CAMPAIGN CENTRAL Tim Walz and JD Vance face off in VP debate WINK News is campaign central, and on Tuesday night, all eyes are focused on the debate stage in New York, where the vice presidential candidates are facing off in their only debate.
PUNTA GORDA Charlotte County couple rescued from rooftop by stranger Hurricane Helene battered Charlotte County with heavy rain and wind, and many neighbors watched as water flooded into their homes.
CAPE CORAL WINK Investigates: For the first time, Beattie Development owner Paul Beattie speaks out during liquidation after allegations On Tuesday for the first time, Paul Beattie, owner of Beattie Development, who a lot of people say owe them a lot of money, is speaking out.
FORT MYERS Local Rabbi and Israeli soldier speak on Iran missile attack Israeli authorities said Iran launched dozens of missiles at the country.
PORT CHARLOTTE “It was just a monster in disguise,” Port Charlotte couple cleans up after Helene Wesley and Karen Wingate will never forget what they had for dinner September 27th.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA IRS announces tax relief for those affected by Helene The IRS has just announced tax relief for people affected by Hurricane Helene.
FORT MYERS BEACH How the Fort Myers Beach community is handling Helene’s aftermath One storm hit Fort Myers Beach, but the damage is as different from block to block as the stories their homeowners tell
SOUTH FORT MYERS Submerged car in Fort Myers neighborhood has people worried A submerged car has neighbors worried that their pond will become polluted. One neighbor told WINK News that the vehicle has been in the pond since Hurricane Helene.
Collier County expands mosquito control district The Collier Mosquito Control District is expanding to different areas, and new tools are being used to keep the mosquito population under control as more standing water remains following Hurricane Helene.
CAPE CORAL Memorial benches being removed from Jaycee Park in Cape Coral After years of discussions, the City of Cape Coral will start to remove items from Jaycee Park as part of ongoing improvements.
ST. JAMES CITY How residents of St. James City are coping after Helene Once known for sunsets and dolphins, the tiny island community of St. James City is once again cleaning up after a hurricane.
CHARLOTTE HARBOR Charlotte County woman and dog rescued from home during Helene Amidst the rising waters of Hurricane Helene, a woman and her dog sought safety atop the kitchen counter inside their Charlotte County home.
NAPLES After 60 years in River Park, neighbors moving out because of Hurricane Helene Southwest Florida is still feeling the impacts from Helene, and a Naples community got the brunt of the storm.
ESTERO SWFL 12-year-old swimmer earns statewide recognition Last season Kallen Garnier-Chan achieved a national ranked top three time in the 800 and 1000 meter freestyle.
NORTH PORT Family continues legal battle with Heritage Insurance A husband and wife will not quit the fight with their homeowner’s insurance.
CAMPAIGN CENTRAL Tim Walz and JD Vance face off in VP debate WINK News is campaign central, and on Tuesday night, all eyes are focused on the debate stage in New York, where the vice presidential candidates are facing off in their only debate.
PUNTA GORDA Charlotte County couple rescued from rooftop by stranger Hurricane Helene battered Charlotte County with heavy rain and wind, and many neighbors watched as water flooded into their homes.
CAPE CORAL WINK Investigates: For the first time, Beattie Development owner Paul Beattie speaks out during liquidation after allegations On Tuesday for the first time, Paul Beattie, owner of Beattie Development, who a lot of people say owe them a lot of money, is speaking out.
FORT MYERS Local Rabbi and Israeli soldier speak on Iran missile attack Israeli authorities said Iran launched dozens of missiles at the country.
PORT CHARLOTTE “It was just a monster in disguise,” Port Charlotte couple cleans up after Helene Wesley and Karen Wingate will never forget what they had for dinner September 27th.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA IRS announces tax relief for those affected by Helene The IRS has just announced tax relief for people affected by Hurricane Helene.
