Health News

HONOLULU — A review of Hawaii Gov. David Ige’s emails shows the state epidemiologist spent key weeks in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic resisting suggestions and requests that she boost contact tracing to control the spread of COVID-19.

They also showed Dr. Sarah Park repeatedly telling her superiors that the state’s failure to adequately fund the division she headed was preventing her from quickly expanding their work to respond to the crisis.

The Associated Press obtained the emails last month in response to a May 2020 request submitted under Hawaii’s open records law.

Contact tracing was especially difficult for many states. The effort aims to alert people who may have been exposed to someone with the coronavirus and prevent them from spreading it to others. Health experts say it’s key to containing the virus.

The governor’s records show that University of Hawaii President David Lassner emailed administration officials on April 16, 2020, to say university researchers had written a report about the need to boost contact tracing and other steps to control COVID-19.

Park didn’t outright reject more contact tracing but replied: “I am increasingly disturbed that people seem to think contact tracing is somehow easily accomplished as a simple task when it is a part of the practice of applied epidemiology.”

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MORE ON THE PANDEMIC:

— New England’s success against COVID-19 could be a model

— Amid brutal case surge, Afghanistan hit by vaccine delays

— Pilgrims return to Spain’s ‘El Camino’ paths after pandemic

— Heart reaction probed as possible rare vaccine effect in teens

— Experts see strides on AIDS, but COVID-19 halted progress

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Follow more of AP’s pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic and https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine

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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:

PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia bike riders won’t need shirts, pants, skirts or underwear — just a mask.

Organizers of the Philly Naked Bike Ride say this year’s event will take place Aug. 28 and will require masks, based on the city’s earlier coronavirus restrictions.

The city lifted most of those restrictions this week, citing increased vaccinations and decreased cases. But ride organizers say they haven’t chatted since the city’s guidelines changed so for now, they’re sticking with their initial mask guidance.

Ride participants usually gather in a park to undress before carefully hopping on their bikes to promote body positivity and cycling safety and protest fossil fuel dependency.

Organizers canceled the 2020 event, saying it was “the most responsible thing to do.”

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BANGKOK — Trade ministers from the Pacific Rim were discussing ways to build back better from the pandemic in an online meeting Saturday hosted by New Zealand.

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum has long focused on dismantling trade barriers. The meeting of its trade ministers was convened virtually, given travel restrictions in the region as coronavirus outbreaks flare in many countries still struggling to obtain and deploy enough COVID-19 vaccines.

On the agenda was a statement on aiding the movement of essential goods needed to fight the pandemic, in line with global trade rules that have been strained in recent years, especially during the administration of President Donald Trump who favored striking trade deals with individual countries.

The trade ministers conferred with business leaders on Friday on ways to better manage the health and economic crisis brought on by the pandemic.

“We must ensure that trade plays a role in combatting the worst, continuing effects of COVID-19 through open and unrestricted trade in vaccines, essential medical supplies and associated products,” said Rachel Taulelei, chair of the APEC Business Advisory Council.

In many countries in the Asia-Pacific region, the share of people vaccinated so far is in the low single digits. That includes places like Thailand and Taiwan that initially managed to avoid initial massive outbreaks but now are contending with their worst flare-ups.

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UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations chief is welcoming the Biden administration’s announcement that it will be donating millions of doses of COVID-19 vaccine to the U.N.-backed COVAX facility as well as to individual countries and U.N. front-line personnel in challenging and dangerous locations.

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric says Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is also “extremely grateful” to the U.S. government for including U.N. personnel and diplomats and staff of the 193 U.N. member nations in the U.S. vaccination program.

Biden announced Thursday the U.S. will swiftly donate an initial allotment of 25 million doses of surplus vaccine overseas through the COVAX program, which to date has shared just 76 million doses with needy countries. Overall, the White House has announced plans to share 80 million doses globally by the end of June, most through COVAX.

Dujarric said the donation to U.N. frontline personnel will allow staff members “to stay and deliver critical services to vulnerable people around the world in a safe and effective manner.”

