By AARON SANDERFORD <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2022/11/23/nebraska-test-scores-show-sizable-hurdle-of-pandemic-learning-loss/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

LINCOLN — The academic hole facing 
Nebraska’s students, teachers, parents and policymakers became clearer 
Wednesday with the release of state K-12 test scores from 2021-22.

Student proficiency scores in math 
and language arts were mixed, amid a national dip in student performance
 on tests taken during the coronavirus pandemic.

Last year, proficiency scores in math
 for third graders through eighth graders increased from 46% to 47%, 
while language arts scores fell from 48% to 46%, according to Nebraska 
Department of Education statistics. Two-thirds — 66% — passed the 
state’s new science test.&nbsp;

Math and language arts scores 
reoriented lower starting in 2017, when the state started testing the 
bulk of its students on a more rigorous set of college- and career-based
 standards. Under this new system, statewide proficiency scores in 
language arts and math were slightly above 50% pre-pandemic.&nbsp;

This year’s test found 46% of the state’s high school juniors proficient in language arts, 44% in math and 48% in science.

Test scores became an issue during <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2022/11/05/state-board-of-ed-races-could-decide-future-role-of-board-next-ed-commissioner/">State Board of Education races this fall</a>.&nbsp; On Wednesday, senators from both parties said the Legislature is prepared to help fight learning loss.&nbsp;

State Sen. Lynne Walz of Fremont, the chair of the Legislature’s 
Education Committee, said lawmakers, policymakers and schools need to 
focus on fighting absenteeism, school staffing, early childhood 
education, empowering teachers and reengaging parents in student 
learning.

“The test score results were really exactly what we expected,” Walz 
said. “We expected to see a dip. I think we were really fortunate that 
we were able to get our kids back in school sooner than others.”

State Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of Omaha, who has pushed for education 
accountability and school choice, applauded the department for 
maintaining how it evaluates student learning. She wants the Legislature
 to focus on literacy for young students, teacher training and special 
education.

“You can’t improve what you can’t see,” Linehan said. “If you don’t know what the problem is, you can’t fix it.”

Retiring Nebraska Education 
Commissioner Matt Blomstedt said the scores show that students had less 
of a learning loss than those in other states. He and the state senators
 thanked Nebraska teachers for their work during difficult times.

To see more of Nebraska’s 2021-22 test scores,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://nepuat.education.ne.gov/">click here</a>.

“Nebraska public schools, while 
impacted by the pandemic, remained strong,” he said. “Our statewide 
assessments are showing similar trends, and now is the time for schools 
to focus supports on the areas that have the most need.”

Blomstedt and representatives of the Nebraska State Education Association said similar things <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/state-touts-student-scores-on-national-math-reading-assessment/">in late October about the state’s scores</a> on the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

On NAEP, no state scored higher than 
Nebraska in fourth-grade math, and just one state had higher scores in 
eighth-grade math. Nebraska was fourth in fourth-grade reading and 
eighth in eighth-grade reading.

However, state tests show the 
pandemic appears to have exacerbated Nebraska’s persistent challenges in
 closing achievement gaps between students of plenty and students living
 in poverty.

The students who lost the most ground
 were students whose families suffered the most during the pandemic, 
including students learning English and students of color.

State test scores showed less than 
10% of English language learners scored proficient in math or language 
arts. Of students with free or reduced-priced lunch, a measure of 
poverty, less than a third scored proficient in either subject. Students
 with disabilities also scored lower during the pandemic.

Blomstedt highlighted the importance of addressing a pandemic-fueled 
increase in the number of students who were chronically absen. That has 
remained about double what it was before the pandemic, with 77,000 
students missing 10% or more of their time in school in 2021-22.

Wednesday’s results include the 
Nebraska Student-Centered Assessment System, or NSCAS, and the 
Accountability for a Quality Education System Today and Tomorrow, or 
AQuESTT.

NSCAS tests learning in core subject 
areas. Roughly 99% of students typically take it, although that level 
dipped to about 95% in 2020-21. AQuESTT scores schools to prioritize 
financial support for the schools that need it most.

Blomstedt said Nebraska schools will focus on increased instructional
 time to catch students up, he said, but it may require additional 
investment. He said the state needs to target investments to sustain 
improvement in academic growth, including special education, reading and
 encouraging attendance.

Susanne Cramer, executive director 
for academic recovery and school improvement at the Omaha Public 
Schools, said in a statement that tests are “a single point of data” and
 that more context is needed.

Schools are more focused on helping 
students improve, testing them for growth from what they know when they 
arrive to what they know at different points throughout the year, she 
said.

She highlighted OPS gains in elementary school scores and expressed concern about dips between sixth and eighth grade.&nbsp;

The district serves the state’s largest number of students in poverty.

She said in a recorded statement that
 administrators and teachers are focused on boosting academic support, 
including tutoring and broader use of summer school.&nbsp;

“The additional investment in our 
students is really an investment in their future,” she said. “That’s how
 we respond to this data. That’s how we respond to all data.”

By AARON SANDERFORD <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2022/11/23/nebraska-test-scores-show-sizable-hurdle-of-pandemic-learning-loss/">Nebraska Examiner</a>LINCOLN — The academic hole facing 
Nebraska’s students, teachers, parents and policymakers became clearer 
Wednesday with the release of state K-12 test scores from 2021-22.Student proficiency scores in math 
and language arts were mixed, amid a national dip in student performance
 on tests taken during the coronavirus pandemic.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1669223743178.jpeg" alt="Nebraska Education Commissioner Matthew Blomstedt (Courtesy of Department of Education)" />
 <figcaption>Nebraska Education Commissioner Matthew Blomstedt (Courtesy of Department of Education)</figcaption>
 </figure>Last year, proficiency scores in math
 for third graders through eighth graders increased from 46% to 47%, 
while language arts scores fell from 48% to 46%, according to Nebraska 
Department of Education statistics. Two-thirds — 66% — passed the 
state’s new science test.&nbsp;Math and language arts scores 
reoriented lower starting in 2017, when the state started testing the 
bulk of its students on a more rigorous set of college- and career-based
 standards. Under this new system, statewide proficiency scores in 
language arts and math were slightly above 50% pre-pandemic.&nbsp;This year’s test found 46% of the state’s high school juniors proficient in language arts, 44% in math and 48% in science.Test scores became an issue during <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2022/11/05/state-board-of-ed-races-could-decide-future-role-of-board-next-ed-commissioner/">State Board of Education races this fall</a>.&nbsp; On Wednesday, senators from both parties said the Legislature is prepared to help fight learning loss.&nbsp;State Sen. Lynne Walz of Fremont, the chair of the Legislature’s 
Education Committee, said lawmakers, policymakers and schools need to 
focus on fighting absenteeism, school staffing, early childhood 
education, empowering teachers and reengaging parents in student 
learning.“The test score results were really exactly what we expected,” Walz 
said. “We expected to see a dip. I think we were really fortunate that 
we were able to get our kids back in school sooner than others.”State Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of Omaha, who has pushed for education 
accountability and school choice, applauded the department for 
maintaining how it evaluates student learning. She wants the Legislature
 to focus on literacy for young students, teacher training and special 
education.“You can’t improve what you can’t see,” Linehan said. “If you don’t know what the problem is, you can’t fix it.”Retiring Nebraska Education 
Commissioner Matt Blomstedt said the scores show that students had less 
of a learning loss than those in other states. He and the state senators
 thanked Nebraska teachers for their work during difficult times.-------<h2>Dig into the scores</h2>To see more of Nebraska’s 2021-22 test scores,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://nepuat.education.ne.gov/">click here</a>.-------“Nebraska public schools, while 
impacted by the pandemic, remained strong,” he said. “Our statewide 
assessments are showing similar trends, and now is the time for schools 
to focus supports on the areas that have the most need.”Blomstedt and representatives of the Nebraska State Education Association said similar things <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/state-touts-student-scores-on-national-math-reading-assessment/">in late October about the state’s scores</a> on the National Assessment of Educational Progress.On NAEP, no state scored higher than 
Nebraska in fourth-grade math, and just one state had higher scores in 
eighth-grade math. Nebraska was fourth in fourth-grade reading and 
eighth in eighth-grade reading.However, state tests show the 
pandemic appears to have exacerbated Nebraska’s persistent challenges in
 closing achievement gaps between students of plenty and students living
 in poverty.The students who lost the most ground
 were students whose families suffered the most during the pandemic, 
including students learning English and students of color.State test scores showed less than 
10% of English language learners scored proficient in math or language 
arts. Of students with free or reduced-priced lunch, a measure of 
poverty, less than a third scored proficient in either subject. Students
 with disabilities also scored lower during the pandemic.Blomstedt highlighted the importance of addressing a pandemic-fueled 
increase in the number of students who were chronically absen. That has 
remained about double what it was before the pandemic, with 77,000 
students missing 10% or more of their time in school in 2021-22.Wednesday’s results include the 
Nebraska Student-Centered Assessment System, or NSCAS, and the 
Accountability for a Quality Education System Today and Tomorrow, or 
AQuESTT.NSCAS tests learning in core subject 
areas. Roughly 99% of students typically take it, although that level 
dipped to about 95% in 2020-21. AQuESTT scores schools to prioritize 
financial support for the schools that need it most.Blomstedt said Nebraska schools will focus on increased instructional
 time to catch students up, he said, but it may require additional 
investment. He said the state needs to target investments to sustain 
improvement in academic growth, including special education, reading and
 encouraging attendance.Susanne Cramer, executive director 
for academic recovery and school improvement at the Omaha Public 
Schools, said in a statement that tests are “a single point of data” and
 that more context is needed.Schools are more focused on helping 
students improve, testing them for growth from what they know when they 
arrive to what they know at different points throughout the year, she 
said.She highlighted OPS gains in elementary school scores and expressed concern about dips between sixth and eighth grade.&nbsp;The district serves the state’s largest number of students in poverty.She said in a recorded statement that
 administrators and teachers are focused on boosting academic support, 
including tutoring and broader use of summer school.&nbsp;“The additional investment in our 
students is really an investment in their future,” she said. “That’s how
 we respond to this data. That’s how we respond to all data.”

