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WHO: Raccoon dog data give clues to COVID origin — but no definitive answer

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:52 GMT

New Chinese data on genetic samples taken in the Wuhan market in China in 2020 don’t provide a definitive answer as to how the COVID-19 pandemic began, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Friday, following media reports that the data link the pandemic’s origins to raccoon dogs at the market.The data in question was uploaded to the international virus database GISAID by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention late last week, according to the Atlantic, but hastily removed following questions from international scientists. However, an analysis of the data by a team of international researchers, first reported by the Atlantic on Thursday, found that samples containing coronavirus also contained genetic material from animals, including raccoon dogs. This led to suggestions that raccoon dogs being sold at the market could have been carrying the virus. The WHO, which only became aware of the data over the weekend, was bombarded with questions about the import...

Babesiosis, a tickborne disease, is on the rise in Northeast, according to CDC report

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:52 GMT

(CNN) — Tickborne disease has been on the rise in the US, with the number of cases growing 25% from 2011 to 2019. Among them is babesiosis, which has become significantly more prevalent in the Northeast in recent years.Seven states were already considered to have endemic transmission of babesiosis, with consistent presence of the disease: Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Wisconsin. A new report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention added three others to that list — Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont — where case rates have grown the fastest and now match or surpass other states.In those 10 states, reported cases of babesiosis have increased in all but two: Minnesota and Wisconsin, where case rates were about 30% lower in 2019 than they were in 2011.Overall, more than 16,000 cases of babesiosis have been reported to the CDC between 2011 and 2019, according to the report.Symptoms of the disease inc...

Man suspected of shooting into apartment with child inside arrested

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:52 GMT

VISTA, Calif. -- A man was arrested Thursday on multiple charges after being suspected of firing a gun into an apartment in North County, authorities said. According to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department, deputies with the Vista Sheriff's Station responded to a call about a shooting in the 300 block of Pomelo Drive in Vista shortly after 12:30 a.m. Man arrested on suspicion of kidnapping; police find dead woman in home Officials say a resident of an apartment in the area allegedly shot into a neighboring apartment through a sliding glass door following an argument. Responding deputies found the suspect, 27-year-old José  Zeferino, in a nearby apartment complex. According to SDSO, an investigation into the incident determined at least one round was fired into the apartment which was occupied by three people, including a child, at the time. No one was injured by the gunshot, officials said.Two ghost guns were recovered by deputies during a search, said SDSO. Ghost guns are ...

Biden hosts Irish prime minister on St. Patrick’s Day

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:52 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is hosting Ireland’s prime minister on Friday, after the COVID-19 pandemic scuttled the longstanding St. Patrick’s Day meetup two years in a row. Leo Varadkar, known as the taoiseach, and his partner, Matthew Barrett, also attended a breakfast with Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff at the Vice President’s home, and Varadkar told the crowd there that Ireland is grateful for the “close and deep bond with these United States.” He said the U.S. has played a central role in promoting peace in Ireland “at critical points when few others had the influence to do so.” And Varadkar said the U.S. has been strong on LGBTQ rights. “From Stonewall to Sacramento to San Francisco. America has led the way when it comes to LGBT equality,” he said. “I don’t think I would be here today were it not for what America did.”Varadkar was meeting with the president in the Oval Office before both were to head to the Cap...

Johnston will finalize own mandate for election interference probe

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:52 GMT

OTTAWA — Former governor general David Johnston says he will have a hand in determining his own mandate as special rapporteur on foreign interference in recent federal elections.Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tapped the former governor general and legal scholar on Wednesday to probe allegations of Chinese interference in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections, which were reported by Global News and the Globe and Mail.In a statement to The Canadian Press, Johnston described attempts to undermine the country’s democracy as “serious matters” and said he was “privileged” to have accepted the appointment.“I will work with officials to finalize the mandate, which will be made public promptly, to look into foreign interference in the last two federal general elections, and make appropriate recommendations on how to further protect our democracy and uphold Canadians’ confidence in it,” he said.Federal opposition parties are divided over Johnston&#...

