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Covid-19 shots are officially ready to give to American citizens.

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Vaccine candidate was found to be more than 90% effective in preventing COVID-19 in participants without evidence of prior SARS-CoV-2 infection in the first interim efficacy analysis

Analysis evaluated 94 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in trial participants

Study enrolled 43,538 participants, with 42% having diverse backgrounds, and no serious safety concerns have been observed; Safety and additional efficacy data continue to be collected

Submission for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) planned for soon after the required safety milestone is achieved, which is currently expected to occur in the third week of November

Clinical trial to continue through to final analysis at 164 confirmed cases in order to collect further data and characterize the vaccine candidate's performance against other study endpoints

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201109005539/en/

NEW YORK & MAINZ, GERMANY--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) and BioNTech SE (Nasdaq: BNTX) today announced their mRNA-based vaccine candidate, BNT162b2, against SARS-CoV-2 has demonstrated evidence of efficacy against COVID-19 in participants without prior evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection, based on the first interim efficacy analysis conducted on November 8, 2020 by an external, independent Data Monitoring Committee (DMC) from the Phase 3 clinical study.

After discussion with the FDA, the companies recently elected to drop the 32-case interim analysis and conduct the first interim analysis at a minimum of 62 cases. Upon the conclusion of those discussions, the evaluable case count reached 94 and the DMC performed its first analysis on all cases. The case split between vaccinated individuals and those who received the placebo indicates a vaccine efficacy rate above 90%, at 7 days after the second dose. This means that protection is achieved 28 days after the initiation of the vaccination, which consists of a 2-dose schedule. As the study continues, the final vaccine efficacy percentage may vary. The DMC has not reported any serious safety concerns and recommends that the study continue to collect additional safety and efficacy data as planned. The data will be discussed with regulatory authorities worldwide.

"Today is a great day for science and humanity. The first set of results from our Phase 3 COVID-19 vaccine trial provides the initial evidence of our vaccine's ability to prevent COVID-19," said Dr. Albert Bourla, Pfizer Chairman and CEO. "We are reaching this critical milestone in our vaccine development program at a time when the world needs it most with infection rates setting new records, hospitals nearing over-capacity and economies struggling to reopen. With today's news, we are a significant step closer to providing people around the world with a much-needed breakthrough to help bring an end to this global health crisis. We look forward to sharing additional efficacy and safety data generated from thousands of participants in the coming weeks."After discussion with the FDA, the companies recently elected to drop the 32-case interim analysis and conduct the first interim analysis at a minimum of 62 cases. Upon the conclusion of those discussions, the evaluable case count reached 94 and the DMC performed its first analysis on all cases. The case split between vaccinated individuals and those who received the placebo indicates a vaccine efficacy rate above 90%, at 7 days after the second dose. This means that protection is achieved 28 days after the initiation of the vaccination, which consists of a 2-dose schedule. As the study continues, the final vaccine efficacy percentage may vary. The DMC has not reported any serious safety concerns and recommends that the study continue to collect additional safety and efficacy data as planned. The data will be discussed with regulatory authorities worldwide.

"I want to thank the thousands of people who volunteered to participate in the clinical trial, our academic collaborators and investigators at the study sites, and our colleagues and collaborators around the world who are dedicating their time to this crucial endeavor," added Bourla. "We could not have come this far without the tremendous commitment of everyone involved."

"The first interim analysis of our global Phase 3 study provides evidence that a vaccine may effectively prevent COVID-19. This is a victory for innovation, science and a global collaborative effort," said Prof. Ugur Sahin, BioNTech co-founder and CEO. "When we embarked on this journey 10 months ago this is what we aspired to achieve. Especially today, while we are all in the midst of a second wave and many of us in lockdown, we appreciate even more how important this milestone is on our path towards ending this pandemic and for all of us to regain a sense of normality. We will continue to collect further data as the trial continues to enroll for a final analysis planned when a total of 164 confirmed COVID-19 cases have accrued. I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to make this important achievement possible."

The Phase 3 clinical trial of BNT162b2 began on July 27 and has enrolled 43,538 participants to date, 38,955 of whom have received a second dose of the vaccine candidate as of November 8, 2020. Approximately 42% of global participants and 30% of U.S. participants have racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds. The trial is continuing to enroll and is expected to continue through the final analysis when a total of 164 confirmed COVID-19 cases have accrued. The study also will evaluate the potential for the vaccine candidate to provide protection against COVID-19 in those who have had prior exposure to SARS-CoV-2, as well as vaccine prevention against severe COVID-19 disease. In addition to the primary efficacy endpoints evaluating confirmed COVID-19 cases accruing from 7 days after the second dose, the final analysis now will include, with the approval of the FDA, new secondary endpoints evaluating efficacy based on cases accruing 14 days after the second dose as well. The companies believe that the addition of these secondary endpoints will help align data across all COVID-19 vaccine studies and allow for cross-trial learnings and comparisons between these novel vaccine platforms. The companies have posted an updated version of the study protocol at https://www.pfizer.com/science/coronavirus.

Pfizer and BioNTech are continuing to accumulate safety data and currently estimate that a median of two months of safety data following the second (and final) dose of the vaccine candidate - the amount of safety data specified by the FDA in its guidance for potential Emergency Use Authorization - will be available by the third week of November. Additionally, participants will continue to be monitored for long-term protection and safety for an additional two years after their second dose.

Along with the efficacy data generated from the clinical trial, Pfizer and BioNTech are working to prepare the necessary safety and manufacturing data to submit to the FDA to demonstrate the safety and quality of the vaccine product produced.

Based on current projections we expect to produce globally up to 50 million vaccine doses in 2020 and up to 1.3 billion doses in 2021.

