Southern Africa hoped it was through the worst of Covid-19. Then the Delta variant arrived
Johannesburg, South Africa (CNN) Patients are crammed into every corner of the hospital's emergency room ward. They lie on beds and gurneys, or sit slumped in wheelchairs. Many suck on oxygen, but nobody talks. Some die while waiting for a bed.
On the worst nights in Johannesburg, currently in the grips of a terrible wave of infections, medics at one hospital must turn away ambulances carrying Covid-19 patients. It may be a diversion order more common to mass casualty events, but 16 months into the pandemic here, Covid-19 is a mass casualty event.
"It's devastating, it's soul destroying. We are trained to save lives, but you revert to that wartime mentality. You revert to becoming numbed, you revert to becoming blunted," said a senior doctor at a major public hospital in South Africa's largest city.
"Patients are being brought in in cars with desperately ill patients who have been turned away from other hospitals with no beds."
Like many healthcare workers CNN has spoken to during the crisis here, they did not want to be identified for fear of reprisals from the government.
"The third wave has been far more devastating, far more overwhelming," the doctor said.
The disease is no respecter of status, with authorities announcing Friday that the city's mayor had died of Covid-19 in hospital.
"It is my sad duty to confirm that the Executive Mayor of the City of Johannesburg, Cllr Geoffrey Makhubo has indeed succumbed to Covid-19," said acting Executive Mayor and Member of the Mayoral Committee Eunice Mgcina via the official Twitter account of the city's authorities.
"We had hoped that the Executive Mayor would beat the virus and return to work and lead the city as we face this pandemic that has devastated lives and livelihoods. Our heartfelt condolences go to his wife, daughters, mother and the rest of his family, friends and comrades," added Mgcina.
No more cheering
In the early days of the fight against Covid-19, South Africans cheered healthcare workers in neighborhoods across this city. Since then there have been more than 2.1 million confirmed cases in the country, and over 63,000 deaths -- making it one of the worst-affected countries in the region per capita. Excess deaths suggest the toll is much higher.
The applause stopped months ago, but the impact of Covid-19 is at its worst right now.
Haiti President Jovenel Moise assassinated in attack on his residence
(CNN) - Haiti's President Jovenel Moise was killed during an attack on his private residence early on Wednesday, according to the country's acting Prime Minister Claude Joseph.
Joseph said in a statement that a group of unidentified individuals attacked Moise's home at around 1 a.m. and fatally wounded the head of state. The statement does not specify how the President was killed. Haiti's first lady was shot and is receiving treatment, he added.
The Prime Minister called the assassination a "heinous, inhumane and barbaric act" and called for calm.
"The security situation in the country is under the control of the Haitian National Police and the Haitian Armed Forces," the statement added. "All measures are being taken to guarantee the continuity of the State and to protect the Nation."
It isn't immediately clear who will replace Moise. Judge Jean Wilner Morin, President of the National Association of Haitian Judges, told CNN that the line of presidential succession in the country is now murky.
Haiti's President of the Supreme Court would normally be next in line, but he recently died of Covid-19. For the acting Prime Minister Joseph to formally replace the President, he would have to be approved by Haiti's parliament, said Morin. But without recent elections, the parliament is effectively defunct.
Moise was 53 years old. The former banana exporter was a controversial figure and spent most of the past year waging a political war with the opposition over the terms of his presidency.
Many in the country were disputing his right to continue serving in the presidency this year.
While the United States, United Nations and Organization of American States supported his claim to a fifth year in office, critics say he should have stepped down in February 7, 2021, citing a constitutional provision that starts the clock once a president is elected, rather than when he takes office.
Moise claimed his five-year term should end in 2022 because he wasn't sworn in until February 2017. His inauguration was delayed over allegations of voter fraud during the 2015 election, which led to a presidential runoff that was postponed twice over what authorities called threats and "security concerns."
Throughout his presidency, Moise had repeatedly failed to hold elections at local and national levels, leaving much of the country's governing infrastructure empty.
A constitutional referendum originally scheduled to be held last month was postponed and is now set to be held in September, alongside the presidential and legislative elections, authorities said, blaming the Covid-19 pandemic for the delay.
The country's electoral council said in a statement that the country would implement health measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus so that Haitians could cast their votes safely.
