AP News in Brief at 12:04 a.m. EST
One year of vaccines: Many lives saved, many needlessly lost
One year ago, the biggest vaccination drive in American history began with a flush of excitement in an otherwise gloomy December. Trucks loaded with freezer-packed vials of a COVID-19 vaccine that had proved wildly successful in clinical trials fanned out across the land, bringing shots that many hoped would spell the end of the crisis.
That hasn't happened. A year later, too many Americans remain unvaccinated and too many are dying.
The nation's COVID-19 death toll stands at around 800,000 as the anniversary of the U.S. vaccine rollout arrives. A year ago it stood at 300,000. An untold number of lives, perhaps tens of thousands, have been saved by vaccination. But what might have been a time to celebrate a scientific achievement is fraught with discord and mourning.
National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins said scientists and health officials may have underestimated how the spread of misinformation could hobble the 'œastounding achievement'ť of the vaccines.
'œDeaths continue ... most of them unvaccinated, most of the unvaccinated because somebody somewhere fed them information that was categorically wrong and dangerous,'ť Collins said.
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Thousands without heat, water after tornadoes kill dozens
MAYFIELD, Ky. (AP) - Residents of Kentucky counties where tornadoes killed dozens of people could be without heat, water or electricity in frigid temperatures for weeks or longer, state officials warned Monday, as the toll of damage and deaths came into clearer focus in five states slammed by the swarm of twisters.
Kentucky authorities said the sheer level of destruction was hindering their ability to tally the damage from Friday night's storms. At least 88 people - including 74 in Kentucky - were killed by the tornado outbreak that also destroyed a nursing home in Arkansas, heavily damaged an Amazon distribution center in Illinois and spread its deadly effects into Tennessee and Missouri.
In Kentucky, as searches continued for those still missing, efforts also turned to repairing the power grid, sheltering those whose homes were destroyed and delivering drinking water and other supplies.
'œWe're not going to let any of our families go homeless," Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said in announcing that lodges in state parks were being used to provide shelter.
In Mayfield, one of the hardest hit towns, those who survived faced a high in the 50s and a low below freezing Monday without any utilities.
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Storm victims include Missouri girl, aunt's 'special angel'
Trey and Meghan Rackley and their three daughters sought shelter in a windowless bathroom in their southeast Missouri home as storms raged across the middle of the country. To prove they were in their 'œsafe space'ť with the storm approaching Friday evening, the girls' mom texted her Aunt Sandy a photo of the three in and next to the bathtub - all of them smiling, 9-year-old Annistyn holding her favorite doll.
Fifteen minutes later, Sandra Hooker said, a tornado splintered the home, carrying the family members dozens of yards through the air into a field where first responders found them in mud. Annistyn, a third-grader who loved swimming, dancing and cheerleading, died, one of dozens killed in five states.
The other family members were injured, but survived. Seven-year-old Avalinn told doctors she flew around 'œin the tornado,'ť Hooker said.
Hooker called Annistyn Rackley a 'œspecial angel,'ť recalling the girl as outgoing and energetic despite a rare liver condition that required regular doctor's visits. Hooker teaches gifted students at the same elementary school where Meghan Rackley teaches kindergarten in Caruthersville, which is nestled next to the Mississippi River in what's known as Missouri's Bootheel region.
Hooker's account of what happened to the Rackleys came from talking to law enforcement and first responders who were at the scene after the tornado and found family members in the field. Hooker also said she talked to the girl's father.
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Jan. 6 panel votes for contempt charges against Mark Meadows
WASHINGTON (AP) - The House panel investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection voted Monday to recommend contempt charges against former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows as lawmakers revealed a series of frantic texts he received as the attack was underway.
The texts, provided by Meadows before he ceased cooperating with the committee, revealed that members of Congress, Fox News anchors and even President Donald Trump's own son were urging Meadows to push Trump to act quickly to stop the siege by his supporters.
'œWe need an Oval address," Donald Trump Jr. texted Meadows as his father's supporters were breaking into the Capitol, sending lawmakers running for their lives and interrupting the certification of President Joe Biden's victory. "He has to lead now. It has gone too far and gotten out of hand.'ť
Trump Jr. added, "He's got to condemn this s-- ASAP."
Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, the panel's vice chairwoman, detailed the texts obtained by the committee as the panel voted to recommend the contempt charges against Meadows, who did not show up for a deposition last week after his lawyer said he would stop cooperating.
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Kim Jong Un's decade of rule: Purges, nukes, Trump diplomacy
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - Friday marks 10 years since Kim Jong Un, the third generation of his family to rule North Korea, took power after his father's sudden heart attack.
Initially considered inexperienced, Kim quickly showed his ruthless willingness to consolidate his rule by having his powerful uncle and other potential rivals executed or purged. His torrid run of nuclear and missile tests in recent years caused many to fear a second Korean War.
Kim switched gears again and staged landmark nuclear disarmament summits with then-U.S. President Donald Trump, but their diplomacy collapsed because of disputes over U.S.-led sanctions. Now, with the pandemic and sanctions causing deepening problems, Kim has sealed off his country's borders and tried to fix its struggling economy.
As Kim enters his second decade in power, here's a look at key moments in his rule.
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Insurer agrees to $800M settlement in Boy Scouts bankruptcy
DOVER, Del. (AP) - Attorneys in the Boy Scouts of America bankruptcy case have reached a tentative settlement under which one of the organization's largest insurers would contribute $800 million into a fund for victims of child sexual abuse.