Pfizer and BioNTech plan to submit data from the full Phase 3 trial for scientific peer-review publication.
About Pfizer: Breakthroughs That Change Patients' Lives
At Pfizer, we apply science and our global resources to bring therapies to people that extend and significantly improve their lives. We strive to set the standard for quality, safety and value in the discovery, development and manufacture of health care products, including innovative medicines and vaccines. Every day, Pfizer colleagues work across developed and emerging markets to advance wellness, prevention, treatments and cures that challenge the most feared diseases of our time. Consistent with our responsibility as one of the world's premier innovative biopharmaceutical companies, we collaborate with health care providers, governments and local communities to support and expand access to reliable, affordable health care around the world. For more than 150 years, we have worked to make a difference for all who rely on us. We routinely post information that may be important to investors on our website at www.Pfizer.com. In addition, to learn more, please visit us on www.Pfizer.com and follow us on Twitter at @Pfizer and @Pfizer News, LinkedIn, YouTube and like us on Facebook at Facebook.com/Pfizer.
Pfizer Disclosure Notice
The information contained in this release is as of November 9, 2020. Pfizer assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements contained in this release as the result of new information or future events or developments.

This release contains forward-looking information about Pfizer's efforts to combat COVID-19, the collaboration between BioNTech and Pfizer to develop a potential COVID-19 vaccine, the BNT162 mRNA vaccine program, and modRNA candidate BNT162b2 (including qualitative assessments of available data, potential benefits, expectations for clinical trials, anticipated timing of clinical trial readouts and regulatory submissions and anticipated manufacturing, distribution and supply), that involves substantial risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Risks and uncertainties include, among other things, the uncertainties inherent in research and development, including the ability to meet anticipated clinical endpoints, commencement and/or completion dates for clinical trials, regulatory submission dates, regulatory approval dates and/or launch dates, as well as risks associated with preliminary and interim data, (including the Phase 3 interim data that is the subject of this release), including the possibility of unfavorable new preclinical or clinical trial data and further analyses of existing preclinical or clinical trial data; the risk that clinical trial data are subject to differing interpretations and assessments, including during the peer review/publication process, in the scientific community generally, and by regulatory authorities; whether and when data from the BNT162 mRNA vaccine program will be published in scientific journal publications and, if so, when and with what modifications; whether regulatory authorities will be satisfied with the design of and results from these and future preclinical and clinical studies; whether and when any biologics license and/or emergency use authorization applications may be filed in any jurisdictions for BNT162b2 or any other potential vaccine candidates; whether and when any such applications may be approved by regulatory authorities, which will depend on myriad factors, including making a determination as to whether the vaccine candidate's benefits outweigh its known risks and determination of the vaccine candidate's efficacy and, if approved, whether it will be commercially successful; decisions by regulatory authorities impacting labeling, manufacturing processes, safety and/or other matters that could affect the availability or commercial potential of a vaccine, including development of products or therapies by other companies; disruptions in the relationships between us and our collaboration partners or third-party suppliers; risks related to the availability of raw materials to manufacture a vaccine; challenges related to our vaccine candidate's ultra-low temperature formulation and attendant storage, distribution and administration requirements, including risks related to handling after delivery by Pfizer; the risk that we may not be able to successfully develop non-frozen formulations; the risk that we may not be able to create or scale up manufacturing capacity on a timely basis or have access to logistics or supply channels commensurate with global demand for any potential approved vaccine, which would negatively impact our ability to supply the estimated numbers of doses of our vaccine candidate within the projected time periods indicated; whether and when additional supply agreements will be reached; uncertainties regarding the ability to obtain recommendations from vaccine technical committees and other public health authorities and uncertainties regarding the commercial impact of any such recommendations; and competitive developments.

A further description of risks and uncertainties can be found in Pfizer's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019 and in its subsequent reports on Form 10-Q, including in the sections thereof captioned "Risk Factors" and "Forward-Looking Information and Factors That May Affect Future Results", as well as in its subsequent reports on Form 8-K, all of which are filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and available at www.sec.gov and www.pfizer.com.
About BioNTech
Biopharmaceutical New Technologies is a next generation immunotherapy company pioneering novel therapies for cancer and other serious diseases. The Company exploits a wide array of computational discovery and therapeutic drug platforms for the rapid development of novel biopharmaceuticals. Its broad portfolio of oncology product candidates includes individualized and off-the-shelf mRNA-based therapies, innovative chimeric antigen receptor T cells, bi-specific checkpoint immuno-modulators, targeted cancer antibodies and small molecules. Based on its deep expertise in mRNA vaccine development and in-house manufacturing capabilities, BioNTech and its collaborators are developing multiple mRNA vaccine candidates for a range of infectious diseases alongside its diverse oncology pipeline. BioNTech has established a broad set of relationships with multiple global pharmaceutical collaborators, including Genmab, Sanofi, Bayer Animal Health, Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, Genevant, Fosun Pharma, and Pfizer. For more information, please visit www.BioNTech.de.
BioNTech Forward-looking statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" of BioNTech within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements may include, but may not be limited to, statements concerning: BioNTech's efforts to combat COVID-19; the collaboration between BioNTech and Pfizer to develop a potential COVID-19 vaccine; our expectations regarding the potential characteristics of BNT162b2 in our Phase 2/3 trial and/or in commercial use based on data observations to date; the expected timepoint for additional readouts on efficacy data of BNT162b2 in our Phase 2/3 trial; the nature of the clinical data, which is subject to ongoing peer review, regulatory review and market interpretation; the timing for submission of data for, or receipt of, any potential Emergency Use Authorization; the timing for submission of manufacturing data to the FDA; and the ability of BioNTech to supply the quantities of BNT162 to support clinical development and, if approved, market demand, including our production estimates for 2020 and 2021. Any forward-looking statements in this press release are based on BioNTech current expectations and beliefs of future events, and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from those set forth in or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: the ability to meet the pre-defined endpoints in clinical trials; competition to create a vaccine for COVID-19; the ability to produce comparable clinical or other results, including our stated rate of vaccine effectiveness and safety and tolerability profile observed to date, in the remainder of the trial or in larger, more diverse populations upon commercialization; the ability to effectively scale our productions capabilities; and other potential difficulties. For a discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties, see BioNTech's Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC on March 31, 2020, which is available on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. All information in this press release is as of the date of the release, and BioNTech undertakes no duty to update this information unless required by law.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201109005539/en/

Source: Pfizer Inc.

