Damar Hamlin updates: Buffalo Bills player asked in writing if team ...

Editor's note: On Friday morning, the Buffalo Bills said Damar Hamlin was breathing on his own and speaking after doctors removed his breathing tube overn. Here's our latest coverage of Hamlin.

One of Bills safety Damar Hamlin’s first thoughts after he woke up in the intensive care unit on Wednesday night was to ask, in writing, who won Monday's Bills-Bengals game during which he went into cardiac arrest.

Upon waking up after being sedated, Hamlin followed commands and even was able to communicate in writing. Hamlin remains in critical condition with a breathing tube, according to his doctors, who made their first public comments Thursday about his condition in a news conference held at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.

“The answer is yes, Damar, you won the game of life,” Dr. Timothy Pritts said.

Hamlin’s first comments were to a nurse at his bedside, according to doctors, while his family, friends and members of the Bills organization have remained by his side since he was transported to the medical facility.

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"He’s held many peoples' hands," Dr. William Knight IV said of Hamlin.

"He’s been very interactive with them," Pritts added.

Doctors said Hamlin expressed surprise when he was informed he was previously sedated for two days, and for the massive support he has received.

“It’s not only that the lights are on, it’s that he’s home,” Pritts said of Hamlin.

“All of the cylinders are firing right in his brain.”

Hamlin is making substantial progress and his neurologic condition and function are intact, his doctors said.

“It’s been a long and difficult road for the last three days. He’s been very sick, and made a very remarkable recovery and improvement.” Knight said.

“He still has significant progress he needs to make, but this makes a good turning point in his ongoing care,” Pritts said.

The UC doctors credited members of the Bills medical staff for their immediate recognition of Hamlin’s condition, when he did not register a pulse, for responding appropriately with CPR and an automated external defibrillator (AED).

“We cannot credit the Bills medical team enough,” Pritts said. “It's rare to have something this serious happen and to recognize it so quickly.”

The doctors said Hamlin has “many, many steps still ahead of him” on his road to recovery, including breathing on his own, before he can be ultimately discharged.

There’s no timetable for Hamlin’s recovery, as doctors continue to take things day by day.

"What we would like to see before we upgrade him to stable condition would be breathing tube out and continuing to improving from a neurological and respiratory standpoint," Pritts said.

Knight and Pritts hope Hamlin can return to “who he was before this happened,” but also acknowledged “it’s entirely too early” to discuss whether Hamlin can play football again.

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OPINION: ESPN's immediate coverage of Damar Hamlin situation done with right tone

Here is the latest:

NFL won't resume Bills-Bengals game

The Bills and Bengals will not resume or replay their game that was suspended Jan. 2 following Hamlin's collapse, the NFL announced Thursday.

The league made the announcement that the game has been canceled, so both teams will finish the 2022 regular season with one fewer game played than every other team in the league. A vote will be held Friday on a proposal regarding how to deal with playoff seeding recommended by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and approved by the competition committee.

Not having to carve out time to replay the Bills-Bengals game will allow the NFL to begin the playoffs next weekend as scheduled, a factor that played into the league's decision. It will also preserve the off week between the conference championship games on Jan. 29 and Super Bowl 57 on Feb. 12.

“As we considered the football schedule, our principles have been to limit disruption across the league and minimize competitive inequities,” Goodell said in a statement announcing the decision. “I recognize that there is no perfect solution. The proposal we are asking the ownership to consider, however, addresses the most significant potential equitable issues created by the difficult, but necessary, decision not to play the game under these extraordinary circumstances.”

Josh Allen says Hamlin's family helped team move forward

Head coach Sean McDermott said in a Thursday news conference that the Bills have had extra counselors available for the team in the wake of Hamlin’s injury. Quarterback Josh Allen said Monday's events will be something that sticks with the team.

“Some people are gonna be changed forever after being on the field and witnessing that and feeling those emotions,” Allen said. “But the updates we continue to get on Damar really lift our spirits. Leaning on each other, talking to each other. We’ve had some very open, honest and deep talks.”

Both McDermott and Allen, asked if the Bills will be ready to play this Sunday against the New England Patriots, said the team would. Allen said the team’s talk with Damar’s father, Mario Hamlin, this week gave them the motivation to push forward.

"Mario (Hamlin) talking to us as a team and the things that he told us. He really didn’t tell us, he demanded us. You can’t not honor his request to go out there and charge forward to the best of our abilities," Allen said. "Obviously we will be playing with less heavy hearts now. (Thursday's) news, there was a lot of tears of joy, I’ll tell you that. To know that’s what he wants, that’s what his dad wants, I think guys are excited to get out there."

Former U.S. surgeon general:Want to honor Damar Hamlin? Learn CPR. It made all the difference for him.

NFLPA offers ‘highly optimistic’ update

Dr. Thom Mayer, medical director of the NFL Players’ Association, said “all signs are highly optimistic” and that Hamlin woke up much sooner than expected.

The expectation is he will make a full neurological recovery, although there are still hurdles for him to clear before that happens, Mayer said.

Mayer said he reviewed videotape of the incident Monday and determined that three highly trained emergency medical professionals were standing within 30 yards of where Hamlin collapsed on the field and were instrumental in saving his life.

Mayer added that, combined with the world-class care he received, Hamlin’s own courage and fight made his recovery possible.

Other highlights from the call included:

-NFLPA president JC Tretter said it was an immediate and unanimous viewpoint of the union’s executive committee that the game would not be resumed Monday night. A dialogue with Bengals safety Michael Thomas, an executive committee member, as well as the union leaders in both locker rooms, was initiated promptly. It was clear neither team would be taking the field that night, Tretter said.

As for the “five minutes to warm up” before resuming play controversy, NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith said he had no discussions with league stakeholders about a timeframe to restart the game.

-All NFLPA calls have emphasized mental health, Tretter said, and the union is ready to provide resources to members who request it.

-If an eighth team is added to the postseason field, resulting in an addition to the designed workload for the season, the league would have to negotiate with the union, according to basic collective bargaining agreement rules, Smith said.

Doctors commend Bills' medical staff responsiveness

Dr. Pritts commended the the Bills training staff for immediately recognizing this was not an ordinary injury and that it was something much more serious. Activating the emergency response team was also pivotal.

"Really, this went as well as something like this could go under very challenging circumstances, and they did a fantastic job, which is why we’re here today," Pritts said.

The immediate medical attention, and the standard in which it was deployed, "has led us to be able to discuss these good outcomes today," Dr. Knight said.

Bengals’ Tee Higgins 'in a good place right now’

Cincinnati Bengals receiver Tee Higgins said he’s “in a good place right now” after hearing from Damar Hamlin’s mother about his improvement on Thursday morning.

Higgins was involved in the hit that came right before the Buffalo Bills receiver went into cardiac arrest on the field during the game Monday night. Doctors say Hamlin has made “remarkable improvement” in the last 24 hours.

“It’s been hard, just because I had something to do with the play and whatnot,” Higgins said Thursday in his first comments since Hamlin went down and the game was suspended. “But everybody has been making me feel whole again. I talked to his mom and notice everything is OK. He’s doing good.”

Higgins said Hamlin’s mother told him “she’s thinking of me and praying for me.”

– Associated Press

Joe Biden, public continue to offer support

Three days after Hamlin collapsed and was resuscitated at Paycor Stadium, support continues to pour in around the world for the Bills’ second-year safety.

President Joe Biden said he spoke to Hamlin's parents "at length."

Biden also shared a message for Hamlin on Twitter on Thursday in response to the health update the Bills provided earlier in the day.

“Damar, like I told your mom and dad (Wednesday), Jill and I – along with all of America – are praying for you and your family,” the tweet said.

Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow said his team is behind the Bills "100 percent in what they want to do going forward" with their postponed game. Fans have donated millions of dollars to a GoFundMe site Hamlin created in 2020 to buy toys for children ahead of the holidays.

"It's been incredible. It's made a tough situation just a little bit easier," Hamlin's marketing rep, Jordon Rooney, said on behalf of the Hamlin family. "They're so grateful. They are always giving to others, so for so many people to rally around them, they just keep saying how thankful they are."