FORT MYERS BEACH How the Fort Myers Beach community is handling Helene’s aftermath One storm hit Fort Myers Beach, but the damage is as different from block to block as the stories their homeowners tell
SOUTH FORT MYERS Submerged car in Fort Myers neighborhood has people worried A submerged car has neighbors worried that their pond will become polluted. One neighbor told WINK News that the vehicle has been in the pond since Hurricane Helene.
Collier County expands mosquito control district The Collier Mosquito Control District is expanding to different areas, and new tools are being used to keep the mosquito population under control as more standing water remains following Hurricane Helene.
CAPE CORAL Memorial benches being removed from Jaycee Park in Cape Coral After years of discussions, the City of Cape Coral will start to remove items from Jaycee Park as part of ongoing improvements.
ST. JAMES CITY How residents of St. James City are coping after Helene Once known for sunsets and dolphins, the tiny island community of St. James City is once again cleaning up after a hurricane.
CHARLOTTE HARBOR Charlotte County woman and dog rescued from home during Helene Amidst the rising waters of Hurricane Helene, a woman and her dog sought safety atop the kitchen counter inside their Charlotte County home.
NAPLES After 60 years in River Park, neighbors moving out because of Hurricane Helene Southwest Florida is still feeling the impacts from Helene, and a Naples community got the brunt of the storm.
ESTERO SWFL 12-year-old swimmer earns statewide recognition Last season Kallen Garnier-Chan achieved a national ranked top three time in the 800 and 1000 meter freestyle.
NORTH PORT Family continues legal battle with Heritage Insurance A husband and wife will not quit the fight with their homeowner’s insurance.
The city of Pompeii was buried in a devastating volcanic eruption in 79 AD, but archaeologists are still uncovering extraordinary structures in the region. On Saturday, they unveiled their latest discovery — an extremely well preserved ancient “snack bar.” The Thermopolium of Regio V would have been a shop where hot food is sold, the equivalent of a modern-day street cart or fast-food establishment, officials said. It was partially excavated in 2019 and revealed in its entirety on Saturday. Found in the ruins were items such as an image of a Nereid riding a seahorse and a fresco of gladiators in combat. During the most recent phase of excavations, archaeologists uncovered further colorful still life scenes, including depictions of animals that were likely sold in the shop, such as mallard ducks and a rooster. Archaeologists uncovered a depiction of a menacing-looking dog on a leash at the thermopolium. (Credit: Pompeii Archaeological Park) There was also a depiction of a dog on a leash, which appeared to serve as a warning, as well as a complete skeleton of a dog between the shop’s doors. “A mocking inscription can be found scratched onto the frame which surrounds the painting of the dog: NICIA CINAEDE CACATOR — literally ‘Nicias (probably a freedman from Greece) Shameless Sh*****!,’ officials said. “This was probably left by a prankster who sought to poke fun at the owner, or by someone who worked in the Thermopolium.” Archaeologists also found containers, which held nearly 2,000-year-old bone fragments of animals that were sold there, stored in the shop’s counter. Traces of pork, fish, snails and beef were found in the containers, which archaeologist Valeria Amoretti said indicated “the great variety of products of animal origin used in the preparation of the dishes.” Found in the small square in front of the shop was a fountain and a water tower. Inside the shop itself were nine amphorae, a bronze drinking bowl called a patera, two flasks and other ceramic jars. A large number of terra cotta jars were found at the site of the Thermopolium. (Credit: Pompeii Archaeological Park) Human bones were also found at the site, some belonging to a 50-year-old man who appeared to have been in bed when the eruption occurred. “As well as being another insight into daily life at Pompeii, the possibilities for study of this Thermopolium are exceptional, because for the first time an area of this type has been excavated in its entirety, and it has been possible to carry out all the analyses that today’s technology permits,” said Massimo Osanna of the Archaeological Park of Pompeii. “The finds will be further analyzed in the laboratory, and in particular, those remains found in the dolia (terracotta containers) of the counter are expected to yield exceptional data for informing an understanding of what was sold and what the diet was like.” According to officials, Thermopolia, where residents enjoyed drinks and hot food, were very common in ancient Rome, when people usually consumed food outside the home. Pompeii alone had 80 of them.