Guterres renews his call for countries to share vaccines, particularly with countries struggling with new surges and variants, Dujarric said.

“There is an urgent need for increased global solidarity to ensure that vaccines are available to everyone, everywhere,” he said.

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MEXICO CITY — Mexican officials said Friday they will use 1 million U.S. doses of the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine to inoculate people along the border.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador says the vaccinations along Mexico’s northern border with the United States is part of an effort to fully reopen border crossings, which are currently restricted to essential travel.

“There is going to be a special vaccination plan in the border communities of our country on the northern border, with the aim of getting border transportation back to normal,” López Obrador said.

Mexican officials say they will have to obtain another 2 million doses of the one-shot vaccine — which they might purchase from Johnson & Johnson — to vaccinate 3 million border residents between 18 and 40 years old.

Presumably, those older than 40 will be covered by Mexico’s regular nationwide campaign, which does not use Johnson & Johnson, although the shot has been approved for use in Mexico.

On Thursday, an official said some doses might also be used at coastal resorts frequented by Americans, but that possibility was not included in the plan announced Friday.

The announcement came on the same day that Mexico City announced the gradual lifting of a partial coronavirus lockdown that began more than a year ago.

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Gov. Gavin Newsom says he will not lift the coronavirus state of emergency on June 15.

Newsom has said he will lift most of the virus restrictions on that date. But Friday, Newsom said he will not lift the state of emergency that gives him broad authority to issue alter or suspend state laws and regulations.

California has been under a state of emergency since March 4, 2020. Since then, according to a resolution authored by Republican state senators, Newsom has authorized billions of dollars in emergency spending and issued at least 47 executive orders to alter or suspend 200 state laws and regulations because of the virus.

Newsom, a Democrat, said he won’t end the state of emergency because the virus “is not taking the summer months off.”

Republicans in the state Senate have tried repeatedly to pass a concurrent resolution to end the state of emergency. But Democrats in the majority have always blocked their efforts.

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PARIS (AP) — Roger Federer was honest with himself, and everyone else, before the French Open, saying he knew he didn’t have any chance of winning the title. He arrived in Paris, after all, having played just three matches over the preceding year-plus following two knee operations.

Still, neither he, nor anyone else, probably expected Federer to have such a hard time getting out of Week 1 at Roland Garros. Eventually, he avoided what would have been his earliest loss there since 2004 by pulling out a 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 7-6 (4), 7-5 victory over 59th-ranked Dominik Koepfer that began Saturday night and ended as 1 a.m. approached — with no crowd present because of a COVID-19 curfew.

Federer, a 20-time Grand Slam champion who turns 40 on Aug. 8, was last bounced from the French Open in the third round 17 years ago; since then, his successes there included winning the 2009 trophy and reaching four other finals (losing to Rafael Nadal each time).

But Federer couldn’t hit through the court or successfully employ the attacking tactics he enjoys, perhaps because of cloud cover and temperatures in the low-60s Fahrenheit (teens Celsius), which made for cooler, heavier conditions than in recent days and slowed shots down.

He never quite could wrest complete control against Koepfer, a 27-year-old left-hander from Germany with zero tour-level titles, a losing career record, a best ranking of No. 50 and only one previous run as far as the fourth round at a major.

Adding to the oddness of it all was the lack of spectators, who almost assuredly would have tried to offer a boost to Federer, a popular player who might not have many — any? — more French Open appearances in him at this stage of his career.

Scheduled night matches are new this year at Roland Garros, and ticket-holders are being ushered out of the place before 9 p.m. as part of precautions instituted because of the coronavirus pandemic.

It meant that applause, and the occasional shout, on Court Philippe Chatrier was pretty much limited to the handful of players’ guests. The sound of shoes scraping the crushed red brick or shots leaving rackets were accompanied by the clang of Federer angrily hitting balls off courtside advertising signage between points or his self-criticisms upon delivery of some of his whopping 63 unforced errors — 23 more than Koepfer.