Jets DB seeks Hamlin jersey to wear during Week 18 pregame

New York Jets star rookie defensive back Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner tweeted Wednesday that he's looking for a Hamlin jersey to wear before his team's Week 18 game Sunday against the Dolphins in Miami.

Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin tweeted the reply, "We got you!"

Gardner responded that he appreciated Rubin's offer and asked for him to send it to the Jets' facility.

Fanatics announced that proceeds from Hamlin's jersey sales will be donated to the foundation as well.

Pro Football Focus tweeted that Hamlin's jersey has been one of the highest-selling jerseys this week.

– Dave Clark, Cincinnati Enquirer

Zac Taylor shares what Sean McDermott said to him on sidelines

ESPN cameras captured Bengals coach Zac Taylor and Bills coach Sean McDermott talking on multiple occasions while Monday's game was temporarily suspended. Taylor didn’t disclose what was said in its entirety, but he did reveal that the focus wasn’t on football once Hamlin was rushed to the hospital.

“When I got over there, the first thing (Sean McDermott) said is I need to be at the hospital with Damar. I shouldn’t be coaching this game. That to me provides all the clarity,” Taylor said. “In that moment he really showed who he was. All his focus was just on Damar, being there for him, being there for his family at the hospital. At that point everything trended where it needed to trend. The right decisions were made there.”

When will Bills-Bengals game resume?

On Tuesday, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said the Bills-Bengals game would not resume this week. On Wednesday, the league began discussions about when it would be played.

"Everything is being considered," NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent said during a conference call.

The league has not made any changes to the Week 18 regular-season schedule. The Bengals will host the Ravens, while the Bills host the Patriots, both set for 1 p.m. ET Sunday.

Jeff Miller, NFL executive vice president of communications, public affairs and policy, said a decision will be made "in the coming days."

Joe Burrow: 'We’re behind them 100 percent'

The Cincinnati Bengals quarterback said he's open to finishing the game against the Bills while the NFL sorts out scheduling, but he said he ultimately supports whatever the Bills think is best.

“I think that would be tough, just scheduling-wise,” Burrow said. “I think whatever Buffalo would want to do, we would want to do. We’re behind them 100 percent in what they want to do going forward."

Burrow and his Bengals teammates consoled Bills players during Hamlin’s medical emergency on the field, and Burrow and Bengals captains visited Bills players in their locker room before the game was ultimately postponed.

Burrow made it clear that the Bengals "didn’t want to go back out there" before the game was called. He added: "I wanted them to know we felt the same way they did."

What happened to Damar Hamlin?

Hamlin tackled Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins after a 13-yard gain during the Bills-Bengals Monday Night Football showdown. The play appeared to be routine. Hamlin stood up afterwards, but collapsed to the ground with 5:58 remaining in the first quarter.

An ambulance was brought onto the field. Hamlin was treated with CPR and an AED to restore his heartbeat on the field as players from both teams created a human shield around Hamlin as emergency responders worked to resuscitate him. Hamlin was then placed on a stretcher before being transported to the hospital.

The game was temporarily suspended then — one hour and five minutes after Hamlin collapsed — postponed.

It was later revealed that Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest. But what is cardiac arrest, and how might it have happened to Hamlin?

UC Medical Center physicians give update on Damar Hamlin's ...

Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin is making a comeback, according to University of Cincinnati Medical Center physicians.

Citing a number of medical improvements since Hamlin collapsed Monday night at Paycor Stadium, Dr. Timothy Pritts and Dr. William Knight described in a news conference Thursday how the hospital’s trauma team handled his medical emergency that was captured on national television.

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But Hamlin still has a long way to go, the doctors said. It's not clear when he will no longer need a breathing tube, start walking, or be ready for rehabilitation.

"Every patient is different," Pritts said. "When patients' families ask how long are they going to be on a ventilator, in the ICU, (we'll say), as long as it takes."

Damar Hamlin awake, communicating with promising signs of recovery

Knight called the last 24 hours a turning point in Hamlin’s recovery. He has started to move his hands and feet, and has been communicating with staff and those close to him via pen and paper on a clipboard. No cardiac dysfunction has been detected, and his neurological function is intact.

Pritts said it is fair to say that if not for the fast response from the Bills medical team, there may have been a different outcome for Hamlin.

According to Knight, the best outcome would be “being the person he was before this all happened.”

Cardiac arrest isn’t uncommon for the trauma team to treat, but it came as a shock for an NFL player to have one right on the field at Paycor Stadium. According to Pritts, the staff was on alert after seeing it happen live.

Immediate CPR was a critical step in recovery

The NFL has emergency protocols and teams of doctors in place for such medical emergencies. The doctors said Hamlin initially had a pulse and lost it as he was being attended to by medical personnel, who immediately began bystander CPR. An ambulance took him to the hospital, where medical personnel placed him in the ICU.

Pritts credits the Bills medical team for taking all the steps in the NFL's action plan, citing that immediate CPR as a critical step.

He said the outcome so far proves the value of the plans in place by the Bills and Bengals.

"There are injuries that happen in sports, but it’s rare to have something (that) incredibly serious (that quickly)," Pritts said. "We cannot credit their team enough."

The physicians noted he is still critically ill, and a timeline for recovery still isn’t close to being known, but the signs are promising.

According to Pritts, using a pen and paper, the first thing Hamlin asked when he opened his eyes Wednesday night was, “Did we win?”

"We said, 'Yes, Damar. You won the game of life."

Student suspect in custody after 3 football players shot dead and 2 ...

CNN —

Police have in custody a University of Virginia student and ex-UVA football player suspected of fatally shooting three current players and wounding two other people late Sunday at the school’s main campus in Charlottesville as a bus returned from a class field trip, school officials said.

The suspect, Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., faces three charges of second-degree murder and three counts of using a handgun in the commission of a felony, UVA Police Chief Timothy Longo Sr. told reporters Monday morning as an hourslong manhunt came to an end and authorities lifted a campus lockdown order.

Classes canceled Tuesday as campus mourns the shooting victims

Jones was arrested without incident around 11 a.m. ET about 80 miles east of Charlottesville in Henrico County, the county police agency said in a statement. An officer spotted the vehicle Jones was driving in the eastern area of Henrico where he was “taken into custody without incident,” according to news release from the police division.

Police have not offered a motive for the attack.

Christopher Jones Henrico County Sheriff's Office

Those killed were Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. and D’Sean Perry, university President Jim Ryan said. The two wounded students are being treated at UVA Medical Center, with one in critical condition and the other in good condition, he said, declining to name them.

One of the two injured students was identified as Michael Hollins, according to Andrew Martin, the head football coach at the University Lab School in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Hollins is a junior at UVA and is a running back for school’s football team, according to the team’s roster. CNN has reached out to Hollins’ family but has not received a response.

Hollins’ father, Michael Hollins Sr., told The Washington Post his son was shot in the back with the bullet lodged in his stomach. Hollins Sr. told the Post he’s expected to recover.

Left to right: Devin Chandler, D'Sean Perry and Lavel Davis Jr.

“This is a sad, shocking and tragic day for our UVA community,” Ryan said. “Let me say how deeply sorry I am for the victims and for their family and friends.”

Carla Williams, UVA athletics director, said in a statement that as a mother herself, she aches for the parents and family members of the victims.

“We lost three talented and bright young men,” Williams said. “We will never see what their impact on the world would have been, but we will never forget their impact on us. I miss Lavel, D’Sean and Devin. I pray for peace, comfort and hope for their parents and loved ones.”

Tony Elliot, UVA head football coach, said in a statement that it’s hard for him to find the words to “express the devastation and heartache that our team is feeling today.”

“These were incredible young men with huge aspirations and extremely bright futures. Our hearts ache for their families, their classmates and their friends. These precious young men were called away too soon,” Elliot said. “We are all fortunate to have them be a part of our lives. They touched us, inspired us and worked incredibly hard as representatives of our program, university and community.”

At least 68 shootings have unfolded this year on US school grounds, including 15 on college campuses, CNN finds, with at least one person shot in each case, not including the shooter. The deadliest school shooting in modern US history remains the 2007 attack at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, where a 23-year-old student killed 32 people before dying by suicide.

The shooting at the Charlottesville campus is also one of nearly 600 mass shootings in the US this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which like CNN tallies cases in which at least four people are shot, excluding the shooter.