Neb. test scores show sizable hurdle of pandemic learning loss

<a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/curious-kids-us-74795">Curious Kids</a> is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to <a href="mailto:curiouskidsus@theconversation.com">curiouskidsus@theconversation.com</a>.

By TROY BICKHAM <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-is-turkey-the-main-dish-on-thanksgiving-193702">The Conversation</a>

Have you ever wondered why Thanksgiving revolves around turkey and not ham, chicken, venison, beef or corn?  

Almost <a href="https://today.yougov.com/topics/society/articles-reports/2021/11/24/thanksgiving-food-debates-poll">9 in 10</a>
 Americans eat turkey during this festive meal, whether it’s roasted, 
deep-fried, grilled or cooked in any other way for the occasion.

You might believe it’s because of what the Pilgrims, a year after 
they landed in what’s now the state of Massachusetts, and their <a href="https://indiancountrytoday.com/archive/the-wampanoag-side-of-the-first-thanksgiving-story">Indigenous Wampanoag guests</a> ate during their first thanksgiving feast in 1621. Or that it’s because <a href="https://www.almanac.com/wild-turkey-history-all-american-bird">turkey is originally from the Americas</a>.

But it has more to do with how Americans observed the holiday in the 
late 1800s than which poultry the Pilgrims ate while celebrating their 
bounty in 1621.

The <a href="https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcmassbookdig.mourtsrelationor00brad/?st=pdf&amp;pdfPage=189">only firsthand record</a>
 of what the Pilgrims ate at the first thanksgiving feast comes from 
Edward Winslow. He noted that the Wampanoag leader, Massasoit, arrived 
with 90 men, and the two communities feasted together for three days.

Winslow wrote little about the menu, aside from mentioning five deer 
that the Wampanoag brought and that the meal included “fowle,” which 
could have been any number of wild birds found in the area, including 
ducks, geese and turkeys.

Historians do know that important ingredients of today’s traditional dishes were not available during that first Thanksgiving.

That includes potatoes and green beans. The likely absence of wheat flour and the <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/40532/50517_aer382a.pdf?v=0">scarcity of sugar</a> in New England at the time ruled out pumpkin pie and cranberry sauce. <a href="https://aihd.ku.edu/foods/squash.html">Some sort of squash</a>, a staple of Native American diets, was almost certainly served, <a href="https://wusfnews.wusf.usf.edu/arts-culture/2021-11-24/heres-what-was-served-at-the-real-first-thanksgiving">along with corn</a> and shellfish.

<a href="https://liberalarts.tamu.edu/history/profile/troy-bickham/">Historians like me</a>
 who have studied the history of food have found that most modern 
Thanksgiving traditions began in the mid-19th century, more than two 
centuries after the Pilgrims’ first harvest celebration.

The reinvention of the Pilgrims’ celebration as a national holiday was largely the work of <a href="https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/sarah-hale">Sarah Hale</a>.
 Born in New Hampshire in 1784, as a young widow she published poetry to
 earn a living. Most notably, she wrote the nursery rhyme “<a href="https://www.almanac.com/sarah-josepha-hale-godmother-thanksgiving">Mary Had a Little Lamb</a>.”

In 1837, Hale became the editor of the popular magazine <a href="https://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/serial?id=godeylady">Godey’s Lady’s Book</a>.
 Fiercely religious and family-focused, it crusaded for the creation of 
an annual national holiday of “Thanksgiving and Praise” commemorating 
the Pilgrims’ thanksgiving feast.

Hale and her colleagues leaned on 1621 lore for historical 
justification. Like many of her contemporaries, she assumed the Pilgrims
 ate turkey at their first feast because of the <a href="https://www.mass.gov/service-details/learn-about-turkeys">abundance of edible wild turkeys in New England</a>.

This campaign took decades, partly due to a lack of enthusiasm among white Southerners. Many of them considered <a href="https://www.loc.gov/wiseguide/nov02/thanks-early.html">an earlier celebration among Virginia colonists</a> in honor of supply ships that arrived at Jamestown in 1610 to be the more important precedent.

The <a href="https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/expulsion_cases/CivilWar_Expulsion.htm">absence of Southerners serving in Congress</a> during the Civil War enabled <a href="https://www.nps.gov/liho/learn/historyculture/lincoln-and-thanksgiving.htm">President Abraham Lincoln</a> to declare Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863.

Godey’s, along with other media, embraced the holiday, packing their 
pages with recipes from New England and menus that prominently featured 
turkey.

“We dare say most of the Thanksgiving will take the form of gastronomic pleasure,” <a href="https://www.seriouseats.com/history-southern-thanksgiving">Georgia’s Augusta Chronicle</a> predicted in 1882. “Every person who can afford turkey or procure it will sacrifice the noble American fowl to-day.”

One reason for this: A roasted turkey makes a perfect celebratory centerpiece. 

A second one is that turkey is also practical for serving to a large 
crowd. Turkeys are bigger than other birds raised or hunted for their 
meat, and it’s <a href="https://www.globalagriculture.org/report-topics/meat-and-animal-feed.html">cheaper to produce a turkey than a cow or pig</a>.
 
The bird’s attributes led Europeans to incorporate turkeys into their 
diets following their colonization of the Americas. In England, <a href="https://www.historyextra.com/period/tudor/the-history-of-turkeys/">King Henry VIII</a> regularly enjoyed turkey on Christmas day a century before the Pilgrims’ feast.

The bird cemented its position as the <a href="https://www.squaremeal.co.uk/christmas-parties/christmas-party-ideas/why-do-we-eat-turkey-at-christmas_10022">favored Christmas dish in England in the mid-19th century</a>.

One reason for this was that Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dickens’ “A 
Christmas Carol” sought redemption by replacing the impoverished 
Cratchit family’s meager goose with an enormous turkey. 

Published in 1843, Dickens’ instantly best-selling depiction of the prayerful family meal would soon <a href="https://www.biography.com/news/charles-dickens-a-christmas-carol">inspire Hale’s idealized Thanksgiving</a>.

Although the historical record is hazy, I do think it’s possible that
 the Pilgrims ate turkey in 1621. It certainly was served at 
celebrations in New England <a href="https://hilltownfamilies.org/2012/11/14/hf-613/?v=7516fd43adaa">throughout the colonial period</a>.

