Coronavirus Response

It has been a year since the country first locked down as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. And while it is still important to take prevention measures against the virus, taking care of yourself and your mental health should also be a priority, according to Dr. Rochelle Walensky, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. During Wednesday’s White House COVID-19 Response Team Briefing, she offered guidance on how to practice self-care right now. Read on to hear her advice—and to ensure your health and the health of others, don't miss these Sure Signs You've Already Had Coronavirus.Read Full StoryCdcSelf-careDisease PreventionMental Health CareWellnessDisease ControlWhite HouseResponse Team BriefingCDC ChiefPrevention MeasuresRegular ExerciseWellbeingGuidanceAdviceResilienceAnthony Fauci

Congresswoman Grace Meng is reintroducing the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act as Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) experience a wave of physical, verbal and online attacks in Queens and beyond. The COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act seeks to address the ongoing hate and violence towards AAPIs by providing greater assistance with...Read Full StoryAsian AmericansViolenceAnti-AsianPacific IslandersThe Department Of JusticeCOVID-19 Hate CrimesLegislationLaw Enforcement ResponseAttacksAAPIsReviewGrace Meng

By analyzing blood samples from individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2, researchers in Singapore have begun to unpack the different responses by the body's T cells that determine whether or not an individual develops COVID-19. The study, published today in the Journal of Experimental Medicine (JEM), suggests that clearing the virus without developing symptoms requires T cells to mount an efficient immune response that produces a careful balance of pro- and anti-inflammatory molecules.Read Full StoryImmune SystemImmune ResponseCovid-19Immune CellsT CellBlood CellsIndianBangladeshiSymptomsCOVID-19 PatientsBalanceExcessive InflammationPathological ProcessesAsymptomatic IndividualsSARS-CoV-2 Infections

California’s governor on Friday said Donald Trump had reversed his administration’s decision to deny the state’s request for additional federal wildfire aid to clean up the damage from six recent large fires. “Just got off the phone with President Trump who has approved our major disaster declaration request,” Gavin Newsom...Disaster AreaFEMAThe Trump AdministrationWildfirePG&ESierra NevadaNational Weather ServiceDisaster ResponseEmergency ResponseState Of EmergencyFemaElectricLos Angeles TimesBrian FergusonScott StrenfelGavin NewsomDonald TrumpRead Full Story

Justin Sawtelle avoided police officers as much as possible for the 20 years he lived on Portland streets. Addicted to methamphetamines and other drugs, he’d spend what little money he had to get high. When he needed to eat, he would steal from Fred Meyer, and when he craved more drugs, he would sometimes steal a car.Read Full Story HomelessnessPrisonCrimeFred MeyerMethamphetamineTransitional HousingPortland Police BureauCriminal JusticeHomeless PeopleCity PoliceTraffic PoliceNational Law CenterPortland Street ResponseCentral City ConcernIndependent Police ReviewChuck LovellTed WheelerDeborah KafouryMike SchmidtMike ReeseDanielle OutlawBud Clark

A former director at the CDC called the situation, 'public health malpractice.' See the full story, Sunday at 7 p.m. ET/PT. Early in the pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention allowed more than 200 cruise ship passengers who had been exposed or infected with COVID-19 to mingle with unsuspecting travelers in the world's busiest airport and fly on commercial aircraft potentially spreading the infection to their final destinations in 17 states and Canada. They had been aboard the cruise ship Costa Luminosa and had just returned to the United States on a charter flight from Marseilles, France. Passengers told Sharyn Alfonsi that many had COVID symptoms and were ill when they arrived in Atlanta. Alfonsi's story will be broadcast on 60 Minutes, Sunday, October 18, at 7 p.m., ET/PT on CBS.Cruise ShipPublic HealthCoronavirus Disease 2019AirlinerCenters For Disease Control And PreventionUnited StatesPassenger AircraftFranceCruise ControlCommercial AircraftTravel DestinationsCBSUniversity Of NebraskaCDC 's Office Of Public Health Preparedness And ResponseRead Full Story

KODIAK, Alaska — The Coast Guard is responding to a report of a diesel discharge in Selawik, Alaska, Wednesday. After a diesel discharge occurred at the Selawik water treatment plant on Nov. 25, 2020, the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund was opened in the amount of $15,000 and a pollution response team is expected to conduct an on scene assessment.Read Full Story Diesel FuelPollutionFuel OilWatchstandersNational Response CenterCoast Guard PettyThe Coast Guard IMDFlickrTwitter And FacebookCoast Guard PersonnelEnvironmental ImpactsPotential DischargeKODIAKUnder Investigation

