AUSTIN – The Austin American-Statesman reports the FBI has arrested a Nevada man accused of cyberstalking and threatening two âhigh-levelâ University of Texas employees. In addition to cyberstalking, Brian Solomon, who was arrested Sept. 16, is facing a charge of interstate communication with threat to injure. According to an affidavit, first reported by KXAN, a UT employee related to or involved in athletics received thousands of âpersistent threatening communicationsâ via Instagram direct messages from the Nevada man, who used multiple accounts to target the employee. The pervasive threats contained profanity, threatened violence against the employee and their family, and included requests for money to travel to their location. The threats against the second UT employee involved sexual violence, the affidavit states.
The threats then escalated to attempts to confront the first employee in person. When the Nevada man said he would be at an event that the employee was publicly stated to be at, the employee, who was unnamed in the court document, âpaid out of pocket to hire security,â the affidavit states. The man also threatened to fly to Austin multiple times to hurt the first employee, and he was arrested in the city on charges of stealing a vehicle and âcriminal mischiefâ in late July, about 8 miles from the victimâs house, police told the employee, according to the affidavit. The nature of the first employeeâs public schedule caused intense fear, the affidavit said, causing them to change homes and install security cameras. The affidavit states that the Nevada man said he sent âa few thousandâ messages to the first victim because he was mad, but also he believed he was “to be married (to the employee) and that he was the second coming of Christ.â
TYLER – The Smith County Commissioners Court on Tuesday, September 24, voted to approve allocating $4 million in ARPA funding to The University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler to help pay for a behavioral health hospital. The court approved a beneficiary agreement, which will allow the UT Health Science Center to renovate the former behavioral health center, located at 4101 University Blvd., and reopen it as a licensed behavioral health hospital with new impatient beds. The facility will expand the opportunities for inpatient and outpatient programs for mental health crisis care for Smith County patients. Continue reading Smith County gives $4 million to mental health facility
DALLAS – The Dallas Morning News reports ground mechanics and similar maintenance technicians at American Airlines have reached a two-year tentative agreement to extend their current contract with new raises and other perks. The agreement, which still must be ratified by over 34,000 members of the Transport Workers Union-International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, is a two-year extension that goes into effect Jan. 1 and ends in 2027. A deal was reached after a month of negotiations with the Fort Worth-based carrier. IAM Districts 141 and 142 represent mechanics, fleet service and other related workers at American. Average wage increases for members in January will range from 10.8% to 16.7% and 18% to 26% over the life of the extension. The contract also includes increases in license pay, skill pay and crew chief pay.
âThe IAM continues to negotiate agreements that are fundamentally changing the landscape of the entire airline industry,â said Richie Johnsen, general vice president of IAM air transport territory in a release. âBy continuing to win contracts that push wages and retirement security to new heights, we are lifting every worker and community that makes the world move.â The previous contract, valued at $4.2 billion, was reached in 2020 after the sides took nearly five years to reach a deal. It was one of the most contentious labor battles in the history of the airline. In 2019, American went to court with the union, accusing leaders of telling their members to slow down work and turn down overtime to increase pressure on American as the parties negotiated a new combined contract after four years of talks. The judge ultimately ruled in favor of American and issued a permanent injunction against workers to give stricter oversight over employees until a deal was made. âWe are pleased to have reached a tentative agreement on a contract extension with the TWU-IAM Association,â an American Airlines spokesperson said. âWith ratification, this agreement would bring significant increases in pay rates and premiums for our technical operations, fleet service, cargo and central load planning team members â further bolstering our commitment to ensuring our team is paid well and competitively.â
AUSTIN (AP) – Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Monday that his office is suing the U.S. Department of the Interior, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Biden administration officials for declaring a rare lizard endangered earlier this year.
The dunes sagebrush lizard burrows in the sand dunes in the Mescalero-Monahans ecosystem 30 miles west of Odessa â the same West Texas land that supports the stateâs biggest oil and gas fields.
For four decades, biologists warned federal regulators about the existential threat that oil and gas exploration and development poses for the reptileâs habitat, while industry representatives fought against the designation, saying it would scare off companies interested in drilling in the nationâs most lucrative oil and natural gas basin.
In May, federal regulators ruled that the industryâs expansion posed a grave threat to the lizardâs survival when listing it as endangered.
Now, the stateâs top lawyer is suing.