Troy Bickham is a Professor of History at Texas A&amp;M University.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1669043121500.jpeg" alt="Pixabay photo" />
 <figcaption>Pixabay photo</figcaption>
 </figure><a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/curious-kids-us-74795">Curious Kids</a> is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to <a href="mailto:curiouskidsus@theconversation.com">curiouskidsus@theconversation.com</a>.By TROY BICKHAM <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-is-turkey-the-main-dish-on-thanksgiving-193702">The Conversation</a>Have you ever wondered why Thanksgiving revolves around turkey and not ham, chicken, venison, beef or corn? Almost <a href="https://today.yougov.com/topics/society/articles-reports/2021/11/24/thanksgiving-food-debates-poll">9 in 10</a>
 Americans eat turkey during this festive meal, whether it’s roasted, 
deep-fried, grilled or cooked in any other way for the occasion.You might believe it’s because of what the Pilgrims, a year after 
they landed in what’s now the state of Massachusetts, and their <a href="https://indiancountrytoday.com/archive/the-wampanoag-side-of-the-first-thanksgiving-story">Indigenous Wampanoag guests</a> ate during their first thanksgiving feast in 1621. Or that it’s because <a href="https://www.almanac.com/wild-turkey-history-all-american-bird">turkey is originally from the Americas</a>. But it has more to do with how Americans observed the holiday in the 
late 1800s than which poultry the Pilgrims ate while celebrating their 
bounty in 1621.<h2>Did they or didn’t they eat it?</h2>The <a href="https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcmassbookdig.mourtsrelationor00brad/?st=pdf&amp;pdfPage=189">only firsthand record</a>
 of what the Pilgrims ate at the first thanksgiving feast comes from 
Edward Winslow. He noted that the Wampanoag leader, Massasoit, arrived 
with 90 men, and the two communities feasted together for three days. Winslow wrote little about the menu, aside from mentioning five deer 
that the Wampanoag brought and that the meal included “fowle,” which 
could have been any number of wild birds found in the area, including 
ducks, geese and turkeys.Historians do know that important ingredients of today’s traditional dishes were not available during that first Thanksgiving.That includes potatoes and green beans. The likely absence of wheat flour and the <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/40532/50517_aer382a.pdf?v=0">scarcity of sugar</a> in New England at the time ruled out pumpkin pie and cranberry sauce. <a href="https://aihd.ku.edu/foods/squash.html">Some sort of squash</a>, a staple of Native American diets, was almost certainly served, <a href="https://wusfnews.wusf.usf.edu/arts-culture/2021-11-24/heres-what-was-served-at-the-real-first-thanksgiving">along with corn</a> and shellfish.<h2>A resurrected tradition</h2><a href="https://liberalarts.tamu.edu/history/profile/troy-bickham/">Historians like me</a>
 who have studied the history of food have found that most modern 
Thanksgiving traditions began in the mid-19th century, more than two 
centuries after the Pilgrims’ first harvest celebration.The reinvention of the Pilgrims’ celebration as a national holiday was largely the work of <a href="https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/sarah-hale">Sarah Hale</a>.
 Born in New Hampshire in 1784, as a young widow she published poetry to
 earn a living. Most notably, she wrote the nursery rhyme “<a href="https://www.almanac.com/sarah-josepha-hale-godmother-thanksgiving">Mary Had a Little Lamb</a>.”In 1837, Hale became the editor of the popular magazine <a href="https://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/serial?id=godeylady">Godey’s Lady’s Book</a>.
 Fiercely religious and family-focused, it crusaded for the creation of 
an annual national holiday of “Thanksgiving and Praise” commemorating 
the Pilgrims’ thanksgiving feast.Hale and her colleagues leaned on 1621 lore for historical 
justification. Like many of her contemporaries, she assumed the Pilgrims
 ate turkey at their first feast because of the <a href="https://www.mass.gov/service-details/learn-about-turkeys">abundance of edible wild turkeys in New England</a>. This campaign took decades, partly due to a lack of enthusiasm among white Southerners. Many of them considered <a href="https://www.loc.gov/wiseguide/nov02/thanks-early.html">an earlier celebration among Virginia colonists</a> in honor of supply ships that arrived at Jamestown in 1610 to be the more important precedent.The <a href="https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/expulsion_cases/CivilWar_Expulsion.htm">absence of Southerners serving in Congress</a> during the Civil War enabled <a href="https://www.nps.gov/liho/learn/historyculture/lincoln-and-thanksgiving.htm">President Abraham Lincoln</a> to declare Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863.<h2>Turkey marketing campaign</h2>Godey’s, along with other media, embraced the holiday, packing their 
pages with recipes from New England and menus that prominently featured 
turkey.“We dare say most of the Thanksgiving will take the form of gastronomic pleasure,” <a href="https://www.seriouseats.com/history-southern-thanksgiving">Georgia’s Augusta Chronicle</a> predicted in 1882. “Every person who can afford turkey or procure it will sacrifice the noble American fowl to-day.” One reason for this: A roasted turkey makes a perfect celebratory centerpiece. A second one is that turkey is also practical for serving to a large 
crowd. Turkeys are bigger than other birds raised or hunted for their 
meat, and it’s <a href="https://www.globalagriculture.org/report-topics/meat-and-animal-feed.html">cheaper to produce a turkey than a cow or pig</a>.
 
The bird’s attributes led Europeans to incorporate turkeys into their 
diets following their colonization of the Americas. In England, <a href="https://www.historyextra.com/period/tudor/the-history-of-turkeys/">King Henry VIII</a> regularly enjoyed turkey on Christmas day a century before the Pilgrims’ feast.<h2>Christmas connection</h2>The bird cemented its position as the <a href="https://www.squaremeal.co.uk/christmas-parties/christmas-party-ideas/why-do-we-eat-turkey-at-christmas_10022">favored Christmas dish in England in the mid-19th century</a>.One reason for this was that Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dickens’ “A 
Christmas Carol” sought redemption by replacing the impoverished 
Cratchit family’s meager goose with an enormous turkey. Published in 1843, Dickens’ instantly best-selling depiction of the prayerful family meal would soon <a href="https://www.biography.com/news/charles-dickens-a-christmas-carol">inspire Hale’s idealized Thanksgiving</a>. Although the historical record is hazy, I do think it’s possible that
 the Pilgrims ate turkey in 1621. It certainly was served at 
celebrations in New England <a href="https://hilltownfamilies.org/2012/11/14/hf-613/?v=7516fd43adaa">throughout the colonial period</a>.Troy Bickham is a Professor of History at Texas A&amp;M University.<div><iframe src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/193702/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important" referrerpolicy="no-referrer-when-downgrade"></iframe></div>

 Why is turkey the main dish on Thanksgiving?

By&nbsp;Leilana McKindra KU Medical Center News

KANSAS CITY -&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kumc.edu/hmangat.html" target="_blank">Halinder Mangat, M.D.,</a>&nbsp;an associate professor in the Department of Neurology at the University of Kansas Medical Center, is the lead author on a research paper confirming the overall safety of the two mRNA vaccines and the single adenovirus vector COVID-19 vaccine in the United States.

In an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.972464/full" target="_blank">observational study published in Frontiers in Public Health</a>&nbsp;last month, Mangat and the research team, which included collaborators from the United Kingdom, Germany, India and the Netherlands, found that over a one-year period there were very low overall cumulative reported rates of severe adverse events from the three COVID-19 vaccines. The findings were based on data from a publicly accessible vaccine safety surveillance database and included all reported instances up to 28 days after vaccination.

“While part of the safety may be dependent on selecting different vaccines for different age groups, the overall safety profile of both mRNA (Pfizer and Moderna) and adenovirus vector (Janssen) vaccines is very good,” Mangat said. “In the context of COVID-19, risks of such severe adverse events following immunization appear to be significantly lower than from COVID-19 in adults.”

The study team found 88,626 severe adverse events after immunization (sAEFI) reported out of 485 million vaccine doses administered nationwide over a one-year period.

In the study, researchers looked at the rates of sAEFI reported to the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) between December 13, 2020, and December 13, 2021, for each of the SARS-CoV-2 vaccines authorized for emergency use and attributed to the SARS-CoV-2 vaccination programs across all states and territories in the United States. Severe adverse events included emergency department visits, hospitalizations, life-threatening events and deaths.

Given the low rates of severe adverse events with the three COVID-19 vaccines, the study concluded that immunization should remain a critical tool for adults for decreasing severity of COVID-19 in the United States. Researchers also noted that data confirming the safety of the vaccines should be the centerpiece of public health messaging to help fuel vaccine uptake and combat vaccine hesitancy.

The study team wrote that the findings should bolster confidence in adenovector virus vaccines and their continued use globally, including some remote areas where refrigeration is difficult or impossible.

“The results from this study should encourage people who have been skeptical about vaccine safety to take the vaccines,” Mangat said. “At a global level, these data also provide safety reassurance for the continued use of adenovector virus vaccines, which do not pose cold-chain logistical challenges.”

See Related Stories in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kumc.edu/about/news/news-archive.html?cat=147">Research</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kumc.edu/about/news/news-archive.html?cat=145">School of Medicine</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kumc.edu/about/news/news-archive.html?cat=710">School of Medicine Research</a>

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/4/1649633006948.jpeg" alt="(Photo by Pixabay)" />
 <figcaption>(Photo by Pixabay)</figcaption>
 </figure>By&nbsp;Leilana McKindra KU Medical Center NewsKANSAS CITY -&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kumc.edu/hmangat.html" target="_blank">Halinder Mangat, M.D.,</a>&nbsp;an associate professor in the Department of Neurology at the University of Kansas Medical Center, is the lead author on a research paper confirming the overall safety of the two mRNA vaccines and the single adenovirus vector COVID-19 vaccine in the United States.In an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.972464/full" target="_blank">observational study published in Frontiers in Public Health</a>&nbsp;last month, Mangat and the research team, which included collaborators from the United Kingdom, Germany, India and the Netherlands, found that over a one-year period there were very low overall cumulative reported rates of severe adverse events from the three COVID-19 vaccines. The findings were based on data from a publicly accessible vaccine safety surveillance database and included all reported instances up to 28 days after vaccination.“While part of the safety may be dependent on selecting different vaccines for different age groups, the overall safety profile of both mRNA (Pfizer and Moderna) and adenovirus vector (Janssen) vaccines is very good,” Mangat said. “In the context of COVID-19, risks of such severe adverse events following immunization appear to be significantly lower than from COVID-19 in adults.”The study team found 88,626 severe adverse events after immunization (sAEFI) reported out of 485 million vaccine doses administered nationwide over a one-year period.In the study, researchers looked at the rates of sAEFI reported to the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) between December 13, 2020, and December 13, 2021, for each of the SARS-CoV-2 vaccines authorized for emergency use and attributed to the SARS-CoV-2 vaccination programs across all states and territories in the United States. Severe adverse events included emergency department visits, hospitalizations, life-threatening events and deaths.Given the low rates of severe adverse events with the three COVID-19 vaccines, the study concluded that immunization should remain a critical tool for adults for decreasing severity of COVID-19 in the United States. Researchers also noted that data confirming the safety of the vaccines should be the centerpiece of public health messaging to help fuel vaccine uptake and combat vaccine hesitancy.The study team wrote that the findings should bolster confidence in adenovector virus vaccines and their continued use globally, including some remote areas where refrigeration is difficult or impossible.“The results from this study should encourage people who have been skeptical about vaccine safety to take the vaccines,” Mangat said. “At a global level, these data also provide safety reassurance for the continued use of adenovector virus vaccines, which do not pose cold-chain logistical challenges.”See Related Stories in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kumc.edu/about/news/news-archive.html?cat=147">Research</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kumc.edu/about/news/news-archive.html?cat=145">School of Medicine</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kumc.edu/about/news/news-archive.html?cat=710">School of Medicine Research</a>

