Thursday, November 11, 2021
Monday, November 8, 2021
Astroworld Festival
OMG [ Astroworld Festival - Within minutes, the Astroworld Festival turned deadly. Here's what we know about the show's timeline ]
Travis Scott pauses Astroworld performance after seeing ambulance in crowd
A crowd surge at a Houston music festival on Friday crushed concertgoers as they were left trampled and gasping for air, struggling to survive against a wall of people pressing forward toward the stage.
Police are investigating the potential causes of the surge, which occurred at the Astroworld Festival at NRG Park and led to the deaths of eight people as well as many more injured. The show continued for 40 minutes after initial reports of spectators being harmed reached first responders.
As authorities piece together the moments before and after the surge, here's a timeline of what happened, according to officials, witness accounts and CNN reporting:
Before the show: Earlier in the day, video from CNN affiliate KPRC showed numerous people rushing through a VIP entrance at the event -- knocking over metal detectors and other people as well as ignoring security staff.
'Some kind of crowd surge': Crowds seen pushing through entrances earlier
'Some kind of crowd surge': Crowds seen pushing through entrances earlier 01:15
The video showed some people helping a few others up. Houston Fire Chief Sam Peña told CNN he didn't know what caused the rush, either.
"We do know that we had people jump the fence," and at least one person was injured in the afternoon rush, Peña said.
CNN asked Peña whether the instance led to special precautions at this year's event. "It's obvious that if they did, they weren't enough," Peña responded.
Houston Police Chief Troy Finner visited rapper Travis Scott, the headliner of the festival who also acted as an event organizer, before his set to express "concerns about the energy in the crowd," according to reporting from The New York Times citing a source familiar with the chief's account.
CNN has reached out to Houston police and representatives for Travis Scott for comment on The New York Times report.
Before 9 p.m. Central Time: Madeline Eskins, an ICU nurse attending the show, told CNN's Christi Paul a countdown timer began around 30 minutes before Scott was set to appear on stage.
"And all of a sudden, people compressed up against each other and were pushing forward and backward. As the timer got closer to coming down to zero, it just -- it got worse and worse," Eskins said.
Concertgoer Jeffrey Schmidt said breathing became more difficult as the countdown moved closer to zero, as he and his friend decided to try and get out of the crowd.
"Little did we know, all hell was about to break loose. People started to pass out and fall to the ground," Schmidt told CNN.
Just after 9 p.m.: Scott took the stage to begin his set. The crowd surged forward as the show began, according to one concertgoer.
"The crowd became tighter and tighter, and at that point it was hard to breathe. When Travis came out performing his first song, I witnessed people passing out next to me," TK Tellez said.
Sarai Sierra, who went to the festival to celebrate her birthday, said she saw multiple people who could not breathe after Scott appeared on stage.
"I truly thought that if I fell it would've been the end of me. I spent at least 15 minutes just getting pushed around due to mosh pits or simply because people were 'raging,'" Sierra said.
9:30 p.m.: Officials first receive reports of people falling injured in the crowd, according to Peña, and said they "requested additional resources to the scene."
Finner said Saturday at a press conference "our people stepped up and immediately went to the producers and told them, 'Hey, people are going down.'"
An empty stage is seen at the 2021 Astroworld Festival days after a stampede killed at least eight people in Houston
An empty stage is seen at the 2021 Astroworld Festival days after a stampede killed at least eight people in Houston
9:38 p.m.: A "mass casualty event" was officially declared, Peña said.
"From the time that the mass casualty incident was declared, to the first unit on scene, was two minutes when we began to make patient contact," he said.
Witnesses describe calling out for help but being unable to be heard over the music.
'This was not a concert, this was a fight for survival'
'This was not a concert, this was a fight for survival'
"Travis Scott would have a short time in between songs, and we would scream our vocal cords out, so someone could hear us but nobody did," Tellez said. "This year's festival will be stuck with me forever. I've never seen someone die in front of my eyes. It was horrific."
Scott maintains he had no idea about the severity of what was happening in the crowd as he continued his set, telling fans in an Instagram video Saturday night he is "devastated" by what happened.
"Any time I could make out, you know, anything that's going on, you know, I just stopped my show and, you know, helped them get the help they need," Scott says in the video.
Footage from the concert's live stream also showed Scott pausing his performance and looking on in apparent confusion as an ambulance pulled into the crowd before finishing the concert.
Concertgoers Nick Johnson and Angel Rodriguez told CNN Scott stopped the show on at least three occasions to ask for help for those in the crowd.
When asked why the show was not stopped sooner, Finner cited potential rioting "when you have a group that's young" in a crowd of roughly 50,000 people.
