NASA Says Pioneering Black Mathematician Katherine Johnson Has Died

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NASA says Katherine Johnson, a mathematician who worked on NASA's early space missions and was portrayed in the film “Hidden Figures,” about pioneering black female aerospace workers, has died.     In a Monday morning tweet, the space agency said it celebrates her 101 years of life and her legacy of excellence and breaking down racial and social barriers.     Johnson was one of the so-called “computers” who calculated rocket trajectories and earth orbits by hand during NASA's early years.     Until 1958, Johnson and other black women worked in a racially segregated computing unit at what is now called Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. Their work was the focus of the Oscar-nominated 2016 film.     In 1961, Johnson worked on the first mission to carry…


WHO Warns It is Running Out of Money to Tackle Ebola Epidemic in DRC

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The World Health Organization is urgently appealing for $40 million to salvage its operation to bring the Ebola epidemic to an end in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The Ebola operation in eastern DR Congo’s conflict-ridden North Kivu and Ituri provinces is on financial life-support.  The World Health Organization reports its coffers will be empty at the end of this month.  It is urging donors to step up immediately and contribute the money needed to tackle this virulent disease.  WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic says failure to support this operation would be tragic as good progress is being made in containing the Ebola virus.  Over the past two months, he says between three and 15 cases of Ebola have been reported each week.   This is compared to 120 reported cases of Ebola…


Italy Town Shuts Schools, Cafes as 6 Test Positive for Virus

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Italian officials ordered schools, public buildings, restaurants and coffee shops closed in a tiny town in northern Italy Friday after six people tested positive for the new virus, including some who had not been to China or the source of the global health emergency.      The new cases represented the first infections in Italy acquired through secondary contagion and tripled the country's total to nine. The first to fall ill met with someone in early February who had returned from China on Jan. 21 without presenting any symptoms of the new virus, health authorities said.      Authorities think that person passed the virus onto the 38-year-old Italian, who went to a hospital in the town of Codogno with flu-like symptoms on Feb. 18 but was sent home. He…


US States Step Up Funding for Planned Parenthood Clinics

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Several states have begun picking up the tab for family planning services at clinics run by Planned Parenthood, which last year quit a $260 million federal funding program over a Trump administration rule prohibiting clinics from referring women for abortions.      States including New Jersey, Massachusetts and Hawaii already are providing new funding, and Democratic governors in Connecticut and Pennsylvania have proposed carving out money in state budgets to counter the effects of the national provider's fallout with the Republican presidential administration.      The proposals have stirred political debates over abortion at the state level, with some opponents claiming it's a government endorsement of abortion and an inappropriate use of taxpayer money.      Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont earmarked $1.2 million for Planned Parenthood in his new budget…


First Coronavirus Case Confirmed in Lebanon, Linked to Iranian City of Qom

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Lebanon confirmed its first coronavirus case Friday, a 45-year-old woman who had arrived from Iran and was being quarantined in a hospital."We confirmed the first case today," Lebanese health minister Hassan Hamad told a news conference, adding that two other suspected cases are being investigated.The woman arrived Thursday on a flight from the city of Qom in Iran. The woman and two other suspected victims were quarantined at the Rafik Hariri government hospital in Beirut.Meanwhile, Iranian health authorities Friday reported two more deaths from the new coronavirus.Lebanese Health Minister Hassan Hamad speaks during a news conference, in Beirut, Lebanon, Feb. 21, 2020.The spokesman of Iran's health ministry, Kianoush Jahanpour said the newly detected cases are all linked with Qom, where the first two elderly patients died Wednesday. So far, 18…


Iran Reports Two More Deaths, 13 New Cases of New Coronavirus

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Iranian health authorities on Friday reported two more deaths from the new virus that emerged in China and said the fatalities were from among 13 new confirmed cases of the virus in Iran.      The report by the semiofficial Mehr news agency came as Iranians voted in nationwide parliamentary elections. After authorities reported two earlier deaths this week, the death toll from COVID-19, the illness caused by virus, stands at four in Iran.      So far, 18 cases have been confirmed in Iran, including the four who died.      The spokesman of the health ministry, Kianoush Jahanpour, said the newly detected cases are all linked with city of Qom where the first two elderly patients died on Wednesday.      Jahanpour said the new cases were either…


Woman Plays Violin During Brain Surgery

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A procedure one might expect to see only on an episode of popular television show Grey’s Anatomy actually occurred at a London hospital recently as a patient played the violin while undergoing surgery to remove a brain tumor. Dagmar Turner, 53, has had a passion for playing the violin since she was 10, and she is currently a member of the Isle of Wight Symphony Orchestra. So losing the ability to play because of a brain tumor was an especially frightening scenario for her. During a symphony performance in 2013, Turner suffered a seizure that brought to light the slow-growing brain tumor. Located on the right frontal lobe of her brain, it threatened to damage her left hand’s fine motor skills — the hand that controls the notes being played on the violin. According to King’s College Hospital, where Turner was treated, her first course of treatment was…