Shooting prompted immediate lockdowns

The attack happened Sunday on a bus returning from a class trip to Washington, DC, where the class had seen a play, university officials said. It was not immediately clear if Jones was part of that class or attended the field trip.

Police responded to a report of shots fired around 10:30 p.m. in an area near a parking garage on Culbreth Road and surrounded by academic buildings, Ryan said. Two slain victims were inside the bus, with the third victim taken to a hospital, where he died, Longo said.

Police on Monday secure the crime scene of an overnight shooting at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. Steve Helber/AP

The call prompted a shelter-in-place alert that was lifted about 12 hours later, Longo said. More than 500 people sheltered throughout campus buildings, including in libraries and classrooms, he said.

Monday classes at the university were canceled. The school canceled classes Tuesday to “to give “students the opportunity to reflect, mourn and gather with each other,” according to a news release. A family and community assistance center has also been set up on campus to provide UVA community members with mental health services, according to UVA Emergency Management officials.

Classes were also canceled Monday at Charlottesville City Schools, the K-12 district said in a letter to families. A UVA men’s basketball game scheduled for Monday evening has also been canceled, the university said.

In a statement, an attorney for Perry’s parents thanked the communities in both Charlottesville and South Florida – Perry was originally from Miami, the university said – for “the outpouring of support during this impossibly tragic time.

Happy and Sean Perry would not speak publicly at this time about their son’s death, attorney Michael Haggard said, out of respect for the university community, which “has been terrorized by another mass shooting in the United States.”

Suspect had been known to campus police

Jones had come to campus authorities’ attention in September, when authorities found out Jones “had made a comment about possessing a gun” to someone “unaffiliated with the university,” Longo said at Monday’s news conference. But that person never actually saw the gun in question, he said.

Christopher Darnell Jones Jr. University of Virginia Police

“Through the course of the threat assessment team’s investigation, we learned of a prior criminal incident involving a concealed weapon violation that occurred outside the city of Charlotteville in February of 2021,” Longo said, adding the suspect was required to report that incident to the university but never did. The school’s judicial council took over the case, and the results are pending.

Jones was also involved in a hazing investigation on campus that was closed because witnesses would not cooperate, Longo said.

It is “important to share that information with you,” he said, “to let you know that he had been called to our attention.”

Jones is listed on UVA’s athletics website as a football player in 2018 who as a freshman did not participate in any games. He attended Varina High School and Petersburg High School, where he played football as a linebacker and running back, according to his university athletics bio. While in high school, Jones was Key Club president and a member of the National Honor Society and the National Technical Honor Society, the bio says.

A UVA spokesperson told CNN Jones had a pre-existing injury that prevented him from playing on the football team in 2018. Jones went through medical treatment and rehabilitation during his time with the team and was only a member of the team for one season, the spokesperson says.

The spokesperson would not give details on Jones’ injury.

Federal prosecutors working with local authorities

Before the lockdown was lifted, UVA students early Monday were told to “take the shelter in place commands seriously as the situation remains active,” vice president and chief student affairs officer Robyn Hadley said in an email to UVA’s student body.

“We have all received several shelter in place texts, and they are frightening,” Hadley said, adding several police jurisdictions were working to find the suspect. “I am on grounds like many of you; I am sheltering in place and in direct touch with University leadership and UPD … If you are not inside and safe, immediately seek safety.”

Two UVA students who told CNN they were at the scene of the shooting Sunday night and saw part of it unfold described hearing faint popping noises and watching people flee the bus.

The students – both of whom are 21 and did not want to be identified – said they were walking to the gym when they saw the charter bus, still in motion. It was just after 10 p.m. when they heard the popping noises, the students said, but they didn’t think anything of it. The bus was going over a speed bump, they said, but then they saw it stop and saw emergency lights turn on.

The bus doors opened, the students said, and they saw people running out. The students told CNN they saw one fall to the ground.

The students hid behind a brick wall in front of the nearby band building before calling 911 around 10:17 p.m., they said. The call wasn’t answered, the students said, but they hung up when they heard sirens in the distance and saw law enforcement arrive.

State and federal prosecutors are helping local agencies in the investigation, according to a joint statement from the US attorney for the Western District of Virginia and commonwealth’s attorneys for Charlottesville and for Albemarle County. The officials pledged to support the investigation and “bring possible charges in the appropriate jurisdiction,” the statement said.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin on Monday called the shooting a “horrific tragedy” and praised the work of law enforcement for taking the suspect into custody, according to a tweet. “While there are still many details to uncover, let us lift up the entire community in prayer.” The governor earlier had said Virginia State Police were “fully coordinating” with school and local police.

Vice President Kamala Harris spoke on the shooting shortly after swearing in a new ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago on Monday.

“It’s tragic,” Harris said. “Of course, our prayers are with the families of the victims and it’s just yet a constant reminder that we have to do better in terms of gun safety laws in our country.”

Meantime, another US campus – the University of Idaho – is reeling after police announced a homicide inquiry after officers Sunday discovered four people deceased in a home just outside Moscow campus grounds. The deceased were students, and the cause of their deaths is not yet known, the university confirmed, adding the threat has ended.

Separately, Charlottesville Police arrested a man in connection to “threatening social media posts” against UVA on Monday, but said they don’t believe the threats were tied to the earlier shooting.

“We understand the fear this caused in our community and acted swiftly to resolve this investigation,” a Charlottesville police news release said.

Sunday’s shooting is the University of Virginia’s latest high-profile run-in with violence: White nationalists in August 2017 marched across campus carrying torches and chanting racist slogans. A day later, demonstrators protesting Charlottesville’s plan to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee clashed with counterprotesters, one of whom was killed when a man drove his car into a crowd; that driver is serving life in prison.

A UVA lacrosse player five years earlier was convicted and sentenced to 23 years in prison for the 2010 killing of his ex-girlfriend, Yeardley Love, in her off-campus apartment.

Amir Vera Dakin Andone Michelle Watson Carolyn Sung

How quick thinking stopped a ransomware attack from crippling a ...

CNN —

It was approaching midnight on Sunday and the head of IT at a Florida hospital had a problem.

The emergency room of Jackson Hospital, a 100-bed facility on Florida’s panhandle, called to report that it couldn’t connect to the charting system that doctors use to look up patients’ medical histories. Jamie Hussey, Jackson Hospital’s IT director, soon realized that the charting software, which was maintained by an outside vendor, was infected with ransomware and that he didn’t have much time to keep the computer virus from spreading.

The hospital shut down its computer systems on his advice.

“If we hadn’t stopped it, it probably would’ve spread out through the entire hospital,” Hussey said. Hospital staff ditched the electronic records and reverted to pen and paper to keep the hospital running and organized, he said, but patient care wasn’t disrupted.

As Hussey spoke to CNN Tuesday, the hospital’s IT systems were gradually coming online, and he was expecting phone calls from the FBI (which investigates hacking incidents) and Aon, a cybersecurity consultancy that Hussey said was supporting the recovery. He was trying to figure out if the hackers had stolen any hospital data, and if they might need to be paid off to get it back.

Jamie Hussey, IT director of Florida's Jackson Hospital at work Courtesy Jackson Hospital

The damage could’ve been far worse.

Jackson Hospital is just one of several dozen health care organizations across the US that have had to battle ransomware attacks since the coronavirus pandemic began. The disruptions have cost the sector millions of dollars and prompted urgent calls to hospitals from federal officials to be wary of cybercriminal groups.

One suspected ransomware attack in October 2020 forced the University of Vermont to delay chemotherapy appointments, while another in August 2021 prompted the emergency room at Memorial Health System in Ohio to divert patients to other facilities.

In the early minutes and hours of a ransomware attack, hospital cybersecurity teams are on the front lines of the response; help from federal agencies like the FBI might come later.

Yet hospitals don’t often publicly discuss how quick thinking and preemptive action can be the difference between containing a hack and having it spiral out of control. For Hussey, it has meant minimal sleep since Sunday, and the weight of a 600-person staff at Jackson depending on his IT team of about a dozen to get hospital computers up and running again.

“The new guy I just hired is a cybersecurity graduate, so we broke him in really early,” he quipped.

A gradual recovery

Though Hussey’s team acted quickly, Jackson Hospital’s IT systems haven’t come away completely unscathed.