Police officers on Sunday provided harrowing details of responding to a Christmas morning explosion in downtown Nashville, at times getting choked up reliving the moments that led up to the blast and offering gratitude that they were still alive. “This is going to tie us together forever, for the rest of my life,” Officer James Wells, who suffered some hearing loss due to the explosion, told a news conference. “Christmas will never be the same.” Meanwhile, Nashville Metro Police spokesman Don Aaron told The Associated Press that 63-year-old Anthony Q. Warner, a Tennessee resident, was under investigation in relation to the blast. He did not provide any more details. However, Warner had experience with electronics and alarms, according to public records, and worked as a computer consultant for a Nashville realtor. The five responding officers gave their accounts of what happened as investigators continued to chip away at the motive of the bombing of a recreational vehicle that blew up on a mostly deserted street just after it issued a recorded warning advising people to evacuate. “I just see orange and then I hear a loud boom. As I’m stumbling around, I just tell myself to stay on my feet and to stay alive,” Wells said, at times tearing up and repeating that he believed he heard God tell him to walk away moments before the blast. Officer Amanda Topping said she initially parked their police car beside the RV while responding to the call before moving it once they heard the recording playing. Topping said she called her wife to let her know that “things were just really strange” as she helped guide people away from the RV. That’s when she heard the announcement from the RV switch from a warning to playing the 1964 hit “Downtown” by Petula Clark. Moments later the explosion hit. FBI and ATF agents investigate a home Saturday, Dec. 26, 2020, in Nashville, Tenn. An explosion that shook the largely deserted streets of downtown Nashville early Christmas morning shattered windows, damaged buildings, and wounded three people. Authorities said they believed the blast was intentional. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) “I felt the waves of heat but I kind of just lost it and started sprinting toward (Wells),” Topping said. “I’ve never grabbed someone so hard in my life.” Officer Brenna Hosey said she and her colleagues knocked on six or seven doors in nearby apartments to warn people to evacuate. She particularly remembered knocking on a door where a startled mother of four children answered. “I don’t have kids but I have cousins and nieces, people who I love who are small,” Hosey said, adding she had to plead with the family to leave the building as quickly as possible. The attack, which damaged an AT&T building, has continued to wreak havoc on cellphone service and police and hospital communications in several Southern states as the company worked to restore service. Meanwhile, investigators from multiple federal and local law enforcement agencies descended on a home in Antioch, in suburban Nashville, on Saturday after receiving information relevant to the investigation, said FBI Special Agent Jason Pack. Another law enforcement official, who was not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, said investigators regard a person associated with the property as a person of interest. They did not identify the person. Federal agents could be seen looking around the property, searching the home and the backyard. A Google Maps image captured in May 2019 had shown a recreational vehicle similar to the one that exploded parked in the backyard. It was not at the property on Saturday, according to an AP reporter at the scene. There were other signs of progress in the investigation, as the FBI revealed that it was looking at a number of individuals who may be connected to it. Officials also said no additional explosive devices have been found — indicating no active threat to the area. Investigators have received around 500 tips and leads. “It’s just going to take us some time,” Douglas Korneski, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Memphis field office, said at a Saturday afternoon news conference. “Our investigative team is turning over every stone” to understand who did this and why. Investigators said they were working to identify human remains found at the scene. Beyond that, the only known casualties were three injured people. The infrastructure damage, meanwhile, was broadly felt, due to an AT&T central office being affected by the blast. Police emergency systems in Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama, as well as Nashville’s COVID-19 community hotline and a handful of hospital systems, remained out of service. The building contained a telephone exchange, with network equipment in it — but the company has declined to say exactly how many people have been impacted. Asked whether the AT&T building could have been a possible target, Korneski said: “We’re looking at every possible motive that could be involved.” Investigators shut down the heart of downtown Nashville’s tourist scene — an area packed with honky-tonks, restaurants and shops — as they shuffled through broken glass and damaged buildings to learn more about the explosion. AT&T said Sunday it was rerouting service to other facilities as the company worked to restore its heavily damaged building. The company said in a statement that it was bringing in resources to help recover affected voice and data services and expects to have 24 additional trailers of disaster recovery equipment at the site by the end of the day. Restoration efforts faced several challenges, which included a fire that forced their teams to work with safety and structural engineers and drilling access holes into the building in order to reconnect power. Ray Neville, president of technology at T-Mobile, said on Twitter Saturday that service disruptions affected Louisville, Nashville, Knoxville, Birmingham and Atlanta. The Federal Aviation Administration has since issued a temporary flight restriction around the airport, requiring pilots to follow strict procedures until Dec. 30.