New Mexico Sues Google over Collection of Children’s Data

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New Mexico's attorney general sued Google Thursday over allegations the tech company is illegally collecting personal data generated by children in violation of federal and state laws.The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque claims Google is using its education services package that is marketed to school districts, teachers and parents as a way to spy on children and their families.Attorney General Hector Balderas said that while the company touts Google Education as a valuable tool for resource-deprived schools, it is a means to monitor children while they browse the internet in the classroom and at home on private networks. He said the information being mined includes everything from physical locations to websites visited, videos watched, saved passwords and contact lists.The state is seeking unspecified civil penalties.“Student safety should…


Can AI Flag Disease Outbreaks Faster Than Humans? Not Quite

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Did an artificial-intelligence system beat human doctors in warning the world of a severe coronavirus outbreak in China?In a narrow sense, yes. But what the humans lacked in sheer speed, they more than made up in finesse.Early warnings of disease outbreaks can help people and governments save lives. In the final days of 2019, an AI system in Boston sent out the first global alert about a new viral outbreak in China. But it took human intelligence to recognize the significance of the outbreak and then awaken response from the public health community.What's more, the mere mortals produced a similar alert only a half-hour behind the AI systems.For now, AI-powered disease-alert systems can still resemble car alarms — easily triggered and sometimes ignored. A network of medical experts and sleuths…


China Reports Fewest New Cases of Coronavirus Patients Since January

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China is reporting its biggest drop in new cases of the new coronavirus that has killed more than 2,000 people on the mainland since the outbreak began more than two months ago.The country's National Health Commission said there were just 394 confirmed new cases of COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) Wednesday, compared to the 1,749 cases the previous day, the biggest drop since last month. The death toll rose to 2,118 after another 114 people died from the virus, while the total number of confirmed cases rose to 74,576.Chinese authorities have struggled to contain the spread of the new coronavirus since it was first detected in December in Hubei province, in the city of Wuhan. The province was placed under lockdown, with nearly all transportation in and out of Wuhan and…


Google Updates Terms in Plain Language After EU Scrutiny

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Google is attempting to make sure people know exactly what they're signing up for when they use its online services — though that will still mean reading a lengthy document.The company updated its terms of service on Thursday — its largest update to the general use contract since 2012 — in response to a pair of court orders in Europe.Google has been updating its policies and tweaking what is and isn't allowed on its sites for the past couple of years as scrutiny of the tech industry heats up across the U.S. and Europe. Google, Facebook, Twitter and other digital companies have been forced under a spotlight as regulators and customers examine just how much the companies know about their users and what they do with that information.Facebook last year…


Weather and Protests Hamper Ukraine Quarantine Efforts

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Ukraine's effort to evacuate more than 70 people from China over the outbreak of a new virus faced setbacks Thursday as weather conditions delayed the return of the evacuees and protests broke out near a hospital where they are to be quarantined.      Dozens of local residents protested Thursday morning seeking to prevent the evacuees from being quarantined there because they fear being infected. People put up road blocks and burned tires, while Ukrainian media reported that there were clashes with police.      President Volodymyr Zelenskiy weighed in saying that those demonstration show “not the best side of our character” and sought to assure people that the quarantined evacuees wouldn't pose any danger to local residents.      In a statement published on his Facebook page, Zelenskiy said…


Chinese Study: New Coronavirus Spreads More Like Flu Than SARS

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Scientists in China who studied the nose and throat swabs from 18 patients infected with the new coronavirus say it behaves much more like influenza than other closely related viruses, suggesting it may spread even more easily than previously believed.In at least in one case, the virus was present even though the patient had no symptoms, confirming concerns that asymptomatic patients could also spread the disease.Although preliminary, the findings published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, offer new evidence that this novel coronavirus, which has killed more than 2,000 people, mostly in China, is not like its closely related coronavirus cousins.“If confirmed, this is very important,” said Dr. Gregory Poland, a virologist and vaccine researcher with the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, who was not involved with the…


Barr Asks: Should Facebook, Google Be Liable for User Posts?