âThe Biden-Harris Administrationâs unlawful misuse of environmental law is a backdoor attempt to undermine Texasâs oil and gas industries which help keep the lights on for America,â Paxton said. âI warned that we would sue over this illegal move, and now we will see them in court.â
Paxtonâs statement said the listing of the lizard was a violation of the Endangered Species Act, adding that the Fish and Wildlife Service âfailed to rely on the best scientific and commercial dataâ when declaring the lizard endangered and did not take into account conservation efforts already in place to protect the lizard.
The 2.5-inch-long lizard only lives in about 4% of the 86,000-square-mile Permian Basin, which spans Texas and New Mexico, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service. In Texas, the lizard has been found in Andrews, Crane, Gaines, Ward and Winkler counties.
According to a 2023 analysis by the Fish and Wildlife Service, the lizard is âfunctionally extinctâ across 47% of its range.
The listing requires oil and gas companies to avoid operating in areas the lizard inhabits, but the Fish and Wildlife Service has yet to determine where those areas are because it is still gathering information. Oil and gas companies could incur fines up to $50,000 and prison time, depending on the violation, if they operate in those areas.
Paxtonâs office said that because the Fish and Wildlife Service has not specified those areas, it has left operators and landowners uncertain about what they can do with their own land.
(NEW YORK) -- The prevalence of obesity among adults has slightly decreased in the United States but remains higher than 10 years ago, new federal data shows.
Among adults aged 20 and older, about 40.3% were estimated to be obese between August 2021 and August 2023, according to a report released early Tuesday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics.
This is lower than the 41.9% estimated to be obese between 2017 and 2020 but higher than the 37.7% figure recorded from 2013 to 2014.
Meanwhile, rates of severe obesity increased from 9.2% between 2017 and 2020 to 9.7% between August 2021 and August 2023. Between 2013 and 2014, an estimated 7.7% of adults were severely obese.
This means more than 100 million American adults have obesity, and more than 20 million adults have severe obesity, according to figures from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Dr. John Brownstein, an epidemiologist and chief innovation officer at Boston Children's Hospital, and an ABC News contributor, said that although the data show a short-term slowdown of obesity rates, the prevalence is still quite high and higher than seen 10 years ago.
"The latest data reveals a persistent challenge with obesity rates holding steady at 40.3% among adults," he said. "While this does not represent an increase, it is important to recognize that these rates are still alarmingly high -- higher than they were a decade ago -- underscoring the urgent need for targeted public health strategies."
The prevalence of severe obesity was higher among women at 12.7% compared to 6.7% for men.
Among age groups, the prevalence of obesity was highest among adults between ages 40 and 59 at 46.4%. By comparison, the prevalence in adults between ages 20 and 39 was 35.5% and among those aged 60 and older was 38.9%. This pattern was seen in both men and women, according to the report.
Severe obesity prevalence was also highest among those aged 40 to 59 at 12% compared to 9.5% for those aged 20 to 29 and 6.6% for those aged 60 and older.
When it came to prevalence by education level, those with a bachelor's degree or more had the lowest prevalence of obesity at 31.6% between August 2021 and August 2023.
There were no significant differences between men and women in obesity prevalence by education level, the report found.
Adults with obesity are at high risk of other chronic diseases. About 58% of obese adults in the U.S. have high blood pressure and about 23% have diabetes, according to the CDC.
Additionally, obesity can put a strain on the health care system. In 2019, the annual medical costs for adults with obesity were $1,861 higher per person than for adults with healthy weight. For those with severe obesity, excess costs were $3,097 per person, the CDC said.
"While there are some differences across demographics, this work really highlights that obesity is a broad health issue in the U.S. and that men, women, young and old are all affected," Brownstein said. "Comprehensive approaches are essential to support individuals and communities in achieving healthier lifestyles."
(NEW YORK) -- Inflation bedeviled the U.S. economy for years, but a cooldown in price increases has shifted concern toward a different foe: Unemployment.
Hiring remains solid but has slowed dramatically from a peak achieved during the nation's rebound from the pandemic. The unemployment rate still hovers near historic lows but has climbed markedly this year.
A jumbo-sized interest rate cut at the Federal Reserve last week was viewed by some economists as an effort to fend off rising joblessness, even as Fed Chair Jerome Powell offered up reassurance.
"The U.S. economy is in good shape," Powell said.
Mixed signals sent by the nation's labor market pose a high-stakes question for tens of millions of jobholders as well as millions of people seeking work: Where are conditions headed from here?
Economists who spoke to ABC News disagreed sharply about the outlook.