Lee Health is in desperate need of blood donations, and on Sunday, you can help. Now more than ever, your blood is needed to save lives, as the pandemic has pushed blood supply to an all-time low, according to Lee Health. John Loeber said he’s still alive because of a blood donor. In June, he was dying from COVID-19 – until he received a blood transfusion. Within 24 hours, he started feeling better. He’s encouraging others to donate blood and plasma so that someone battling COVID-19 is given the chance to live. Plasma from COVID-19 survivors has proven an effective treatment for those still battling the virus. “We always assume, especially when it comes to blood donations and things like that, that somebody else will do it, you know, or will have that type of mentality, but it really is the best gift that you can give someone, is the gift of life and that’s through blood and plasma,” Loeber said. From 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday, there will be a blood drive at the First Assembly of God Church, 4701 Summerlin Rd. The American Red Cross says that before you donate, it’s important to eat iron-rich foods, such as red meat, fish, chicken, beans or spinach, and get a good night’s rest. And if you can’t make it on Sunday, you can always schedule an appointment with Lee Health to give blood when you’re able.
The fate of an end-of-year COVID-19 relief and spending bill remained in doubt Sunday as millions lost unemployment aid, the government barreled toward a mid-pandemic shutdown and lawmakers implored President Donald Trump to act. Trump blindsided members of both parties and upended months of negotiations when he demanded last week that the package — already passed the House and Senate by large margins and believed to have Trump’s support — be revised to include larger relief checks and scaled-back spending. If he continues his opposition, the federal government will run out of money at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday while he spends the holidays golfing in Florida. On Sunday evening, Trump offered the vaguest of updates, tweeting, “Good news on Covid Relief Bill. Information to follow!” The White House did not respond to questions about what he meant. Good news on Covid Relief Bill. Information to follow! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 27, 2020 In the face of growing economic hardship and spreading disease, lawmakers urged Trump on Sunday to sign the legislation immediately, then have Congress follow up with additional aid. Aside from unemployment benefits and relief payments to families, money for vaccine distribution, businesses, cash-starved public transit systems and more is on the line. Protections against evictions also hang in the balance. “What the president is doing right now is unbelievably cruel,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. “So many people are hurting. … It is really insane and this president has got to finally … do the right thing for the American people and stop worrying about his ego.” Republican Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania said he understood that Trump “wants to be remembered for advocating for big checks, but the danger is he’ll be remembered for chaos and misery and erratic behavior if he allows this to expire.” Toomey added: “So I think the best thing to do, as I said, sign this and then make the case for subsequent legislation.” The same point was echoed by Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican who’s criticized Trump’s pandemic response and his efforts to undo the election results. “I just gave up guessing what he might do next,” he said. Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois said too much is at stake for Trump to “play this old switcheroo game.” “I don’t get the point,” he said. “I don’t understand what’s being done, why, unless it’s just to create chaos and show power and be upset because you lost the election.” Trump, who spent much of Sunday at his West Palm Beach golf course, has given no indication that he plans to sign the bill as he spends the last days of his presidency in a rage. Indeed, his dissatisfaction with the legislation seems only to have grown in recent days as he has criticized it both privately to club members and publicly on Twitter. Days ago, Democrats said they would call House lawmakers back to Washington for a vote Monday on Trump’s proposal to send out $2,000 relief checks, instead of the $600 approved by Congress. But the idea is likely to die in the Republican-controlled Senate, as it did among Republicans in the House during a rare Christmas Eve session. Democrats were also considering a vote