KU-led COVID vaccine safety study: Low rates of severe adverse events

The errant bird made its way into a Douglas County, Kansas, home earlier this month.&nbsp;

Video courtesy the Douglas County Sheriff's Office:

The errant bird made its way into a Douglas County, Kansas, home earlier this month.&nbsp;Video courtesy the Douglas County Sheriff's Office:<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fdgsosheriff%2Fvideos%2F1295027421290239%2F&show_text=false&width=560&t=0" width="560" height="314" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowFullScreen="true"></iframe></div>Happy Thanksgiving!

🎥 🦃 Kansas sheriff 'pardons' turkey, won't prosecute

PHILADELPHIA
 (AP) — Four students were injured in an apparent drive-by shooting 
shortly after their Philadelphia high school let out early for the day 
late Wednesday morning, a city schools spokesperson said.

City 
police said a 15-year-old girl was shot in the shoulder and thigh, a 
15-year-old girl was shot in the shoulder, a 16-year-old boy suffered a 
graze wound to the face and a gunshot wound to the hand, and a 
16-year-old boy was shot in the leg. All four were getting hospital 
treatment and were in stable condition.

Police said no arrest has been made and no weapon was recovered.

The
 shooting took place about a block from Overbrook High School in West 
Philadelphia, where school let out early because of parent-teacher 
conferences, the district’s deputy chief of communications, Monique 
Braxton, said in a phone interview.

Braxton said the district's Office of School Safety told her the students were at a corner store when the shooting occurred.

“We
 don't know who was targeted, if any of the four of them were targeted,”
 Braxton said. Parents were being notified early Wednesday afternoon.

“This is outrageous, that young people would be shot shortly after being dismissed from their high school,” Braxton said.

Officer
 Miguel Torres, a spokesperson for the Philadelphia Police Department, 
said that the shooting occurred around 11:30 a.m. He said victims were 
taken to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center and Lankenau Medical Center.

PHILADELPHIA
 (AP) — Four students were injured in an apparent drive-by shooting 
shortly after their Philadelphia high school let out early for the day 
late Wednesday morning, a city schools spokesperson said.City 
police said a 15-year-old girl was shot in the shoulder and thigh, a 
15-year-old girl was shot in the shoulder, a 16-year-old boy suffered a 
graze wound to the face and a gunshot wound to the hand, and a 
16-year-old boy was shot in the leg. All four were getting hospital 
treatment and were in stable condition.Police said no arrest has been made and no weapon was recovered.The
 shooting took place about a block from Overbrook High School in West 
Philadelphia, where school let out early because of parent-teacher 
conferences, the district’s deputy chief of communications, Monique 
Braxton, said in a phone interview.Braxton said the district's Office of School Safety told her the students were at a corner store when the shooting occurred.“We
 don't know who was targeted, if any of the four of them were targeted,”
 Braxton said. Parents were being notified early Wednesday afternoon.“This is outrageous, that young people would be shot shortly after being dismissed from their high school,” Braxton said.Officer
 Miguel Torres, a spokesperson for the Philadelphia Police Department, 
said that the shooting occurred around 11:30 a.m. He said victims were 
taken to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center and Lankenau Medical Center.

Officials: 4 Philly high school students shot near school

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A former Nebraska county prosecutor has pleaded guilty in federal court to using his office to stalk his estranged wife and her boyfriend.

Former Dodge County Attorney Oliver Glass was convicted of the misdemeanor Monday after he entered his plea. The Omaha World-Herald&nbsp;<a href="https://omaha.com/news/local/former-dodge-county-attorney-pleads-guilty-to-depriving-citizens-rights/article_9adf30a6-69e7-11ed-b912-b385775cc2bf.html#tracking-source=home-top-story">reports</a>&nbsp;that the 47-year-old will face up to a year in jail when he is sentenced in February.

Prosecutors said Glass improperly accessed a law enforcement database to look up his estranged wife’s boyfriend and asked Fremont police officers and Dodge County deputies he knew to follow the man and his estranged wife for several months in 2020. It wasn’t immediately clear whether any of the officers involved are being investigated for their roles.

The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/crime-nebraska-indictments-9bbccfd9281243ef7f372bcc901e25d7">federal indictment</a>&nbsp;against Glass said a few days after he learned about the relationship Glass sent 46 text messages and made 10 phone calls to the boyfriend.

Glass also asked police officers and sheriff’s deputies to monitor his wife’s and her boyfriend’s homes and to try to catch them driving under the influence, the indictment says. Glass is accused of at one point telling a Nebraska State trooper that he was angry enough to “kill them both.”

Glass&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fremont-crime-b3a32d264d70ac129ed9ad40e6b7b46d">resigned from office</a>&nbsp;last year after his second drunken driving arrest several months before he was indicted. Previously, Glass had refused to resign after his first DUI conviction in March 2020. He was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ne-state-wire-02f4063e544909ffffdc98f93710fdcb">sentenced</a>&nbsp;to 18 months probation in that case for violating the terms of his probation in the first DUI case.

The boyfriend has filed a lawsuit against Dodge County over the harassment that he says prompted him to be admitted to a psychiatric hospital because he considered killing himself. He told the newspaper that for a time officers would regularly park outside his apartment and he would be followed by police or Glass himself wherever he went.

Glass’ law license has been indefinitely suspended and his four-year-old divorce case remains pending. His attorney, Clarence Mock, said Glass acknowledges that it was wrong to use officers as his own personal detectives and now wants to put the ordeal behind him.

“The collateral consequences for him have been so severe and possibly long-lasting,” Mock said. “It’s going to be difficult for him to recover.”

Mock said Glass says he never meant to harm the couple, but he was worried about the safety of his children because the man has a criminal record.

Glass went through alcohol treatment in 2017 and 2020, and Mock said he is now working for a business that sells ads on golf course benches and sober.

By Associated PressOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A former Nebraska county prosecutor has pleaded guilty in federal court to using his office to stalk his estranged wife and her boyfriend.Former Dodge County Attorney Oliver Glass was convicted of the misdemeanor Monday after he entered his plea. The Omaha World-Herald&nbsp;<a href="https://omaha.com/news/local/former-dodge-county-attorney-pleads-guilty-to-depriving-citizens-rights/article_9adf30a6-69e7-11ed-b912-b385775cc2bf.html#tracking-source=home-top-story">reports</a>&nbsp;that the 47-year-old will face up to a year in jail when he is sentenced in February.Prosecutors said Glass improperly accessed a law enforcement database to look up his estranged wife’s boyfriend and asked Fremont police officers and Dodge County deputies he knew to follow the man and his estranged wife for several months in 2020. It wasn’t immediately clear whether any of the officers involved are being investigated for their roles.The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/crime-nebraska-indictments-9bbccfd9281243ef7f372bcc901e25d7">federal indictment</a>&nbsp;against Glass said a few days after he learned about the relationship Glass sent 46 text messages and made 10 phone calls to the boyfriend.Glass also asked police officers and sheriff’s deputies to monitor his wife’s and her boyfriend’s homes and to try to catch them driving under the influence, the indictment says. Glass is accused of at one point telling a Nebraska State trooper that he was angry enough to “kill them both.”Glass&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fremont-crime-b3a32d264d70ac129ed9ad40e6b7b46d">resigned from office</a>&nbsp;last year after his second drunken driving arrest several months before he was indicted. Previously, Glass had refused to resign after his first DUI conviction in March 2020. He was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ne-state-wire-02f4063e544909ffffdc98f93710fdcb">sentenced</a>&nbsp;to 18 months probation in that case for violating the terms of his probation in the first DUI case.The boyfriend has filed a lawsuit against Dodge County over the harassment that he says prompted him to be admitted to a psychiatric hospital because he considered killing himself. He told the newspaper that for a time officers would regularly park outside his apartment and he would be followed by police or Glass himself wherever he went.Glass’ law license has been indefinitely suspended and his four-year-old divorce case remains pending. His attorney, Clarence Mock, said Glass acknowledges that it was wrong to use officers as his own personal detectives and now wants to put the ordeal behind him.“The collateral consequences for him have been so severe and possibly long-lasting,” Mock said. “It’s going to be difficult for him to recover.”Mock said Glass says he never meant to harm the couple, but he was worried about the safety of his children because the man has a criminal record.Glass went through alcohol treatment in 2017 and 2020, and Mock said he is now working for a business that sells ads on golf course benches and sober.