Koepfer’s serving became increasingly effective in the middle sets, yes, but the biggest issue for Federer was his own propensity for mistakes.

The second-set tiebreaker illustrated that well: From 2-all, Federer netted a backhand, sailed a forehand long, missed another backhand and yanked a forehand off-target to give set points to Koepfer, who played college tennis at Tulane. A wide backhand ceded the set.

In the third, Federer fell behind by a break but managed to recover. When his drop shot drew a wide reply to end that tiebreaker, he shook his right fist. On the other side of the net, Koepfer grabbed his own throat. Koepfer showed more frustration in the fourth, when he disagreed with a line call, walked over to the ball mark, then leaned over to spit at it.

That drew a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct from the chair umpire and a point penalty. Down a break, Koepfer broke back and extended the fourth set until Federer broke in the next-to-last game, then served out the victory.

It put Federer in the round of 16 at a major for the 68th time, extending his men’s record — ahead of Novak Djokovic, who got that far for the 54th time earlier Saturday, and Rafael Nadal, who raised his total to 50.

They are all in the same half of a Grand Slam draw for the first time, and all face Italians on Monday. The No. 8-seeded Federer goes up against No. 9 Matteo Berrettini, No. 1 Djokovic meets unseeded Lorenzo Musetti, and Nadal takes on No. 18 Jannik Sinner.

If Federer and Djokovic advance, they will play each other in the quarterfinals; the winner of that matchup possibly would face Nadal in the semifinals.

Federer made plain last month that he viewed this event as more of a way to prepare for a title bid at Wimbledon, which begins June 28, than any kind of opportunity to break his tie with Nadal for the most Slam trophies for a man.

“I’m just realistic and I know I will not win the French — and whoever thought I would, or could, win it is wrong,” Federer said at the time. ”Of course, crazier things might have happened. But I’m not so sure in the last 50 years at the French Open, somebody just walked up at 40 years old, being out for a year and a half, and just (went) on to win everything.”

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More AP Tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Rev. James Altman calls himself “a lowly priest” serving a blue-collar city in western Wisconsin. But when his bishop demanded his resignation – after a series of divisive remarks about politics and the pandemic – Altman refused to oblige and has since raised more than $640,000 from his conservative supporters to defend himself.

While not unprecedented, a Catholic priest’s refusal to abide by a bishop’s call to resign is certainly rare. Altman’s case, which has garnered national attention and made him a celebrity of sorts among conservative Catholics, has further fueled the divide between them and those urging a more progressive, inclusive church.

Altman, pastor of St. James the Less Roman Catholic Church in La Crosse, first came into prominence before the 2020 election with a fiery video on YouTube.

“You cannot be Catholic and be a Democrat,” said Altman, admonishing people to “repent of your support of that party and its platform or face the fires of hell.”

He reiterated that sentiment recently while also criticizing vaccination efforts and restrictions on church gatherings related to COVID-19.

On May 23, Altman announced during a homily that the Diocese of La Crosse’s bishop, William Patrick Callahan, had asked for his resignation as pastor of St. James.

“They want my head now for speaking that truth,” Altman told the congregation. “I, a lowly priest, apparently have created enemies among some of the hierarchies.”

The diocese issued a statement the next day confirming Callahan’s request and Altman’s refusal to step away, and said it would begin the process to remove him according to Catholic law.

Altman said he would fight the process but needed money to hire lawyers. His supporters across the U.S. responded swiftly.

LifeFunder, a crowdfunding site for conservative Christians, set out to raise $100,000 for Altman; by Thursday it had raised more than $322,000. GiveSendGo, another Christian crowdfunding site, has raised more than $326,000.

“As we all know, Fr. Altman has been subject to diabolical persecution just for doing his job as a shepherd to his flock,” says a message on GiveSendGo.