Monday on a stopgap measure aimed at keeping the government running until President-elect Joe Biden is inaugurated Jan. 20. Washington has been reeling since Trump turned on the deal, without warning, after it had won sweeping approval in both houses of Congress and after the White House had assured Republican leaders that Trump would support it. Instead, he assailed the bill’s plan to provide $600 COVID-19 relief checks to most Americans — insisting it should be $2,000 — and took issue with spending included in an attached $1.4 trillion government funding bill to keep the federal government operating through September. And already, his opposition has had consequences, as two federal programs providing unemployment aid expired Saturday. Lauren Bauer of the Brookings Institution had calculated that at least 11 million people would lose aid immediately as a result of Trump’s failure to sign the legislation; millions more would exhaust other unemployment benefits within weeks. How and when people are affected by the lapse depends on the state they live in, the program they are relying on and when they applied for benefits. In some states, people on regular unemployment insurance will continue to receive payments under a program that extends benefits when the jobless rate surpassed a certain threshold, said Andrew Stettner, an unemployment insurance expert and senior fellow at the Century Foundation think tank. About 9.5 million people, however, had been relying on the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program that expired altogether Saturday. That program made unemployment insurance available to freelancers, gig workers and others normally not eligible. After receiving their last checks, those recipients will not be able to file for more aid, Stettner said. Fingers have been pointing at administration officials, including Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, as lawmakers try to understand whether they were misled about Trump’s position. “Now to be put in a lurch, after the president’s own person negotiated something that the president doesn’t want, it’s just — it’s surprising,” Kinzinger said. “But we will have to find a way out.” Kinzinger spoke on CNN’s “State of the Union,” and Hogan and Sanders on ABC’s “This Week.”
Tom Brady threw four touchdown passes in the only half he needed to play and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers went on to rout the Detroit Lions 47-7 Saturday, sealing a spot in the playoffs for the first time since 2007. The Bucs (10-5) set a franchise record with 588 yards and snapped the NFL’s second-longest postseason drought behind Cleveland’s 18-year run that can end Sunday. Tampa Bay rested Brady ahead 34-0, its largest halftime lead in franchise history. Blaine Gabbert threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Rob Gronkowski on his first snap, one play after Detroit running back D’Andre Swift fumbled, and a 22-yard pass to Mike Evans later in the third quarter. Brady was 22 of 27 for 348 yards with a mix of passes deep down the field and darts in traffic. The six-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback threw touchdown passes to Gronkowski, Evans, Chris Godwin, who made a one-handed catch, and Antonio Brown from 33, 27, 7 and 12 yards. The 43-year-old Brady, who split time with Drew Henson in college at Michigan, started his 298th game to tie Brett Favre’s record for an NFL quarterback and played in his 300th game. The Lions (5-10) started the game without interim coach Darrell Bevell along with assistants on the defensive staff because of COVID-19 contact tracing. DOLPHINS 26, RAIDERS 25 LAS VEGAS (AP) — Ryan Fitzpatrick completed a 34-yard pass to Mack Hollins while being dragged down by the facemask and Miami moved one step closer to a playoff berth when Jason Sanders’ 44-yard field goal with 1 second remaining gave it a victory over Las Vegas. The Raiders chose to run down the clock for a go-ahead field goal instead of trying for a touchdown with Josh Jacobs going down on purpose at the 1-yard line and Derek Carr taking a knee to set up Daniel Carlson’s 22-yard field goal with 19 seconds left. But the Dolphins had some late-game magic with Fitzpatrick launching the deep pass to Hollins while being dragged down by Arden Key. The penalty moved the ball down to the Las Vegas 26, setting up Sanders’ winning kick. The Dolphins (10-5) moved a half-game ahead of Baltimore in the AFC playoff race and can clinch a wild-card berth with a win next week at Buffalo. The Raiders (7-8) were eliminated with their fifth loss in six games and will be out of the postseason for the 17th time in 18 seasons.