Some acknowledged a slowdown in recent months but dismissed worries about its implications, pointing to resilient job growth and other healthy metrics that suggest the economy continues to hum. Others, however, emphasized their concerns about the trajectory of labor conditions and what it indicates about potential layoffs.
"The job market is cooling but it has not frozen up," Mark Hamrick, senior economic analyst at Bankrate, told ABC News. "This is a situation that's seen as relatively stable but results may vary."
Economists widely acknowledge that the labor market has slowed. That trend doesn't come as a surprise after a years-long period of high interest rates, which typically weigh on economic activity and company hiring, some economists told ABC News.
In 2022, the pandemic rebound triggered a blazing-hot job market that saw employers add an average of nearly 400,000 jobs per month. Over a three-month period ending in August, employers added an average of about 116,000 jobs per month.
The unemployment rate has climbed this year from 3.7% to 4.2%, though it remains relatively low by historical standards.
The sky-high job growth was bound to slow, in part because the economy lacked room for expansion after employers had hired the workers they needed and a dwindling number of unemployed people remained on the sidelines, according to Valerie Wilson, a labor economist who runs the program on race, ethnicity and the economy at the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute.
"We expected job growth at some point to slow down," Wilson said. "To me, that alone isn't cause for concern."
The uptick in unemployment isn't cause for concern yet either, Wilson said, highlighting data that demonstrate strength in the labor market and across the wider economy.
The share of job holders between the ages of 25 to 54 -- known as the "prime age" for workers -- stands at a 23-year high. U.S. gross domestic product grew at a solid pace over three months ending in June, U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis data showed. A relatively low number of people has claimed unemployment benefits in recent weeks, suggesting few layoffs.
"I don't think there's an immediate cause for concern," Wilson said.
Some economists disagreed. They pointed to a recession indicator known as the "Sahm Rule," which says that a rise of 0.5 percentage points in the unemployment rate within a 12-month period typically precedes a recession.
"When it comes to the Sahm Rule, what you see in the data is when the unemployment rate starts rising, it usually has a lot of momentum and takes a while to stop," Nick Bunker, economic research director for North America at Indeed Hiring Lab, told ABC News. "That's the concern."
The rule's originator, former Fed economist Claudia Sahm, has questioned whether it applies in this case, in part because unemployment remains low.
Economists who are worried also pointed to data suggesting that the employment situation may not be as strong as some contend.
Despite low unemployment, more than 10% of Americans can't find enough work, meaning for instance that they are working part-time but want full-time jobs or have fallen out of the labor force because they've stopped looking for work, Julia Pollak, chief economist at ZipRecruiter, told ABC News.
"Rising unemployment is not just a blip," Pollak said.
The exact path forward for the job market is difficult to predict, some economists said. Last week's interest rate cut could help jumpstart economic activity, some noted; while others said such policy typically takes effect on a lag that will render it irrelevant in the near term.
"The future is uncertain," Bunker said. "I wouldn't say we're moving in this great direction where everything will be completely fine. But I wouldn't fall into the trap of saying there's a rising unemployment rate so we're certain to be in a recession soon."
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) â Death row inmates in five states are scheduled to be put to death in the span of one week, an unusually high number of executions that defies a yearslong trend of decline in both the use and support of the death penalty in the U.S.
If carried out as planned, the executions in Alabama, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas will mark the first time in more than 20 years â since July 2003 â that five were held in seven days, according to the nonprofit Death Penalty Information Center, which takes no position on capital punishment but has criticized the way states carry out executions.
The first execution was carried out on Friday in South Carolina, and if the other four scheduled this week proceed, the United States will have reached 1,600 executions since the death penalty was reinstated by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1976, said Robin Maher, the center’s executive director.
âTwo on a single day is unusual, and four on two days in the same week is also very unusual,â Maher said.
Here are some things to know about executions set this week across the country.
How did 5 executions get set for a 1-week span?
Experts say five executions being scheduled within one week is simply an anomaly that resulted from courts or elected officials in individual states setting dates around the same time after inmates exhausted their appeals.
âI’m not aware of any reason other than coincidence,â said Eric Berger, a law professor at the University of Nebraska with expertise in the death penalty and lethal injection.
Berger said some factors can result in a backlog of executions, such as a state’s inability to obtain the lethal drugs necessary to carry them out, which happened in South Carolina, or a moratorium that resulted from botched executions, like what happened in Oklahoma.