Ex-prosecutor guilty of stalking estranged wife, boyfriend

By NICK GOSNELL Hutch Post

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — 
Thanksgiving travel volume will be almost back to levels before the 
pandemic, if estimates from AAA come true.

"About 90% of people 
traveling for the Thanksgiving holiday will be taking to the highway," 
said Shawn Steward with AAA Kansas. "It's a very driving heavy holiday. A
 lot of people just go in regionally or within state to visit to visit 
their friends and families."

AAA predicts 54.6 million people 
nationwide will travel 50 miles or more from home this Thanksgiving. 
That’s a 1.5% increase over 2021 and 98% of pre-pandemic volumes.

"In
 Kansas, about 525,000 of the 581,000 total travelers will be driving to
 their destinations," Steward said. "Pack your patience, slow down and 
just be extra cautious on the roads this week."

It's also 
important to remember that it gets dark earlier this time of year, so 
more of that driving will likely take place outside of daylight hours, 
or during the potentially&nbsp; blinding pre-sunset hour, if driving west in 
the afternoon.

"Slow down, drive for the conditions," Steward 
said. "Don't overdrive your headlights. We've certainly got deer to look
 out for as well on the highways. Be scanning the sides of the road 
constantly as you are driving, especially at night."

Some of the 
busiest driving times of the weekend will be on Wednesday after work and
 especially on Sunday as families travel back home after the long 
weekend.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1669213110675.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>By NICK GOSNELL Hutch PostHUTCHINSON, Kan. — 
Thanksgiving travel volume will be almost back to levels before the 
pandemic, if estimates from AAA come true."About 90% of people 
traveling for the Thanksgiving holiday will be taking to the highway," 
said Shawn Steward with AAA Kansas. "It's a very driving heavy holiday. A
 lot of people just go in regionally or within state to visit to visit 
their friends and families."AAA predicts 54.6 million people 
nationwide will travel 50 miles or more from home this Thanksgiving. 
That’s a 1.5% increase over 2021 and 98% of pre-pandemic volumes."In
 Kansas, about 525,000 of the 581,000 total travelers will be driving to
 their destinations," Steward said. "Pack your patience, slow down and 
just be extra cautious on the roads this week."It's also 
important to remember that it gets dark earlier this time of year, so 
more of that driving will likely take place outside of daylight hours, 
or during the potentially&nbsp; blinding pre-sunset hour, if driving west in 
the afternoon."Slow down, drive for the conditions," Steward 
said. "Don't overdrive your headlights. We've certainly got deer to look
 out for as well on the highways. Be scanning the sides of the road 
constantly as you are driving, especially at night."Some of the 
busiest driving times of the weekend will be on Wednesday after work and
 especially on Sunday as families travel back home after the long 
weekend.

AAA: Expect roads to be busy for holiday travel

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A Wisconsin company that cleans hundreds of meatpacking plants nationwide is defending itself against allegations that it employed more than two dozen minors working overnight shifts cleaning massive saws, grinding machines and other dangerous processing equipment at three slaughterhouses.

Labor Department officials said in court documents that they believe Packers Sanitation Services Inc. might be employing underage workers at other plants but investigators have only just starting reviewing thousands of pages of employee records at plants besides the ones in Nebraska and Minnesota where they confirmed teenagers were working through the middle of the night sanitizing slaughterhouses before heading back to high school in the morning.

A federal judge in Lincoln, Nebraska, already issued a temporary order prohibiting the company from employing minors and interfering in the Labor Department's investigation. The company will argue at a court hearing next month that there's no reason for a judge to make that order permanent because PSSI officials say they are cooperating with the investigation and they already prohibit hiring anyone younger than 18.

On Monday, a judge ordered the government to give the company a few more details about its investigation ahead of next month's hearing. The company says it employs some 17,000 people working at more than 700 locations nationwide, making it one of the largest firms out there that cleans food processing plants.

PSSI Vice President of Marketing Gina Swenson said the company “has an absolute company-wide prohibition against the employment of anyone under the age of 18 and zero tolerance for any violation of that policy — period.”

Swenson also said corporate officials have been cooperating with the investigation. But according to court documents, the Labor Department says local managers “attempted to obstruct employee interviews” at JBS plants in Grand Island, Nebraska, and Worthington, Minnesota, as well as at a Turkey Valley Farms plant in Marshall, Minnesota. Investigators said they also saw managers deleting WhatsApp messages and computer files.

In one instance, investigators said they found text messages a manager at the Worthington plant sent to prospective employees who were discussing using false identification documents to secure a job with PSSI.

Investigators say they have been able to confirm that at least 31 children as young as 13 have been working for PSSI by talking to them and comparing timeclock photos and employment data with pictures and information in local school records.

Officials at JBS and Turkey Valley Farms say they are monitoring the situation with PSSI and will consider taking action against the company based on the outcome of the investigation.

“We take seriously the allegations against PSSI, which, if true, represent a clear violation of our ethical policies,” Michael Koenig, JBS's chief ethics and compliance officer, said in a statement. He said JBS is taking steps to verify the status of all the sanitation workers at its plants and the company won't tolerate child labor.

In addition to the Nebraska and Minnesota plants, investigators also seized records from a Tyson Foods plant in Sedalia, Missouri, but they didn't identify any workers from there as minors in the court documents.

Tyson spokesman Derek Burleson said the company is aware of the allegations against PSSI and is cooperating with investigators. Burleson said Tyson expects its suppliers to follow the same labor laws it does to make sure minors aren't being hired, and it is working with them to ensure that is the case.

The underage workers that investigators confirmed included one 13-year-old who suffered a serious chemical burn from the caustic chemicals used to clean the JBS plant in Grand Island every night.

Investigators said in court documents that some of the teens they found working for PSSI told them that “everyone there knew” that they were minors, and in one case, a search of a government database showed that one employee's age came up as 129-years-old when their Social Security number was checked.

PSSI asked the court to order investigators to share more details about that case and identify the children it found to help it ensure that “rogue individuals” aren't finding ways to circumvent the company's efforts to avoid hiring people under age 18.

But the judge only ordered limited information to be released after the Labor Department argued that PSSI already has all the information it needs to identify any minors in its own company documents.

“It is not the Secretary’s responsibility to teach defendants how to search their own documents to find the minor children they employ. Further, PSSI need only consult their own managers working on the ground at these establishments to conduct their own due diligence,” the Labor Department said in court documents.

The company and investigators are due in court on Dec. 7 to argue about whether a federal judge should issue a preliminary injunction in the case.

By Associated PressOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A Wisconsin company that cleans hundreds of meatpacking plants nationwide is defending itself against allegations that it employed more than two dozen minors working overnight shifts cleaning massive saws, grinding machines and other dangerous processing equipment at three slaughterhouses.Labor Department officials said in court documents that they believe Packers Sanitation Services Inc. might be employing underage workers at other plants but investigators have only just starting reviewing thousands of pages of employee records at plants besides the ones in Nebraska and Minnesota where they confirmed teenagers were working through the middle of the night sanitizing slaughterhouses before heading back to high school in the morning.A federal judge in Lincoln, Nebraska, already issued a temporary order prohibiting the company from employing minors and interfering in the Labor Department's investigation. The company will argue at a court hearing next month that there's no reason for a judge to make that order permanent because PSSI officials say they are cooperating with the investigation and they already prohibit hiring anyone younger than 18.On Monday, a judge ordered the government to give the company a few more details about its investigation ahead of next month's hearing. The company says it employs some 17,000 people working at more than 700 locations nationwide, making it one of the largest firms out there that cleans food processing plants.PSSI Vice President of Marketing Gina Swenson said the company “has an absolute company-wide prohibition against the employment of anyone under the age of 18 and zero tolerance for any violation of that policy — period.”Swenson also said corporate officials have been cooperating with the investigation. But according to court documents, the Labor Department says local managers “attempted to obstruct employee interviews” at JBS plants in Grand Island, Nebraska, and Worthington, Minnesota, as well as at a Turkey Valley Farms plant in Marshall, Minnesota. Investigators said they also saw managers deleting WhatsApp messages and computer files.In one instance, investigators said they found text messages a manager at the Worthington plant sent to prospective employees who were discussing using false identification documents to secure a job with PSSI.Investigators say they have been able to confirm that at least 31 children as young as 13 have been working for PSSI by talking to them and comparing timeclock photos and employment data with pictures and information in local school records.Officials at JBS and Turkey Valley Farms say they are monitoring the situation with PSSI and will consider taking action against the company based on the outcome of the investigation.“We take seriously the allegations against PSSI, which, if true, represent a clear violation of our ethical policies,” Michael Koenig, JBS's chief ethics and compliance officer, said in a statement. He said JBS is taking steps to verify the status of all the sanitation workers at its plants and the company won't tolerate child labor.In addition to the Nebraska and Minnesota plants, investigators also seized records from a Tyson Foods plant in Sedalia, Missouri, but they didn't identify any workers from there as minors in the court documents.Tyson spokesman Derek Burleson said the company is aware of the allegations against PSSI and is cooperating with investigators. Burleson said Tyson expects its suppliers to follow the same labor laws it does to make sure minors aren't being hired, and it is working with them to ensure that is the case.The underage workers that investigators confirmed included one 13-year-old who suffered a serious chemical burn from the caustic chemicals used to clean the JBS plant in Grand Island every night.Investigators said in court documents that some of the teens they found working for PSSI told them that “everyone there knew” that they were minors, and in one case, a search of a government database showed that one employee's age came up as 129-years-old when their Social Security number was checked.PSSI asked the court to order investigators to share more details about that case and identify the children it found to help it ensure that “rogue individuals” aren't finding ways to circumvent the company's efforts to avoid hiring people under age 18.But the judge only ordered limited information to be released after the Labor Department argued that PSSI already has all the information it needs to identify any minors in its own company documents.“It is not the Secretary’s responsibility to teach defendants how to search their own documents to find the minor children they employ. Further, PSSI need only consult their own managers working on the ground at these establishments to conduct their own due diligence,” the Labor Department said in court documents.The company and investigators are due in court on Dec. 7 to argue about whether a federal judge should issue a preliminary injunction in the case.

