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'Downright criminal': Leaked emails reveal effort by Trump aides to censor and alter CDC COVID reports behind closed doors
Sep 18, 2020 16:38Politico's new reporting represents just the latest evidence of the Trump administration's ongoing interference in the activities of public health agencies, an effort lawmakers and experts have denounced as a deliberate campaign to undermine trust in COVID-19 data and advance the president's political agenda.
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Immune system’s response to COVID-19 may be altered by obesity
Sep 18, 2020 09:34The severity of COVID-19 is generally mediated by the human body’s immune response. Everyone’s immunity is different — which is why reactions to the virus are so varied — and there are various genetic, environmental and chronic disease factors that can influence this response. According to health24.com, one such factor is obesity. Those who have a body mass index (BMI) of more than 40 are 2.6 times more likely to die from a coronavirus infection.
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US rural and native communities are hard hit by COVID-era food insecurity
Sep 16, 2020 12:26According to Feeding America, 2.3 million rural Americans currently lack adequate nutrition or are food-insecure. Indeed, the number of people who are hurting, not just on the Native communities and rural areas’ reservation but throughout the U.S., is staggering. With millions unemployed, coupled with the largest spike in food prices since February 1974, food banks throughout the country are scrambling to meet the needs of the hungry.
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Crucial testing for child lead poisoning in US has plummeted during pandemic
Sep 15, 2020 12:25The CDC estimates about 500,000 U.S. children between ages 1 and 5 have been poisoned by lead, probably an underestimate due to the lack of widespread testing in many communities and states.
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'Where are the tests?' US schools reopen amid worrying lack of Covid-19 resources for students, educators
Sep 15, 2020 12:22According to a new Rockefeller Foundation report published on Wednesday September 9th, "the U.S. may need up to 193 million coronavirus tests each month in order to safely reopen schools and fortify nursing homes." A minimum of 175 million tests would be required for teachers and students alone, the report notes.
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Educational systems suffer largest-ever disruption amid Covid-19
Sep 15, 2020 04:52According to an August UN report titled "Education during Covid-19 and beyond", the coronavirus pandemic has created the largest disruption of education systems in history, affecting nearly 1.6 billion learners in more than 190 countries.
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The American West is burning but Trump hasn't mentioned historic wildfires in 'any way, shape, or form' for nearly 3 weeks
Sep 14, 2020 04:53Climate action advocates and journalists are calling out President Donald Trump's silence for nearly three weeks, as historic wildfires have torn across the western United States, devastating communities that were already struggling in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic and related economic crisis.
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'Nature is unraveling': New WWF report reveals 'alarming' 68% plummet in wildlife populations worldwide since 1970
Sep 14, 2020 04:40In the midst of a global pandemic, it is now more important than ever to take unprecedented and coordinated global action to halt and start to reverse the loss of biodiversity.
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Hunger: The other way COVID will kill
Sep 14, 2020 04:33An outbreak of coronavirus pandemic-related nationalism — with countries blaming one another for the spread of the disease — has produced an escalating wave of trade barriers that has amplified the trouble on the roads. Rwanda has refused to allow Tanzanian truck drivers to haul goods into the country, forcing a time-consuming change of driver at the border.
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'Entire western US on fire' as region faces deadly flames compounded by heatwave, blackouts, and coronavirus
Sep 13, 2020 05:12A record-shattering heatwave, continuing wildfires, power blackouts, and the coronavirus pandemic in California have combined to put the health and safety of residents across the state in danger this week, as other western states face dozens of blazes as well.