Municipal and local elections have been scheduled for January 16, 2022, the official electoral calendar also showed.
Moise's death takes place against a background of extreme violence in Haitian capital Port-au-Prince that has claimed the lives of many citizens and escalated notably in June.
The US Embassy in Haiti issued a security alert following the news of the assassination. It said in a statement that it would be closed on Wednesday due to the "ongoing security situation."
White House press secretary Jen Psaki called the attack a "tragedy." "It's a horrific crime," Psaki told CNN. "We stand ready and stand by them to provide any assistance that is needed ... it's important that people of Haiti know that." She added that the White House was assessing the situation and gathering information.
Worsening situation
Rival groups have battled with one another or the police for control of the streets, displacing tens of thousands of people and worsening the country's humanitarian crisis. Infamous ex-police officer Jimmy Cherizier last week vowed before local media to carry out a "revolution" in the city.
Meanwhile, the coronavirus pandemic has been worsening in Haiti in recent weeks. Last month, Dr. Carissa Etienne, director of Pan American Health Organization, warned that the response in the country must be scaled up dramatically to cope with sharply escalating cases, hospitalizations and deaths.
Haiti has reported more than 19,000 Covid-19 cases and 462 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins University tally.
At the same time, the country -- the poorest in Latin America -- is facing a dire economic situation. Its economy had been contracting even before the pandemic and shrunk further 3.8% in 2020, with about 60% of the population now living in poverty, according to the World Bank.
UNICEF, the United Nations' children's agency, said in May that severe acute childhood malnutrition is expected to more than double in Haiti this year as it deals with rising violence, Covid-19 and a lack of access to essential services.
Derek Chauvin Sentenced for Murder
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has been sentenced to 22-and-a-half years in prison for the murder of George Floyd.
Hennepin County, Minnesota Judge Peter Cahill, who presided over Chauvin's April, 2021 trial, announced the sentence Friday afternoon. Chauvin has been incarcerated since his conviction. He opted at the time to have Judge Cahill determine his sentence, rather than the jury.
The 22-page sentencing order accompanying the sentencing specifies that Chauvin will receive credit for 199 days he's already served behind bars.
Chauvin was sentenced for the more serious of his three convictions, unintentional second-degree murder while committing a felony, the maximum sentence for which could have been up to 40 years.
The sequestered jury of six white people and six people who are Black or multiracial found Chauvin guilty on April 20 on each of the three charges he faced in the May 25, 2020 death of George Floyd: second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. The jury deliberated a total of ten-and-a-half hours before informing Judge Cahill that they'd reached a verdict.
To secure convictions on the charges, prosecutors had to convince the jury that Chauvin caused Floyd’s death and that his use of force was unreasonable. The jury could have found Chauvin guilty of all of the charges, some of them, or none.
Floyd, 46, died while under arrest for allegedly passing a counterfeit $20 bill at a Minneapolis, Minnesota convenience store. After handcuffing Floyd’s hands behind his back, Chauvin placed Floyd face-down on the ground and knelt on his neck for nine-and-a-half minutes, as Floyd repeatedly protested that he couldn’t breathe and then died. Floyd's death sparked protests across America and around the world and ignited the Black Lives Matter movement.
Chauvin and three other officers involved in Floyd’s arrest -- Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane -- were fired the day after Floyd’s death. Chauvin was arrested May 29 and ultimately charged with second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, with the third-degree murder charge reinstated just before Chauvin’s trial began. The three other former officers have been charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, and face trial later this year.
All four former officers were also indicted May 7, 2021 on federal civil rights charges that allege they deprived Floyd of his civil rights when they saw him lying on the ground "in clear need" of medical care during his arrest, but "willfully failed to aid Floyd, thereby acting with deliberate indifference to a substantial risk of harm." They face separate trials on those charges.