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Pfizer and BioNTech Announce Vaccine Candidate Against COVID-19 Achieved Success in First Interim Analysis from Phase 3 Study

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Vaccine candidate was found to be more than 90% effective in preventing COVID-19 in participants without evidence of prior SARS-CoV-2 infection in the first interim efficacy analysis Analysis evaluated 94 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in trial participants Study enrolled 43,538 participants, with 42% having diverse backgrounds, and no serious safety concerns have been observed; Safety and additional efficacy data continue to be collected Submission for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to the U.S.

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Covid cases have gone down 17% meaning that things are starting to get better. This is positive because we have been in this pandemic for over a year and it's good to see that it's finally starting to get better.

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Map of election results. Use arrow keys to move around the map. Press Enter to view state-level map.

Cases

31,783,375

17%

Deaths

567,327

3%

Current Hospitalizations

36,559

6%

Fully Vaccinated

96,747,454

7%

COVID-19 Vaccine Finder

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Coronavirus Map | Tracking Cases and Vaccinations in the U.S.

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Tracking the latest COVID-19 cases and vaccinations by State and County; Coronavirus Map showing the latest updates on how many vaccinations are in the U.S. Scroll over the map to see your state's vaccination results.

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Yes we should. D.C has such a historical impact on our country. Almost everything government related takes place in D.C and it does deserve to be a state. Change is good, it is okay to add states onto the 50 that we already have. Adding it will change the way the government works in various ways but, it's nothing the government can't accomodate.

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COVID changed the way our entire world views life. We do EVERYTHING so differently and things will never be the same, even when this tragedy ends.

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This page includes advice from WHO on ways to protect yourself and prevent the spread of COVID-19. The downloadable infographics below provide guidance on general and specific topics related to the pandemic.
Stay aware of the latest COVID-19 information by regularly checking updates from WHO in addition to national and local public health authorities.
Find out more about getting vaccinated:

Keep yourself and others safe: Do it all!

Protect yourself and those around you:

Get vaccinated as soon as it's your turn and follow local guidance on vaccination.

Keep physical distance of at least 1 metre from others, even if they don't appear to be sick. Avoid crowds and close contact.

Wear a properly fitted mask when physical distancing is not possible and in poorly ventilated settings.

Clean your hands frequently with alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water.

Cover your mouth and nose with a bent elbow or tissue when you cough or sneeze. Dispose of used tissues immediately and clean hands regularly.

If you develop symptoms or test positive for COVID-19, self-isolate until you recover.

Wear a mask properly

To properly wear your mask:

Make sure your mask covers your nose, mouth and chin.

Clean your hands before you put your mask on, before and after you take it off, and after you touch it at any time.

When you take off your mask, store it in a clean plastic bag, and every day either wash it if it's a fabric mask or dispose of it in a trash bin if it's a medical mask.

Don't use masks with valves.

More about masks:

Make your environment safer

The risks of getting COVID-19 are higher in crowded and inadequately ventilated spaces where infected people spend long periods of time together in close proximity.

Outbreaks have been reported in places where people have gather, often in crowded indoor settings and where they talk loudly, shout, breathe heavily or sing such as restaurants, choir practices, fitness classes, nightclubs, offices and places of worship.

To make your environment as safe as possible:

Meet people outside. Outdoor gatherings are safer than indoor ones, particularly if indoor spaces are small and without outdoor air coming in.

If you can't avoid crowded or indoor settings, take these precautions:

Open a window to increase the amount of natural ventilation when indoors.

Wear a mask (see above for more details).

By following good respiratory hygiene you protect the people around you from viruses that cause colds, flu and COVID-19.

To ensure good hygiene you should:

Regularly and thoroughly clean your hands with either an alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water. This eliminates germs that may be on your hands, including viruses.

Cover your mouth and nose with your bent elbow or a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Dispose of the used tissue immediately into a closed bin and wash your hands.

Clean and disinfect surfaces frequently, especially those which are regularly touched, such as door handles, faucets and phone screens.

What to do if you feel unwell

If you feel unwell, here's what to do.

If you have a fever, cough and difficulty breathing, seek medical attention immediately.Call by telephone first and follow the directions of your local health authority.

Know the full range of symptoms of COVID-19. The most common symptoms of COVID-19 are fever, dry cough, tiredness and loss of taste or smell. Less common symptoms include aches and pains, headache, sore throat, red or irritated eyes, diarrhoea, a skin rash or discolouration of fingers or toes.

Stay home and self-isolate for 10 days from symptom onset, plus three days after symptoms cease. Call your health care provider or hotline for advice. Have someone bring you supplies. If you need to leave your house or have someone near you, wear a properly fitted mask to avoid infecting others.

Keep up to date on the latest information from trusted sources, such as WHO or your local and national health authorities. Local and national authorities and public health units are best placed to advise on what people in your area should be doing to protect themselves.

How COVID-19 infects people and how our bodies react.

How to visit healthcare facilities safely

COVID-19 symptoms and flu

Protect yourself and others from getting sick

Pregnancy & breastfeeding

How to cope with stress

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Advice for the public on COVID-19 - World Health Organization

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Simple precautions to reduce your chances of being infected or spreading COVID-19.

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This event changed the way people views racism and policing in our country. It made people realize that our officers are never held accountable for things they do and racism and is real problem.

