Plague

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. -- The parking lot was dark when Marie Franklin and her husband, Sam, last stopped at a corner store near their home. The couple didn't want much from the market that night. But they still strategized before Sam, 49, went inside. "My husband wouldn't let me go in," Marie Franklin, 57, recalled. "About four or five guys were hanging around the door." For her, the scene felt all too familiar in a city where it's getting harder to find a safe place to buy milk. In some neighborhoods across the country, such corner stores often stock more alcohol than food -- and poor-quality groceries at that -- amid a minefield of violence just outside their doors. Yet especially for many of the country's poorest residents, the shops are among the few options for buying groceries using the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program food benefit. Nationwide, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service, ...

spawns/iStock (NEW YORK) — A child in Idaho contracted the plague last year, leaving many wondering how the plague exists in the 21st century. The disease dates back to the Middle Ages, when it killed millions in a Europe, before the age of antibiotics. At the time, they did not realize the plague was carried by the fleas who lived on rats. Although the idea of the plague sounds dire, another “black death” is not coming. The plague, in spite of its lethal reputation, is not uncommon in the U.S. and it is usually no longer a death sentence. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the plague was first introduced in the U.S. in 1900 by rat-infested steamships. It is most common in the western U.S. What is the plague? The plague is caused by a bacteria called Yersinia pestis, which is transmitted by fleas. Infected fleas spread the infection to animals, commonly mice, squirrels, prairie dogs and even cats and dogs. Humans get the plague through direct contact with...

The No. 19 University of Wisconsin men’s hockey team (6-7-1, 1-4-1-1 Big Ten) struggled immensely against the University of Minnesota (5-6-3, 2-3-3-2 Big Ten) this weekend, but they still managed to come out of the series with a shootout victory. The Badgers were defeated 4–1 Friday, and the offense was nowhere to be found. Wisconsin found themselves in a 2–0 deficit until forward Sean Dhooghe added a power-play goal in the second period to bring the Badgers within one goal of the Golden Gophers. However, Minnesota would go on to score another pair of goals in the third period to ice the game. The Badgers scored on one of their three power-play attempts and stopped Minnesota on each of their two power plays. In the crease, Wisconsin goaltender Daniel Lebedeff allowed four goals on 29 shots, all of which came from different goal scorers. While Wisconsin earned just one point this weekend, it was a hard-fought one point, as they showed resiliency and an ability to fight adversity in S...

(Inside Science) -- In the late 15th century, a mystery disease broke out in England. Thousands died and terror stalked the land. The disease, called the sweating disease, now is only a figment of history and literature. It may have altered history by killing Prince Arthur, the heir to the throne whose death ushered in the tumultuous reign of Henry VIII. The disease remains one of medicine’s great mysteries. It came in five waves, and haunted Tudor England for 70 years before disappearing. The Black Death of the late 14th century killed more people, as did the great influenza pandemic in the early 20th century, but the disease that struck Tudor England was just as terrifying. While science now understands the plague, science has only speculation to explain the sweating disease. It was noted for its mortality rate, estimated at 30%-50%, and for its ferocity. You could start feeling ill before dinner and be dead by morning. The only solace was that if you survived for 24 hours, you ...

(NEW YORK) — A child in Idaho contracted the plague last year, leaving many wondering how the plague exists in the 21st century. The disease dates back to the Middle Ages, when it killed millions in a Europe, before the age of antibiotics. At the time, they did not realize the plague was carried by the fleas who lived on rats. Although the idea of the plague sounds dire, another “black death” is not coming. The plague, in spite of its lethal reputation, is not uncommon in the U.S. and it is usually no longer a death sentence. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the plague was first introduced in the U.S. in 1900 by rat-infested steamships. It is most common in the western U.S. What is the plague? The plague is caused by a bacteria called Yersinia pestis, which is transmitted by fleas. Infected fleas spread the infection to animals, commonly mice, squirrels, prairie dogs and even cats and dogs. Humans get the plague through direct contact with infected anim...

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. — The parking lot was dark when Marie Franklin and her husband, Sam, last stopped at a corner store near their home. The couple didn’t want much from the market that night. But they still strategized before Sam, 49, went inside. “My husband wouldn’t let me go in,” Marie Franklin, 57, recalled. “About four or five guys were hanging around the door.” For her, the scene felt all too familiar in a city where it’s getting harder to find a safe place to buy milk. In some neighborhoods across the country, such corner stores often stock more alcohol than food — and poor-quality groceries at that — amid a minefield of violence just outside their doors. Yet especially for many of the country’s poorest residents, the shops are among the few options for buying groceries using the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program food benefit. Nationwide, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service, convenience stores make up ...