Election Results
Electoral Districts
| 01 GRAND TURK NORTH | |
| (PNP) Otis Chuck Morris | [362] |
| (PDM) Temard Rudardo Butterfield | [239] |
| 02 GRAND TURK SOUTH AND SALTCAY | |
| (PDM) Edwin Astwood | [414] |
| (PNP) Leshun Sebastian Missick | [297] |
| 03 SOUTH CAICOS | |
| (PDM) Patrease Thomas | [109] |
| (PNP) John Jamael Malcolm | [190] |
| 04 MIDDLE AND NORTH CAICOS | |
| (PDM) Ralph Lewis Higgs | [220] |
| (PNP) Arlington Alexander Musgrove | [293] |
| 05 LEEWARD, PROVIDENCIALES | |
| (PDM) Gertrude Forbes | [249] |
| (PNP) Akierra Mary Deanne Missick | [460] |
| 06 THE BIGHT, PROVIDENCIALES | |
| (PDM) Audric Skippings | [299] |
| (PNP) Matthew Timothy Stubbs | [367] |
| 07 CHESHIRE HALL AND RICHMOND HILL, PROVIDENCIALES | |
| (PDM) Douglas Parnell | [411] |
| (PNP) Samuel Ernest Been | [487] |
| 08 BLUE HILLS, PROVIDENCIALES | |
| (PDM) Goldray Ewing | [318] |
| (PNP) Randy Dexter Howell | [333] |
| 09 FIVE CAYS, PROVIDENCIALES | |
| (PDM) Sean Rickard Astwood | [369] |
| (PNP) Rachel Marshall Taylor | [510] |
| 10 WHEELAND, PROVIDENCIALES | |
| (PDM) Vaden Delroy Williams | [270] |
| (PNP) Kyle Knowles | [273] |
All Island District (At Large Candidates)
| (PDM) Sharlene Cartwright Robinson | [2470] |
| (PDM) Hugh Derek Taylor | [2352] |
| (PDM) Karen Evadne Malcolm | [2491] |
| (PDM) Robert A. Been | [2572] |
| (PDM) Maxovonno Thomas | [2242] |
| (PDA) Winston McLaughlin | [89] |
| (PNP) Charles Washington Missick | [3594] |
| (PNP) Jamell Rayan Robionson | [3418] |
| (PNP) Erwin Jay Saunders | [3478] |
| (PNP) Josephine Olivia Connolly | [3464] |
| (PNP) Shaun David Malcolm | [3151] |
| (IND) George Lightbourne | [162] |
| (IND) Jermain Richardson Fulford | [85] |
| (IND) Lekensay K. D. Missick | [107] |
| (IND) Lucky Shemock Forbes | [75] |
| (IND) Jacqueline Almartha Lightbourne | [300] |
| (IND) Courtney Mancur Missick | [280] |
| (IND) Alicia Kaye Swann | [81] |
Pilot disorientation, flight rule violations blamed for crash that killed Kobe Bryant: NTSB
Federal investigators on Tuesday said the helicopter carrying Kobe Bryant, his daughter and seven others, including the pilot, crashed last January when the pilot became disoriented after flying in thick fog.
The pilot did not follow training, violated visual flight rules and was unable to differentiate between up and down, investigators found.
The pilot, Ara Zobayan, was flying under Visual Flight Rules, meaning he needed full visibility. Instead of diverting the Jan. 26, 2020, flight to a nearby airport, Zobayan continued the flight into dense clouds, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said. The investigators said he tried to climb out of the cloud cover but instead turned left and descended, slamming the helicopter into nearby hills.
Bryant and their close family friends were headed to a basketball game at Bryant's Mamba Sports Academy on the day of the crash.
Zobayan had been employed by Island Express Helicopters since 2011, logging about 8,500 hours of pilot-flying time. He had been flying in the area of the crash for a decade and often flew Kobe Bryant.
Zobayan reportedly told air traffic control they were "climbing" to 4,000 feet, when in reality the aircraft was falling, according to the NTSB.
“The scenario we believe happened is that he is flying along, he realizes he's getting boxed in with visibility, and he must have made the decision that I'm going to punch up through these clouds and get on top,” NTSB chairman Robert Sumwalt said.
Board members said the crash could have been prevented and the pilot “went contrary to his training.”
The Los Angeles Police Department had grounded its own fleet of helicopters the morning of the crash due to poor visibility. One eyewitness described the fog as "like jumping into a pool of milk."