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How George Floyd Was Killed in Police Custody (Published 2020)

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The Times has reconstructed the death of George Floyd on May 25. Security footage, witness videos and official documents show how a series of actions by officers turned fatal.

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- Focuses on california's COVID-19 restrictions
- Are California's restrictions accurate?
- At home religious gatherings are restricted but restaurants are allowed to operate at 50% capacity.

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- Dred Scott was a black, enslaved man
- The case was a decade long
- Dred could not read or write so his lawsuit required a lot of help from abolitionists
- This case gave African Americans the right to be United States citizens

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subscribe to The NPR Politics Podcast podcast

House lawmakers have passed two bills aimed at strengthening the nation's gun laws, including a bill that would require background checks on all gun sales and transfers.

The top Senate Democrat vowed to bring up legislation expanding background checks up for a vote, but it does not have the 60 votes needed in the chamber to advance.

With Democrats in full control of Congress, lawmakers hope that the legislation will find more support. Democrat-led efforts to pass tougher gun control laws have repeatedly failed since the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.

"The gun violence crisis in America is a challenge to the conscience of our country - one that demands that we act," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said.

The House also voted to approve legislation that would close the so-called "Charleston loophole," which made it possible for Dylann Roof, the white supremacist who killed nine people at a historically black church in Charleston, S.C., in 2015, to purchase a handgun even though he should have been barred from purchasing one. The measure lengthens the review period for background checks from three days to up to 20.

"The Charleston loophole was exploited more than ever before in 2020, putting thousands of guns into the hands of people who are legally prohibited from possessing them," said Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action. "We could have addressed this deadly loophole years ago, but then-Majority Leader Mitch McConnell stood with the NRA to block this bill from ever getting a vote on the Senate floor. Fortunately, there's a new majority in the Senate - and we look forward to working with that majority to pass this bill into law."

The National Rifle Association denounced the House action on Thursday and argued Congress instead should be approving gun rights measures.

"These bills are a transparent attempt by gun control advocates in Congress to restrict the rights of law-abiding Americans under the guise of addressing the violent criminal culture in America," Jason Ouimet, head of the NRA's Institute for Legislative Action, said in a written statement.

While both pieces of legislation had Republican co-sponsors, both passed with little GOP support.

Speaking on the House floor on Thursday, North Carolina Republican Rep. Virginia Foxx characterized the gun-related bills as "attempts by the federal government to exert more force over law-abiding citizens who want to protect themselves and their families."

Similar legislation passed the House in 2019, after youth-led activism after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., united Democrats around the issue of gun control. However, it stalled in the Senate.

Senate Democrats have already introduced their own version of both gun bills, but it is unclear whether there will be enough support among Republicans to move any new gun control legislation. They would need 60 votes to do so. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said this week that the background checks legislation will "be on the floor of the Senate and we will see where everybody stands."

"A vote is what we need," Schumer added. "Not thoughts and prayers."

Connecticut Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy, a sponsor of the Senate legislation, said that while gun control legislation "has a reputation of being controversial, but it is only controversial inside the Beltway."

"Outside of Washington, Republicans, Democrats, gun owners, non-gun owners, NRA members, non-NRA members agree. We should tighten our gun laws to make sure that criminals and people with histories of serious mental illness cannot buy guns," Murphy said. "This is a unifying issue."

Advocates for gun control measures vow to make the issue a factor in the 2022 midterms and say the issue of gun violence remains an urgent problem.

"Between now and 2022, Brady PAC will make sure every voter knows and doesn't forget who did and did not vote for this lifesaving piece of legislation that 90% of Americans support," Brian Lemek, executive director of the Brady PAC, the political arm of the gun violence prevention group, told NPR.

Biden administration officials have held listening sessions with advocates to discuss the issue. And during the 2020 campaign, Biden vowed action.

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House Passes Bills To Strengthen Gun Laws, Including Expanding Background Checks

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subscribe to The NPR Politics Podcast podcast House lawmakers have passed two bills aimed at strengthening the nation's gun laws, including a bill that would require background checks on all gun sales and transfers. The top Senate Democrat vowed to bring up legislation expanding background checks up for a vote, but it does not have the 60 votes needed in the chamber to advance.

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March for Our Lives: Gun control ideas sound good, but are deeply flawed and won’t save lives

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America continues to mourn the 17 people killed in a mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida last month.

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I understand there are laws revolved around this but, there should be a law that all racism in any way, shape, or form can be punishable with jail time or parole. The government give racist individuals slack when it comes to their punishments, if they even receive one.

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This man committed a crime as a juvenile but is having a sentence that a lot of adults don't receive.

