Wednesday, September 9, 2020

The Rundown: Virus Vaccine Study On Pause

A study of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine candidate that is in Phase 3 of testing, the largest, final stage, has been paused to investigate an unexplained illness in a volunteer who got the vaccine to see if it's related to the shot.


AstraZeneca said in a statement yesterday evening that its, quote, "standard review process triggered a pause to vaccination to allow review of safety data." The company didn't reveal what illness was being experienced by the volunteer, who health news site STAT said is in the U.K. Temporary pauses of large medical studies aren't unusual and investigating any serious or unexpected reaction is a mandatory part of safety testing. AstraZeneca said, "We are working to expedite the review of the single event to minimize any potential impact on the trial timeline." Two other vaccines are in final-stage testing in the U.S., one from Moderna and the other by Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech.


Drugmakers Make Pledge: The news came on the same day that AstraZeneca and eight other drugmakers released an unprecedented pledge promising to follow the highest ethical and scientific standards in developing their coronavirus vaccines. Their vow comes amid concerns that President Trump may pressure the Food and Drug Administration to approve a vaccine before it's proven to be safe and effective, potentially ahead of the election. The companies want to boost public confidence in eventual approved vaccines, concerned that Americans won't get the vaccine if they don't trust it was rushed to approval before being proven to be safe.

There have been more than 189,600 coronavirus deaths in the U.S. as of early this morning, according to Johns Hopkins University's count, and more than 6,327,000 confirmed cases.


➤FIREFIGHTERS INJURED BATTLING CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES, ONE IN CRITICAL CONDITION: Fourteen firefighters battling the wildfires that are raging in California had to use their emergency shelters after being overtaken by flames yesterday, leaving them with burns and smoke inhalation and three injured seriously enough to be flown to a hospital in Fresno, with one of them in critical condition. The flames destroyed the Nacimiento fire station in the Los Padres National Forest on the state's central coast. Forecasts for continued gusty winds into today could make the wildfires even stronger.

USAToday 9/9/20
Helicopters were being used yesterday and the day before to rescue hundreds of people stranded in the Sierra National Forest, where the Creek Fire has destroyed 365 buildings, including at least 45 homes. Wildfires were also burning in Southern California in Los Angeles, San Bernardino and San Diego counties.

➤ROCHESTER'S TOP POLICE LEADERS RETIRE AMID PROTESTS OVER MAN'S SUFFOCATION DEATH: Rochester, New York's top police leaders announced their retirements yesterday amid ongoing protests over the suffocation death of Daniel Prude, a 41-year-old Black man who was having a mental health crisis, at the hands of police. Police Chief La'Ron Singletary, Deputy Chief Joseph Morabito, and two commanders retired, and two other deputy chiefs and a commander gave up their top leadership positions and returned to lower ranks. Mayor Lovely Warren said she hadn't asked Singletary to resign, but that his decision to retire came after what she said was "new information that was brought to light today that I had not previously seen before," but she didn't describe what it was. Warren has said Singletary originally told her Prude had an apparent drug overdose. Singletary said in a statement yesterday, "The mischaracterization and the politicization of the actions that I took after being informed of Mr. Prude’s death is not based on facts, and is not what I stand for."


Meanwhile, Prude's family filed a federal lawsuit yesterday alleging a cover-up by police. Prude's death took place back in March, but the circumstances weren't publicly known until his family released video of the incident last week. It showed police putting a spit hood on a naked, handcuffed Prude and then holding his face down to the pavement for about two minutes until he stopped breathing. Police had found Prude running naked in the street after his brother, with whom he was staying, called 911 early in the morning when he discovered Prude wasn't in the house.

➤13-YEAR-OLD BOY WITH AUTISM SHOT BY SALT LAKE CITY POLICE: A 13-year-old boy with autism was shot by Salt Lake City police Friday night after his mother says she called police and asked for a crisis intervention team for help with her son. Linden Cameron, who is white, is hospitalized with serious injuries. Golda Barton told CNN that Cameron, who has Asperger syndrome, experienced what she called a "mental breakdown" earlier in the day, saying he was having trouble coping on her first day back to work in nearly a year. She said she called for police to help manage the situation and get him treatment, telling station KUTV, "I said, 'Look, he's unarmed. He doesn't have anything. He just gets mad and he starts yelling and screaming.'" Barton said Cameron ran away when police arrived, and then she heard someone yell "get down on the ground" three times, followed by several gunshots. She told the station, "Why didn't they tase him? Why didn't they shoot him with a rubber bullet? He's a small child. Why don't you just tackle him?"

