Author: WAKA Action 8 News

Service Set for Medal of Honor Recipient Who Died of COVID-19

President Barack Obama bestows the Medal of Honor on retired Army Command Sgt. Maj. Bennie G. Adkins. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) OPELIKA, Ala. (AP) – A Medal of Honor recipient from Opelika who died after contracting COVID-19 earlier this year will be laid to rest this week at Arlington National Cemetery. Services for Bennie G. Adkins were announced by his private…

Memphis and Florida Atlantic to play inaugural Montgomery Bowl

On Sunday Memphis and Florida Atlantic accepted bids to play in the Montgomery Bowl. The game will happen Wednesday, Dec. 23 at Cramton Bowl. Memphis is making its record seventh consecutive bowl appearance. Florida Atlantic beat the Tigers in the their lone matchup, 44-27 in the 2007 New Orleans Bowl. Categories: Montgomery Metro, News

Historic COVID-19 Vaccine Shipments Begin in the U.S.

A truck loaded with the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine leaves the Pfizer Global Supply Kalamazoo manufacturing plant in Portage, Mich., Sunday, Dec. 13, 2020. (AP Photo/Morry Gash, Pool) The first trucks carrying a COVID-19 vaccine for widespread use in the United States have pulled out of a manufacturing plant in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The shipments this morning set in motion the biggest…

Country Music Superstar Charley Pride Dies of COVID-19 Complications

In this Oct. 4, 2000, file photo, Charley Pride performs during his induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame at the Country Music Association Awards show at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File) Charley Pride, the son of sharecroppers in Mississippi who became one of country music’s biggest stars and the first Black…

Alabama’s Unemployment Continues on Downward Trend

The Alabama Department of Labor has released the official count for initial unemployment claims filed during the week of November 29 – December 5, 2020. 7,059 initial claims were filed either online or by telephone during this period. 3,317 of those claims are COVID-19 related. That is slightly lower than the prior week and is the lowest since the pandemic…

COVID-19 Vaccine To Arrive in States Monday

U.S. officials say the nation’s first COVID-19 vaccine will begin arriving in states Monday morning. Trucks will roll out Sunday morning as shipping companies UPS and FedEx begin delivering Pfizer’s vaccine to nearly 150 distribution centers across the states. An additional 425 sites will get shipments Tuesday, and the remaining 66 on Wednesday. Initially, about 3 million doses are expected…

U.S. Allows Emergency COVID-19 Vaccine in Bid to End Pandemic

The U.S. has given the final go-ahead to the nation’s first COVID-19 vaccine, launching emergency vaccinations in a bid to end the pandemic. Shots will begin in a few days after Friday’s decision by the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA called the vaccine from Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech safe and strongly protective. But initial doses are scarce…

U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Lawsuit to Overturn Joe Biden’s Presidential Election Victory

The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected a lawsuit backed by President Trump to overturn Joe Biden’s election victory, ending a desperate attempt to get legal issues rejected by state and federal judges before the nation’s highest court. Trump had called the lawsuit filed by Texas against Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin “the big one.” The court’s order was its second…

Pfizer Coronavirus Vaccine Could be in Alabama By Monday

On Thursday an FDA advisory panel gave the Pfizer vaccine a positive recommendation. Friday the FDA met and is expected to give the Pfizer vaccine emergency use authorization. The vaccine may be approved on Saturday, but some officials say it could happen as soon as Friday night. As soon as authorization is granted, which is expected this weekend, the vaccine…