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The Mississippi Court of Appeals has affirmed the circuit court ruling that a man charged in a 2004 shooting death, at the age of 15, will continue to serve a life sentence without the possibility of parole. Dunta Dotson, of Jackson, is now 31 years old. He's been behind bars since he was 15 serving a life sentence in the murder of Robert Jeanes at his home in Madison County on October 26, 2004. A few months later in January 2005, Dotson, his younger brother Robert and Eugene Ealy were indicted on capital murder charges. Dotson pleaded guilty to the lesser offense of murder on July 26, 2006, and was sentenced to life without parole, the only available statutory sentence. In 2012, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Miller v. Alabama that mandatory sentences of life without the possibility of parole are unconstitutional for juvenile offenders. The judge held that the 8th Amendment's "cruel and unusual punishments" clause prohibited courts from automatically imposing life without parole sentences on offenders who commit even homicides while they were under the age of 18. In 2013, Dotson appealed his sentence based on the Miller decision and his sentence was vacated. He was granted post-conviction relief and a sentencing hearing was held in Madison County Circuit Court in 2019 where he was resentenced to life without parole. In July 2019 he appealed again but the decision was upheld by the state Court of Appeals. Dotson then asked the U.S. Supreme Court for a stay in his case until a decision in another case, Jones v. Mississippi, is made. In the Jones case, the Supreme Court is set to decide whether the 8th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution requires proof that a juvenile offender is "permanently incorrigible" before a life-without-parole sentence can be issued. The case was argued before the court on Nov. 3, 2020, and is awaiting a decision. The appeals panel denied Dotson's request. The court ruled against Dotson saying that "not much else" other than his age supported parole eligibility. "There was plenty of time for ...to think about what was going on. He had time to think and plan," court records state. "Rather than being impulsive, this looks more as a planned premeditated event under the facts of this case."The panel also stated that the circumstances of the crime weighed heavily against parole. On October 26, 2004, Dotson, 15, and his friend Eugene Ealy, 17, were out in Madison County looking for four-wheelers to steal. At a home on Lake Lorman, the two teens noticed a four-wheeler in the back of a truck and a white Cadillac in the driveway. According to court documents, Dotson and Ealy went back to Dotson's house in Jackson to get his 13-year-old brother Robert to be a third driver.When the trio arrived back to the home in Madison County, Dotson and Ealy left little brother Robert in the truck and approached the home and knocked on the front door. Dotson was carrying a gun he later claimed Ealy had given him. During his trial, he said he carried the gun to what was supposed to be a robbery because "I guess it was just a social norm at the time."When Dotson and Ealy knocked on the door, homeowner Robert Jeanes answered and Ealy asked if they could use his phone to find an address. Jeanes offered his help and while Ealy was using the phone Dotson shot Jeanes in the head, according to testimony. Dotson would later admit that the shooting was unprovoked but continued to claim he did not intend to kill Jeanes. The statement contradicts what Dotson told investigators on the day of the murder, which was that Ealy had said they would need to kill Jeanes after robbing him "because dead man don't talk."After the shooting, the boys stole firearms, a television, a chainsaw, both of Jeanes' vehicles and a four-wheeler. Dotson later turned himself in to police but claimed that Ealy pulled the trigger. He later admitted that wasn't true and he was the one who physically committed the crime, stating that he lied to police because he was scared. Dotson, as well as Ealy and Robert Dotson, were indicted for capital murder and in the summer of 2006, he pleaded guilty to murder as a lesser offense and was sentenced to life in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections without eligibility for parole. The court states this is the only possible sentence the circuit court could impose because section 97-3-21 required a life sentence for murder, and Mississippi Code Annotated section 47-7-3(1)(f) (Re. 2004) precluded parole eligibility for those convicted of violent crimes between June 30, 1995, and July 1, 2014. Dotson is currently being held at the Wilkinson County Correctional Facility. READ THE COURT DOCUMENTS HERE

The Mississippi Court of Appeals has affirmed the circuit court ruling that a man charged in a 2004 shooting death, at the age of 15, will continue to serve a life sentence without the possibility of parole.

Dunta Dotson, of Jackson, is now 31 years old. He's been behind bars since he was 15 serving a life sentence in the murder of Robert Jeanes at his home in Madison County on October 26, 2004.

A few months later in January 2005, Dotson, his younger brother Robert and Eugene Ealy were indicted on capital murder charges.

Dotson pleaded guilty to the lesser offense of murder on July 26, 2006, and was sentenced to life without parole, the only available statutory sentence.

In 2012, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Miller v. Alabama that mandatory sentences of life without the possibility of parole are unconstitutional for juvenile offenders. The judge held that the 8th Amendment's "cruel and unusual punishments" clause prohibited courts from automatically imposing life without parole sentences on offenders who commit even homicides while they were under the age of 18.

In 2013, Dotson appealed his sentence based on the Miller decision and his sentence was vacated. He was granted post-conviction relief and a sentencing hearing was held in Madison County Circuit Court in 2019 where he was resentenced to life without parole.

In July 2019 he appealed again but the decision was upheld by the state Court of Appeals.

Dotson then asked the U.S. Supreme Court for a stay in his case until a decision in another case, Jones v. Mississippi, is made. In the Jones case, the Supreme Court is set to decide whether the 8th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution requires proof that a juvenile offender is "permanently incorrigible" before a life-without-parole sentence can be issued. The case was argued before the court on Nov. 3, 2020, and is awaiting a decision.

The appeals panel denied Dotson's request.

The court ruled against Dotson saying that "not much else" other than his age supported parole eligibility.

"There was plenty of time for [Dunta]...to think about what was going on. He had time to think and plan," court records state. "Rather than being impulsive, this looks more as a planned premeditated event under the facts of this case."

The panel also stated that the circumstances of the crime weighed heavily against parole.

On October 26, 2004, Dotson, 15, and his friend Eugene Ealy, 17, were out in Madison County looking for four-wheelers to steal. At a home on Lake Lorman, the two teens noticed a four-wheeler in the back of a truck and a white Cadillac in the driveway.

According to court documents, Dotson and Ealy went back to Dotson's house in Jackson to get his 13-year-old brother Robert to be a third driver.

When the trio arrived back to the home in Madison County, Dotson and Ealy left little brother Robert in the truck and approached the home and knocked on the front door.

Dotson was carrying a gun he later claimed Ealy had given him.

During his trial, he said he carried the gun to what was supposed to be a robbery because "I guess it was just a social norm at the time."

When Dotson and Ealy knocked on the door, homeowner Robert Jeanes answered and Ealy asked if they could use his phone to find an address. Jeanes offered his help and while Ealy was using the phone Dotson shot Jeanes in the head, according to testimony.

Dotson would later admit that the shooting was unprovoked but continued to claim he did not intend to kill Jeanes.

The statement contradicts what Dotson told investigators on the day of the murder, which was that Ealy had said they would need to kill Jeanes after robbing him "because [a] dead man don't talk."

After the shooting, the boys stole firearms, a television, a chainsaw, both of Jeanes' vehicles and a four-wheeler.