For four straight years, more manatees were found dead in Florida because they were hit by boats than ever before. That trend will break in 2020, but not on account of any good news for the state’s signature threatened species. To the contrary, researchers were tracking more manatee deaths than usual this year. As of Dec. 18, at least 593 manatees had died in Florida, according to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. That was over three times more than the five-year average for the same time period. “We did not have mass mortality, but manatees face the threat that they always do,” said Martine de Wit, a veterinarian in the state’s marine mammal lab. “That is watercraft issues.” At least 90 manatees had died because of injuries from boats, though that is an undercount. Researchers saw their work interrupted because of the coronavirus pandemic, and for weeks in the spring they did not examine carcasses to determine causes of death. “I’m convinced it’s well over 100,” said Patrick Rose, executive director of the Save the Manatee Club, about the boating-related death toll. Last year, the state reported 136 manatees killed because of watercraft collisions, out of 606 total. The FWC data for the year shows that Lee County was second in the state – behind Brevard – for manatee mortalities, with 68 deaths reported through Dec. 18, seven of those officially attributed to watercraft. Rose noted that the state’s five-year death average is inflated by an unusually high count of deaths in 2018, more than 800, when a large red tide bloom killed the beloved animals in droves. Florida did not suffer such a devastating bloom this year. The uptick in boat deaths has come alongside higher numbers of registered boats, more than 961,000 last year, according to state data. While the pandemic forced closures that limited social outings this year, boating was a notable exception. “One of the few things people could still do was go out on the water,” de Wit said. “Obviously that exposes manatees to a higher risk of boat collisions.” Rose, a boater himself, said he is not trying to vilify everyone on the water. Smart boaters, he said, are careful in no-wake and protected zones and call rescue hotlines when they spot a manatee in distress. But the animals congregate in plenty of places where the state does not strictly regulate speed. Even when necropsies were put off this year, de Wit said, officials kept going out to rescue manatees. As of Dec. 11, the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission had tracked 101 rescues, up from 96 total the previous year. Of those, at least 27 animals had been hit by boats. Manatees face many threats, both human-caused and natural. As of early December, rescuers had helped four caught in crab traps and five tangled in fishing line. Though de Wit said about two-thirds of manatees examined this summer and fall with known causes of death were hurt by boaters, cold temperatures earlier in the year killed others. Forty-five manatees died because of cold stress by early December. Rose said that figure might rise because of a quick temperature drop before the holidays, before all manatees moved to warmer water. Brevard County far and away led the state with 143 manatee deaths by early December. Algal blooms and poor water quality have further depleted seagrasses that manatees need for food, Rose said. They are forced to swim to unfamiliar areas. “As they’re moving, it actually makes them more vulnerable to boat traffic,” Rose said. Of the counties around greater Tampa Bay, Manatee saw the most deaths by Dec. 11 at 25, fifth in the state. Pinellas and Hillsborough were slightly behind, with 20 each. Hillsborough logged nine deaths because of boats, Manatee had eight and Pinellas had six. The state numbers are not comprehensive because some manatees die in remote areas and are never found, de Wit said. Researchers do not know exactly how many manatees live in Florida either. The latest estimate from the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission suggested at least 7,250. A few years ago, the federal government decided to reclassify manatees from endangered to threatened. The yearly death reports show the many perils the species still faces, Rose said, factors he expects to worsen as more people move to the state and more boaters hit the water. Many manatees have become dependent on wintering in warm water discharged from power plants, he said, a resource that could go away as people transition to an economy built on sources like solar and wind power. That will put additional pressure on the state’s springs, which draw their own concerns as businesses pull water from the Floridan aquifer, Rose said. Altogether, he said, the threats mean future manatee populations could struggle to recover as quickly after mass die-off events like a big Red Tide. “I don’t see that we’re in a position to be able to relax in terms of what the future holds for manatees,” Rose said. If you see an ailing manatee, the state asks that you call and report it to 1-888-404-FWCC (1-888-404-3922). Boaters are urged to abide by speed regulations, avoid motoring over shallow seagrass beds and to keep their powerboats at least 50 feet from any manatees they see.