The emergency room’s charting system could be offline for the rest of the week, he said. (Doctors have been getting ER patient records from other parts of the hospital network).

The entire hospital had to temporarily switch to what medical professionals call “downtime procedures” — contingency plans after Hussey’s team shut computers down. For several hours, things like physician notes and prescriptions for patients were processed by hand.

The attackers also encrypted a computer server that Jackson Hospital uses to store non-critical organizational documents. Hussey was trying to figure out if there was anything in those files that contained data on Jackson patients and, if so, if the hospital should pay a ransom to get them back (he said he wasn’t aware of any ransom demand from the hackers).

The ransomware that Hussey’s team found on the charting system is known as Mespinoza and has racked up 190 victim organizations worldwide across various industries, including several in health care, according to a Department of Health and Human Services advisory on the group last week.

The hacking group is just one of several that haven’t refrained from hitting health care organizations during the pandemic. A study last year by the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency found that ransomware attacks can “lead to significant and sustained” strain on hospitals already reeling from a flood of coronavirus patients.

Allan Liska, senior threat intelligence at cybersecurity firm Recorded Future, said there were 134 publicly reported ransomware incidents involving health care organizations in 2021, up from his 2020 tally of 106 incidents.

But many ransomware attacks don’t make the news.

“I’ve worked with a number of healthcare providers recently that have managed to stop a ransomware attack during the reconnaissance stage,” Liska told CNN. “Sharing this information helps other organizations better understand what they should be looking for and developing better strategies for stopping ransomware.”

‘Lock it down and piss people off’

The recovery process at Jackson Hospital has been meticulous to ensure that malicious code isn’t lingering in some neglected part of the network.

Hussey’s team went down the list of computer systems across the hospital, starting with the most critical, and made sure they weren’t infected with ransomware. They physically disconnected the hospital’s electronic health records system from the rest of the computer network to check them for malicious code before reconnecting to the system.

By Wednesday, hospital computers were back online except for the charting systems used by the ER.

Hussey said the decision to shut computer networks down may not be popular with some hospital staff, “but it’s better to be down a day than be down a month.”

“Lock it down and piss people off,” Hussey, who has worked at Jackson for over 25 years, said in a Southern drawl. “It’s what you have to do just to secure your network.”

Gunfire near a concert in Washington, DC, kills a 15-year-old and ...

CNN —

A shooting near an unpermitted concert Sunday evening left a 15-year-old boy dead and several others wounded, according to police in Washington, DC.

Several hundred people had gathered to hear music played from a truck on a street sidewalk, DC Police Chief Robert Contee told reporters.

Before the deadly melee, he said, two other incidents had already caused panic and trampling at the concert.

Officers responded and contained the area, ultimately shutting down the concert, Contee said. He did not provide details of the incident but said “people started to scatter at that point.”

Several people suffered leg or ankle injuries as the crowd dispersed, the police chief said. He said emergency personnel recovered an illegal firearm from one person as they tended to the injured.

Afterward, gunfire broke out near 14th and U Streets Northwest, close to the concert site. The 15-year-old boy was killed, and three adults were wounded, including a police officer, Contee said.

The officer and two adults were hospitalized in stable condition, he noted.

Several firearms were discovered from the scene, including a handgun on one of the adults who was shot, Contee said. But he said the weapon used to shoot the officer has not yet been found.

No police officer discharged their firearm, he added.

More mass shootings than days of the year

The US has suffered at least 277 mass shootings so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive. That’s an average of more than 1.5 mass shootings every day.

The GVA defines mass shootings as those that kill or wound at least four people.

Recent mass shootings like the Buffalo supermarket attack and the Uvalde school massacre have renewed debates about gun control. In both of those massacres, the alleged gunman was 18 years old and used an AR-15-style rifle.

A bipartisan group of senators has announced an agreement in principle for gun safety legislation which would address mental health resources and school safety.

But sticking points remain, including the issues of funding for state red flag laws and denying firearms to unmarried partners convicted of domestic violence.

Officials vow to crack down on unpermitted events

Both the DC mayor and police chief said permit requirements must be taken seriously.

“We have a child who was killed today at an event that did not have any proper planning for the number of people who were here and with guns involved,” DC Mayor Muriel Bowser told reporters Sunday.

“The chief and I will continue to make sure we have the resources we need on these corridors and all of our corridors, but we need some accountability here.”

The police chief said officials will “look at what legal action should be taken as a result of an unpermitted event in our city.”

“When you have large gatherings in a dense area, all it takes is one person introducing a gun to the situation that makes it deadly,” Contee said. “In this case, unfortunately, a 15-year-old lost his life.”

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is assisting local police with the investigation, the agency’s Washington Field Division said.

Gregory Clary Sarah Fortinsky Susannah Cullinane Holly Yan

Buffalo snow: Historic storm slams western New York with nearly 6 ...

CNN —

A historic snowstorm is slamming western New York state Saturday with more than 6 feet of snow in some places, closing roads, triggering driving bans and canceling flights the weekend before the Thanksgiving holiday.

Another round of heavy lake-effect snowfall is expected to return to the Buffalo area Saturday night, according to the National Weather Service. With most of the heavy snow bands falling over Lake Ontario, north of metro Buffalo on Saturday afternoon.

“Even though the band will be moving quickly, it is possible that additional amounts around a half foot or so could occur across the Buffalo metro area,” the National Weather Service said.

On Saturday afternoon, New York Governor Kathy Hochul touted the state’s storm preparedness and said crews have been working tirelessly to manage the situation.

“This is the effort we’ve brought together: bringing resources, people, equipment from all over the state of New York. And because we were so preemptive in this strike, we were able to avert many tragedies,” Hochul said.

She thanked western New Yorkers for shutting down major highways, implementing travel bans and staying home before the snow started to fall which helped prevent accidents, protect human life and ensure roads are safe and clear for emergency services.

Hochul said she is doubling the number of New York National Guard members on the ground in Erie County to check on residents and help with snow removal.

She is also signing a request for federal reimbursement through a Federal Emergency Disaster Declaration.

So far, snowfall totals of more than 6 feet have been recorded in two locations, according to the National Weather Service. Orchard Park, where the NFL’s Buffalo Bills play, has picked up 77.0 inches in the last 48 hours, and Natural Bridge, just east of Watertown, has picked up 72.3 inches; historic numbers for the area.

As the snowfall intensified, two county residents died from cardiac complications related to shoveling and attempting to clear the ground, said Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz.

“We send our deepest sympathies and remind all that this snow is very heavy and dangerous,” Poloncarz said. “Please continue to avoid shoveling this very heavy, wet snow, and use caution and avoid overexertion if you must shovel today.”

Winter weather alerts are still in effect for over 8 million people across six Great Lakes states Saturday evening: Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York.

Forecasters and officials have been sounding the alarm on the life-threatening nature of this snowstorm, which is historic even for the Buffalo region where heavy snow is the norm during winter months. And the forceful snowfall is expected to continue through the weekend with brief periods of relief.

Video Ad Feedback See snow building as New York faces historic snowstorm 01:48 - Source: CNN

Areas northeast of Lake Ontario – from central Jefferson County to northern Lewis County – were inundated with heavy snow late Friday, when the snowfall rate was up to 3 inches per hour, according to the weather service in Buffalo. Places between Watertown and Harrisville were also seeing treacherous conditions.

A travel ban is still in place for the entire city of Buffalo based on current and expected weather and road conditions, according to the Erie County website.

Dozens of flights arriving and departing from Buffalo Niagara International Airport were canceled as storm conditions worsened, according to the airport’s website.

This month is already Buffalo’s third-snowiest November at the airport thanks to the storm, according to the local weather service office.

Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown told CNN on Saturday, while his city is used to heavy snow, this is “much more than we usually get.”

He said the city could return to “some sense of normalcy” by Monday or Tuesday, assuming the worst of the storm passes through by Sunday.

“This has been a very unpredictable storm with the snow bands moving, back and forth, north to south,” Brown said. “The snow has come down very fast, very wet, very heavy.”

