Preventing future pandemics goal of new U.S. partnership with 50 countries – National

Descrease article font size Increase article font size President Joe Biden’s administration will help 50 countries identify and respond to infectious diseases, with the goal of preventing pandemics like the COVID-19 outbreak that suddenly halted normal life around the globe in 2020. U.S. government officials will work with the countries to develop better testing, surveillance, … Read more

Biden administration announces new partnership with 50 countries to stifle future pandemics

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s administration will help 50 countries identify and respond to infectious diseases, with the goal of preventing pandemics like the COVID-19 outbreak that suddenly halted normal life around the globe in 2020. U.S. government officials will work with the countries to develop better testing, surveillance, communication and preparedness for such outbreaks … Read more

Movie Review: ‘Food, Inc. 2’ revisits food system, sees reason for frustration and (a little) hope

The makers of the influential 2008 documentary “Food, Inc.” never planned to make a sequel. They figured they’d said it all in their harrowing look at a broken, unsustainable food system — a system led, they argued, by a few multinational corporations whose monopoly squeezes out local farmers, mistreats animals, workers and the soil itself, … Read more

Bringing dental care to kids in schools is helping take care of teeth neglected in the pandemic

CONCORD, N.H. — Tucked away inside the teachers lounge at a New Hampshire elementary school, Amber Warner was having her teeth checked out for the first time. The 5-year-old sat back on what looked like a beach chair and wore a pair of dark sunglasses as certified public health dental hygienist Mary Davis surveyed Amber’s … Read more

Cases settled: 2 ex-officials of veterans home where 76 died in the pandemic avoid jail time

BOSTON — Two former officials of a veterans home in Massachusetts where at least 76 people died in one of the nation’s worst COVID-19 outbreaks in a long-term care facility settled their criminal case Tuesday without having to go to jail. Bennett Walsh, the former superintendent of the Veterans’ Home in Holyoke, and Dr. David … Read more

Marriages in the US are back to pre-pandemic levels, CDC says

NEW YORK — U.S. marriages have rebounded to pre-pandemic levels with nearly 2.1 million in 2022. That’s a 4% increase from the year before. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the data Friday, but has not released marriage data for last year. In 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were … Read more

Report: New Jersey and US were not prepared for COVID-19 and state remains so for the next crisis

TRENTON, N.J. — New Jersey and the nation were not prepared when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and the state “remains underprepared for the next emergency,” according to an independent report examining New Jersey’s response to the pandemic that sickened nearly 3 million people statewide and killed over 33,000. The report released Monday faults planning, communication … Read more

Emergency Planners Are Having a Moment

Also, in a disaster, there are no good decisions, there are only least-worse decisions. Every decision will come with a set of consequences. What the government really struggled to do was mitigate the consequences of decisions they felt that they had to take. My personal view is that what the UK’s going through at the … Read more

Federal court dismisses case against Iowa governor’s ban on school mask mandates

DES MOINES, Iowa — A federal court on Tuesday dismissed a legal challenge to Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds’ policy prohibiting schools from instituting mask requirements, which was brought by families of students with disabilities during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The ruling marks the conclusion of the yearslong court battle, originating in the fall … Read more

Seth Meyers is in his comfort era as ‘Late Night’ turns 10

Time flies when you’re hosting a late-night show four times a week. But Seth Meyers admits it took a while to feel comfortable as host of “Late Night with Seth Meyers,” which is marking its 10th anniversary. “It’s a journey everyone takes when you get a show like this,” he said recently in an interview … Read more