After a cold start, we will begin to thaw out around Southwest Florida for your Sunday. Expect a beautiful day with a mix of sun and clouds, and highs topping out around 70 degrees. The warming trend continues into the workweek, with highs trending from the mid-70s Monday to the lower 80s by New Year’s Eve. Speaking of New Year’s Eve, a cold front will approach from the west on Thursday. There is lots of uncertainty of its timing at this time, and whether or not rain will impact New Year’s Eve festivities. For now, err on the side of caution for your plans Thursday night.
New strains of COVID-19 have caused alarm and concern in the United Kingdom and South Africa, with many people worried the mutations could complicate vaccine efforts that have only recently gotten underway. At least one doctor, however, voiced optimism that the newly developed shots could also be effective against mutated strains of the virus. “There’s good reason to believe the vaccines will be effective,” Dr. Uzma Syed said on “CBS This Morning: Saturday.” She continued, “In fact, the manufacturers are testing them because the vaccine produces immunity in many different ways.” The mutated virus strain detected in the U.K. has forced as many as 80 countries to shut their borders to the island nation. The United States will require travelers from there to show a negative COVID-19 test before boarding their flights. Dr. Anthony Fauci was also asked about the new strain in an interview with CBSN’s Anne Marie Green Wednesday, and he also downplayed possible concerns. “This vaccine does not drift… it does not drift the way influenza [vaccine] does,” he said, expressing confidence that adjustments would be made if needed. He added that most viral mutations, like those that normally occur with the influenza virus, “have no relevant functional impact.” Fauci also said influenza changed at a more rapid pace than COVID-19 appears to, and the current Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are different from past inoculations and will likely withstand these mutations. Dr. Syed, who heads the COVID-19 task force at Good Samaritan Hospital in Long Island, New York, urged Americans to worry more about keeping up with COVID-19 health guidelines. “The most important thing to remember is the tools that we have to fight transmission of this virus are still effective against this variant, and those include wearing a mask, socially distancing, and really avoiding indoor gatherings with people that are outside of your household,” she said. Syed’s advice comes as post-pandemic travel has hit a new high, with the TSA reporting more than 7 million people cleared for flights out of U.S. airports in the week before Christmas. Syed called the increase in travel coupled with winter weather forcing more gatherings to be held indoors “alarming.” “Our hospitals are already full of patients,” she said. “We want people to know with over 300,000 that lost their lives, we are doing everything that we can every day to save lives.” Syed urges those who must travel to quarantine themselves before and after their arrival. “Having a negative test right before your travel does not, in fact, clear you of infection,” she explained. “You may be incubating, you may have been exposed during your travel. So it’s really prudent to continue quarantining after you arrived at your destination for about two weeks.”