A resident hits a rail off of a home-made snow kicker after a snowstorm near Hoyt Lake in Buffalo on Sunday. Libby March/AP Cars drive through blowing, drifting snow on McKinley Parkway in Hamburg in Erie County on Sunday. Mark Mulville/The Buffalo News/AP People snowshoe through snow covered streets on Sunday in Buffalo, New York. John Normile/Getty Images A snow plow works along a street during a break in the snowstorm hitting the Buffalo area in Orchard Park, New York, on Saturday, November 19. Carlos Osorio/Reuters Zach Brown shovels his walkway in the Elmwood neighborhood of Buffalo on Saturday. Libby March/The Buffalo News/AP Snow-covered trees line a street in Orchard Park during a break in the storm on Saturday. Carlos Osorio/Reuters Heather Ahmed shovels snow on Saturday. She is among many residents of the Buffalo, New York, area who have to dig out thanks to a historic storm. John Normile/Getty Images A van is seen buried under snow at night in Buffalo on Friday, November 18. Brandon Watson/The New York Times/Redux Jenny Vega, left, and Roberto Rentas shovel snow in front of their house in Buffalo on Friday. Brendan Bannon/The New York Times/Redux Residents push a stuck vehicle in Buffalo on Friday. Lindsay DeDario/Reuters Snow blankets homes on Friday. Libby March/AP Zaria Black clears snow from her car on Friday. Joshua Bessex/AP Emergency crews transport an ill patient amidst the snowstorm on Friday. Lindsay DeDario/Reuters A car sits in a snowdrift on Friday. Joshua Bessex/AP A man walks through the snow with a shovel on Friday. Lindsay DeDario/Reuters People help dig out a plow from heavy snow in Hamburg, New York, on Friday. John Normile/Getty Images A man uses a snowblower to dig out a vehicle on Friday. Lindsay DeDario/Reuters Residents walk in the snow on Friday. Lindsay DeDario/Reuters Buffalo's City Hall is shrouded during a snowstorm on Friday. Lindsay DeDario/Reuters Firefighters work the scene of a car accident on Thursday. Snyder Fire Department/Facebook A cloud of snow is seen crossing Lake Erie as extreme winter weather hits Buffalo on Friday. Lindsay DeDario/Reuters In pictures: Snowstorm hits western New York Prev Next

County official: Do not ignore travel bans

The colossal storm has been pounding the region for days, prompting local and state officials to issue states of emergencies to bolster response. But with a storm of this size, it only takes one or two vehicles to slow down clearing operations, Poloncarz noted.

“A reminder to all employers: if your business is located in a driving ban area or your employees are currently in a driving ban area, it is illegal to make them come into work,” Poloncarz said online.

The snowstorm, which came with a forecast for the Buffalo region not seen in more than 20 years, has been making travel miserable for many drivers, despite authorities’ emphasis on staying off the roads.

Good Samaritans help dig out a plow Friday in Hamburg, New York. John Normile/Getty Images

“I can say that our deputies have been just absolutely inundated with calls for service as it pertains to disabled motor vehicles and stranded motorists,” Erie County Undersheriff William J. Cooley said during a news conference Friday night. “We implore the residents to just, please, obey the travel ban, you become part of the problem very quickly when you’re out there on the streets.”

More than 300 citations were issued to drivers who violated the travel ban, Poloncarz said late Friday.

“Please, do not be the reason that an ambulance cannot get to the hospital,” he said. “There are many vehicles that are not only getting stuck but are just being abandoned by the owners.”

Christopher Middlebrooks and his son Mitchell Middlebrooks work to clear their driveway Friday in Buffalo. Libby March/AP

Snow has been falling for an extended period of time at a rapid pace, making it difficult for crews to respond.

“In some cases, we are going to far surpass 5 feet of snow and that’s in a 21-hour period of time,” said Bill Geary, the county’s public works commissioner. “It’s a remarkable amount of time.”

Aya Elamroussi Mallika Kallingal
Aya Elamroussi
Mallika Kallingal

William Husel: Here's what we know about the Ohio doctor accused ...

CNN —

The trial of a Columbus, Ohio, doctor accused of overprescribing pain medication to multiple patients near death began Tuesday.

Dr. William Husel was initially indicted on 25 counts of murder in 2019. He is now facing 14 counts after Franklin County Judge Michael Holbrook granted the prosecution’s motion to dismiss 11 counts in January, according to CNN affiliate WBNS-TV.

Husel has pleaded not guilty.

Jury selection for Husel’s trial began February 14 and ended Wednesday, according to CNN affiliate WSYX-TV. Seven women and five men were selected to sit on the jury. There are six alternates in the case, made up of five women and one man, the affiliate reported.

The opening day of the trial saw the prosecution call Columbus Police Detective William Gillette as a summary witness. Defense attorney Jose Baez cross-examined Gillette for two hours, peppering the detective repeatedly about his fractured memory of the case and suggesting the investigation intentionally targeted Husel.

Gillette appeared uncomfortable and frustrated at times during the cross-examination.

The trial was originally set for 2020, but the Covid-19 pandemic and an election that changed the prosecution team pushed proceedings to this year, according to WSYX.

Here’s a look at everything that has led to the trial:

6-month investigation led to doctor’s firing

The Mount Carmel Health System initially said the hospital received a report related to Husel’s care on October 25, 2018. The hospital system removed Husel from patient care a month later, on November 21.

In that period, three people died “after receiving excessive and potentially fatal doses of medication” ordered by the doctor, the hospital said in a statement. In total, “at least” 34 patients were affected by Husel’s actions, said Ed Lamb, the Mount Carmel CEO and president at the time.

Of the 34 patients affected, 28 received excessive and potentially fatal doses of medication, a hospital spokeswoman said at the time. Six others who died received excessive doses that went beyond providing comfort but that were not believed to be the cause of their deaths.

Husel was fired December 5, 2018. Indictment documents would later allege the patient deaths took place between February 2015 and November 2018.

The same month he was fired, an investigation into Husel began when an attorney representing Mount Carmel reached out to the Franklin County prosecutor’s office.

During their initial conversations, the attorney said a doctor – later identified as Husel – was “administering doses of fentanyl at a level that they internally believed were inappropriate and not for a legitimate medical purpose,” said Ron O’Brien, who was the Franklin County prosecutor at the time.

Fentanyl is an opioid used to treat patients with chronic severe pain or severe pain after surgery, according to the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Fentanyl is considered a “Schedule II controlled substance” similar to morphine, “but about 100 times more potent,” the DEA says.

“Following the discovery of the actions of Dr. Husel, we notified appropriate authorities, including law enforcement,” Lamb said.

The State Medical Board of Ohio voted in January 2019 to suspend Husel’s osteopathic medicine and surgery license, according to CNN affiliate WSYX-TV.

Husel was indicted in June 2019. He posted the $1 million bail the same month, according to WSYX.

The investigation also found that the doses, which ranged from 500 to 2,000 micrograms, “were designed to hasten the death of the patients that were being treated,” O’Brien said. A potentially lethal dose of fentanyl is 2 miligrams (2,000 micrograms), according to the DEA.

O’Brien lost his election in November 2020 to Gary Tyack, according to the Franklin County Board of Elections results.

Lamb resigned as president and CEO or Mount Carmel in July 2019, WSYX reported.

Victim’s family upset about dropped charges

Prosecutors declined to say why they filed a motion to dismiss 11 of the 25 counts, according to CNN affiliate WBNS-TV.

Reporting by the station revealed the 11 cases dismissed from the trial were patients who received smaller doses of fentanyl – 1,000 micrograms or less. The 14 remaining cases involved patients who received 1,000 micrograms or more.

“It doesn’t make sense. It’s not enough? It was enough to kill her but it’s not enough to prosecute him,” said Nicole Thomas, daughter of Jan Thomas, whose case was one of the 11 that were dropped.

Jan Thomas died in March 2015, WBNS reported. Her family was told three years later that her death may have been caused by too much fentanyl. Her medical records showed she received 800 micrograms of fentanyl, according to WBNS.

“It is shocking that this is happening. I am completely shocked and disappointed in the whole judicial system,” said Sean Thomas, son of Jan Thomas.

“Every time this is covered, she dies again,” Sean Thomas said. “Every time her name flashes in the story – it’s back in the news. There is movement in the case. She dies all over again. And now to hear that 11 of these cases were dismissed, she is dying all over again.”