Dotson later turned himself in to police but claimed that Ealy pulled the trigger. He later admitted that wasn't true and he was the one who physically committed the crime, stating that he lied to police because he was scared.

Dotson, as well as Ealy and Robert Dotson, were indicted for capital murder and in the summer of 2006, he pleaded guilty to murder as a lesser offense and was sentenced to life in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections without eligibility for parole.

The court states this is the only possible sentence the circuit court could impose because section 97-3-21 required a life sentence for murder, and Mississippi Code Annotated section 47-7-3(1)(f) (Re. 2004) precluded parole eligibility for those convicted of violent crimes between June 30, 1995, and July 1, 2014.

Dotson is currently being held at the Wilkinson County Correctional Facility.
READ THE COURT DOCUMENTS HERE

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Court upholds teen's life sentence for 2004 Madison Co. murder

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The Mississippi Court of Appeals has affirmed the circuit court ruling that a man charged in a 2004 shooting death, at the age of 15, will continue to serve a life sentence without the possibility of parole. Dunta Dotson, of Jackson, is now 31 years old.

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The way police officers enter homes without warrants greatly changes how people view the 4th Amendment.

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The Fourth Amendment, based in part on the principle that a man's house is his castle, famously treats the home as "first among equals" in forbidding "unreasonable searches and seizures." But on Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case that could breach those safeguards by dramatically expanding the ways police can enter homes without a warrant.

Among the few "jealously and carefully drawn" exceptions to the warrant requirement the High Court has drawn are "exigent circumstances," like pursuing an armed robber or preventing the destruction of evidence (both felonies). As a corollary, the Supreme Court has rejected warrantless home entries to investigate non-jailable traffic violations. Yet it hasn't definitively ruled on whether a fleeing misdemeanant counts as an "exigent circumstance" that would justify a carve-out to the Fourth Amendment; Lange v. California offers the Supreme Court that opportunity.

The Supreme Court is visible behind razor wire covered fencing in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 10, ... [+]
ASSOCIATED PRESS

Back in October 2016, California Highway Patrol Officer Aaron Weikert saw a car "playing music very loudly" and the driver (later identified as Arthur Lange) randomly honking his horn. Weikert began to follow Lange. Just as Lange turned into his driveway, Weikert activated his overhead lights, which Lange later said he didn't see. Right after Lange parked his car in his garage, Weikert stuck his foot under the garage door to prevent it from closing, and followed Lange inside. When Weikert spoke with Lange, he smelled alcohol on his breath, which led to a DUI charge against Lange.

Lange argued that the evidence for that charge should be suppressed since Weikert entered his home without a warrant. Instead, the California Court of Appeal held that Weikert's "hot pursuit of a suspect" qualified as an emergency situation that justified dispensing with the warrant requirement. Lange appealed his case to the Supreme Court, which granted cert last fall.

"A rule that allows police to forcibly enter a home without a warrant merely to question a suspect or issue a citation stretches the exigent-circumstances exception past its breaking point," attorneys for Lange argued in their brief. "A warrantless entry invades the privacy and security of everyone in the home, not just the fleeing suspect."

Nor is Lange's case an isolated incident. An amicus brief by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers identified around 150 cases where law enforcement pursued someone suspected of committing a misdemeanor into a home without a warrant. The underlying crimes were trivial: public urination in Alabama, failing to pay a cab fare in Missouri, running a red light in Washington State. But these cases "often spiral unpredictably," damaging property and injuring residents and officers alike.

The risk of chaos inflicted by warrantless entry is one reason why the Framers insisted that the Fourth Amendment guarantee "the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects." Yet as the Institute for Justice recounted in an amicus brief, the Supreme Court has "overwhelmingly treated 'reasonableness' as 'the ultimate touchstone' for deciding whether a search or seizure violated the Amendment. Meanwhile, 'the Fourth Amendment's 'to be secure' phraseology has been largely ignored.'"

That's a mistake. What counts as "reasonable" can be incredibly vague and is typically centered around the needs of law enforcement. But this "police-first approach flouts the Fourth Amendment's text and purpose," IJ's brief asserted. "The Amendment was adopted not to make life easier for police, but to protect our security."

UNITED STATES - JANUARY 7: The U.S. Supreme Court is seen on Thursday, January 7, 2021. (Photo By ... [+]
CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Instead, the Supreme Court should view the Security Clause as its "North Star" to guide its Fourth Amendment decisions. For instance, if waiting to obtain a warrant would endanger the public or jeopardize officer safety, then an exigency exemption should apply. But if there were "no immediate danger requiring a warrantless entry, courts should presume no exigency existed," IJ argued in its brief.

Upholding the lower court decision "would blow a massive hole in the warrant requirement, leaving us all far less secure as a result." "If police can burst into our homes-our castles-to pursue nonviolent traffic offenders, what can't they do?"

Moreover, a staggering amount of behavior is potentially criminal, which in turn grants law enforcement a wide berth to find probable cause to enter someone's home. Today, misdemeanors account for more than three-quarters of all criminal charges, the ACLU, Cato Institute, R Street, and the American Conservative Union noted in a joint amicus brief.

Thanks to overcriminalization, prosecutors could potentially file far more criminal charges over "a staggering array of everyday conduct," including "doodling on a dollar bill, selling snacks without a license, spitting in public, eavesdropping, littering (including on your own property), jaywalking, and possession of a felt tip marker by a person under twenty-one." As a result, "millions of Americans unwittingly commit a misdemeanor every day."

"Uncontrolled search and seizure is one of the first and most effective weapons in the arsenal of every arbitrary government," Justice Robert H. Jackson warned more than seven decades ago. "Among deprivations of rights, none is so effective in cowing a population, crushing the spirit of the individual and putting terror in every heart...the human personality deteriorates and dignity and self-reliance disappear where homes, persons and possessions are subject at any hour to unheralded search and seizure by the police."

