Talk about hot nights. America got some for the history books last month. The continental United States in July set a record for overnight warmth, providing little relief from the day’s sizzling heat for people, animals, plants and the electric grid, meteorologists said. The average low temperature for the Lower …
your ad hereCongress OKs Democrats’ Climate, Tax, Health Bill, a Biden Triumph
A divided Congress gave final approval Friday to Democrats’ flagship climate, tax and health care bill, handing President Joe Biden a back-from-the-dead triumph on coveted priorities that the party hopes will bolster its prospects for keeping control of Congress in November’s elections. The House used a party-line 220-207 vote to …
your ad hereNew York Health Officials Detect Poliovirus in City Sewage
New York state and city health authorities said Friday that poliovirus, which causes paralytic polio, had been detected in samples of New York City sewage, suggesting the disease likely was circulating in the city. Their statement followed the initial discovery of the virus in wastewater in neighboring counties in May, …
your ad hereBackers, Opponents of Abortion Rights Recalibrate After Surprising Kansas Referendum
A Republican-leaning state in America’s socially conservative heartland recently shocked both sides of the long-running battle over abortion, calling into question the conventional wisdom about how and where the procedure might be restricted or banned. Voters in Kansas cast ballots last week on a proposed amendment to the state’s …
your ad hereCDC Drops Quarantine, Screening Recommendations for COVID-19
The nation’s top public health agency on Thursday relaxed its COVID-19 guidelines, dropping the recommendation that Americans quarantine themselves if they come into close contact with an infected person. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also said people no longer need to stay at least 6 feet away from …
your ad hereSouth Korea’s Maiden Moon Mission Launches from the US
South Korea’s space program marks a milestone with help from an American spaceflight giant. Plus, Iran and Russia join forces in space, and a practical joke that had practically no one laughing. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us The Week in Space. …
your ad hereNebraska Woman Charged With Helping Daughter Have Abortion
A Nebraska woman has been charged with helping her teenage daughter end her pregnancy at about 24 weeks after investigators obtained Facebook messages in which the two discussed using medication to induce an abortion and plans to burn the fetus afterward. The prosecutor handling the case said it’s the first …
your ad hereNorth Korea’s Kim Declares Victory in Battle Against COVID-19
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un declared victory in the battle against the novel coronavirus, ordering a lifting of maximum anti-epidemic measures imposed in May, state media said on Thursday. North Korea has not revealed how many confirmed infections of the virus it has found, but since July 29, it …
your ad hereIn Scorched UK, Source of River Thames Dries Up
At the end of a dusty track in southwest England where the River Thames usually first emerges from the ground, there is scant sign of any moisture at all. The driest start to a year in decades has shifted the source of this emblematic English river several miles downstream, leaving …
your ad herePolio Spreading in London, Booster Campaign Launched for Kids Under 10
Britain is launching a polio vaccine booster campaign for children in London aged below 10, after confirming that the virus is spreading in the capital for the first time since the 1980s. The UK Health Security Agency has identified 116 polioviruses from 19 sewage samples this year in London. It …
your ad hereCOVID-19 Experts Urge Australians to Wear Masks Even as Latest Omicron Wave Passes
Australian health officials say there are encouraging signs that a wave of COVID-19 omicron variant infections is in decline. However, more than 4,000 Australians are hospitalized with the virus and an unknown number of others are suffering the effects of long COVID. COVID-19 no longer makes the headlines as it …
your ad hereUS Will Stretch Monkeypox Vaccine Supply With Smaller Doses
U.S. health officials on Tuesday authorized a plan to stretch the nation’s limited supply of monkeypox vaccine by giving people just one-fifth the usual dose, citing research suggesting the reduced amount is about as effective. The so-called dose-sparing approach also calls for administering the Jynneos vaccine with an injection just …
your ad hereWMO: July Is One of Warmest Months on Record