Families say relatives received excessive doses of fentanyl

Chris Allison told CNN her husband, Troy Allison, started having trouble breathing one night in the summer of 2018, something she said was a first.

Troy, who suffered from diabetes, told his wife to call an ambulance. Paramedics checked his vitals, and Chris Allison said they told her husband his sugar was a little high and they’d take him to Mount Carmel as a precaution.

At the hospital, Troy suffered multiple heart attacks in the emergency room, according to medical records from the plaintiff’s attorneys. Troy was taken to the ICU where the night shift doctor, Husel, told Chris Allison her husband was brain dead and his organs were shutting down.

Husel told Chris Allison he’d like to give her husband something that made him comfortable.

A short time later, Troy was dead.

“It just wasn’t adding up,” Chris Allison told CNN.

Months after his death, Chris said, she got a call from the hospital saying Troy had been given an overdose, receiving 1,000 micrograms of fentanyl from Husel.

“They said they’re going to give him something to make him comfortable. Then fine, give him something. He didn’t say ‘I’m going to give him 1,000 micrograms of fentanyl and he’ll be dead before you enter the room.’ That would’ve been a different conversation,” Chris Allison said.

Many of the families of patients who spoke with WBNS in 2019 shared similar stories. Their loved ones were on ventilators and in intensive care – and in some cases, the families were encouraged by hospital staff or Husel to change the status of their loved ones to “do not resuscitate.”

Lisa Hayes told WBNS in 2019 she found her brother, Ryan Hayes, unresponsive. Health records show he had suffered cardiac arrest and was taken to Mount Carmel West Hospital on April 2, 2017, where he was stabilized. But Ryan Hayes died a few days later, at the age of 39.

Records obtained by WBNS revealed Hayes received 2,000 micrograms of fentanyl along with 10 milligrams of the pain reliever Dilaudid and 2 milligrams of Versed, a drug used to cause drowsiness before surgery.

“He got substantially more than what anyone should ever get,” defense attorney Terry Hummel told the affiliate at the time.

Sue Hodge was admitted to Mount Carmel in April 2018 because her family thought she had a heart attack, but it was later found that was not the case. Hours after being admitted, she was dead after receiving 800 micrograms of fentanyl under Husel’s care, her sons told WBNS.

Doctor filed defamation suit against hospital system

Husel filed a lawsuit against Mount Carmel in December 2019 stating he “has suffered perhaps the most egregious case of defamation in Ohio’s recent history.”

It claims Mount Carmel, Lamb and Trinity Health Corporation, the parent company of Mount Carmel, knowingly made false and defamatory statements to the media multiple times.

The lawsuit asked for “far greater than” $50,000 in presumed and actual damages, along with punitive damages and attorney’s fees for defamation and breach of contract.

The lawsuit states Husel followed hospital policy for administering medication and the deaths were all caused by “natural causes after the removal of full life support.”

“The hospital knew full well that no policies were violated because the actual policies in effect explicitly permitted and encouraged the care Dr. Husel and the nurses provided to patients undergoing palliative withdrawal,” the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit says Mount Carmel and Trinity refused to provide Husel with a defense lawyer that he said they agreed to provide under his employment contract.

The “false accusations destroyed Dr. Husel’s life,” the lawsuit said.

In a statement to CNN, Mount Carmel Health System said the allegations by Husel were “unfounded.”

Baez, Husel’s defense attorney, told CNN the defamation suit is on hold, pending the outcome of the criminal trial.

Nurses and pharmacist are also suing hospital system

Nine nurses and a pharmacist who worked with Husel also filed lawsuits against Mount Carmel.

The plaintiffs claim in their 145-page lawsuit that Mount Carmel, Lamb and Trinity Health Corporation fired those who worked with Husel for their alleged complicit behavior in following through with Husel’s prescriptions.

The suit alleges the hospital system changed its policies concerning medication dosage that risked patient care for the purpose of protecting its image.

Through these acts and the hospital’s media relations campaign managing the scandal, the hospital defamed their reputation and made it difficult for them to find new jobs, the former employees said in the lawsuit.

Plaintiffs are asking for a minimum of $25,000 per person, but ideally want their “respective salaries at the time of termination,” according to the lawsuit. They are also asking for the cost of tuition for nursing school or advanced clinical degrees, as well as punitive damages and attorney’s fees.

Winter storm death toll in Buffalo area rises to 27 but officials fear it ...

CNN —

Dozens of Americans have died have died as a winter storm brought frigid temperatures and paralyzing snowfall totals across the US, and officials in the Buffalo area believe the staggering toll will continue to grow there as teams carry on with search-and-rescue missions.

The nationwide death toll from storm, which brought more than 40 inches of snow to some areas, climbed to 49 on Monday, with 27 of those deaths in Erie County, New York.

Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, “Unfortunately, they are still recovering bodies.”

Some died of exposure, and some deaths were due to natural causes, he said of the people found dead recently.

The commissioner implored residents, “Stay home. Don’t go out.”

He said emergency responders will go, and have gone, to homes without heat and take people to warming shelters. Too many people, including residents just going out to see the massive snowfall, are going out in their vehicles and getting stuck and blocking recovery efforts, he said.

Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz tweeted that 14 people in the county had died of exposure, three people were found in their vehicles, four had no heat, three were from “shoveling/(snow) blowing cardiac events, and three people passed away after EMS services were delayed.

He told CNN that unfortunately it appears the numbers will go up.

“I am aware of additional bodies that have been recovered and are being brought to our temporary morgue,” he told The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer. “We’ve had so many bodies that various hospitals are full and we’re just having to go through and determine if the individuals have died from a blizzard-related death.”

“It’s just been a horrible, horrible situation,” he added.

The deadly storm comes just one month after the region was slammed with a historic snowstorm.

And snow was continuing to fall Monday. At a morning news conference, Poloncarz noted officials expect between 8 and 12 more inches of snow to fall between Monday morning and 1 p.m. Tuesday. “This is not helpful as we’re trying to recover and clear off streets and get into areas that still have not” been plowed, he said.

While driving bans have been lifted in some communities, one such order remains in place in Buffalo, Poloncarz said, describing the city is “impassable in most areas,” with abandoned vehicles scattered everywhere.

Even emergency and recovery vehicles sent out to help have gotten stuck in the snow as rescue crews and hundreds of snowplow drivers fanned out on Christmas. Eleven abandoned ambulances were dug out Sunday, officials said.

Video Ad Feedback See houses frozen over by massive winter storm 01:00 - Source: CNN

“We had to send specialized rescue crews to go get the rescuers,” Poloncarz told “CNN This Morning” Monday, adding it was the worst storm he could remember. “It was just horrendous, and it was horrendous for 24 hours in a row.”

“We’re used to snow here, we can handle snow,” he said. “But with the wind, the blinding views – it was complete whiteouts – and the extreme cold, it was some of the worst conditions that any of us have ever seen.”

Snow covers downtown Buffalo, New York, on Monday, December 26, 2022, in this photo from New York Gov. Kathy Hochul's Twitter page. Gov. Kathy Hochul/Twitter/AP

The storm has drawn widespread comparisons to Buffalo’s famous blizzard of 1977. Poloncarz said in Monday’s news conference the current storm’s “ferocity … was worse than the blizzard of ’77.” The death toll in that storm was 23 people, 22 of whom died in Erie County.

And in a news conference Sunday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul called this storm the “most devastating storm in Buffalo’s long storied history.” On Monday, she requested President Joe Biden issue federal emergency declarations for Erie and Genesee counties.

“I spoke with @GovKathyHochul to get an update on the extreme winter weather hitting New York,” Biden tweeted. “We stand ready to make sure they have the resources they need to get through this. My heart is with those who lost loved ones this holiday weekend. You are in my and Jill’s prayers.”

Hundreds of National Guard troops have been deployed to help with rescue efforts in New York. State police had been involved in over 500 rescues by Sunday, including delivering a baby, Hochul said.

While abandoned vehicles pepper the snow-covered roadways, conditions are also difficult inside homes.

Some residents have remained in their homes for more than two days, some without power in the freezing cold, Hochul said Sunday – due not to a lack of resources, but the challenges utility companies face in terms of mobility and access. As of Sunday evening, however, 94.5% of Erie County residents and 87% of Buffalo residents have had their power restored, Hochul said.