The agreement announced Monday calls for Century Indemnity Co. and affiliated companies to contribute $800 million into the fund in return for being released from further liability for abuse claims. The payment would bring the amount of money in the proposed trust to more than $2.6 billion, which would be the largest sexual abuse settlement in U.S. history.
The settlement comes as more than 82,000 sexual abuse claimants face a Dec. 28 deadline to vote on a previously announced Boy Scouts reorganization plan.
That plan called for the Boys Scouts and its roughly 250 local councils to contribute up to $820 million in cash and property into a fund for victims. They also would assign certain insurance rights to the fund. In return, the local councils and national organization would be released from further liability for sexual abuse claims.
The plan also includes settlement agreements involving another one of the Boy Scouts' major insurers, The Hartford, and the BSA's former largest troop sponsor, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly known as the Mormon church. The Hartford has agreed to pay $787 million into the victims' fund, and the Mormons have agreed to contribute $250 million. In exchange, both entities would be released from any further liability involving child sex abuse claims.
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Air Force discharges 27 for refusal to get COVID vaccine
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Air Force has discharged 27 people for refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine, making them what officials believe are the first service members to be removed for disobeying the mandate to get the shots.
The Air Force gave its forces until Nov. 2 to get the vaccine, and thousands have either refused or sought an exemption. Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek said Monday that these are the first airmen to be administratively discharged for reasons involving the vaccine.
She said all of them were in their first term of enlistment, so they were younger, lower-ranking personnel. And while the Air Force does not disclose what type of discharge a service member gets, legislation working its way through Congress limits the military to giving troops in vaccine refusal cases an honorable discharge or general discharge under honorable conditions.
The Pentagon earlier this year required the vaccine for all members of the military, including active duty, National Guard and the Reserves. Each of the services set its own deadlines and procedures for the mandate, and the Air Force set the earliest deadline. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has said the vaccine is critical to maintaining the health of the force and its ability to respond to an national security crisis.
None of the 27 airmen sought any type of exemption, medical, administrative or religious, Stefanek said. Several officials from the other services said they believe that so far only the Air Force has gotten this far along in the process and discharged people over the vaccine refusal.
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Mom demands answers in Black man's deadly Louisiana arrest
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Ronald Greene's mother chastised Louisiana lawmakers Monday for not acting quickly enough to hold state troopers accountable for her son's deadly 2019 arrest, saying the Black motorist's death at the end of a high-speed chase was a 'œmurder'ť that's been covered up, sugarcoated and mired in bureaucracy.
'œI'm so damn mad at the fact that I'm talking to people who have it in their power to make things happen," Mona Hardin said through tears. 'œI've been wandering around in a cloud of confusion just wondering: What does it take for the state of Louisiana to recognize the murder of a man? What does it take to get answers?'ť
Hardin's testimony underscored the tension building in Louisiana as federal and state prosecutors prepare to seek the first criminal charges in the case.
Troopers initially blamed Greene's death on a car crash on a rural roadside outside Monroe. But long-withheld body-camera video obtained and published by The Associated Press in May instead showed white troopers punching, stunning and dragging Greene as he pleaded for mercy and repeatedly wailed, 'œI'm scared!'ť
A federal civil rights probe into the case has since broadened to include the beatings of several other Black motorists and whether state police brass broke the law to protect troopers. Greene's death was among at least a dozen cases over the past decade in which an AP investigation found state troopers or their bosses ignored or concealed evidence of beatings, deflected blame and impeded efforts to root out misconduct.
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USA Gymnastics, USOPC reach $380M settlement with victims
The legal wrangling between USA Gymnastics and the hundreds of victims of sexual abuse by former national team doctor Larry Nassar, among others, is over after a $380 million settlement was reached.
The fight for substantive change within the sport's national governing body is just beginning.
A federal bankruptcy court in Indianapolis on Monday approved the agreement between USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee and the more than 500 victims, ending one aspect of the fallout of the largest sexual abuse scandal in the history of the U.S. Olympic movement.
Over 90% of the victims voted in favor of the tentative settlement reached in September. That agreement called for $425 million in damages, but a modified settlement of $380 million was conditionally approved by the court. More than 300 victims were abused by Nassar, with the remaining victims abused by individuals affiliated with USA Gymnastics in some capacity.
The financial reckoning is just one part of the equation. A series of nonmonetary provisions will make the victims stakeholders at USA Gymnastics going forward. The provisions include a dedicated seat on the organization's Safe Sport Committee, Athlete Health and Wellness Council and board of directors, as well as a thorough look at the culture and practices within USA Gymnastics that allowed abusers like Nassar to run unchecked for years.
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Stafford, Rams beat Cardinals through air in 30-23 victory
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) - Matthew Stafford threw for 287 yards and three touchdowns, Cooper Kupp and Odell Beckham Jr. each caught a touchdown pass and the Los Angeles Rams held on for a 30-23 win over the Arizona Cardinals on Monday night.
The Cardinals (10-3) will have to wait at least one more week before clinching their first playoff spot since 2015. Kyler Murray threw two interceptions that led to Rams touchdowns.
The Rams (9-4), who won their second straight and pulled within one game of the Cardinals in the NFC West, look rejuvenated following a three-game losing streak in November.
Kupp had 13 catches for 123 yards, the eighth 100-yard game this season for the NFL's receiving leader.
The Cardinals had a chance to tie the game in the final seconds after recovering an onside kick. But a holding call wiped out a long Murray run on the first play of the drive and Arizona couldn't produce a last-second miracle.