Altman didn’t respond to a message The Associated Press left at the church office. Videos posted by LifeFunder feature him railing against the Catholic hierarchy, calling bishops who don’t support him “cowards” and a “brood of vipers,” and labeling liberals “left-wing fascist Nazis.”

As for the fundraising, he said: “I never think of myself as great, but what it does tell me is the people are saying that they need to hear the truth spoken.”

Most of Callahan’s fellow bishops across the U.S. have not commented publicly about the case, though one of them — Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas — has tweeted support for Altman.

Altman “is in trouble for speaking the truth,” Strickland tweeted. “He inspires many to keep the faith during these dark days. Let us pray for him.”

Conversely, Faithful America, which describes itself as an online community of Christians, launched a petition urging Altman’s removal from the ministry due to his remarks about the pandemic.

“Fr. Altman is endangering not only his own parishioners but every essential worker they meet, and should be removed … before he can risk even one more life,” the petition said.

David Cloutier, an assistant professor of moral theology at the Catholic University of America, said via email that Altman “is clearly far out of bounds in the extent to which he is no longer articulating specific Catholic teaching.”

“He has instead become a conservative commentator on cultural issues on which there is either no specifically ‘Catholic’ position or where the priest might well be at odds with Catholic principles,” Cloutier added.

La Crosse is a city of 50,000 on the Mississippi River about 125 miles (200 kilometers) southeast of Minneapolis. Altman’s church was built in 1901; its red brick walls and towering dome are a local landmark.

Its congregation has been divided over Altman.

Carol Patterson attended Mass at St. James for 50 years until Altman’s style and sermons drove her to another church last year. Though she was deeply involved in church activities, she said he never bothered to learn her name.

Leaving was a tough decision; Patterson and her daughter were both married in St. James and her late husband was buried under its aegis.

“I just didn’t agree with the things he (Altman) was doing,” Patterson said. “The Democrats go to hell, encouraging people not to get masks, not to get the shots. … I loved St. James, but I just couldn’t do it anymore. It was raising my blood pressure.”

Monica Mohan, has made the 80-mile drive from her home in Fall Creek to La Crosse twice to attend Mass with Altman. She said he is true to Catholic principles and now faces pressure from a church hierarchy that has been trying to “water down” the faith.

“I have never seen a priest so joyful when he’s distributing Holy Communion,” she said. “This parish is his family. To rip a father away from his family when he has not taught anything contrary to the faith is inconceivable. It’s despicable.”

If Altman persists in his defiance, the legal procedures — dictated by the Catholic church’s Code of Canon Law — could be lengthy.

According to William Daniel, a professor of canon law at Catholic University, a priest asked by his bishop to resign has the option of submitting a defense. The bishop then consults with two other pastors and issues a decree removing the priest if he determines that step is still warranted.

If the priest thinks the bishop’s decision is unfair, Daniel said, he can bring the case to the Vatican’s Congregation for the Clergy, which can uphold or change the bishop’s decision. A further Vatican review is possible if the priest or the bishop disagrees with the Congregation’s decision,

While requests for the resignation of a priest are not uncommon, it’s rare that they lead to a high-profile refusal to resign, Daniel said.

One of the few such cases in the U.S. came in 2002, when a priest in the Archdiocese of Boston refused to step down over an accusation that he sexually abused a child three decades earlier. The Rev. D. George Spagnolia took his case to the Vatican but was unable to overturn his suspension. He died in 2008.

More recently, the Rev. Frank Pavone, an anti-abortion activist who heads Priests for Life, appealed to the Vatican over restrictions placed on his ministry in 2011 by his bishop in Amarillo, Texas. Pavone succeeded in getting the restrictions eased, relocated away from Texas and remains active with Priests for Life.

Pavone strongly supports Altman’s right to resist the resignation request.

“Bishops err, and sadly, some — as in my case — badly abuse their authority,” Pavone said via email. “We need to be able to defend ourselves.”

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Crary reported from Carbondale, Colorado.

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TORONTO (AP) — Taya Currie became the first female player ever chosen in the Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection draft Saturday.