The World Meteorological Organization or WMO reports the month of July was one of the three warmest on record globally. This, despite a weak La Nina event, which is supposed to have a cooling influence. Meteorologists warn the heatwave that swept through large parts of Europe last month is set …
your ad hereNonprofits Launch $100M Plan to Support Local Health Workers
A new philanthropic project hopes to invest $100 million in 10 countries, mostly in Africa, by 2030 to support 200,000 community health workers, who serve as a critical bridge to treatment for people with limited access to medical care. The Skoll Foundation and The Johnson & Johnson Foundation announced Monday …
your ad hereFive Southern African Countries Kick-Start Elephant Census
Five southern African countries, with more than half the continent’s elephants, are conducting a first-ever aerial census to determine the elephant population and how to protect it. Light aircraft will fly simultaneously across the plains of Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe — in a conservation area known as the …
your ad hereAt Least 100,000 Expected for NASA’s Moon Launch
Sold-out hotels. Excitement that seems to grow by the day. The potential for hundreds of thousands of visitors, support staff, and more. These are just a few of the factors being calculated into preparations for Artemis I, the first launch of NASA’s moon-focused Space Launch System rocket slated for Aug. …
your ad here‘Synthetic Embryo’ Breakthrough but Growing Human Organs Far Off
Stem cell scientists say they have created “synthetic embryos” without using sperm, eggs or fertilization for the first time, but the prospect of using such a technique to grow human organs for transplantation remains distant. The breakthrough was hailed as a major step forward, though some experts said the result …
your ad hereMilk Use and Lactose Tolerance Didn’t Develop Hand in Hand in Europe
Early Europeans drank milk for thousands of years before they evolved the ability to fully digest it as adults, scientists say. New results published in the journal Nature suggest that being able to digest the lactose in milk wasn’t usually much of an advantage for ancient people in Europe. Instead, …
your ad hereSpain Leads Europe in Monkeypox, Struggles to Check Spread
As a sex worker and adult film actor, Roc was relieved when he was among the first Spaniards to get a monkeypox vaccine. He knew of several cases among men who have sex with men, which is the leading demographic for the disease, and feared he could be next. “I …
your ad hereWashington Lightning Toll Rises to 3; Experts See Climate Warning
Scientists say that climate change is increasing the likelihood of lightning strikes across the United States, after lightning struck at a square near the White House, leaving three people dead and one more in critical condition. The hot, humid conditions in the U.S. capital on Thursday were primed for electricity. …
your ad hereLong-COVID Symptoms Affect 1 in 8, Study Suggests
One in eight people who get coronavirus develop at least one symptom of long COVID, one of the most comprehensive studies on the condition to date suggested on Thursday. With more than half a billion coronavirus cases recorded worldwide since the start of the pandemic, there has been rising concern …
your ad hereUS Declares Monkeypox Outbreak a Public Health Emergency
The United States has declared monkeypox a public health emergency, the health secretary said Thursday, a move expected to free up additional funding and tools to fight the disease. The declaration came as the tally of cases crossed 6,600 in the United States on Wednesday, almost all of them among …
your ad hereA Peek at NASA’s Upcoming Moon Mission
NASA discusses its upcoming test flight to the moon. Plus, another look deep into the history of our universe, and we remember a beloved fictional pioneer in spaceflight. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us “The Week in Space.” …
your ad hereLife Expectancy in Africa Increases Nearly 10 Years
Life expectancy in Africa rose by nearly 10 years between 2000 and 2019, from 46 years to 56 years, according to the World Health Organization’s State of Health in Africa report released Thursday. However, WHO officials note that is still well below the global average of 64 years. WHO Assistant …
your ad hereBiden Seeks to Federally Protect Abortion as States Vote on Issue
President Joe Biden on Wednesday signed an executive order that the White House said would protect access to abortion care, part of the continuing fallout from a June Supreme Court reversal of its landmark 1973 ruling establishing a right to abortion. With each of the 50 states now free to …
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