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U.S. Attorney General William Barr on Wednesday questioned whether Facebook, Google and other major online platforms still need the immunity from legal liability that has prevented them from being sued over material their users post. "No longer are tech companies the underdog upstarts. They have become titans," Barr said at a public meeting held by the Justice Department to examine the future of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. "Given this changing technological landscape, valid questions have been raised about whether Section 230's broad immunity is necessary, at least in its current form," he said. Section 230 says online companies such as Facebook Inc., Alphabet Inc.'s Google and Twitter Inc. cannot be treated as the publisher or speaker of information they provide. This largely exempts them from liability involving content posted by users, although they can be held liable for content that violates criminal or intellectual property…


Small Businesses Embrace Wellness to Help Retain Staffers

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Every month, the 30 staffers at Chris Boehlke's public relations firm each get $100 to pay for anything that contributes to their wellness. And not just for typical expenditures like gym memberships or yoga classes.“You can get nails done, anything you feel is helping your overall well being,” says Boehlke, co-owner of San Francisco-based Bospar. The company also has flex time and a generous time off policy including 17 paid holidays each year.As a result, Boehlke says, the 5-year-old company has lost only two staffers.Many small business owners are starting wellness programs to help employees be healthier, happier and more likely to stay. Wellness efforts encompass a wide range of benefits and services, including gym subsidies, stipends for classes and activities and apps that help motivate staffers to exercise and take…


2nd Person Dies Amid Dengue Epidemic in French Caribbean

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A dengue epidemic in several French Caribbean islands has claimed its second victim, officials said Wednesday.A 75-year-old French woman who traveled regularly to St. Martin died this month after contracting the mosquito-borne virus and being evacuated to Paris, according to a statement from the Regional Health Agency for Guadeloupe, St. Martin and St. Barts.It is the second such death reported this month in the region. Officials in the nearby island of Martinique announced last week that one of three unidentified people who were recently hospitalized with dengue died.The viral infection usually causes a severe headache, rash and high fever and can become hemorrhagic, leading to death.   ...


Ebola Drug Being Tested in Wuhan as Treatment for Coronavirus

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An American biotech company says it is working with Chinese authorities to determine whether the antiviral drug remdesivir may provide an effective treatment for victims of the fast-spreading coronavirus known as COVID-19. The Chinese researchers hopes to have the answer by May 1.Officials of Gilead Sciences, which invented remdesivir as a treatment for Ebola and another disease, told VOA the company has already initiated two clinical trials among infected patients "to determine the safety and efficacy of remdesivir as a potential treatment for the coronavirus."The trials have been warmly welcomed in China, where the FILE - A medical worker calls his colleague inside an isolated ward at Jinyintan Hospital in Wuhan, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus outbreak, in Hubei province, China, Feb. 13, 2020.The first trial began enrolling patients…


US Judge Dismisses Huawei Lawsuit Over Government Contracts Ban

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A federal judge in Texas has dismissed Chinese tech giant Huawei's lawsuit challenging a U.S. law that bars the government and its contractors from using Huawei equipment because of security concerns.The lawsuit, filed last March, sought to declare the law unconstitutional. Huawei argued the law singled out the company for punishment, denied it due process and amounted to a "death penalty."But a court ruled Tuesday that the ban isn't punitive and that the federal government has the right to take its business elsewhere.Huawei, China's first global tech brand, is at the center of U.S.-Chinese tensions over technology competition and digital spying. The company has spent years trying to put to rest accusations that it facilitates Chinese spying and that it is controlled by the ruling Communist Party.The lawsuit was filed…


Quarantined Passengers Leave Coronavirus-Hit Ship

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Hundreds of passengers have begun leaving the cruise ship that has been quarantined for two weeks at a Japanese port in a futile attempt to curb the spread of the new coronavirus that has claimed the lives of over 2,000 people in mainland China.Around 500 relieved passengers are expected to disembark the Diamond Princess Wednesday at Yokohama, where it has been docked since its arrival on February 3. Japanese health officials placed the ship and its 3,700 passengers and crew under quarantine after a passenger who disembarked in Hong Kong was diagnosed with COVID-19.But the attempt to contain the spread of the virus backfired, as 542 people became infected, making it the largest cluster of confirmed cases outside of China.Only those passengers who have tested negative for the virus and…


Passengers Aboard Coronavirus-Hit Ship Finally Leaving After Two Weeks Under Quarantine in Japan

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Hundreds of passengers have begun leaving the cruise ship that has been quarantined for two weeks at a Japanese port in a futile attempt to curb the spread of the new coronavirus that has claimed the lives of over 2,000 people in mainland China.Around 500 relieved passengers are expected to disembark the Diamond Princess Wednesday at Yokohama, where it has been docked since its arrival on February 3. Japanese health officials placed the ship and its 3,700 passengers and crew under quarantine after a passenger who disembarked in Hong Kong was diagnosed with COVID-19.But the attempt to contain the spread of the virus backfired, as 542 people became infected, making it the largest cluster of confirmed cases outside of China.Only those passengers who have tested negative for the virus and…