Investigators: Firm that cleans meat plants employed minors

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22JOHN%20LEICESTER%20and%20SAM%20MEDNICK%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By JOHN LEICESTER and SAM MEDNICK </a> <a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22JOHN%20LEICESTER%20and%20SAM%20MEDNICK%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">Associated Press</a>

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Authorities reported power outages in multiple cities of Ukraine, including parts of Kyiv, and in neighboring Moldova after renewed strikes Wednesday struck Ukrainian infrastructure facilities.

Multiple regions reported attacks in quick succession, suggesting a barrage of strikes. In several regions, authorities reported strikes on critical infrastructure.

Russia has been pounding the power grid and other facilities with missile and exploding drones for weeks, seemingly aiming to turn the cold and dark of winter into a weapon.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Multiple explosions were heard in Kyiv Wednesday, with officials reporting strikes on residential areas and critical infrastructure facilities in and around the Ukrainian capital.

The explosions follow an unrelenting series of Russian attacks on power and other facilities across Ukraine in recent weeks.

The thunderous echoes of what sounded like repeated blasts rattled across the capital after air raid sirens sounded in the city and elsewhere across Ukraine. Mayor Vitali Klitschko posted on Telegram that “one of the capital’s infrastructure facilities has been hit.” The city administration said one person was wounded.

Klitschko said there were more explosions in other districts but didn't give further details, and said that “some neighborhoods of Kyiv” lack power. Kyiv regional governor Oleksii Kuleba said strikes were reported in the area around the capital, and residential areas and critical infrastructure facilities were hit.

In the western city of Lviv, the mayor also urged people to take shelter -- seemingly pointing to strikes there, too. In a Telegram message, the mayor said the whole city had lost power.

There was no further information on what and how many targets had been hit.

Russia has been repeatedly pounding Ukraine’s war-time capital and power facilities across the country in recent weeks, causing widespread blackouts.

The latest explosions came hours after Ukrainian authorities said an overnight rocket attack destroyed a hospital maternity ward in southern Ukraine, killing a 2-day-old baby.

Following the overnight strike in Vilniansk, close to the city of Zaporizhzhia, the baby’s mother and a doctor were pulled alive from the rubble.

The region's governor said the rockets were Russian. The strike adds to the gruesome toll suffered by hospitals and other medical facilities — and their patients and staff — in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine">the Russian invasion</a>&nbsp;that will enter its tenth month this week.

They have been in the firing line from the outset, including a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-europe-25204be08db8868e858f624f851d2ae3">March 9 airstrike</a>&nbsp;that destroyed a maternity hospital in the now-occupied port city of Mariupol.

“At night, Russian monsters launched huge rockets at the small maternity ward of the hospital in Vilniansk. Grief overwhelms our hearts — a baby was killed who had just seen the light of day. Rescuers are working at the site,” said the regional governor, Oleksandr Starukh, writing on the Telegram messaging app.

First lady Olena Zelenska wrote on Twitter that a 2-day-old boy died in the strike and expressed her condolences. “Horrible pain. We will never forget and never forgive,” she said.

Photos posted by the governor showed thick smoke rising above mounds of rubble, being combed by emergency workers against the backdrop of a dark night sky.

The State Emergency Service said the two-story building was destroyed.

Vilniansk is in the Ukrainian-held north of the Zaporizhzhia region, and is about 500 kilometers (300 miles) southeast of Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv.

Medical workers' efforts have been complicated by the succession of Russian attacks in recent weeks on Ukraine's infrastructure that officials say have caused&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-kyiv-europe-business-dnipropetrovsk-5f59cf82c2f4b11a0e90d2d9ba656ad2">huge damage to the power grid</a>.

The situation is even worse in the southern city of Kherson, from which Russia retreated nearly two weeks ago after months of occupation — cutting power and water lines.

Many doctors in the city are working in the dark, unable to use elevators to transport patients to surgery and operating with headlamps, cell phones and flashlights. In some hospitals, key equipment no longer works.

“Breathing machines don’t work, X-ray machines don’t work ... There is only one portable ultrasound machine and we carry it constantly,” said Volodymyr Malishchuk, the head of surgery at a children’s hospital in the city.

On Tuesday, after strikes on Kherson seriously wounded 13-year-old Artur Voblikov, a team of health staff carefully maneuvered the sedated boy up six flights of a narrow staircase to an operating room to amputate his left arm.

Malischchuk said that three children wounded by Russian strikes have come to the hospital this week, half as many as had previously been admitted in all of the nine months since the invasion began. Picking up a piece of shrapnel that was found in a 14-year-old boy’s stomach, he said children are arriving with severe head injuries and ruptured internal organs.

Artur's mother, Natalia Voblikova, sat in the dark hospital with her daughter, waiting for his surgery to end.

“You can’t even call (Russians) animals, because animals take care of their own,” said Voblikova wiping tears from her eyes. “But the children ... Why kill children?”

In the northeastern city of Kupiansk, two civilians were killed and two more were wounded by Russian shelling on Wednesday morning, a regional official said.

A nine-story residential building and a clinic were damaged, and a 55-year-old woman and a 68-year-old man died, Kharkiv governor Oleh Syniehubov said on Telegram.

Kupiansk was an early prize of Ukraine’s lightning offensive in the northeastern Kharkiv region in September and, like other recaptured settlements, has seen repeated shelling by Russian forces which many Ukrainian officials describe as retaliation.

In Strasbourg, France, the European Parliament overwhelmingly backed a resolution labeling Russia a state sponsor of terrorism for its invasion of and actions in Ukraine. The nonbinding but symbolically significant resolution passed in a 494-58 vote with 48 abstentions.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the vote. "Russia must be isolated at all levels and be held accountable in order to end its longstanding policy of terrorism in Ukraine and across the globe,” he wrote on Twitter.

After Wednesday's explosions in Kyiv, senior Zelenskyy aide Andriy Yermak wrote on Telegram: “The terrorists immediately confirm that they are terrorists - they launch rockets. Naive losers."

