Judge: COVID asylum restrictions must continue on border

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Pandemic-related restrictions on migrants seeking asylum on the southern border must continue, a judge ruled Friday in an order blocking the Biden administration’s plan to lift them early next week. The ruling was just the latest instance of a court derailing...

Editorial Roundup: South Carolina

The Index-Journal. May 18, 2022. Editorial: Show us the money Knock knock. Who’s there? PR Firm. PR Firm who? Karl Allen’s PR firm, that’s who. Now go away. Not a funny knock-knock joke?...

Africa sees rise in measles as pandemic disrupts vaccines

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Africa is seeing a surge of outbreaks of preventable diseases as a result of disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the World Health Organization said on Thursday. The continent recorded a 400% increase in measles, to more than 17,000 cases between...

COVID shots still work but researchers hunt new improvements

COVID-19 vaccinations are at a critical juncture as companies test whether new approaches like combination shots or nasal drops can keep up with a mutating coronavirus — even though it’s not clear if changes are needed. Already there’s public confusion about who should get a...

Overdoses, not COVID-19, drive spike in LA homeless deaths

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Nearly 2,000 homeless people died in Los Angeles County during the first year of the pandemic, an increase of 56% from the previous year, driven mainly by drug overdoses, authorities said. The findings released Friday in a report from the county’s Department of...

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention asks Justice Dept. to appeal ruling that voided federal travel mask mandate

Avian influenza detected in backyard bird flock in Utah

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Several members of a backyard flock of birds in Utah County have tested positive for avian influenza as reports of the virus emerge in wild birds and farmed poultry throughout the United States. The Utah Department of Agriculture and Food said Monday that...

Avian flu strain reaches Wyoming, poultry producers warned

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A strain of avian flu has made its way to Wyoming, and poultry producers of all sizes are being warned to keep a close eye on their flocks. As of Thursday, the presence of highly pathogenic avian influenza, or HPAI, had been confirmed in two Wyoming counties....

COVID-19 asylum limits at US-Mexico border to end May 23

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Friday that it is ending a policy that limited asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The government said it was already making plans to erect tents and take other steps to prepare for an...

Migrants hopeful, suspicious at US reopening to asylum

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico (AP) — More than a dozen migrants excitedly ran out of their dormitory at the Good Samaritan shelter here at the mere mention that the Biden administration may lift a rule that expels people at the border before they can request a chance at humanitarian protection in the...