Wednesday, August 18 top stories
It is Wednesday, August 18. Here are today’s top stories.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced yesterday that he tested positive for Covid-19. He is already fully vaccinated. He said he is in good health and is not experiencing any symptoms. He is currently isolated in the governor’s mansion and is receiving an antibody treatment from Regeneron.
It is the same treatment that was used on former President Donald Trump when he was in the hospital with Covid-19 last October.
Abbott has been outspoken against the idea of the government issuing mandates on masks or vaccines. Critics say his infection shows that he needs to do more to protect others from the virus, especially those who do not have access to advanced healthcare.
The Biden administration announced that after September 20th, Americans who received a Pfizer or Moderna vaccine should be expected to be offered a booster shot eight months after their second dose.
Those who received the single-dose J&J vaccine are expected to also be offered a booster shot, but studies are not complete.
A Biden administration official said their assessments show that the vaccines’ effectiveness could diminish in the months ahead, so a booster shot would provide additional durability.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has extended its mandate for passengers on airplanes, trains, and buses to wear masks through January 18, 2022. The current mandate was set to expire September 13, but because Covid-19 infections are rising, the mandate is going to stay in place. On Tuesday, there were over 139,000 new Covid-19 cases and 696 new deaths, an increase of over 50% in cases and 80% in deaths compared with the same time two weeks ago.
The former president of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani surfaced in the United Arab Emirates after fleeing Afghanistan last weekend when the Taliban took over. There are some former Afghan leaders who say he should be arrested, accusing him of stealing $169 million in U.S. cash.
Elsewhere in Afghanistan — CNN reported that in the eastern city of Jalalabad, members of the Taliban opened fire into a crowd of protesters who removed a Taliban flag and replaced it with the Afghan flag. Two protesters died and some others were beaten up.
The New York Times reported that outside of Kabul’s international airport, there was gunfire and chaos as thousands of people tried to enter the airport area to escape the country. There was a stampede that injured 17 people.
There are 5,000 U.S. troops at the airport to secure it and allow flights to come in and out. About 2,000 people were evacuated in the past 24 hours, including 325 American citizens.
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1.10 Utah alligator bites worker
There are viral videos of an alligator grabbing an employee’s hand at an indoor zoo in Utah on Saturday. The employee, named Lindsay Bull, was feeding the alligator in front of children behind a glass wall during a 5-year-old’s birthday party.
A guest named Donnie Wiseman jumped on the alligator’s back and held on to it. Lindsay gave instructions on what to do while her hand was still being bitten and thrashed. After a while, the alligator let go of Lindsay and Donnie was able to escape.
Donnie told local news that he was very impressed with Lindsay because she was professional and knew what to do in a situation like that. Donnie said he thought in his mind that the only way to get out was to have the police come in and shoot the alligator.
Lindsay was hospitalized and underwent surgery and is taking antibiotics to prevent infection. She told local news that she is lucky to have a great surgeon that found a solution that should result in full use of her hand.
The alligator is 8 foot long and is named Darth Gator. The owner of the reptile center said they have a policy that there is to be two handlers whenever they feed alligators, but failed to do that on Saturday. They posted an image of Darth Gator and thanked the guests who helped their employee.
The person who filmed the video is Donnie’s wife.
Musician R. Kelly’s trial on sex trafficking and racketeering charges began this week in Brooklyn, New York. R. Kelly faces another trial in Chicago after this one on sexual assault and abuse charges. R. Kelly has been in jail since July 2019. He is accused of sexually assaulting children as young as 13 and transporting them. R. Kelly has denied the allegations against him. He faces many years in prison if convicted.
Northern California is still dealing with large wildfires in the Sierra Nevada area after the Dixie Fire destroyed a city two weeks ago. The Dixie Fire is still burning and nearing the Susanville area, which has 18,000 residents.
There is another fire about 100 miles away called the Caldor Fire that impacted a community with 1,200 people called Grizzly Flats. About 50 homes were burned and two people were hospitalized.
Electricity for about 51,000 customers was shut down by Pacific Gas & Electric out of concerns that wind gusts could down power lines and spark new blazes.
ABC News said there are about 100 major wildfires burning across a dozen Western states including Alaska.
That is all the top stories for today. Check out our other videos. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/alligator-attack-handler-birthday-party-video-utah/
https://www.facebook.com/scalesandtailsutah/
https://kjzz.com/news/local/man-who-jumped-on-alligator-to-save-handler-says-doesnt-think-hes-a-hero
https://www.axios.com/texas-gov-covid-19-50f80ca3-6961-482b-bd23-0c1438edd96c.html
https://www.axios.com/booster-shots-covid-vaccine-biden-b1c15165-83d7-42c9-bcc2-e8f47c9af8fa.html
https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/18/asia/afghanistan-taliban-ashraf-ghani-intl/index.html
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/08/18/world/taliban-afghanistan-news
https://fsapps.nwcg.gov/?sensor=modis&extent=conus
https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2021/08/18/r-kelly-trial-sex-trafficking/