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22JOHN%20LEICESTER%20and%20SAM%20MEDNICK%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By JOHN LEICESTER and SAM MEDNICK </a> <a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22JOHN%20LEICESTER%20and%20SAM%20MEDNICK%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">Associated Press</a>KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Authorities reported power outages in multiple cities of Ukraine, including parts of Kyiv, and in neighboring Moldova after renewed strikes Wednesday struck Ukrainian infrastructure facilities.Multiple regions reported attacks in quick succession, suggesting a barrage of strikes. In several regions, authorities reported strikes on critical infrastructure.Russia has been pounding the power grid and other facilities with missile and exploding drones for weeks, seemingly aiming to turn the cold and dark of winter into a weapon.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Multiple explosions were heard in Kyiv Wednesday, with officials reporting strikes on residential areas and critical infrastructure facilities in and around the Ukrainian capital.The explosions follow an unrelenting series of Russian attacks on power and other facilities across Ukraine in recent weeks.The thunderous echoes of what sounded like repeated blasts rattled across the capital after air raid sirens sounded in the city and elsewhere across Ukraine. Mayor Vitali Klitschko posted on Telegram that “one of the capital’s infrastructure facilities has been hit.” The city administration said one person was wounded.Klitschko said there were more explosions in other districts but didn't give further details, and said that “some neighborhoods of Kyiv” lack power. Kyiv regional governor Oleksii Kuleba said strikes were reported in the area around the capital, and residential areas and critical infrastructure facilities were hit.In the western city of Lviv, the mayor also urged people to take shelter -- seemingly pointing to strikes there, too. In a Telegram message, the mayor said the whole city had lost power.There was no further information on what and how many targets had been hit.Russia has been repeatedly pounding Ukraine’s war-time capital and power facilities across the country in recent weeks, causing widespread blackouts.The latest explosions came hours after Ukrainian authorities said an overnight rocket attack destroyed a hospital maternity ward in southern Ukraine, killing a 2-day-old baby.Following the overnight strike in Vilniansk, close to the city of Zaporizhzhia, the baby’s mother and a doctor were pulled alive from the rubble.The region's governor said the rockets were Russian. The strike adds to the gruesome toll suffered by hospitals and other medical facilities — and their patients and staff — in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine">the Russian invasion</a>&nbsp;that will enter its tenth month this week.They have been in the firing line from the outset, including a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-europe-25204be08db8868e858f624f851d2ae3">March 9 airstrike</a>&nbsp;that destroyed a maternity hospital in the now-occupied port city of Mariupol.“At night, Russian monsters launched huge rockets at the small maternity ward of the hospital in Vilniansk. Grief overwhelms our hearts — a baby was killed who had just seen the light of day. Rescuers are working at the site,” said the regional governor, Oleksandr Starukh, writing on the Telegram messaging app.First lady Olena Zelenska wrote on Twitter that a 2-day-old boy died in the strike and expressed her condolences. “Horrible pain. We will never forget and never forgive,” she said.Photos posted by the governor showed thick smoke rising above mounds of rubble, being combed by emergency workers against the backdrop of a dark night sky.The State Emergency Service said the two-story building was destroyed.Vilniansk is in the Ukrainian-held north of the Zaporizhzhia region, and is about 500 kilometers (300 miles) southeast of Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv.Medical workers' efforts have been complicated by the succession of Russian attacks in recent weeks on Ukraine's infrastructure that officials say have caused&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-kyiv-europe-business-dnipropetrovsk-5f59cf82c2f4b11a0e90d2d9ba656ad2">huge damage to the power grid</a>.The situation is even worse in the southern city of Kherson, from which Russia retreated nearly two weeks ago after months of occupation — cutting power and water lines.Many doctors in the city are working in the dark, unable to use elevators to transport patients to surgery and operating with headlamps, cell phones and flashlights. In some hospitals, key equipment no longer works.“Breathing machines don’t work, X-ray machines don’t work ... There is only one portable ultrasound machine and we carry it constantly,” said Volodymyr Malishchuk, the head of surgery at a children’s hospital in the city.On Tuesday, after strikes on Kherson seriously wounded 13-year-old Artur Voblikov, a team of health staff carefully maneuvered the sedated boy up six flights of a narrow staircase to an operating room to amputate his left arm.Malischchuk said that three children wounded by Russian strikes have come to the hospital this week, half as many as had previously been admitted in all of the nine months since the invasion began. Picking up a piece of shrapnel that was found in a 14-year-old boy’s stomach, he said children are arriving with severe head injuries and ruptured internal organs.Artur's mother, Natalia Voblikova, sat in the dark hospital with her daughter, waiting for his surgery to end.“You can’t even call (Russians) animals, because animals take care of their own,” said Voblikova wiping tears from her eyes. “But the children ... Why kill children?”In the northeastern city of Kupiansk, two civilians were killed and two more were wounded by Russian shelling on Wednesday morning, a regional official said.A nine-story residential building and a clinic were damaged, and a 55-year-old woman and a 68-year-old man died, Kharkiv governor Oleh Syniehubov said on Telegram.Kupiansk was an early prize of Ukraine’s lightning offensive in the northeastern Kharkiv region in September and, like other recaptured settlements, has seen repeated shelling by Russian forces which many Ukrainian officials describe as retaliation.In Strasbourg, France, the European Parliament overwhelmingly backed a resolution labeling Russia a state sponsor of terrorism for its invasion of and actions in Ukraine. The nonbinding but symbolically significant resolution passed in a 494-58 vote with 48 abstentions.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the vote. "Russia must be isolated at all levels and be held accountable in order to end its longstanding policy of terrorism in Ukraine and across the globe,” he wrote on Twitter.After Wednesday's explosions in Kyiv, senior Zelenskyy aide Andriy Yermak wrote on Telegram: “The terrorists immediately confirm that they are terrorists - they launch rockets. Naive losers."

Power outages reported in Ukrainian cities, Moldova

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22CLAIRE%20RUSH%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By CLAIRE RUSH Associated Press/Report for America</a>

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Good news for fans of “The Goonies:” the old Victorian home featured in the film is on sale in Astoria, Oregon, and potential buyers are considering making it more accessible to the public.

“We have a few interested parties right now,” said realtor Jordan Miller, the listing agent for the property. “It seems to be everybody's intention to be able to open up the house a little bit more and have more access.”

The 1896 home with sweeping views of the Columbia River flowing into the Pacific Ocean has been listed with an asking price of $1.7 million on Zillow, where it's described as “fully loaded with history, nostalgia and iconic level of fame.”

Since the movie hit theaters in 1985, fans have flocked to the home in northwestern Oregon's historic port of Astoria. The city celebrates Goonies Day on June 7, the film's release date, and welcomes thousands of people for the event.

Owner Sandi Preston was known to have been largely welcoming to visitors. But she lived in the house full time, and the constant crowds were a strain that prompted her at times to close it to foot traffic.

After the film's 30th anniversary drew about 1,500 daily visitors in 2015, Preston posted “no trespassing” signs prohibiting tourists from walking up to the property. She reopened it to the public this past August.

City officials, who restricted parking in the area, have long sought to mediate the tensions between residents and the fans hoping to see and photograph the location.

“While the owner of this location from The Goonies is a fan of the movie and enjoys chatting with visitors making the trek to Astoria to see the film locations, as you can imagine, it gets hard having hundreds of people crowding into your personal space every single day,” the Astoria-Warrenton Chamber of Commerce wrote in August on a Facebook page they administer called Goonies Day in Astoria, Oregon.

In the coming-of-age film, based on a story by Steven Spielberg and featuring a young Sean Astin, a group of friends fight to protect their homes from an expanding country club and threats of foreclosure. In the process, they discover an old treasure map that leads them on an adventure and allows them to save their “Goon Docks” neighborhood.

Astoria and its rugged coastline served as the backdrop for several well-known films from the 1980s and ’90s, including “Kindergarten Cop” starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.

For now, potential buyers of the iconic Goonies house don't seem to want to make the house their primary residence, said listing agent Miller, suggesting it has drawn interest from people who want to “make it their passion.”

“It’s kind of a fun buy,” Miller said. “Whoever buys the house is going to have a relatively steady stream of extremely happy people walking up outside to fulfill their childhood dreams.”

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22CLAIRE%20RUSH%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By CLAIRE RUSH Associated Press/Report for America</a>PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Good news for fans of “The Goonies:” the old Victorian home featured in the film is on sale in Astoria, Oregon, and potential buyers are considering making it more accessible to the public.“We have a few interested parties right now,” said realtor Jordan Miller, the listing agent for the property. “It seems to be everybody's intention to be able to open up the house a little bit more and have more access.”The 1896 home with sweeping views of the Columbia River flowing into the Pacific Ocean has been listed with an asking price of $1.7 million on Zillow, where it's described as “fully loaded with history, nostalgia and iconic level of fame.”Since the movie hit theaters in 1985, fans have flocked to the home in northwestern Oregon's historic port of Astoria. The city celebrates Goonies Day on June 7, the film's release date, and welcomes thousands of people for the event.Owner Sandi Preston was known to have been largely welcoming to visitors. But she lived in the house full time, and the constant crowds were a strain that prompted her at times to close it to foot traffic.After the film's 30th anniversary drew about 1,500 daily visitors in 2015, Preston posted “no trespassing” signs prohibiting tourists from walking up to the property. She reopened it to the public this past August.City officials, who restricted parking in the area, have long sought to mediate the tensions between residents and the fans hoping to see and photograph the location.“While the owner of this location from The Goonies is a fan of the movie and enjoys chatting with visitors making the trek to Astoria to see the film locations, as you can imagine, it gets hard having hundreds of people crowding into your personal space every single day,” the Astoria-Warrenton Chamber of Commerce wrote in August on a Facebook page they administer called Goonies Day in Astoria, Oregon.In the coming-of-age film, based on a story by Steven Spielberg and featuring a young Sean Astin, a group of friends fight to protect their homes from an expanding country club and threats of foreclosure. In the process, they discover an old treasure map that leads them on an adventure and allows them to save their “Goon Docks” neighborhood.Astoria and its rugged coastline served as the backdrop for several well-known films from the 1980s and ’90s, including “Kindergarten Cop” starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.For now, potential buyers of the iconic Goonies house don't seem to want to make the house their primary residence, said listing agent Miller, suggesting it has drawn interest from people who want to “make it their passion.”“It’s kind of a fun buy,” Miller said. “Whoever buys the house is going to have a relatively steady stream of extremely happy people walking up outside to fulfill their childhood dreams.”

Famed 'Goonies' house for sale in coastal Astoria, Oregon

CHESAPEAKE, Va. (AP) — A shooter opened fire at a Walmart in Virginia, leaving six people dead, police said, in the country's second high-profile mass killing in a handful of days. The assailant is also dead.

The store in Chesapeake was busy just before the shooting Tuesday night with people stocking up ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, a shopper told&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKBOlU_udH8">a local TV station</a>.

