‘A Towering Figure’: Gen. Colin Powell Dies At Age 84

Good morning! It’s Tuesday, Oct. 19. Have you picked out your Halloween costume yet? Or have you gone to your local pumpkin patch, field or farm to pick a pumpkin for a jack-o’-lantern? Keep in mind, Halloween is less than two weeks away.

Here are some of the stories we’ve been following:

• Tributes poured in for Gen. Colin Powell, a trailblazer with a storied military and diplomatic career, who died Monday at age 84.
• Patch readers aren’t shy about saying what they think about vaccine mandates in California, the first state in the U.S. to require COVID-19 inoculations of all students.
• As the search for Brian Laundrie continues, federal marshals ambushed a man they thought was the boyfriend of Gabby Petito on the Appalachian Trail.

Gen. Colin Powell Dead At 84

Colin Powell, the first Black U.S. secretary of state and and Joint Chiefs chairman, has died of complications of COVID-19, his family said Monday on social media. The 84-year-old died at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Powell was fully vaccinated, the family said.

Flags were lowered to half-staff at government buildings including the White House, Pentagon and State Department. At the White House, President Joe Biden said Powell "embodied the highest ideals of both warrior and diplomat."

Former President George W. Bush called Powell, whom he made his secretary of state in 2001, “a great public servant” who was “widely respected t home and abroad.”

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair described Powell as "a towering figure in American military and political leadership, a hugely likable and warm personality and a great companion, with a lovely and self-deprecating sense of humour." » Gen. Colin Powell, Former Joint Chiefs Chairman, Has Died + 11 Photos: Remembering Gen. Colin Powell, both via Across America Patch

COVID-19 Vaccine Walkout

California will be the first state in the country to require all students to be vaccinated against the coronavirus under a plan to add the COVID-19 vaccine to the list of required immunizations for in-person instruction at public schools.

The requirement wouldn’t take effect until next fall, but a campaign calling on parents and teachers to stay home from school Monday was swirling on social media.

Meanwhile, Patch readers were almost evenly split in an informal survey of 8,968 people on whether they supported or opposed a peaceful protest of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan. » California Walkout Against Vaccines: What Parents And Teachers Are Saying, via Across California Patch

Laundrie Look-Alike

Brian Laundrie, a person of interest in the death by strangulation of his fiancee, Gabby Petito, remains at large more than a month after he was last seen.

Federal marshals, who are following up on tips about possible Laundrie sightings throughout North America, zeroed in on a hiker who resembled Laundrie along the Appalachian Trail in North Carolina.

The hiker didn’t share the date of the incident but told The New Yorker he and his girlfriend decided to take a break from the trail and check into a resort. » Marshals Ambush Laundrie Look-alike, via Sarasota, Florida, Patch

Passengers Watched Rape: Police

Police in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, have filed multiple charges against a man they say raped a woman on a commuter train while passengers did nothing to stop the attack. » Woman Raped On Train As Passengers Did Nothing: Reports, via Haverford, Pennsylvania, Patch

Cards for Cole

As Cole Magnus battles leukemia, the toddler’s parents are hoping people around the country will send him cards to make his third birthday more special. He was diagnosed with B-cell acute lymphoblastic lymphoma on April 6. » Cards For Cole, via Downers Grove, Illinois, Patch

You Need A Mask Upgrade

When the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention first announced mask guidance at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, the agency worried there wouldn’t be enough protective N95 masks for health care workers. Its guidance at the time for the general public was for cloth coverings; but now that N95 masks have become more widely available, it’s time for an upgrade. » Consumer Reports: Why You Should Upgrade Your Mask, via Across America Patch

Today In History

On Oct. 19, 1796, Presidential candidate Thomas Jefferson was accused of having an affair with a Black slave in an essay written under the pen name “Phocion” — later, it was revealed, Alexander Hamilton, via History.com.

Around ‘The Patch’

• Ahmaud Arbery Slaying: Jury Selection Begins Trial, via Across Georgia Patch
• Denver Art Museum Returning Artifacts To Cambodia, via Denver Patch
• Marijuana Use And COVID Breakthrough Cases Linked In Study, via Holmdel-Hazlet, New Jersey, Patch
• Sword-Wielding Man Shot By Police, via Hillsborough, New Jersey, Patch
• Millions Of Coronavirus Vaccines Tossed, via Across America Patch
• High School Teams Accused Of Hazing, Racist Taunts, via Boston Patch

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