South Carolina
The first of the five executions took place on Friday when South Carolina put inmate Freddie Owens to death for the 1997 killing of a convenience store clerk during a robbery. It was South Carolina’s first execution in 13 years, an unintended delay caused by the inability of state prison officials to obtain the drugs needed for lethal injections. To carry out executions, the state switched from a three-drug method to a new protocol of using a single sedative, pentobarbital.
Alabama
Alabama on Thursday is preparing to carry out the nationâs second execution ever using nitrogen gas after becoming the first state to use the new procedure in January. Alan Miller is set to die by the process in which a mask is placed over the inmateâs head that forces the inmate to inhale pure nitrogen. Miller, who was given a reprieve in 2022 after his execution was called off when officials were unable to connect an intravenous line, was sentenced to die after being convicted of killing three men during back-to-back workplace shootings in 1999.
Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas
On Tuesday, Texas is scheduled to execute Travis Mullis, a man with a long history of mental illness who has repeatedly sought to waive his right to appeal his death sentence. Mullis was sentenced to death for killing his 3-month-old son in January 2008. Mullis’ attorneys did not plan to file any appeals to try and stay his lethal injection.
Also on Tuesday in Missouri, Marcellus Williams is set to receive a lethal injection for the 1998 stabbing death of a woman in the St. Louis suburb of University City. Williams’ attorneys argued on Monday that the state Supreme Court should halt his execution over alleged procedural errors in jury selection and the prosecution’s alleged mishandling of the murder weapon. But the state’s high court rejected those arguments, and Gov. Mike Parson denied Williamsâ clemency request, paving the way for his execution to proceed.
In Oklahoma, Emmanuel Littlejohn is set to receive a lethal injection on Thursday after being sentenced to die for his role in the 1992 shooting death of a convenience store owner during a robbery. Littlejohn has admitted to his role in the robbery, but claims he did not fire the fatal shot. The state’s Pardon and Parole Board voted 3-2 last month to recommend Gov. Kevin Stitt spare Littlejohn’s life, but the governor has yet to make a clemency decision.
HOUSTON (AP) â A Texas man with a long history of mental illness who has repeatedly sought to waive his right to appeal his death sentence faced execution Tuesday evening for killing his 3-month-old son more than 16 years ago.
Travis Mullis, 38, was condemned for stomping his son Alijah to death in January 2008. His execution by lethal injection was set to take place at the state penitentiary in Huntsville.
Authorities say Mullis, then 21 and living in Brazoria County, drove to nearby Galveston with his son after fighting with his girlfriend. Mullis parked his car and sexually assaulted his son. After the infant began to cry uncontrollably, Mullis began strangling his son before taking him out of the car and stomping on his head, according to authorities.
The infantâs body was later found on the side of the road. Mullis fled Texas but was later arrested after turning himself in to police in Philadelphia.
Mullisâ execution was expected to proceed as his attorneys did not plan to file any final appeals to try and stay his lethal injection. His lawyers also did not file a clemency petition with the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles.
In a letter submitted to U.S. District Judge George Hanks in Houston, Mullis wrote in February that he had no desire to challenge his case any further. Mullis has previously taken responsibility for his sonâs death and has said âhis punishment fit the crime.â
In the letter, Mullis said, âhe seeks the same finality and justice the state seeks.â
Galveston County District Attorney Jack Roady, whose office prosecuted Mullis, declined to comment ahead of Tuesdayâs scheduled execution.
At Mullisâ trial, prosecutors said Mullis was a âmonsterâ who manipulated people, was deceitful and refused the medical and psychiatric help he had been offered.
Since his conviction in 2011, Mullis has long been at odds with his various attorneys over whether to appeal his case. At times, Mullis had asked that his appeals be waived, only to later change his mind.
Shawn Nolan, one of Mullisâ attorneys, told the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals during a June 2023 hearing that state courts in Texas had erred in ruling that Mullis had been mentally competent when he had waived his right to appeal his case about a decade earlier.
Nolan told the appeals court that Mullis has been treated for âprofound mental illnessâ since he was 3 years old, was sexually abused as a child and is âseverely bipolar,â leading him to change his mind about appealing his case.
âThe only hope that Mr. Mullis had of avoiding execution, of surviving was to have competent counsel to help the court in its determination of whether he was giving up his rights knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily and that did not happen,â Nolan said.
Natalie Thompson, who at the time was with the Texas Attorney Generalâs Office, told the appeals court that Mullis understood what he was doing and could go against his lawyersâ advice âeven if heâs suffering from mental illness.â
The appeals court upheld Hankâs ruling from 2021 that found Mullis ârepeatedly competently chose to waive reviewâ of his death sentence.