Finner said there was a "discussion between promoters, the fire department, the police department, and NRG officials" about stopping the event.
Around 10:10 p.m.: The performance was stopped and the event came to an end, according to Houston mayor Sylvester Turner. One concertgoer told CNN's Rosa Flores he looked at his watch when the concert ended, and it indicated "10:13 or 10:14 p.m."
Distress signal popularized on TikTok
She saved her life using 'Distress signal popularized on TikTok'.
Authorities in Kentucky say they arrested a 61-year-old man and rescued an underage girl from his car after a motorist saw her using a hand gesture popularized on the social media platform TikTok last year.
A campaign called the "Signal for Help" started by the Canadian Women's Foundation spread across social media in 2020 as a way for domestic abuse victims to seek help using a nonverbal cue.
The signal consists of tucking your thumb into your open palm then folding your four other fingers over your thumb.
The foundation created it as a way for victims of abuse to discreetly ask for help on a video call, as COVID-19 lockdowns forced many people to stay indoors and led to a surge in domestic violence.
Last week, a 911 caller alerted authorities in Kentucky that a female passenger in a car traveling southbound on I-75 was using a hand gesture that indicates violence at home and appeared to be in distress.
The 911 caller followed the vehicle, noting that a man was behind the wheel, and alerted authorities when it began to exit the highway.
That's when police say they pulled over the car and learned that the juvenile female passenger had been reported missing from Asheville, N.C. two days earlier by her parents.
According to investigators, the passenger said she and the driver had traveled through North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky and Ohio, where the man had relatives. When the man's family realized his female passenger was underage, the pair left Ohio, and the female passenger began trying to get the attention of other drivers.
Laurel County Sheriff's deputies say they also found a phone in the driver's possession that allegedly contained material portraying a juvenile female in a sexual manner.
He was arrested and charged with first-degree unlawful imprisonment and "possession of matter sex performance by a minor over the age of 12 but under age 18," authorities said.
U.S. lifts the pandemic travel ban
Good news : The U.S. lifts the pandemic travel ban and opens the doors to international visitors.
The U.S. lifted restrictions Monday on travel from a long list of countries including Mexico, Canada and most of Europe, allowing tourists to make long-delayed trips and family members to reconnect with loved ones after more than a year and a half apart because of the pandemic.
Starting Monday, the U.S. is accepting fully vaccinated travelers at airports and land borders, doing away with a COVID-19 restriction that dates back to the Trump administration. The new rules allow air travel from previously restricted countries as long as the traveler has proof of vaccination and a negative COVID-19 test. Land travel from Mexico and Canada will require proof of vaccination but no test.
Airlines are expecting more travelers from Europe and elsewhere. Data from travel and analytics firm Cirium showed airlines are increasing flights between the United Kingdom and the U.S. by 21% this month over last month.
The change will have a profound effect on the borders with Mexico and Canada, where traveling back and forth was a way of life until the pandemic hit and the U.S. shut down nonessential travel.
Malls, restaurants and Main Street shops in U.S. border towns have been devastated by the lack of visitors from Mexico. On the boundary with Canada, cross-border hockey rivalries were community traditions until being upended by the pandemic. Churches that had members on both sides of the border are hoping to welcome parishioners they haven't seen during COVID-19 shutdown.
Loved ones have missed holidays, birthdays and funerals while nonessential air travel was barred, and they are now eager to reconnect.
River Robinson's American partner wasn't able to be in Canada for the birth of their baby boy 17 months ago because of pandemic-related border closures. She was thrilled to hear the U.S. is reopening its land crossings to vaccinated travelers.
"I'm planning to take my baby down for the American Thanksgiving," said Robinson, who lives in St. Thomas, Ontario. "If all goes smoothly at the border I'll plan on taking him down as much as I can. Is crazy to think he has a whole other side of the family he hasn't even met yet."
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. will accept travelers who have been fully vaccinated with any of the vaccines approved for emergency use by the World Health Organization, not just those in use in the U.S. That means that the AstraZeneca vaccine, widely used in Canada, will be accepted.
For air travelers, the airlines are required to verify vaccine records and match them against ID, and if they don't, they could face fines of up to nearly $35,000 per violation. Airlines will also collect information about passengers for contact tracing efforts. There will be CDC workers spot-checking travelers for compliance in the U.S. At land borders, Customs and Border Protection agents will check vaccine proof.
The moves come as the U.S. has seen its COVID-19 outlook improve dramatically in recent weeks since the summer delta surge that pushed hospitals to the brink in many locations.
