Long, Attorney General Eric Schmitt and the St. Louis lawyer who made headlines by pointing a gun at racial injustice protesters outside his home, Mark McCloskey.
Some Republican leaders worry that Greitens could win the GOP nomination but lose in the general election, ceding a crucial Senate seat in what should be a safely red state. Among them is Hartzler, citing one major demographic in particular.
“There’s hardly any women in the state who will vote for him," she said in a phone interview.
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Netherlands 'going into lockdown again' to curb omicron
LONDON (AP) — Nations across Europe moved to reimpose tougher measures to stem a new wave of COVID-19 infections spurred by the highly transmissible omicron variant, with the Netherlands leading the way by imposing a nationwide lockdown.
All non-essential stores, bars and restaurants in the Netherlands will be closed until Jan. 14 starting Sunday, caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte said at a hastily arranged press conference Saturday night. Schools and universities will shut until Jan. 9, he said.
In what is surely to prove a major disappointment, the lockdown terms also rein in private holiday celebrations. Residents only will be permitted two visitors except for Christmas and New Year's, when four will be allowed, according to Rutte.
“The Netherlands is going into lockdown again from tomorrow,” he said, adding that the move was “unavoidable because of the fifth wave caused by the omicron variant that is bearing down on us.”
It wasn't just the Dutch seeking to slow the spread of omicron. Alarmed ministers in France, Cyprus and Austria tightened travel restrictions. Paris canceled its New Year's Eve fireworks. Denmark has closed theaters, concert halls, amusement parks and museums. Ireland imposed an 8 p.m. curfew on pubs and bars and limited attendance at indoor and outdoor events.
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Fire damages huge QVC distribution center in North Carolina
ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. (AP) — A fire ripped through a distribution center in North Carolina for the QVC home-shopping television network early Saturday, causing extensive damage to the facility, officials said.
More than 300 employees were working at the facility near Rocky Mount when the fire was reported shortly after 2 a.m., The News & Observer reported. No injuries were immediately reported.
QVC representatives reported that all employees safely evacuated the warehouse and were accounted for except for one who hadn't contacted family yet, according to Edgecombe County Manager Eric Evans. Earlier Saturday, Evans had said all of the center's employees appeared to be accounted for.
QVC said in a subsequent statement that it was working with local authorities to confirm the safety of all employees and contractors at the site. It said it had close to 2,000 “team members" working at the complex, spread over three shifts.
Evans said a “main section” of the 1.2 million-square-foot (365,000-square-meter) facility appears to be destroyed. Crews from nearly 45 fire departments were still fighting the blaze more than 12 hours after it began.
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