Salt Lake City Police Sergeant Keith Horrocks said Saturday that police had been called because a boy was having a, quote, "psychological episode and had made threats to some folks with the weapon." He said the boy ran and one officer fired as police chased him. Barton has said her son didn't have a weapon, and it's not clear what threats police were responding to. A Salt Lake City police spokesperson told CNN yesterday he couldn't speak specifically about whether Cameron had a weapon or, quote, "what the officers' perceived threats were," and that an investigation will look into those questions.



➤JUSTICE DEPT. ASKS TO TAKE OVER TRUMP DEFENSE IN DEFAMATION LAWSUIT BY RAPE ACCUSER: The Justice Department yesterday asked a court to allow it to take over President Trump's defense in a defamation lawsuit brought against him by writer E. Jean Carroll, who last year accused him of raping her in the mid-1990s. After state courts in New York rejected Trump's request to delay Carroll's lawsuit, the Justice Department is now trying to move the case into federal court and substitute the U.S. for Trump as the defendant. If that happens, the federal government, not Trump, might have to pay damages if Carroll is awarded any. The Justice Department argued Trump was, quote, "acting within the scope of his office" when he denied Carroll's allegations that he raped her in a New York luxury department store.


The attorneys argued, "Numerous courts have recognized that elected officials act within the scope of their office or employment when speaking with the press, including with respect to personal matters." Carroll's suit claims that Trump's denials, including saying she was lying to sell a memoir, defamed her and hurt her career. Carroll's attorney, Roberta Kaplan, called the Justice Department's argument "shocking," and said, "It offends me as a lawyer and offends me even more as a citizen." The request comes as Carroll is attempting to get a DNA sample from Trump as well as to have him answer questions under oath, as well as amid concerns that Attorney General William Barr has been intervening in legal cases involving Trump or his allies.



➤HEAT DEFEAT BUCKS TO REACH CONFERENCE FINALS: The Miami Heat topped the Milwaukee Bucks 103-94 last night (September 8th) to win their semifinal series 4 games to 1 and reach the Eastern Conference Finals. The Heat got the series-clinching win against a Bucks teams that didn't have Giannis Antetokounmpo on the floor, with the NBA's reigning MVP out with a sprained ankle. Miami will face either Boston or Toronto in the conference finals.

➤NBA PLAYOFFS: Results from Conference Semifinals yesterday:
  • Miami Heat 103, Milwaukee Bucks 94 -- Miami wins series 4 games to 1 (East)
  • L.A. Lakers 112, Houston Rockets 102 -- L.A. leads series 2 games to 1 (West)
➤NHL PLAYOFFS: Results from Conference Finals yesterday:
  • Vegas Golden Knights 3, Dallas Stars 0 -- Series tied at 1-1 (West)

➤OSAKA, ZVEREV ADVANCE TO U.S. OPEN SEMIFINALS: Fourth-seeded Naomi Osaka and fifth-seeded Alexander Zverev won their quarterfinal matches at the U.S. Open yesterday (September 8th) to advance to the semifinals. Japan's Osaka beat 93rd-ranked American Shelby Rogers in straight sets, and Germany's Zverev downed 27th-seeded Borna Coric of Croatia 1-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (1), 6-3. In the day's two other quarterfinal matches, 28th-seeded American Jennifer Brady beat Number 23 Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan, and 20th-seeded Pablo Carreno of Spain defeated Number 12 Denis Shapovalov of Canada. Serena Williams will be among those playing their quarterfinal matches today.

➤POTENTIAL SEASON-ENDING INJURY FOR BRONCOS' MILLER: Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller hurt his ankle at the end of practice yesterday and the tendon injury is expected to need surgery that will likely end his season, according to media reports yesterday (September 8th). ESPN cited two sources as saying the linebacker was injured on the last play of practice. The NFL season will begin Thursday.


➤DONOVAN OUT AS THUNDER COACH: The Oklahoma City Thunder announced last night  that Billy Donovan is out as the NBA team's head coach after five seasons. Donovan, who was at the end of his contract, had a 243-157 record with the Thunder. Both Donovan and the Thunder said the decision was mutual.

➤REPORT: NBA TO PUSH BACK START OF NEXT SEASON: The NBA and the Players Association have agreed to push back the start of next season, as well as the NBA draft and the start of free agency, according to The Athletic. The report says the 2020-21 season will begin later than the current December 1st planned date, and the draft, set for October 16th, and the start of free agency, planned for October 18th, are both also being delayed. The new dates haven't been reported, but The Athletic said the draft will still take place in October. The current coronavirus-delayed season is set to end in October.

➤COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYER DIES OF COVID COMPLICATIONS: Jamain Stephens, a 20-year-old football player at California University of Pennsylvania, had died of complications of COVID-19, the school announced yesterday. Stephens, a senior defensive lineman, was the son of former Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals player Jamain Stephens. The school isn't playing football this fall, as decided by the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference because of health concerns related to the coronavirus.
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