Zobayan sent a text message the morning of the crash, saying, “Weather looking ok” after expressing concerns the day before that the flight may not take off due to poor conditions. Zobayan frequently piloted flights for Bryant and "likely did not want to disappoint him" the NTSB said. Despite this, the agency said Zobayan was not pressured to conduct the flight by neither Island Express nor his client.
The helicopter involved in the crash was a Sikorsky S-76B owned and operated by Island Express. It was not equipped with a flight-data recorder nor a cockpit voice recorder, both of which were not required.
The agency disclosed that the engines were working at the time of impact and there appeared to be no mechanical issues with the chopper.
There were 184 aircraft crashes from 2010 to 2019 from spatial disorientation -- 20 of them were fatal helicopter crashes, the NTSB said.
The crash has led to a slew of lawsuits including one from Vanessa Bryant in February 2020 against the pilot and the company that owned the helicopter for negligence and wrongful deaths. Families of the other victims have sued the helicopter company.
Island Express did not immediately respond to request for comment.
ABC News' Sam Sweeney contributed to this report.
6.3 earthquake kills 7 in Croatia, leaves others missing
PETRINJA, Croatia -- A strong earthquake in Croatia destroyed buildings and killed at least seven people Tuesday southwest of the capital, displacing scores of area residents or making them afraid to sleep indoors as emergency teams searched for those still missing by nightfall.
The European Mediterranean Seismological Center said the magnitude 6.3 quake hit 46 kilometers (28 miles) southeast of Zagreb just before 12:20 p.m. local time. It caused widespread damage in the hardest-hit town of Petrinja. The same area was struck by a magnitude 5.2 quake on Monday.
Officials said a 12-year-old girl died in Petrinja, a town of some 25,000 people. Another six people were killed in nearly destroyed villages close to the town, according to HRT state television. At least 26 people were hospitalized, six with serious injuries, officials said, adding that many more people remained unaccounted for.
In Petrinja, cries could be heard from underneath destroyed houses. One woman was found alive some four hours after the quake. Emergency teams used rescue dogs in the search for survivors, while family members looked on in despair.
“My town has been completely destroyed. We have dead children,” Petrinja Mayor Darinko Dumbovic said in a statement broadcast by HRT. “This is like Hiroshima - half of the city no longer exists.”
Firefighters worked to remove the debris from a collapsed building that fell on a car. A man and a small boy eventually were rescued from the vehicle and carried into an ambulance.
The town was left without electricity or running water as officials scrambled to set up temporary accommodation for all of the displaced residents in need. Residents fearing another earthquake seemed poised to spend the night outside their homes.
Petrinja resident Marica Pavlovic said the quake felt “worse than a war."
“It was horrible, a shock. You don’t know what to do, whether to run out or hide somewhere,” she told The Associated Press.
Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and other government ministers arrived in Petrinja after the earthquake.
“The biggest part of central Petrinja is in a red zone, which means that most of the buildings are not usable," Plenkovic said.
He said the army has 500 places ready in barracks to house people, while others will be accommodated in nearby hotels and other places.
“No one must stay out in the cold tonight,” the prime minister said.
Officials also toured a damaged hospital in the nearby town of Sisak, which was also badly hit. Plenkovic said the patients will be evacuated in army helicopters and ambulances.
Health officials said a baby was delivered in a tent in front of the hospital in the aftermath of the earthquake.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Twitter that she spoke with Plenkovic and instructed an envoy to travel to Croatia as soon as possible.
As a Mediterranean country, Croatia is prone to earthquakes, but not big ones. The last strong quake struck in the 1990s when the picturesque Adriatic coast village of Ston was destroyed.
The Croatian military was deployed in the quake-hit region to help with the rescue operation.
Croatian seismologist Kresimir Kuk described the earthquake as “extremely strong,” far stronger than another one that hit Zagreb and nearby areas in the spring. He warned people to keep out of potentially shaky old buildings and move to newer areas of the city because of aftershocks.
In the capital, people ran into the streets in fear.
The earthquake was felt throughout the country and in neighboring Serbia, Bosnia and Slovenia. It was felt as far away as Graz in southern Austria, the Austria Press Agency reported.
Authorities in Slovenia said the Krsko nuclear power plant was temporarily shut down following the earthquake. The power plant is jointly owned by Slovenia and Croatia and located near their border.