15 New Coronavirus Cases in S. Korea, As Epidemic Threatens Economy

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South Korea reported 15 new cases of the coronavirus Wednesday, intensifying concerns of an outbreak following a lull in reported South Korean infections.A total of 46 people in South Korea have been infected with the highly contagious virus, which causes a pneumonia-like illness recently named COVID-19. South Korean health officials this week warned of a possible “new phase” of the outbreak, following five days in which no new infections were reported.Thirteen of the latest cases are in the area around Daegu, South Korea’s fourth largest city, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).More than 1,000 people are being checked for the virus or are under quarantine, the Yonhap news agency reported Wednesday, citing figures from the KCDC. The virus has killed more than 2,000 people and…


Report: Climate Disruption Threatens Health, Future of All Children

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Many wealthy nations are letting the world's younger generations down by failing to curb planet-warming emissions, a U.N.-backed report said Wednesday, warning climate change posed an urgent threat to the health and future of every child and adolescent.A new global index showed children in Norway, South Korea and the Netherlands had the best chance at survival and well-being thanks to good health care, education and nutrition.   But a ranking of countries by per-capita carbon emissions put those and other rich nations, including the United States and Australia, close to the bottom on that measure, as major contributors to global health threats driven by climate change."Countries need to overhaul their approach to child and adolescent health, to ensure that we not only look after our children today but protect the…


Spain Looks to Adopt Digital Tax That Has Angered the US

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Spain’s government approved Tuesday the introduction of new taxes on digital business and stock market transactions, following similar steps by other European countries.The Cabinet agreed at its weekly meeting to adopt the so-called Google tax and Tobin tax. The measures still require parliament’s approval.Finance Minister Mara Jesus Montero said the Google tax, which has angered U.S. authorities and brought a threat of tariffs by the Trump administration, will be levied only from the end of the year.By then, the government hopes an international agreement on digital business taxes will be in place. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, which advises the world’s rich countries on policies, is currently trying to draw up the agreement.Montero said the government wants a “fairer” tax system, adapted to the new economic trends of…


AP Interview: UN Chief Says New Virus Poses ‘Enormous’ Risks

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The U.N. secretary-general said Tuesday that the virus outbreak that began in China poses a very dangerous situation'' for the world, but “is not out of control.”      Speaking in an interview with The Associated Press, Antonio Guterres said that” the risks are enormous and we need to be prepared worldwide for that.”      Guterres said his greatest worry was a spread of the virus to areas withless capacity in their health service,'' particularly some African countries. The World Health Organization is looking into how to help handle such a development, he added.      Egypt recently reported its first case of the virus, raising fears of its spread to the African continent.      The outbreak has infected more than 73,000 people globally. The World Health Organization…


Bomb Kills Pakistani Policeman Assigned to Anti-Polio Team

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A roadside bombing targeted a police vehicle in northwestern Pakistan on Tuesday, killing a policeman and wounding three others, officials said. The police were assigned to escort health workers during an anti-polio vaccination campaign in the region.      No one immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing in Kolachi, a town in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province which borders Afghanistan. Pakistan regularly carries out anti-polio drives, despite attacks and threats by the Taliban who claim the campaign is a Western conspiracy to sterilize children.      Pakistani security forces were searching the area for the attackers, said police official Wahid Khan. No polio workers were travelling with the police at the time of the bombing, he added.      Attacks on anti-polio campaigns increased in the years following revelations that a…


Australia Prepares To Rescue Citizens From Virus-Hit Cruise Ship

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Australia is preparing to evacuate more than 200 of its citizens from the coronavirus-hit cruise ship, the Diamond Princess, in Yokohama, Japan.  They will face two weeks in isolation on their return home.   Also, the first group of Australian coronavirus evacuees from the Chinese city, Wuhan, has been released from quarantine. The Diamond Princess has been in quarantine since February 3. Onboard the cruise liner have been about 3,700 passengers and crew, including dozens of Australian tourists.The ship has more than 450 confirmed cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus, including several Australians. It is the largest cluster of infections outside China, where the virus was first reported.Australian passengers must decide Tuesday if they will take up their government's offer of an evacuation flight out of Japan.  Authorities in Canberra are planning…


Coronavirus Death Toll Near 1,900

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Chinese health officials reported Tuesday the number of confirmed cases from a coronavirus outbreak has surpassed 72,000, with the death toll rising to nearly 1,900.The latest update included 98 more deaths and 1,886 new cases of the virus that has strained China's healthcare system and caused authorities to put areas on lockdown to try to stop it from spreading.The country's state television reported that one person who died from the virus Tuesday was Liu Zhiming, the director of Wuchang Hospital in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province that is the epicenter of the outbreak.The head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said Monday that Chinese data from recent days appeared to indicate a decline in new cases. However, he said the trend "must be interpreted very cautiously.""Trends can…