Wednesday, March 25, 2020
New Yorkers told to go into self-quarantine if they travel to avoid spreading the coronavirus
“We have to deal with the NY metropolitan area as a high-risk area,” said Vice President Mike Pence, adding the infection rate is 1 in 1,000.
Travelers leaving the New York metro area should self-quarantine for 14 days to make sure they aren't passing on the coronavirus, a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force said Tuesday.
In making the recommendation, task force coordinator Deborah Birx said that the quarantine should apply even to those who aren't showing symptoms. She said many travelers are headed to locations outside New York City, from Long Island to North Carolina or other states.
Brix said 56% of all the coronavirus cases in the United States, as well as 60% of all new cases, are coming from the New York metro area. Greater New York City also accounts for 31% of deaths in the country.
The recommendation follows an order that took effect Tuesday by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis requiring anyone flying to Florida from New York, New Jersey or Connecticut to self-isolate for 14 days upon arrival. Alaska and Hawaii are also requiring anyone arriving from other states to self-quarantine.
Already, New Yorkers have been ordered to stay in their homes and the city has virtually shut down in an effort to quell spread of the virus.
6 Amazon workers test positive for coronavirus
Six warehouse workers for Amazon have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus, according to The Washington Post.
As much of the nation has depended upon Amazon for vital access to products, workers at facilities in New York City, Jacksonville, Florida, Sheperdsville, Kentucky, Katy, Texas, Brownstown, Michigan and Oklahoma City were infected with the coronavirus, the Post reported on Tuesday.
"In some cases, Amazon shut down facilities for cleaning, and some co-workers who were in close contact with their infected colleagues have been quarantined."
Workers at Amazon warehouses in Italy and Spain has also tested positive. In response, some 1,500 Amazon employees signed a petition that urged Amazon to take more steps to protect them, according to the Post.
In a letter to employees on Friday, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said, "There is no instruction manual for how to feel at a time like this, and I know this causes stress for everyone."
Bezos went on to add that the company is implementing "a series of preventative health measures for employees and contractors at our sites around the world – everything from increasing the frequency and intensity of cleaning to adjusting our practices in fulfillment centers to ensure the recommended social distancing guidelines. We are meeting every day, working to identify additional ways to improve on these measures."
Amazon didn't respond to USA TODAY's ( source) request for a comment.
Jobs:Amazon to hire 100,000 workers to assist with online deliveries
Overtime:Amazon gives warehouse workers temporary overtime pay raise
The company also recently announced that it was seeking to hire as many as 100,000 new workers to deal with the onslaught of orders coming in. Because of the backlog, many Amazon orders that normally arrived within two days have been backed up at least 30 days.
The tech giant said it looked to invest over $350 million globally with the new hires, and would increase pay by $2 an hour in the U.S.
Amazon has stated that employees diagnosed with COVID-19 or placed into quarantine would receive up to two-weeks of pay. "This additional pay while away from work is to ensure employees have the time they need to return to good health without the worry of lost pay."
In a statement to the Florida Times-Union earlier in March, Amazon confirmed that one of its employees got infected, and said the worker was receiving medical care and is in quarantine.
And according to The Atlantic, workers at the New York facility found out about one of their co-workers getting infected through a text. "We're writing to let you know that a positive case of the coronavirus (COVID-19) was found at our facility today."
Preventing coronavirus spread: Walmart, Kroger, Albertsons among grocers adding sneeze guards
Retailers have reduced store hours to make time for deep cleanings and now are adding a new layer of protection – sneeze guards.
Walmart and some of the nation's largest grocery store chains – Kroger and Albertsons – are installing plexiglass barriers or partitions to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus and protect both shoppers and store employees.
The protective screens will stand between a customer and a cashier so that any airborne droplets - either from a cough or a sneeze - will be blocked from hitting the person on the other side.
"Staying safe and healthy is more important than ever for our associates, our customers and for us," Dacona Smith, executive vice president and chief operating officer, Walmart U.S., wrote in a blog post Tuesday. "Installing these barriers is another way Walmart is helping bring peace of mind that we are doing everything we can to keep our people and our stores safe."
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Walmart said it has started installing the barriers at pharmacies at Walmart and Sam's Clubs and will install the guards at regular Walmart registers over the next two to three weeks.
Smith also said Walmart is adding decals to promote social distancing on floors and has "found a new solution to help associates clean carts quicker and more thoroughly."
Senior shopping hours:Stores offer shopping time for vulnerable customers amid coronavirus: Walmart, Target, Costco and more
COVID-19 store closings, reduced hours:Best Buy, GameStop latest to close but offering curbside pickup