Liverpool's Sadio Mane tests positive for coronavirus
(CNN)Liverpool forward Sadio Mane is self-isolating after testing positive for Covid-19, the club announced Friday.
Mane is the second Liverpool player this week to return a positive test after new signing Thiago Alcantara.
He scored in his side's 3-1 victory over Arsenal on Monday but did not feature in the League Cup defeat by the Gunners three days later.
The club said the Senegalese star has displayed minor symptoms of the virus but "feels in good health overall."
"I've been tested positive but I am feeling good and not showing heavy symptoms," Mane said on social media.
"I will begin my quarantine and recovery process immediately. Make sure that you stay safe and follow all rules to protect yourself and your loved ones, to avoid a second wave of the Covid-19."
The 28-year-old scored 18 Premier League goals last season and was instrumental in helping the Reds win their first league title in 30 years
.
He has been nominated for the Premier League's September player of the month award having scored three goals in three Liverpool victories.
Jurgen Klopp's side next faces Aston Villa on Sunday.
Tropical Storm Gamma makes landfall in Mexico after gaining strength
Tropical Storm Gamma has made landfall as on Saturday after gaining strength throughout the overnight hours.
Gamma made landfall near Tulum, Mexico around 11:45 a.m. CT as a strong tropical storm with maximum sustained winds near 70 mph.
The storm is now moving inland over the northeastern Yucatan Peninsula bringing heavy rain and strong winds to the area. Hurricane and tropical storm warnings remain in effect along parts of the Peninsula this afternoon. Locally 6 to 12 inches or more of rain is expected and this could trigger dangerous flash flooding and mudslides.
The main threat right now for Gamma in Mexico will be the 15 inches of rain that will be possible in some areas, which could produce life-threatening flash flooding near where the storm makes landfall. A separate area of heavy rain, far away from the center of Gamma, could bring up to 20 inches of rain over the Mexican states of Campeche, Tabasco and Chiapas. This could produce major flash flooding and mudslides.
After impacting the Yucatan Peninsula, Gamma will emerge in the Gulf of Mexico. However, steering currents will become quite weak and it does not appear Gamma will have much opportunity to strengthen as it meanders for the better part of the upcoming week. Another Tropical system will try to sneak in behind Gamma, likely reaching the Gulf of Mexico by the middle of next week.
It remains unclear how some of this will play out, including whether this second tropical disturbance will have any opportunity for strengthening and how it steers through the Gulf of Mexico. Currently, the system has a 40% chance of development in the next five days. It's too early to tell whether any of this tropical activity is a threat to the U.S.
In California, there were a couple of new daily record high temperatures on Friday, including Escondido, which hit 105 degrees, Palmdale, which hit 101 degrees and Sandberg, which hit 93 degrees. Anaheim tied its record of 101 degrees. In Arizona, Tucson hit 103 degrees, which tied its all-time October record that was previously set just this past Thursday.
There will be a brief period of elevated fire conditions due to gusty, dry winds Saturday morning in parts of Southern California. It will also be another hot day across California and the desert southwest, where temperature records will be possible again.
However, there is some good news for the western U.S., which has been plagued by record heat and dry weather. A major pattern change is in sight for the region in the upcoming week.
Temperatures will drop some 10 to15 degrees over the course of the upcoming week, from the 90s down into the 80s and even 70s. This is quite a welcome relief for the region. It even looks like some beneficial rain will arrive in Northern California by next weekend.
Two killed, 24 missing in severe floods in Italy and France
PARIS -- Flooding from record rains in the mountainous region that spans France and Italy killed two people in Italy and left at least 24 people in the two countries missing Saturday.
A storm that moved overnight across southeastern France and then northern Italy caused major flooding on both sides of the border, destroying bridges, blocking roads and isolating communities.
In Italy, a firefighter was killed during a rescue operation in the mountainous northern region of Val d’Aosta. Another body was found in Vercelli province, near where a man had been swept away by flood waters late Friday.
A total of 16 people were reported missing in Italy, all but one travelers in cars on the Col de Tende high mountain pass between France and Italy, according to civil protection authorities.
They include two people from Germany driving with their 11-year-old and 6-year-old grandchildren, and a pair of brothers returning from France.