The U.S. Supreme Court has prohibited the application of the death penalty for the intellectually disabled, but not for people with serious mental illness.
Mullis would be the fourth inmate put to death this year in Texas, the nationâs busiest capital punishment state, and the 15th in the U.S.
Mullisâ execution is one of five set to take place in the U.S. within a weekâs time. The first took place Friday when South Carolina put inmate Freddie Owens to death. Also Tuesday, Marcellus Williams was scheduled to be executed in Missouri. On Thursday, executions are scheduled for Alan Miller in Alabama and Emmanuel Littlejohn in Oklahoma.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) â A federal jury in Texas on Monday rejected voter intimidation allegations against all but one of a group of former President Donald Trump supporters who surrounded a Biden-Harris campaign bus on an interstate days before the 2020 election.
Only one of the six Trump supporters who were sued in the civil trial was held responsible by the jury. A Texas man whose car brushed up against another as the caravan of vehicles dubbed the âTrump Trainâ raced down Interstate 35, was ordered to pay the bus driver $10,000 and another $30,000 in punitive damages.
Both sides declared victory at the end of a two-week trial in an Austin courthouse. The five Trump supporters cleared in the lawsuit â which was brought by three people aboard the campaign bus, including former Texas Democratic lawmaker Wendy Davis â described the verdict as vindicating and a relief.
âWeâre just ready to feel like normal people again,â said Joeylynn Mesaros, one of the defendants, who described being harassed for participating in the âTrump Train.â âItâs been a thousand something days to have our day in court.â
Attorneys for those aboard the bus said justice was served, even as they disagreed with the juryâs decision to clear five of the defendants.
âWhen I came to this case it was never about politics that day. Iâm grateful, Iâm proud of my team,â said Tim Holloway, who was behind the wheel of the campaign bus on Oct. 30, 2020.
The Biden-Harris campaign bus was traveling from San Antonio to Austin for an event when a group of cars and pickup trucks waving Trump flags boxed in the bus on the highway. Davis testified she feared for her life.
Video that Davis recorded from the bus shows one of the defendants, Eliazar Cisneros, hit a campaign volunteerâs car while the trucks occupied all lanes of traffic, forcing the bus and everyone around it to a 15 mph crawl.
It was the last day of early voting in Texas and the bus was scheduled to stop at San Marcos for an event at Texas State University. The event was canceled after Davis and others on the bus â a campaign staffer and the driver â made repeated calls to 911 asking for a police escort through San Marcos and no help arrived.
The trial centered on whether the actions of the âTrump Trainâ participants amounted to political intimidation.
No criminal charges were filed against the six Trump supporters.
An attorney for Cisneros, the only member of the convoy who the jury found liable, said they would appeal.
âWith regard to my client, itâs not over yet,â attorney Francisco Canseco said.
Davis testified that she felt scared and anxious throughout the ordeal. âI feel like they were enjoying making us afraid,â she testified. âItâs traumatic for all of us to revisit that day.â
TYLER â On Monday, the United States Department of Education announced 356 schools nationwide as Blue Ribbon Schools. According to our news partner KETK, four of these schools were from East Texas. In a release from the department, National Blue Ribbon Schools are schools that âexcel in academic performance or make significant strides in closing achievement gaps among different student groups.â
Of the 356 nationally recognized schools, the following East Texas schools were awarded:
Caldwell Arts Academy in Tyler for exemplary achievement gap closing
Gus Winston Cain Elementary School in Whitehouse for exemplary high performance
Hudson Elementary School in Longview for exemplary high performance
Neches High School in Palestine for exemplary achievement gap closing
All of the schools were awarded a National Blue Ribbon School flag as a ârecognized emblem of exceptional teaching and learning.â
SULPHUR SPRINGS â The Sulphur Springs ISD is asking the community to help them with efforts end social media threats. According to our news partner KETK, another student in Sulphur Springs was arrested Saturday night for making an online threat to the school.
In a release from the superintendents office, federal law enforcement contacted the Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office on Saturday in regards to a social media threat. Sulpur Springs ISD said a 14-year-old middle school girl was taken to a juvenile facility. The student is now facing felony charges for making a terroristic threat.
The district went on to say that type of behavior will not be tolerated as it drains county and city resources.
âWe will continue to advocate for those caught participating in this type of behavior to be prosecuted to the maximum extent allowed by law. If you do not monitor you childâs social media, law enforcement will. We will take no chances with the safety of our students and staff. We would ask you again that you partner with us in making this behavior stop,â the district said.