If the people are to remain secure in their homes-their castles-they must remain free from warrantless searches except in the direst of circumstances. Here's hoping the Supreme Court stays true to that principle and rejects the lower court's expansive reading of the "exigency" exception.

... Read More

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New Supreme Court Case Could Drastically Limit Homeowners' Fourth Amendment Rights

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The Fourth Amendment, based in part on the principle that a man's house is his castle, famously treats the home as "first among equals" in forbidding "unreasonable searches and seizures." But on Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case that could breach those safeguards by dramatically expanding the ways police can enter homes without a warrant.

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The Supreme Court wants to "fix" the fact that America's religion is under "siege" but if it is a nationwide decision, Congress has to have an input.

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right-wing justices think religion is under siege. will the full supreme court follow?  - cnnpolitics

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Right-wing justices think religion is under siege. Will the full Supreme Court follow?

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The Supreme Court has increasingly exempted religious believers from government regulations, and it is clear by their statements that individual justices on the right think religion is under siege in America.

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Trump is being sued by the leading house democrat. The reasoning is, the Capitol riots broke a post-civil war law that was made to stop violence from the KKK.

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bennie thompson: democrat sues donald trump under post-civil war era law for conspiracy to incite insurrection at capitol - cnnpolitics

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Leading House Democrat sues Donald Trump under a post-Civil War law for conspiracy to incite US Capitol riot

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Former President Donald Trump and attorney Rudy Giuliani are being accused of conspiring with the far-right groups Proud Boys and Oath Keepers to incite the January 6 insurrection in a civil lawsuit filed Tuesday in federal court by the Democratic chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee.

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Our country needs to focus on racial injustice within our communities. Making brown-skinned band-aids or constantly posting petitions doesn't change the fact that black people are still being oppressed in 2021.

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The government is attempting to raise minimum wage to $15 by 2025.

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A House committee early on Wednesday approved a portion of the Democratic coronavirus relief proposal which includes a $15 per hour minimum wage.

The chamber's Education and Labor panel advanced its piece of the $1.9 trillion aid package in a 27-21 party-line vote. The proposal includes a provision to gradually raise the federal pay floor to $15 an hour by 2025.

The House Budget Committee will eventually combine separate panels' bills into one massive piece of legislation as part of budget reconciliation, which enables the plan to get through both chambers of Congress with a simple majority. However, the minimum wage hike may not survive due to rules governing what lawmakers can put in reconciliation bills.

"We're trying to work as well as we can with the [Senate] parliamentarian to get minimum wage to happen," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told reporters on Tuesday.

Democratic leaders back a $15 per hour pay floor and say it will give millions of low-wage workers a boost as they face dangerous conditions during the pandemic. Republicans and some Democrats oppose a nationwide standard, and certain lawmakers have raised concerns about small businesses facing higher costs during the economic recovery.

Both advocates for and opponents of the policy have pointed to data from a new Congressional Budget Office report to make their case. The nonpartisan CBO estimated it would lift 900,000 people out of poverty but cost 1.4 million jobs over the next four years.

The agency also projected a $15 minimum wage would increase the federal budget deficit by $54 billion over a decade. Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., has argued the budget effect means "we can clearly raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour under the rules of reconciliation."

However, Democrats may not yet have their full caucus on board with approving the pay hike. In the evenly split Senate, a single defection would sink the relief bill.

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., has signaled he would support raising the federal minimum wage to $11 an hour.

The federal government last raised the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour in 2009. The Democratic proposal would increase it to $9.50 an hour this year and $11 per hour next year. The wage would then increase to $12.50 an hour in 2023, $14 in 2024 and then $15 in 2025.

The Education and Labor Committee portion of the coronavirus package sets out other key planks of President Joe Biden's proposal. It puts $170 billion into K-12 schools and higher education institutions.

The measure sets aside $39 billion for grants to child-care providers. It offers COBRA subsidies to make health care more affordable for people laid off during the pandemic.

It also puts fresh money into the Pandemic-EBT program, which funds meals for children who would otherwise get them at school, and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, commonly known as WIC.

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House panel advances $15 minimum wage as Democrats try to include it in Covid relief bill

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A House committee early on Wednesday approved a portion of the Democratic coronavirus relief proposal which includes a $15 per hour minimum wage. The chamber's Education and Labor panel advanced its piece of the $1.9 trillion aid package in a 27-21 party-line vote.

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The snow storm on 2/15/21 was one of the coldest in history as the whole United States was affected by this Arctic blast. In Texas, at least 12 people are reported dead.

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A woman and a girl died of carbon monoxide poisoning in Houston after a car was left running in a garage to keep them warm, according to police. Show more Skip to end of carousel
Here's what to know:
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As one winter storm associated with the cold outbreak leaves the East Coast on Tuesday, another is taking shape across the nation's southern tier, aiming for some of the same hard-hit areas Tuesday night through the end of the week.

Some people in Texas have been in the dark for more than 24 hours.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is calling for reforming the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which operates the Texas electrical grid. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is also opening an inquiry into the power failures there and in the Midwest.

Dallas, Houston, and Oklahoma City all posted their lowest temperatures since at least 1989 Tuesday morning. These cities are under winter storm or ice storm warnings into Wednesday, with more ice and snow forecast.

See photos from the hardest-hit regions.

1/5
End of carousel Skip to end of carousel
Here's what to know

As one winter storm associated with the cold outbreak leaves the East Coast on Tuesday, another is taking shape across the nation's southern tier, aiming for some of the same hard-hit areas Tuesday night through the end of the week.

Some people in Texas have been in the dark for more than 24 hours.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is calling for reforming the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which operates the Texas electrical grid. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is also opening an inquiry into the power failures there and in the Midwest.