As of Monday, fewer than 10,000 customers were without power, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said in an afternoon news conference, adding temperatures in his own home dropped to 40 degrees. “We certainly understand the challenges that so many families are going through and the frustration that people are facing.”

Winter storm warnings remain in effect in New York for Jefferson and Lewis counties until 1 p.m. Tuesday. Forecasts show an additional 8 to 16 inches of snow could fall, according to the National Weather Service. Erie County could see another 4 to 8 inches and is under a winter weather advisory.

Snow blankets buildings in Buffalo, New York, on Wednesday, December 28. Joed Viera/AFP/Getty Images National Guard troops check on Buffalo residents on December 28. Jeffrey T. Barnes/AP A traveler searches for luggage December 28 at a Southwest Airlines baggage holding area in Denver International Airport. More than 90% of Wednesday's US flight cancellations were Southwest flights, according to flight tracking website FlightAware. Southwest canceled more than 2,500 flights. Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images People help push a car out of snow in Buffalo on Tuesday, December 27. John Normile/Getty Images Niagara Falls in New York is partially frozen on December 27. Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Travelers at Baltimore/Washington International Airport deal with the impact of canceled flights on December 27. Michael McCoy/Reuters A gas station canopy lays on its side after high winds and heavy snow in Lackawanna, New York, on December 27. The historic winter storm dumped up to 4 feet of snow on the area. John Normile/Getty Images Hundreds of unclaimed suitcases sit near the Southwest Airlines baggage claim area in Tennessee's Nashville International Airport after the airline canceled thousands of flights on December 27. Seth Herald/AFP/Getty Images A street is blanketed by snow in downtown Buffalo on Monday, December 26. Gov. Kathy Hochul/Twitter/AP A person clears a snow-covered driveway in Buffalo on December 26. Faith Aktas/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images A man and a boy walk across the frozen Reflecting Pool towards the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, on December 26. Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images Firefighters carry rescue equipment as they respond to a fire on a snow-covered street in Buffalo on Sunday, December 25. Jalen Wright/The New York Times/Redux Snow blankets a neighborhood in Cheektowaga, New York, on Christmas Day. Western New York is drowning in thick "lake effect" snow -- which forms when cold air moves over the warm waters of the Great Lakes -- just one month after the region was slammed with a historic snowstorm. John Waller via AP A man tries to dig out his car after he got stuck in a snowdrift about a block from home in Buffalo on Saturday, December 24. Derek Gee/The Buffalo News via AP Icicles created by a sprinkler hang from an orange tree in Clermont, Florida, on December 24. Paul Hennessy/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images A young holiday traveler passes the time at Detroit Wayne County Metro Airport on December 24. Matthew Hatcher/Getty Images Pedestrians deal with the cold in Chicago on December 24. Pat Nabong/Chicago Sun-Times via AP Hoak's Restaurant in Hamburg, New York, is seen covered in ice from the spray of Lake Erie on December 24. Kevin Hoak via Reuters Nissan Stadium employees clear the field in Nashville before the an NFL football game on December 24. Mark Zaleski/AP Amanda Kelly cleans off snow and ice from her car in Columbus, Ohio, on Friday, December 23. Joseph Scheller/Columbus Dispatch/USA Today Network Cars drive in whiteout conditions in Orchard Park, New York, on December 23. Mark Mulville/The Buffalo News/AP Travelers sleep while lines of people pass through a security checkpoint at Denver International Airport. David Zalubowski/AP Snow-covered buildings are seen in Louisville, Kentucky. Leandro Lozada/AFP/Getty Images The waters of Lake Erie wash over the shoreline in Hamburg, New York, on December 23. John Normile/Getty Images Snow collects on a bison at the Longfield Farm in Goshen, Kentucky, on December 23. Michael Clevenger/Courier Journal/USA Today Network Volunteers welcome a homeless person to a shelter at Louisville's Broadbent Arena on December 23. Leandro Lozada/AFP/Getty Images Stones are removed from a road in Westport, Massachusetts, after a storm surge made landfall, flooding many coastal areas on December 23. Peter Pereira/The Standard-Times/AP The Louisville skyline is obscured by steam rising from the Ohio River on December 23. Matt Stone/The Louisville Courier/USA Today Network Antonio Smothers jump-starts his vehicle in Nashville on December 23. Seth Herald/AFP/Getty Images Rows of headstones at the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery are blanketed by drifting snow in Mandan on Thursday, December 22. Tom Stromme/The Bismarck Tribune/AP Migrants warm themselves by a fire next to the US-Mexico border fence on December 22 in El Paso, Texas. John Moore/Getty Images Robert Arnold puts chains onto the tires of his semitrailer while he waits for the eastbound lane of I-70 to reopen in Silverthorne, Colorado, on December 22. Jason Connolly/AFP/Getty Images A musician departs following a show on Broadway in Nashville on December 22. Seth Herald/AFP/Getty Images Brady Myers helps turn the Stewpot Community Services day shelter for the unhoused into an emergency overnight shelter in Jackson, Mississippi, on December 22. Barbara Gauntt/Clarion Ledger/USA Today Network Vehicles travel along Interstate 44 on December 22, in St. Louis. Jeff Roberson/AP A person walks through the snow on December 22 in downtown Minneapolis. Alex Kormann/Star Tribune/AP A clean car passes a snow-covered car in Des Moines, Iowa. Charlie Neibergall/AP Travelers walk in front of flight information screens at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago on December 22. Nam Y. Huh/AP Ice collects on a window in Oklahoma City on December 22. Bryan Terry/The Oklahoman/USA Today Network Bus riders wait at a sheltered stop in Chicago on December 22. Charles Rex Arbogast/AP An accident involving a semi-tractor-trailer blocks the eastbound lanes of Interstate 80 in West Des Moines on December 22. Bryon Houlgrave/The Des Moines Register/AP Kids shovel snow off a sidewalk and driveway in Minneapolis on December 22. Abbie Parr/AP Travelers arrive for their flights at O'Hare International Airport on December 22 in Chicago. Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP/Getty Images Mist rises above ice flows on the Yellowstone River on December 22 in Paradise Valley, Montana. William Campbell/Getty Images Students walk to school buses after early dismissal at a middle school in Wheeling, Illinois, on December 22. Nam Y. Huh/AP Miguel Salazar clears sidewalks in Denver on December 22. Hyoung Chang/Denver Post/Getty Images Travelers arrive at the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport on December 21. Alex Kormann/Star Tribune/AP Salt is prepared to be loaded onto a truck at the Department of Public Works sanitation yard in Milwaukee on December 21. Mike De Sisti/Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel/AP Propane heaters sit next to pens at the City of Mission Animal Shelter in Mission, Texas, on December 21. Joel Martinez/The Monitor/AP Crews de-ice a Southwest Airlines plane before takeoff in Omaha, Nebraska, on December 21. Chris Machian/Omaha World-Herald/AP An Iowa Department of Transportation plow clears a road in Iowa City on December 21. Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press Citizen/AP Snow covers homes in Seattle on December 20. Daniel Kim/The Seattle Times/AP In pictures: Winter storm impacts the US Prev Next

Storm leads to loss of life across multiple states

Over the past week, the prolonged winter storm has enveloped a large swath of the country with dangerously low temperatures and wind chills, also bringing with it widespread power outages and thousands of canceled flights.

About 25,700 customers were without power Monday evening in New York and Maine, according to PowerOutage.US. Since the start of the storm, the number of outages has at times exceeded a million customers.

Electricity was not the sole utility impacted: Jackson, Mississippi, issued a boil water notice Sunday after its water system lost pressure due to line breaks “likely caused by the weather,” officials said on Facebook. The city – which just two months ago overcame a separate lengthy water crisis – distributed water to residents throughout Christmas Day.

The storm also snarled travel in the US during the busy holiday weekend, with more than 5,000 flights canceled Friday, more than 3,400 flights canceled Saturday and more than 3,100 canceled on Christmas.

About 3,800 flights into or out of US airports have been canceled as of 7 p.m. ET Monday, according to tracking site FlightAware. The total includes more than 2,500 flights canceled by Southwest Airlines, according to FlightAware.