TYLER â A Tyler man was arrested on Saturday after allegedly pointing a rifle at his family and opening fire at officers according to our news partners at KETK. According to Tyler Police Department Public Information Officer Andy Erbaugh, on Saturday at approximately 10:15 p.m. police responded to the 3000 block of Outwood Drive to reports of an aggravated assault. According to police, it was reported that a man identified as Richard Doorman, 48 of Tyler, had pointed a rifle at his wife and child. Officials said that when police arrived Doorman opened fire at the police, but none were hit. Erbaugh said that afterwards the SWAT team and negotiators arrived on the scene and Doorman came peacefully into custody. Doorman has been booked into the Smith County Jail and was charged with two counts of aggravated family violence and 2 counts of aggravated assault of a peace officer.
AUSTIN – KUT reports that the Texas Department of Transportation is looking to switch over TxTag’s toll-transaction processing and customer account services to the Harris County Toll Road Authority by the end of the year. TxDOT recommends TxTag customers update their address, vehicle information and credit card information to avoid potential problems. It also advises customers to pay off any overdue bills as soon as possible. TxDOT currently has a $185 million contract with TTEC Government Solutions to provide customer service. That deal is set to expire Nov. 14. If the transition goes forward, current TxTag customers would still be able to use their toll stickers and would not need to get an EZ TAG from the Harris County Toll Road Authority.
But drivers won’t need to use either TxTAG or HCTRA’s EZ Pass. As the CTRMA’s website explains, tolling transponders can be used from a number of different areas, including North Texas, Kansas and Florida. After the transition, customers would manage their accounts through the HCTRA website. Customers would still be able to use any of the TxTag locations in the Austin area for in-person services. Although the HCTRA would collect tolls, TxDOT would continue to be responsible for maintaining its toll roads, including SH 130, SH 45N, SH 45SE and MoPac. TxDOT said it expects the transition to occur in phases beginning at the end of this year, but it could stop the process at any point. It said it would keep customers updated.
(NEW YORK) -- The first person in New York state to be diagnosed with eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) in nearly a decade has died, Gov. Kathy Hochul's office announced Monday.
The case was confirmed on Sept. 20 in Ulster County -- located along the Hudson River -- by the state Department of Health. It is currently being investigated by the county Department of Health.
State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald previously issued a Declaration of an Imminent Threat to Public Health after the EEE diagnosis, which allows the state to deploy resources including mosquito spraying efforts from Sept. 30 to Nov. 30, 2024.
"Eastern equine encephalitis is different this year. While we normally see these mosquitoes in two to three counties each year, this year they have been in 15 counties so far, and scattered all over New York State," McDonald said in a statement. "This life-threatening mosquito-borne disease has no commercially available human vaccine and must be taken seriously. Mosquitoes, once a nuisance, are now a threat."
"I urge all New Yorkers to prevent mosquito bites by using insect repellents, wearing long-sleeved clothing and removing free-standing water near their homes. Fall is officially here, but mosquitoes will be around until we see multiple nights of below freezing temperatures," the statement continued.
The New York case is likely at least the eleventh case of EEE so far this year, according to an ABC News tally. This also includes the 10 known cases listed on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) website.
Beyond New York, cases have been reported in Massachusetts, with four; New Hampshire, with two; and in New Jersey, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin, with one each.
Between 2003 and 2023, there have been at least 196 EEE cases reported in the U.S., including 176 hospitalizations and 79 deaths, CDC data shows.
Most people who are infected with EEE show either mild symptoms or no symptoms at all, according to the CDC. However, severe cases usually present with fever, headache, chills and vomiting before progressing to the more serious encephalitis, which is inflammation of the brain, or meningitis, which is inflammation of the membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord.
About one-third of all people who develop severe EEE die from the illness, the CDC says, while survivors can experience ongoing physical and neurological problems, including seizures, paralysis, cranial nerve dysfunction, personality disorders, and intellectual disabilities that can range from mild to severe.
There are no vaccines for EEE and health officials say the best protection is to prevent mosquito bites.
Health officials recommend wearing long-sleeve shirts and long pants, and tucking shirts into pants and pants into socks, at dusk or dawn, which are times of day when mosquitoes are most active.
Additionally, it is recommended to use insect repellent with DEET, to use screens on windows and doors, and to eliminate all standing water around the home where mosquitoes can breed.
ABC News' Youri Benadjaoud and Meredith Deliso contributed to this report.
