HMPV is no ‘mysterious China virus’
The recent surge of respiratory infections across northern China and other parts of Asia sparked a wave of fear and misinformation on social networks and in the news suggesting another COVID-19-like pandemic could be imminent. China is reportedly dealing with…
Louisiana reports 1st bird flu-related death in US, state agency says
WASHINGTON — The Louisiana Department of Health said Monday that a U.S. patient hospitalized with H5N1 bird flu had died, the country’s first death from an outbreak of the virus that has sickened dozens of people and millions of poultry…
Here’s your 2025 guide to the night sky and other celestial wow moments
CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA — The new year will bring a pair of lunar eclipses, but don’t expect any sun-disappearing acts like the one that mesmerized North America last spring. While the world will have to wait until 2026 for the…
World’s oldest person, a Japanese woman, dies at 116
TOKYO — Tomiko Itooka, a Japanese woman who was the world’s oldest person according to Guinness World Records, has died, an Ashiya city official said Saturday. She was 116. Yoshitsugu Nagata, an official in charge of elderly policies, said Itooka…
Cybertruck soldier told ex-girlfriend of pain, exhaustion after Afghanistan
WASHINGTON — The highly decorated Special Forces soldier who died by suicide in a Cybertruck explosion on New Year’s Day confided to a former girlfriend who had served as an Army nurse that he faced significant pain and exhaustion that…
US announces $306 million in new bird flu funding
WASHINGTON — U.S. President Joe Biden’s outgoing administration announced Friday that it will allocate $306 million to bolster the nation’s bird flu response before President-elect Donald Trump takes office. The new funding will support national, state and local preparedness and…
Seasonal illnesses in full force in most US states, CDC says
The holidays came with a side of flu for many Americans, with 40 states reporting high or very high levels of illness last week, according to the latest government health data. “A lot of flu out there,” said Carrie Reed…
US surgeon general urges cancer warnings for alcoholic drinks
WASHINGTON/LONDON — Alcoholic drinks should carry a warning about cancer risks on their label, the U.S. surgeon general said Friday in a move that could signal a shift toward more aggressive tobacco-style regulation for the sector. U.S. Surgeon General Vivek…
South Sudan begins mass inoculation campaign with cholera vaccines
Juba, South Sudan — More than 1.1 million doses of an oral cholera vaccine have arrived in South Sudan, as the government launched a program to inoculate more than 80 percent of the population. But the mass vaccination exercise…
‘Dinosaur highway’ tracks dating back 166 million years discovered in England
LONDON — A worker digging up clay in a southern England limestone quarry noticed unusual bumps that led to the discovery of a “dinosaur highway” and nearly 200 tracks that date back 166 million years, researchers said Thursday. The extraordinary…