Southwest said in a statement: “With consecutive days of extreme winter weather across our network behind us, continuing challenges are impacting our Customers and Employees in a significant way that is unacceptable.

“And our heartfelt apologies for this are just beginning.”

Another 7,000 US flights have been delayed, according to FlightAware.

Separately, the Buffalo Niagara International Airport, which closed Friday due to “hazardous weather conditions” and saw 43 inches of snow, is expected to remain closed until late Wednesday morning, the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority said on Twitter. The closure means the Buffalo Sabres’ NHL game at Columbus will be postponed because the team cannot fly to Ohio, Sabres officials said.

Snow blankets a neighborhood, December 25, 2022, in Buffalo, New York. Carolyn Thompson/AP

Since the brutal weather’s arrival, multiple storm-related deaths have been reported across several states. In addition to the deaths in New York, the fatalities include:

• Colorado: Police in Colorado Springs reported two deaths related to the cold since Thursday, with one man found near a power transformer of a building possibly looking for warmth, and another in a camp in an alleyway.

• Kansas: Three people have died in weather-related traffic accidents, the Highway Patrol said Friday.

• Kentucky: Three people have died in the state, officials have said, including one involving a vehicle crash in Montgomery County.

• Missouri: One person died after a Caravan slid off an icy road and into a frozen creek, Kansas City police said.

• Ohio: Nine people have died as a result of weather-related auto crashes, including four in a Saturday morning crash on Interstate 75, when a tractor-trailer crossed the median and collided with an SUV and a pickup, authorities said.

• Tennessee: The Department of Health on Friday confirmed one storm-related fatality.

• Wisconsin: The State Patrol on Thursday reported one fatal crash due to winter weather.

• Vermont: One woman in Castleton died after a tree fell on her home, according to the police chief.

What to expect as storm moves away

A person clears snow-covered roads with a backhoe loader in Buffalo, New York, United States on December 26, 2022. Faith Aktas/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

The powerful system continues to move away from the Northeast, yet many cities and towns remain covered with thick snow. Over separate 24-hour spans, Baraga, Michigan, received 42.8 inches of snow while Henderson Harbor, New York, got 40.8 inches.

In the meantime, lake-effect snows will continue to make for hazardous travel conditions for the next couple of days and conditions are expected to slowly improve over the week.

Lingering lake-effect snows blowing downwind from the Great Lakes will slowly become less intense, but the Arctic air enveloping much of the eastern half of the nation will be slow to moderate, according to the National Weather Service.

The low-pressure system is forecast to move farther away into Canada, while another system quickly across the northern US into Monday, bringing snow from the northern Plains through the Midwest.

Much of the rest of the eastern part of the country will still be in a deep freeze through Monday before a moderating trend sets in on Tuesday, forecasters said.

Correction: This story has been updated to correct where Gov. Kathy Hochul described the storm as the "most devastating storm in Buffalo's long storied history." It was at a Sunday news conference.

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Gianni Infantino: Explosive tirade from FIFA boss threatens to ...

Doha, Qatar CNN —

The World Cup finally gets underway on Sunday after 12 years of questions and criticisms of the tournament being held in Qatar. But though kickoff for the opening match is just hours away, soccer itself is still being overshadowed by off-the-field matters.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s extraordinary tirade against Western critics of the controversial tournament in an explosive hour-long monologue is still making headlines around the world. Human rights groups described it as “crass” and an “insult” to migrant workers.

Infantino, the boss of world soccer’s governing body, looked on glumly as he addressed hundreds of journalists in Doha, Qatar, Saturday, and started the news conference with a near hour-long speech, during which he accused Western critics of hypocrisy and racism.

“We are taught many lessons from Europeans, from the Western world,” he said, referring to criticisms of Qatar’s human rights record.

“What we Europeans have been doing for the last 3,000 years, we should be apologizing for the next 3,000 years before starting to give moral lessons.”

This tournament will be a historic event, the first World Cup to be held in the Middle East, but is also mired in controversy, with much of the build-up focusing on human rights, from the death of migrant workers and the conditions many have endured in Qatar, to LGBTQ and women’s rights.

Those involved in the tournament have faced much criticism. Last week British comedian Joe Lycett questioned David Beckham’s status as a gay icon were the former England captain and Manchester United star to continue in his role as a Qatar World Cup ambassador.

Homosexuality in Qatar is illegal and punishable by up to three years in prison. A report from Human Rights Watch, published last month, documented cases as recently as September of Qatari security forces arbitrarily arresting LGBT people and subjecting them to “ill-treatment in detention.”

Colombian singer Maluma, who features in the official World Cup anthem, walked out of an interview on Israeli television when he was questioned about the Gulf state’s human rights record.

Infantino addressed questions around the last-minute ban on alcohol from being sold at stadiums. Gabriel Bouys/AFP/Getty Images

‘Today I feel gay’

While Qatar’s team will take on Ecuador in the first game at 11 a.m. ET Sunday, in his remarkable press conference Infantino barely spoke about soccer and focused his attention on what he called the “hypocrisy” of Western criticism.

Infantino told journalists that he knew what it felt like to be discriminated against, saying he was bullied as a child for having red hair and freckles.

“Today I feel Qatari. Today I feel Arab. Today I feel African. Today I feel gay. Today I feel disabled. Today I feel a migrant worker,” he said, in front of a stunned audience.

“I feel this, all this, because what I’ve been seeing and what I’ve been told, since I don’t read, otherwise I would be depressed I think.

“What I’ve seen brings me back to my personal story. I am a son of migrant workers. My parents were working very very hard in difficult situations.”

Infantino said progress had been made in Qatar on a range of issues, but insisted real change took time, adding that FIFA would not leave the country after the tournament finished. He suggested that he thought some Western journalists would forget about the issues.

“We need to invest in education, to give them a better future, to give them hope. We should all educate ourselves,” he said.

“Reform and change takes time. It took hundreds of years in our countries in Europe. It takes time everywhere, the only way to get results is by engaging […] not by shouting.”

Human rights groups have criticized the FIFA boss and his speech. Nicholas McGeehan, director of FairSquare, a non-profit human rights organization, said in a statement: “Infantino’s comments were as crass as they were clumsy and suggest that the FIFA president is getting his talking points direct from the Qatari authorities.

Steve Cockburn, Amnesty International’s head of economic and social justice, said in a statement: “In brushing aside legitimate human rights criticisms, Gianni Infantino is dismissing the enormous price paid by migrant workers to make his flagship tournament possible – as well as FIFA’s responsibility for it.

Alcohol ban

Infantino also addressed questions around the last-minute decision to ban alcohol from being sold at the eight stadiums which will host the tournament’s 64 matches. In a FIFA statement issued on Friday, the governing body said alcohol would be sold at fan zones and licensed venues.

The Muslim country is considered to be very conservative and tightly regulates alcohol sales and usage.

In September, Qatar had said it would permit ticketed fans to buy alcoholic beer at World Cup stadiums three hours before kickoff and for one hour after the final whistle, but not during the match.

“Let me first assure you that every decision that is taken in this World Cup is a joint decision between Qatar and FIFA,” he said. “Every decision is discussed, debated and taken jointly.”

“There will be […] over 200 places where you can buy alcohol in Qatar and over 10 fan zones, where over 100,000 people can simultaneously drink alcohol.

“I think personally, if for three hours a day you cannot drink a beer, you will survive.”

“Especially because actually the same rules apply in France or in Spain or in Portugal or in Scotland, where no beer is allowed in stadiums now,” he added.

“It seems to become a big thing because it’s a Muslim country, or I don’t know why.”

Infantino finished the press conference by insisting that everyone would be safe in Qatar, amid concerns from the LGBTQ community.

Homosexuality in Qatar is illegal and punishable by up to three years in prison, but the FIFA president promised that this was a tournament for everyone.

“Let me mention as well, the LGBT situation. I have been speaking about this topic with the highest leadership of the country several times, not just once. They have confirmed, and I can confirm, that everyone is welcome,” Infantino said.

“This is a clear FIFA requirement. Everyone has to be welcomed, everyone that comes to Qatar is welcome whatever religion, race, sexual orientation, belief she or he has. Everyone is welcome. This was our requirement and the Qatari state sticks to that requirement,” Infantino said.