The spokesman for Italy’s firefighters said a search was ongoing for a missing shepherd who was pulled into flood waters on Col de Tende. His brother managed to grab onto a tree and was saved, while authorities were searching on the French side for the shepherd.
Firefighter spokesman Luca Cari said he suspects the other people reported missing in Italy have lost phone contact, but at the moment they are not thought to be in imminent danger.
The situation at the tunnel on the high mountain pass is complicated by the fact that French emergency responders cannot access their side due to flood damage, Cari said. Italian firefighters were searching the French side for people who may have been blocked.
Unrelenting rainfall overnight hit levels not seen since 1958 in northern Italy's Piedmont region, where as much as 630 millimeters (24.8 inches) of rain fell in a 24 hour period, according to the Italian civil protection agency.
Hundreds of rescue operations were underway. Eleven campers were saved in Vercelli province, where floodwaters hit 20-year highs. And Alpine rescue squads have evacuated by foot seven people who were in houses cut off by flooding at Terme di Valdieri; some had to be carried on stretchers due to the muddy conditions and accumulation of detritus.
On the other side of the border, in southeastern France, almost a year's average rainfall fell in less than 12 hours in the mountainous area surrounding the city of Nice. Nice mayor Christian Estrosi said over 100 homes were destroyed or severely damaged in the area.
French Prime Minister Jean Castex, who flew over the area in an helicopter, confirmed that at least eight people were missing, including two firefighters whose vehicle was carried away by water when the road collapsed during a rescue operation.
“I cannot hide our grave concern on the definitive toll,” Castex said.
Many worried families had not heard from their relatives due to cellphone services being cut off in the area.
“As I speak, priority goes to searching for victims, providing supplies and accommodation for the people affected, and restoring communications," the prime minister said.
Rescue efforts included 871 personnel working on the ground, as well as military helicopters and troops helping with emergency assistance, Castex said.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday expressed gratitude toward rescuers on Twitter. “Together we will get through this,” he said.
France’s national weather agency, Meteo France, said that up to 500 millimeters of rain (19.7 inches) were recorded in some areas, the equivalent of almost one year of average rainfall.
Meteo France issued a danger alert on Friday and all schools in the region had been closed. Local authorities urged people to stay at home.
In central Switzerland, flooding along the Reuss River caused the closure of a stretch of the A2 highway – a major trans-Alpine route. Further east, 13 residents were evacuated from their homes in the town of Diesbach because of flooding.
Tesla sales surge as global demand picks up speed
Tesla's third-quarter sales jumped 44% as global demand for its electric vehicles outpaced that of most other automakers.
The company reported Friday that it had delivered 139,000 SUVs and sedans from July through September, compared with 97,000 deliveries during the same period a year ago.
The sales topped even some of the most optimistic projections coming from Wall Street. Analysts polled by data provider FactSet expected the company to sell closer to 137,000.
Telsa has been rewriting the script throughout the year amidst a pandemic that has closed factories and scrambled supply lines.
“This puts Musk & Co. in prime position to hit the area code of 500k units for the year which six months ago was not even on the map for the bulls,'" Daniel Ives of Wedbush wrote Friday.
China was likely a major source of strength in the quarter, Ives said.
Tesla could post its fifth consecutive quarter of profits later this month.
Tesla has weathered the coronavirus pandemic better than most car companies. Second-quarter global sales rose 2.5% over the first quarter despite virus precautions forcing the shutdown of its only U.S. assembly plant. Still, sales fell 4.8% from the second quarter of 2019
Tesla posted a surprising $104 million net profit from April through June, boosted by the sale of electric vehicle credits to other automakers.
In the second quarter, Tesla delivered 90,650 vehicles as it rolled out the new Model Y SUV in the U.S. and China.
Coronavirus restrictions adopted in the San Francisco Bay Area forced Tesla to close its only U.S. assembly plant in Fremont, California, for almost two months this spring, opening again on May 11.
The big sales number did not provide a bump for the company's shares, which fell 5% at the opening bell. Telsa may be caught up in a broader sell-off in U.S. markets on news that President Donald Trump had tested positive for the coronavirus.
However, shares of Tesla Inc. are up well over 400% this year, hitting an all-time high last month, and most Wall Street analysts expect that trend to continue.