Two German WWII graves bearing Nazi swastikas have been removed from Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery and replaced with new headstones. The pair of headstones had become a long controversy over whether they were historical artifacts worth preserving or emblems of hate that should be destroyed, CBS affiliate KENS-TV reported. The cemetery director, Aubrey David, led several workers to the graves of German prisoners of war Alfred P. Kafka and Georg Forst at around 8:15 a.m. Wednesday. “Clearly, it took a long time for this to happen, and it’s obviously the right thing to have been done,” said Michael L. “Mikey” Weinstein, founder and president of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, which advocates against unwanted religious proselytizing in the armed services. After learning about the gravestones last May, the foundation demanded that Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilke order them removed. The group also wanted Wilke to make “an immediate and heartfelt apology to all United States veterans and their families.” The VA refused, saying that it has a responsibility to preserve “historic resources,” even if they acknowledge divisive historical figures or events. But members of Congress, including Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Reps. Will Hurd of San Antonio and Kay Granger of Fort Worth, responded by demanding the removal of the gravestones. “I’m glad that the headstones have been replaced,” Rep. Joaquin Castro. “It’s jarring to think that symbols of the Third Reich and the Nazi regime would stand in an American military cemetery.” It’s unclear if a third headstone that also bears Nazi symbols in Fort Douglas Post Cemetery in Utah has also been removed. In June, when the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs announced it would begin the process of replacing the headstones, VA Secretary Robert Wilkie wrote: “Americans must always remember the horror of the Nazi regime and why so many Americans sacrificed so much to free the world from its reign of terror. It is understandably upsetting to our Veterans and their families to see Nazi inscriptions near those who gave their lives for this nation. That’s why VA will initiate the process required to replace these POW headstones.”
The Mayflower carried some of the first European settlers across the Atlantic Ocean to North America, 400 years ago this year. To commemorate the anniversary, another vessel is recreating that voyage, with the help of artificial intelligence. “We don’t know how it’s going to go. Is it going to make it across the Atlantic?” software engineer and emerging technology specialist Rosie Lickorish told CBS News’ Roxana Saberi. “Fingers crossed that it does have a successful first voyage.” The vessel, docked in the harbor of Plymouth, England, will rely on the latest navigation technology when it sets out to sea — but it won’t be carrying a crew or captain. “We’ve got all sorts of cameras… We’ve got global positioning systems on either side,” robotics expert Brett Phaneuf said. What it won’t have, he said, is “people space.” Instead the ship will be guided by artificial intelligence designed by IBM. Phaneuf explained how the technology is supposed to work. “It looks at its own cameras like eyes, it looks at the radar, it looks at all sorts of other sensors,” he said. “Then it charts its own course and it can deal with unique situations without any human input.” Those situations include encountering other ships during the voyage — something software engineer Ollie Thompson is working hard to train the ship’s programming to recognize using more than a million different images. “We’re simulating what she’s seeing,” he said of the boat. Programmers are also setting the ship’s destination to Plymouth, Massachusetts to retrace the Mayflower’s four centuries-old passage. It took the wooden merchant ship 66 days to transport dozens of pilgrims across the Atlantic. A replica sailed from England to Massachusetts in the 1950s, and is still docked there today. But Phenauf, who grew up near Plymouth, Massachusetts, wanted to mark the Mayflower’s famous past by looking ahead instead. “I thought, well, we should build a ship that speaks to the next 400 years. What the marine enterprise will look like then, as opposed to what it looked like 400 years ago,” he said. An international team turned his vision into the solar-and-wind-powered Mayflower autonomous ship. Its mission is to learn more about Earth’s oceans by gathering data on plastic pollution, warming waters and their effects on marine life. Software developer Rosie Likorish said the autonomous ship is a more cost-effective way to perform the research. “It’s very expensive at the moment for scientists actually go out on these research missions,” she said. “So having autonomous vessels like the Mayflower Autonomous Ship is a really important step and kind of actually enabling us to go out to these dangerous places and learn a lot more.” In addition to cost-saving, not having a crew means the size of the vessel can be compact, and there are no concerns over someone getting sick or hurt. Brett Phenauf said his biggest worry would be if something broke. If the boat capsized, the team plans to track it via satellite and salvage it. And if the unknown voyage succeeds, Phenauf says it would commemorate history while charting a new path. He said, “I want people to look back on this 400 years from now and think about how different this was from what other people were doing.”