The Minneapolis Police Department is getting some budget cuts . The Minneapolis City Council approved a 2021 budget plan Thursday morning agreeing to make cuts to the police department's budget. At the same time, it said it will not be reducing the number of officers in the police force, and instead, it will continue to give the city flexibility to adjust staffing capacity in the future. The move comes seven months after George Floyd, a Black man , was killed by police in Minneapolis. Following his death, protests calling for state governments to "defund the police" erupted across the U.S. MORE: Plan advances to allow dismantling Minneapolis Police Dept. The new council-approved $1.5 billion budget will dedicate at least $400,000 to the Minneapolis Forward Community Now Coalition and $1.1 million in ongoing funding to the Minneapolis Forward Rebuild Resilient initiative to support economic recovery. "Today's vote reflects our commitment to a both-and approach to public safety in this defining moment for our city," Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said in a statement released Thursday. "My colleagues were right to leave the targeted staffing level unchanged from 888 and continue moving forward with our shared priorities. The additional funding for new public safety solutions will also allow the City to continue upscaling important mental health, non-police response, and social service components in our emergency response system." MORE: 'Defund the police' movement 6 months after killing of George Floyd According to the mayor's release, the budget plan includes $5 million in one-time TIF funding for the Commercial Property Development Fund (CPDF) and $500,000 in ongoing funding for the CPDF, to support rebuilding and recovery efforts for businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent civil unrest. The new budget eliminates about $19 million from Frey's $179 million policing budget, including about $8 million in direct cuts to the police department. The majority of those funds will now be redirected to the Office of Crime Prevention. The other $11 million will be put in a reserve account, and Police Chief Medaria Arradondo will need council approval before using that funding. Stephen Maturen/Getty Images - PHOTO: Police officers stand outside the Third Police Precinct during a protest on May 27, 2020, in Minneapolis. While Frey initially proposed that the number of local police officers be reduced to, at most, 768 in 2021, the council Wednesday night decided against it, and is keeping the maximum number of officers for 2022 at 888. The department had 888 officers at the start of the year, though dozens have since retired or stepped down. The mayor also proposed more funding for several public health violence prevention initiatives, including the Next Step hospital-based intervention program and the Group Violence Intervention (GVI) initiative. His proposal also included, for the first time, permanent funding for the Office of Violence Prevention's MinneapolUS violence interrupters initiative. MORE: Minneapolis Police Department overhauls use of force policy "We all share a deep and abiding reverence for the role our local government plays in service of the people of our city. And today, there are good reasons to be optimistic about the future in Minneapolis," Frey said in his written statement. The council approved the budget after more than two hours of debating, and after more than 300 Minneapolis residents signed up to speak before them Wednesday night. Civil UnrestState BudgetMinneapolis ProtestsState FundingState CouncilU.S. Department Of StateCPDFThe Third Police PrecinctTIFMinneapolis Police Dept.Policing BudgetDirect CutsCouncil ApprovalPermanent FundingMayorGeorge FloydJacob FreyMedaria Arradondo

Six people were missing after a mudslide measuring an estimated two football fields across slammed into a neighborhood in the southeast Alaska community of Haines, Alaska State Troopers said Wednesday. It was one of several reported mudslides after a period of intense rain that authorities said destroyed at least four houses and damaged others. Search and rescue efforts were suspended Wednesday evening as rains continued to batter the area. A flash flood warning was in effect until late Wednesday. Haines Borough Mayor Douglas Olerud told The Associated Press search efforts will resume Thursday morning. “The soil isn’t stable enough right now,” he said, adding the state will be providing additional resources Thursday. The borough has about 2,500 residents. Those unaccounted for were in the Beach Road area, where the largest slide — about 600 feet (183 meters) wide — came down Wednesday afternoon, Olerud said. About 9 feet (2.7 meters) of mud and trees cover the area, according to the troopers. About 30 people were evacuated, and emergency response crews rescued others, Olerud said. He did not have a total figure. Rebecca Kameika lives on Beach Road, though closer to Haines than where the slide hit. She said slides and related road damage had left some neighborhoods inaccessible. She and her boyfriend were staying at his place of work; they were fine and expected their home to be, too, but evacuated as a precaution, she said. The incident is devastating for the community, said Kameika, who set up a fundraising account and plans to work with another group to make sure the money is distributed fairly and where it's needed. Haines resident Luke Williams said the community is coming together. This rainstorm has been the “worst I have ever seen," he said, adding he's lived in the area throughout his 39 years. “That’s the one thing special about this small town. Everyone comes together no matter how mad one person is at another. In the end if there is an emergency we all come together to help each other,” he said. An effort to fly search and rescue teams in a helicopter from Juneau was pushed back to Thursday morning, troopers said. The Coast Guard is also deploying forces from other ports in southeast Alaska to help. “At this point we are aware that damage has occurred in the town of Haines following the report of multiple landslides in the borough,” said Capt. Stephen White, commander of Coast Guard Sector Juneau, said in a statement. “The scope of the damage is unknown at this time but we are proactively moving several assets and personnel to provide assistance to local first responders and the residents who may have been impacted by the landslides.” A Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew was launched from Sitka to assist, and the Coast Guard cutters Liberty and Anacapa have been ordered to make preparations to sail to Haines to provide additional support. A 45-foot (13.7-meter) Coast Guard response boat has also been launched from Juneau. Olerud said the situation was moving so quickly he couldn’t provide a list of additional resources they may need. “Prayers help. We can always take prayers. Those always work. We need a lot of those right now,” Olerud told the AP. ——— Thiessen reported from Anchorage, Alaska. Associated Press journalist Ryan Kryska contributed from Hoboken, New Jersey. Southeast AlaskaMudslidesLandslideSearch And RescueEmergency CrewsFlash Flood WarningState Of EmergencyAlaska State TroopersThe Associated PressThe Coast GuardCoast Guard Sector JuneauJayhawkAPHaines BoroughMultiple Landslides

(CNN) — A former top Trump appointee urged health officials to adopt a 'herd immunity' approach to Covid-19, according to internal emails obtained by the House Oversight Committee and shared with reporters. Former Health and Human Services senior adviser Paul Alexander repeatedly urged his colleagues at HHS and the US...Read Full StoryHerd ImmunityCovid-19PoliticsPublic HealthAdministration OfficialsPublic AffairsHHSThe USAmericansThe White HouseTrump AppointeeInternal EmailsDepartment StrategyCOVID-19 ResponseHealth OfficialsLeana WenScott AtlasDonald Trump