Latest Pandemics News
US deaths are down and life expectancy is up, but improvements are slowing
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. life expectancy jumped last year, and preliminary data suggests there may be another — much smaller — improvement this year. Death rates fell last year for almost all leading causes, notably COVID-19, heart disease and drug overdoses, according to the...
Most US teens are abstaining from drinking, smoking and marijuana, survey says
NEW YORK (AP) — Teen drug use hasn't rebounded from its drop during the early years of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the results from a large annual national survey released Tuesday. About two-thirds of 12th graders this year said they hadn’t used alcohol, marijuana,...
North Carolina justices rule for restaurants in COVID-19 claims but against a clothing chain
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina's Supreme Court issued mixed rulings Friday for businesses seeking financial help from the COVID-19 pandemic, declaring one insurer's policy must cover losses some restaurants and bars incurred but that another insurer's policy for a nationwide clothing store...
Biden commutes roughly 1,500 sentences and pardons 39 people in biggest single-day act of clemency
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is commuting the sentences of roughly 1,500 people who were released from prison and placed on home confinement during the coronavirus pandemic and is pardoning 39 Americans convicted of nonviolent crimes. It's the largest single-day act of clemency in modern...
Fewer US grandparents are taking care of grandchildren, according to new data
Fewer grandparents were living with and taking care of grandchildren, there was a decline in young children going to preschool and more people stayed put in their homes in the first part of the 2020s compared with the last part of the 2010s, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released Thursday,...
Supreme Court rejects appeal from Boston parents over race bias in elite high school admissions
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal from Boston parents who claimed a temporary admissions policy for the city's elite high schools discriminated against white students and those of Asian descent. The Boston School Committee had temporarily dropped the...
Morocco produces Africa’s first mpox tests as the continent tries to rely less on imports
TAMESNA, Morocco (AP) — After African countries struggled to get testing kits during the COVID-19 pandemic, officials vowed to make the continent less dependent on imported medical supplies. Now, in a first for Africa, a Moroccan company is filling orders for mpox tests as an outbreak continues....
Native American students miss school at higher rates. It only got worse during the pandemic
SAN CARLOS, Ariz. (AP) — After missing 40 days of school last year, Tommy Betom, 10, is on track this year for much better attendance. The importance of showing up has been stressed repeatedly at school — and at home. When he went to school last year, he often came home saying...
As temperatures turn frigid, Minnesotans turn to saunas for warmth and community
EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — As another frigid winter settles over Minnesota with temperatures dipping into the teens, people like Ed Kranz are embracing the cold — and working up quite a sweat. Kranz and his wife, Colleen, are among Minnesotans who believe the best way to endure winter...
Trump taps a Fox News personality, a surgeon and a former Congressman to lead public health agencies
WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump on Friday nominated Dr. Marty Makary to lead the Food and Drug Administration, selecting a surgeon and author who gained national attention for opposing vaccine mandates and some other public health measures during the COVID-19 pandemic. ...