Officer Leo Kosinski couldn’t say how the shooter died but said that he didn’t believe police fired shots. It was not clear who the shooter was or what their motive might be.

“I am devastated by the senseless act of violence that took place late last night in our city,” Mayor Rick W. West said in a statement posted on the city's Twitter account Wednesday. “Chesapeake is a tightknit community and we are all shaken by this news.”

Joetta Jeffery&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/22/us/chesapeake-virginia-walmart-shooting/index.html">told CNN</a>&nbsp;that she received text messages from her mother who was inside the store when the shots were fired. Her mother, Betsy Umphlett, was not injured.

“I’m crying, I’m shaking,” Jeffery said. “I had just talked to her about buying turkeys for Thanksgiving, then this text came in.”

A database run by The Associated Press, USA Today and Northeastern University that&nbsp;<a href="https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/graphics/2022/08/18/mass-killings-database-us-events-since-2006/9705311002/">tracks every mass killing</a>&nbsp;in America going back to 2006 shows this year has been especially bad. The U.S. has now had 40 mass killings so far this year, second to the 45 that occurred for all of 2019. The database defines a mass killing as at least four people killed, not including the killer.

The attack at the Walmart came three days after a person&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/shootings-colorado-springs-e098d88261db6bcfc0774434abbb7a8f">opened fire</a>&nbsp;at a gay nightclub in Colorado, killing five people and wounding 17. Earlier in the year, the country was shaken by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/uvalde-school-shooting">the deaths of 21 when a gunman stormed an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.</a>

Tuesday’s shooting also brought back memories of another at a Walmart in 2019, when a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-news-ap-top-news-arrests-crime-shootings-13545dd216ae4e7aa46c524b7ee4cbec">gunman</a>&nbsp;police say&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/shootings-el-paso-texas-mass-shooting-us-news-ap-top-news-immigration-456c0154218a4d378e2fb36cd40b709d">was targeting Mexicans</a>&nbsp;opened fire at a store in El Paso, Texas, and killed 22 people.

The shooting had apparently stopped when police arrived at the store in Chesapeake, said Kosinski, the police official. The city is Virginia’s second-largest and lies next to the seaside communities of Norfolk and Virginia Beach.

Mike Kafka, a spokesman for Sentara Healthcare, said in a text message that five patients from the Walmart were being treated at Norfolk General Hospital. Their conditions weren’t immediately available.

One man was seen wailing at a hospital after learning that his brother was dead, and others shrieked as they left a conference center set up as a family reunification center,&nbsp;<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/Joetta%20Jeffery%20told%20CNN%20she%20received%20text%20messages%20from%20her%20mother%20who%20was%20inside%20the%20store%20during%20the%20shooting.%20Her%20mother,%20Betsy%20Umphlett,%20was%20not%20injured.%20%E2%80%9CI%E2%80%99m%20crying,%20I%E2%80%99m%20shaking,%E2%80%9D%20Jeffery%20said.%20%E2%80%9CI%20had%20just%20talked%20to%20her%20about%20buying%20turkeys%20for%20Thanksgiving,%20then%20this%20text%20came%20in.%E2%80%9D">The Virginian-Pilot reported</a>.

Camille Buggs, a former Walmart employee, told the paper she went to the conference center seeking information about her former coworkers.

“You always say you don’t think it would happen in your town, in your neighborhood, in your store — in your favorite store and that’s the thing that has me shocked,” said Buggs, 58, of Chesapeake.

Walmart tweeted early Wednesday that it was “shocked at this tragic event.”

U.S. Sen. Mark Warner said in a tweet that he was “sickened by reports of yet another mass shooting, this time at a Walmart in Chesapeake.”

State Sen. Louise Lucas echoed Warner's sentiment, tweeting that she was “absolutely heartbroken that America’s latest mass shooting took place in a Walmart in my district."

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1669209736660.jpeg" alt="A law enforcement investigator wears a protective covering as they work the scene of a mass shooting at a Walmart, Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2022, in Chesapeake, Va. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)" />
 <figcaption>A law enforcement investigator wears a protective covering as they work the scene of a mass shooting at a Walmart, Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2022, in Chesapeake, Va. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)</figcaption>
 </figure>CHESAPEAKE, Va. (AP) — A shooter opened fire at a Walmart in Virginia, leaving six people dead, police said, in the country's second high-profile mass killing in a handful of days. The assailant is also dead.The store in Chesapeake was busy just before the shooting Tuesday night with people stocking up ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, a shopper told&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKBOlU_udH8">a local TV station</a>.Officer Leo Kosinski couldn’t say how the shooter died but said that he didn’t believe police fired shots. It was not clear who the shooter was or what their motive might be.“I am devastated by the senseless act of violence that took place late last night in our city,” Mayor Rick W. West said in a statement posted on the city's Twitter account Wednesday. “Chesapeake is a tightknit community and we are all shaken by this news.”Joetta Jeffery&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/22/us/chesapeake-virginia-walmart-shooting/index.html">told CNN</a>&nbsp;that she received text messages from her mother who was inside the store when the shots were fired. Her mother, Betsy Umphlett, was not injured.“I’m crying, I’m shaking,” Jeffery said. “I had just talked to her about buying turkeys for Thanksgiving, then this text came in.”A database run by The Associated Press, USA Today and Northeastern University that&nbsp;<a href="https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/graphics/2022/08/18/mass-killings-database-us-events-since-2006/9705311002/">tracks every mass killing</a>&nbsp;in America going back to 2006 shows this year has been especially bad. The U.S. has now had 40 mass killings so far this year, second to the 45 that occurred for all of 2019. The database defines a mass killing as at least four people killed, not including the killer.The attack at the Walmart came three days after a person&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/shootings-colorado-springs-e098d88261db6bcfc0774434abbb7a8f">opened fire</a>&nbsp;at a gay nightclub in Colorado, killing five people and wounding 17. Earlier in the year, the country was shaken by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/uvalde-school-shooting">the deaths of 21 when a gunman stormed an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.</a>Tuesday’s shooting also brought back memories of another at a Walmart in 2019, when a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-news-ap-top-news-arrests-crime-shootings-13545dd216ae4e7aa46c524b7ee4cbec">gunman</a>&nbsp;police say&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/shootings-el-paso-texas-mass-shooting-us-news-ap-top-news-immigration-456c0154218a4d378e2fb36cd40b709d">was targeting Mexicans</a>&nbsp;opened fire at a store in El Paso, Texas, and killed 22 people.The shooting had apparently stopped when police arrived at the store in Chesapeake, said Kosinski, the police official. The city is Virginia’s second-largest and lies next to the seaside communities of Norfolk and Virginia Beach.Mike Kafka, a spokesman for Sentara Healthcare, said in a text message that five patients from the Walmart were being treated at Norfolk General Hospital. Their conditions weren’t immediately available.One man was seen wailing at a hospital after learning that his brother was dead, and others shrieked as they left a conference center set up as a family reunification center,&nbsp;<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/Joetta%20Jeffery%20told%20CNN%20she%20received%20text%20messages%20from%20her%20mother%20who%20was%20inside%20the%20store%20during%20the%20shooting.%20Her%20mother,%20Betsy%20Umphlett,%20was%20not%20injured.%20%E2%80%9CI%E2%80%99m%20crying,%20I%E2%80%99m%20shaking,%E2%80%9D%20Jeffery%20said.%20%E2%80%9CI%20had%20just%20talked%20to%20her%20about%20buying%20turkeys%20for%20Thanksgiving,%20then%20this%20text%20came%20in.%E2%80%9D">The Virginian-Pilot reported</a>.Camille Buggs, a former Walmart employee, told the paper she went to the conference center seeking information about her former coworkers.“You always say you don’t think it would happen in your town, in your neighborhood, in your store — in your favorite store and that’s the thing that has me shocked,” said Buggs, 58, of Chesapeake.Walmart tweeted early Wednesday that it was “shocked at this tragic event.”U.S. Sen. Mark Warner said in a tweet that he was “sickened by reports of yet another mass shooting, this time at a Walmart in Chesapeake.”State Sen. Louise Lucas echoed Warner's sentiment, tweeting that she was “absolutely heartbroken that America’s latest mass shooting took place in a Walmart in my district."

Police: 6 people and assailant dead in Walmart shooting

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis gave the World Cup a shout-out on Wednesday and prayed that the Qatar tournament may be an occasion for harmony and peace in the world.

Francis is a life-long soccer fan and has long promoted sport as a way of promoting solidarity and fraternity.

Speaking at the end of his weekly Wednesday general audience, Francis sent greetings to World Cup players, fans and spectators watching from afar.

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis gave the World Cup a shout-out on Wednesday and prayed that the Qatar tournament may be an occasion for harmony and peace in the world.Francis is a life-long soccer fan and has long promoted sport as a way of promoting solidarity and fraternity.Speaking at the end of his weekly Wednesday general audience, Francis sent greetings to World Cup players, fans and spectators watching from afar.“May this important event be an occasion for meeting and harmony for nations, favoring brotherhood and peace among peoples. Let’s pray for peace in the world, and the end of all conflicts,” he said.The 85-year-old Argentine is a card-holding fan of the Buenos Aires club San Lorenzo.