This was supposed to be a fresh start. A new coach, a new game plan. Some new players and a new balance. A series victory against the number two ranked team in the world, away from home, where New Zealand had won ten of their previous 12 Tests was always going to be a tough ask. But if England couldn't get a win, some discernible improvement or a binning of their bad old ways would make up for it. Such has been their disastrous overseas record that expectations are so low. Instead, rather than a new beginning, England simply reverted to type. That will disappoint new head coach Chris Silverwood most. There is certainly no disgrace losing to this fine New Zealand team but to do it in this manner, displaying the same frailties that have come to define this England side away from home, will not have been the way he wanted to begin his time in charge. Having been part of the coaching set up for two years, Silverwood would have known the task on his hands when he took over the job....

Problems plagued the two-day Neon Lights festival, which saw "technological difficulties" causing crippling queues into the venue on Saturday, and had an artist walk off midway through a set yesterday. Many festival-goers took to Facebook to express their frustrations over an almost two-hour wait to enter the venue on Saturday, which caused them to miss headline acts such as British electronic-soul group Honne, who took to the stage around 6.15pm. Day One of the festival saw a sold-out crowd of 7,000, with sets starting at 1pm and ending around 11pm. While previous editions of the multi-genre music festival have seen it spread across both the main field of Fort Canning Green and the smaller Fort Gate venue, this year's edition - the fourth - was kept to Fort Canning Green. This resulted in a major bottleneck at the sole entrance, with slow security checks and even slower issuing of wristbands leaving many festival-goers stranded outside as big headline acts kicke...

The Army's premier biological laboratory on Fort Detrick reported two breaches of containment earlier this year, leading to the Centers for Disease and Control halting its high-level research. The U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases announced Friday that it would restart its operations on a limited scale. As it works to regain full operational status, more details about the events leading to the shutdown are emerging. An inspection findings report, obtained by the News-Post through a Freedom of Information Act request, details some of the observations found during CDC inspections as well as by USAMRIID employees who reported the issues. The two breaches reported by USAMRIID to the CDC demonstrated a failure of the Army laboratory to "implement and maintain containment procedures sufficient to contain select agents or toxins" that were made by operations in biosafety level 3 and 4 laboratories, according to the report. Biosafety level 3 and 4 ...

[unable to retrieve full-text content] Climate change can raise risk of plague    South China Morning Post https://ift.tt/2rl1H2A

One school, five weeks, at least eight fights, and at least 14 children, ages 11 to 14, arrested by the DeLand Police Department. Those are the stats for DeLand Middle School in the month of October and one week of November, as shown by police reports. From Oct. 1 to Nov. 8, the DeLand Police Department was called to the school at 1400 S. Aquarius Ave. a total of 87 times. Nearly one-third of those responses were outside of routine walk-and-talk visits and traffic details. The police responded to assault-and-battery cases, Baker Acts, threats of suicide and fights — all during school hours, all at DeLand Middle. By the numbers 1,179 Student population at DeLand Middle School in the 2018-19 school year 8 Fights at the school resulting in police reports, between Oct. 1 and Nov. 8, 2019 16 Children ages 11 to 15 detained as a result of those fights * 330 Total students given in-school or out-of-school suspensions, or placed in alternative education, at DeLand Middl...

[unable to retrieve full-text content] Drug Deals and Food Gone Bad Plague Corner Stores. But Neighbors Are Fighting Back.    U.S. News & World Report https://ift.tt/2D6moBF

This story also ran on USA Today . This story can be republished for free ( details ). EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. — The parking lot was dark when Marie Franklin and her husband, Sam, last stopped at a corner store near their home. The couple didn’t want much from the market that night. But they still strategized before Sam, 49, went inside. “My husband wouldn’t let me go in,” Marie Franklin, 57, recalled. “About four or five guys were hanging around the door.” For her, the scene felt all too familiar in a city where it’s getting harder to find a safe place to buy milk. In some neighborhoods across the country, such corner stores often stock more alcohol than food — and poor-quality groceries at that — amid a minefield of violence just outside their doors. Yet especially for many of the country’s poorest residents, the shops are among the few options for buying groceries using the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program food benefit. Nationwide, according to the U.S. D...