Good morning southern Colorado and here's what you need to know on your Tuesday, April 13.
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Get your latest First Alert 5 Weather forecast
The weather pattern is getting very unstable and a bit more active through Colorado. Over the next 6 to 7 days the bulk of our rain and snow chances will occur over the mountains, but we will still see scattered rain to snow showers through the plains.
We'll be cloudy on Tuesday with flurries to light snow in the early morning over the mountains of Fremont and Teller counties. Most of Tuesday will be dry from the morning to early afternoon but there could be scattered light rain to snow showers from the end of the afternoon that turn into snow overnight, mostly in the mountains and out to the Pikes Peak Region.
Snow accumulation will be light tonight but the mountain areas like Teller County could see a couple of inches at the most.
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FDA and CDC recommend a 'pause' for single dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have recommended a pause in the use of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine "out of an abundance of caution."
In a series of tweets Tuesday morning, the FDA said it was recommending a pause after receiving reports that six people developed "rare and severe" blood clots after receiving the vaccine.
"CDC will convene a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) on Wednesday to further review these cases and assess their potential significance. FDA will review that analysis as it also investigates these cases," the FDA said in a statement Tuesday.
So far, nearly 7 million Americans have received a dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
The decision to pause the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine — currently the only single-dose vaccine approved for use in the U.S. — comes less than a week before President Joe Biden's target date to ensure all Americans are eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine.
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Local military installations take part in exercises
Peterson Air Force Base, Schriever Air Force Base and Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station will be conducting training exercises starting today through Thursday.
The training will involve a series of different scenarios that will impact each base on different days. People living near the installations may hear simulated gunshots, loud booms, and sirens, or see smoke.
And those who travel on and off the bases may encounter temporary gate closures and blocked roads.
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COVID-19 vaccines offered by Veterans Affairs
The Department of Veterans Affairs is now offering COVID-19 vaccines to all Colorado veterans and they've opened a second walk-in clinic in Colorado Springs.
The new clinic is in a shopping center at East Pikes Peak and Printers Parkway. It's open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to noon.
The number of vaccines available on any given day will be determined that morning. If supplies run out, veterans will be offered an appointment for another time.
The VA says the vaccines are available to veterans who are not eligible to enroll in VA health care, spouses of veterans, and caregivers not enrolled in the Caregiver Support Program.
Veterans enrolled with VA ECHCS can text “Vaccine” to 53079 to self-schedule their COVID-19 vaccine appointment. They can also schedule an appointment during their next VA visit or by phone 24/7 at 888-336-8262.
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Online pet purchase scams impacting local families costing victims hundreds of dollars
Spending so much time at home during the pandemic, lots of people turned to pets for comfort. But sometimes shopping online for that furry companion can lead to trouble. Investigators say online pet scams are running rampant.
If you're looking to buy a pet online, especially a puppy, you may want to think twice. This area is a hotbed for fraudsters. News5 has reported on this before, but it appears during the pandemic the problem only got worse.
Colorado Springs resident Diego Graves was finally able to bring home his German Shepherd puppy Koda from a reputable local breeder, but that happy ending came after he reported to the Better Business Bureau and federal investigators he was ripped-off by someone operating a scheme through an online puppy selling website. Investigators say these sites are often run by international crime rings.
Diego says before he discovered he wasn't being treated fairly, he had agreed to pay $800. Often using a similar playbook, once the fraudsters get their first payment they agree to ship the dog, but things get hung up and people are asked to pay more for things like a special crate, or animal insurance. Meanwhile, there was never a real dog to begin with.
If you're in the market for a new pup, or pet, here is some advice to avoid a scam:
- See the pet in person before paying any money
- Do a reverse image search to see if the image of the puppy shows up anywhere else online
- Do your research to see what a fair price is
- Check with local animal shelter, or breeder you're familiar with
- Never pay with a gift card or money transfer, this is a sure sign of a scam
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