Dallas, Houston, and Oklahoma City all posted their lowest temperatures since at least 1989 Tuesday morning. These cities are under winter storm or ice storm warnings into Wednesday, with more ice and snow forecast.

See photos from the hardest-hit regions.
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Frigid, icy weather plague central and eastern U.S. while millions in Texas remain in the dark

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Bitter cold and snow and ice will batter areas from Texas to New England through Thursday.

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President Biden makes it clear on what his current goals and priorities are as president.

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president biden zeroes in on policy: here are 6 top priorities - cnnpolitics

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Biden zeroes in on policy: Here are 6 top priorities

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Joe Biden has been President of the United States for nearly a month, but his political agenda is only just coming into focus in Washington, now that the impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump are over.

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No matter how good I do in life, I can never forget my history and where I came from.

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COVID-19 vaccinations are coming along very well. All Americans could be vaccinated before the end of the year.

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A winter storm with icy roads, power outages and dangerously low temperatures has snarled traffic from coast to coast - and will delay shipments of COVID-19 vaccines to Florida and Texas.

Jared Moskowitz, director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, said the state has been alerted that the frigid weather system impacting 25 states will delay the Monday-Tuesday shipment of vaccines. It is unclear how many doses will be affected and when deliveries will resume.

Texas state health officials, due to receive more than 400,000 additional vaccine doses this week, don't expect deliveries until at least Wednesday. And vaccine appointments in the cities of Houston and Austin were expected to be canceled again Tuesday because of the severe winter weather.

Massive power outages across Houston on Monday included a facility storing 8,000 doses of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, leaving health officials scrambling to find takers at the same time authorities were pleading for people to stay home. Rice University also abruptly began offering vaccines to students on its closed Houston campus after Harris Health System told the school it had about 1,000 vaccines that "were going to go to waste," said Doug Miller, a university spokesman.

"The window was just a couple hours. They have to take care of it quickly," Miller said.
USA TODAY is tracking COVID-19 news. Keep refreshing this page for the latest updates. Want more? Sign up for our Coronavirus Watch newsletter for updates to your inbox and join our Facebook group. In the headlines:
►Governors are asking President Joe Biden for more say in how the federal government is distributing COVID-19 vaccines to local pharmacies and community health centers in their states.

►The World Health Organization on Monday authorized use of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine. The move will help boost supplies for millions of people worldwide through the U.N.'s COVAX effort, which aims to help vaccinate poorer countries.

►A patient transferred from Connecticut directly to a New York hospital has tested positive for the South African variant of the novel coronavirus, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Monday. Prior to then, 17 cases of the South African variant had been found in eight states, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

►San Francisco is the latest California city to temporarily shutter a mass vaccination site due to lack of vaccine, joining Los Angeles in pausing inoculations amid a national shortage, even as new federal-state vaccination sites open.

📈 Today's numbers: The U.S. has more than 27.6 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 486,300 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. The global totals: More than 109.14 million cases and 2.4 million deaths. More than 70 million vaccine doses have been distributed in the U.S. and about 52.8 million have been administered, according to the CDC.

📘 What we're reading: There's no 'giant national campaign' for COVID-19 vaccine education. Why? Experts say there's a better way.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo defends New York's response in nursing homes

After boasting of forging a winning battle plan against COVID-19, Cuomo faces a critical moment after an aide admitted to withholding nursing home data from the public after receiving a federal inquiry.

Fallout from the scandal is growing as lawmakers mount a bipartisan push for further investigation of the Cuomo administration's COVID-19 response, citing a series of revelations that lifted the veil of secrecy over the true coronavirus death toll for New York nursing homes, which topped 13,000 residents as opposed to the 8,700 previously reported.

"Thousands of New Yorkers lost family in nursing homes to COVID-19, a pain made worse by the inability to comfort their loved ones in their final hours," U.S. Rep. Antonio Delgado, D-N.Y., wrote Sunday on Twitter. "They deserve answers and accountability."

Meanwhile, Cuomo launched a lengthy defense on Monday, conceding state officials should have released the nursing home data earlier but struggled to do so because of the pandemic workload and politicized federal inquiry by the Department of Justice under former President Donald Trump.
- David Robinson, New York State Team
ER visits down last year, but overdoses up: Experts blame COVID-19

Many Americans stayed away from the emergency room when the nation went under lockdown for fear of contracting COVID-19 at the hospital. While this led to an overall decline in emergency department visits, a recent study shows weekly trips to the ER for drug overdoses were higher in 2020 than in 2019.

Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention studied more than 180 million ER visits from Dec. 30, 2018, to Oct. 10, 2020, and found that weekly counts of all drug overdoses were up to 45% higher in 2020 than in 2019, according to the study published Feb. 3 in the peer-reviewed JAMA Psychiatry. Opioid overdoses, specifically, increased about 29% compared to before the pandemic.

Overall visits to the emergency room plummeted when COVID-19 lockdown measures were implemented in March 2020, decreasing about 43% compared to the same timeframe in 2019. However, drug overdoses experienced only a slight decrease from March 29 to April 11, about 4% compared to 2019, before increasing again.

"That all drug and opioid overdose emergency department visits did not decrease in a similar manner to other emergency department visits is especially compelling, suggesting an increase in overdose burden during the pandemic," study authors said.
- Adrianna Rodriguez Contributing: James Call, USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida Capital Bureau; The Associated Press.

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Winter storm delays vaccine shipments to Florida and Texas; New York reports South African variant; 486K US deaths. Latest COVID-19 updates

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A winter storm with icy roads, power outages and dangerously low temperatures has snarled traffic from coast to coast - and will delay shipments of COVID-19 vaccines to Florida and Texas. Jared Moskowitz, director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, said the state has been alerted that the frigid weather system impacting 25 states will delay the Monday-Tuesday shipment of vaccines.