Stocks fall as worries about banks, possible recession flare

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:52 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are falling on Wall Street Friday as worries worsen about the banking industry and fears rise it could drag the economy into a recession. The S&P 500 was 1.1% lower in morning trading, cutting into its gain for the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 429 points, or 1.3%, at 31,817, as of 10:35 a.m. Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite was 0.8% lower. This week has been a whipsaw for markets around the world as worries rise about the banking industry following the second- and third-largest U.S. bank failures in history. Just a day earlier, markets rallied in relief after two banks on both sides of the Atlantic tapped into tens of billions of dollars of cash to bolster their finances. But on Friday, some of the hope was washing out, and the pair were back to falling. In Switzerland, Credit Suisse shares dropped nearly 8%. On Wall Street, shares of First Republic Bank sank 19.4% and were on their way to a 66% plunge for the week. The two banks...

NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn’t happen this week

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:52 GMT

A roundup of some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals of the week. None of these are legit, even though they were shared widely on social media. The Associated Press checked them out. Here are the facts:___ Extreme weather events are becoming more severe, not less CLAIM: Climate, weather or meteorological events that we would classify as “extreme” have declined in severity over the last 20 or 30 years.THE FACTS: While the impacts of climate change vary across the globe, scientists agree that overall, human-caused warming is supercharging events such as extreme precipitation, droughts and forest fires. But a podcast clip shared on Instagram falsely claims that extreme climate, weather and meteorological events are actually declining in severity. “We could look at accumulated cyclonic energy — typhoons in the Pacific, hurricanes in the Atlantic — and it’s actually declined over the last 20 or 30 years,” the speaker says in the vide...

Near ‘cliff’s edge,’ Credit Suisse not seen as systemic risk

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:52 GMT

GENEVA (AP) — Longtime troubles at Credit Suisse came to a head this week with a record stock plunge that spread fears of a banking crisis jumping from the U.S. to Europe. But the problems have been building for years at Switzerland’s second-largest bank, ranging from bad bets on hedge funds to a spying scandal involving rival lender UBS.Experts say the upheaval is largely a byproduct of Credit Suisse’s troubles in recent years — making it look relatively vulnerable — and investor worries about the health of Western banks in general following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in the United States.Shares of Credit Suisse sank over 30% Wednesday after its biggest shareholder — the Saudi National Bank — announced it would not provide more money to the Swiss lender. Hours later, Switzerland’s central bank agreed to lend Credit Suisse up to 50 billion francs ($54 billion) to shore up its finances. The stock rebounded. On Friday, shares dropped as much as 12% on the Swiss ex...

EPA tells states not to block waste from Ohio derailment

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:52 GMT

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Friday ordered states to stop blocking contaminated waste from a fiery train derailment in Ohio from being sent to hazardous waste storage sites around the nation. A handful of politicians and states have sought to block shipments from East Palestine, including Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, who last week said he had stopped waste from the derailment from coming into his state. EPA Administrator Michael Regan said there was no reason for states to block shipments of the type of waste that certified facilities routinely handle every day. “This is impermissible and this is unacceptable,” he said. The EPA has ordered railroad Norfolk Southern to cover the costs of cleaning up from the Feb. 3 derailment that toppled 38 rail cars. No one was hurt, but concerns over a potential explosion led state and local officials to approve releasing and burning toxic vinyl chloride from five tanker cars and forced the evacuations of half the village.Ohio this w...

US pledges over $171M in humanitarian help for Venezuelans

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:52 GMT

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The U.S. government pledged more than $171 million Friday for humanitarian and development projects to assist Venezuelans experiencing a variety of urgent needs at home and abroad.Some of the money will go for food, water and sanitation efforts within the crisis-wracked country, while other funds are designated for emergency shelter, health care and other services for Venezuelans who have migrated to other South American nations, the U.S. Department of State told The Associated Press.The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, announced the funding during a conference in Brussels. The event is designed to raise awareness of Venezuela’s protracted economic and political crisis, which has pushed millions into poverty and driven more than 7 million others to migrate, mostly within Latin America.“We must continue to provide critical assistance to Venezuelan refugees, migrants, their host communities and those still in Venezuela,” Thomas-...