The 16-year-old goaltender from Parkhill, Ontario, was selected in the 14th round, 267th overall, by the Sarnia Sting.

The 5-foot-7 Currie last played for the Elgin-Middlesex Chiefs triple-A boys’ under-16 team. She didn’t play this season because of the pandemic.

Manon Rheaume — the only women to play in the NHL when she suited up in exhibition games for the Tampa Bay Lightning 1992 and ’93 — played one game in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League in the 1991-92 season with the Trois-Rivieres Draveurs. Most recently, Shannon Szabados dressed for a game with the Tri-City Americans of the Western Hockey League in 2003-04.

The Sudbury Wolves used the No. 1 pick to select Quentin Musty from the North Jersey Avalanche U16 team.

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A young man serving life without parole was exonerated Friday in the death of a special-needs athlete in a case stained by a Philadelphia detective now charged with sexually assaulting witnesses.

Prosecutors say at least eight murder cases have fallen apart, before or after conviction, because of the involvement of former Detective Philip Nordo. He’s been in custody since 2017, accused of stalking, intimidating and sexually assaulting male suspects and witnesses during his career. His trial is set for October.

In the latest case to unravel, a judge Friday reversed the 2015 conviction of Arkel Garcia, who confessed to murder during an interrogation in which, his lawyer said, Nordo asked the teenager to view pornography with him. The ruling came after both sides presented evidence that Nordo had sexually groomed witnesses in the case and trial prosecutors had suppressed his misconduct.

The victim, 21-year-old Christian Massey, was apparently killed in November 2013 for his $300 headphones, a pair of Beats by Dre he had bought just the day before. His family listened in court Friday as prosecutors said that new testing on DNA found at the scene has not helped identify another suspect.

Nordo, 55, was fired from the force after his 2017 arrest in a lengthy indictment that charges him with 38 counts of rape, institutional sexual assault, stalking and other crimes.

Garcia, now 27, had been identified by a confidential witness who was paid and propositioned by Nordo, prosecutors said. And his confession made little sense. He told the detective there were two accomplices in the alley with him, although security footage showed only one assailant. He also identified the shooter as a man prosecutors say could not have pulled the trigger. Garcia’s mother insisted he was home at the time.

“Look, it’s sad for everybody. The shooter was never found, they never arrested anybody for this homicide, an innocent man was convicted unlawfully, and there’s no peace for this family,” defense lawyer Robert Mozenter said after the hearing.

The case marks the 21st exoneration for the office of District Attorney Larry Krasner, who frequently sued police during his long career as a civil rights lawyer.

Massey, beloved as a “gentle giant,” had played football and basketball in high school and competed in Special Olympics.

“Nordo used the investigation of Massey’s murder as an opportunity to groom two individuals he sexually exploited. Both testified before investigating grand juries,” Assistant District Attorney Michael Garmisa told the judge Friday. Had the jury known that, he said, it might not have returned a guilty verdict.

Garcia is not yet out of prison, however, and was not in court Friday. As he was being sentenced in 2015, he snapped, getting into a brawl with court security officers. That cost him an additional five- to 10-year term.

Mozenter hopes to resolve the issue quickly since Garcia has served seven of those years.

“He was an angry young man, and who wouldn’t be under these circumstances?” Mozenter said. “The whole criminal justice system in this case failed him from the moment he was arrested. The courts failed him. His lawyers failed him. The DA failed him.”

That office, under a former district attorney, failed to disclose exculpatory evidence about Nordo, according to a stipulation signed by both sides. It includes transcripts of prison calls he made with the confidential witness in the case.

Nordo’s lawyer did not have an immediate comment on Garcia’s case, but has previously said Nordo maintains his innocence.

Mozenter hopes his client, who never finished high school, will be out of prison long before his trial — and out of Philadelphia.

The plan, he said, is “we get him out, get him to go to a trade school and go to high school, and get the hell out of this city, because the streets here are terrible.”

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Follow Maryclaire Dale on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Maryclairedale

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