CDC: Dining out and drinking at bars are the pandemic's 2 riskiest activities

Dining out is one of the most likely ways you can contract COVID-19, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.For a report published Friday, dozens of health care workers surveyed people who'd tested positive for COVID-19 and others who'd tested negative, asking them where they'd been in the past 14 days. Coronavirus-positive patients were twice as likely to have gone to a bar or restaurant in the last two weeks than those who were negative, suggesting those locations drastically increased their chances of getting coronavirus.When looking at just people who had no close contact with someone who had coronavirus, eating at a restaurant tripled their chances of infection, and going to an indoor bar quadrupled it. That's because "masks cannot be effectively worn while eating and drinking," while the rest of the activities on the list — shopping, using public transportation, and others — "do not preclude mask use," the CDC said.> RISKIEST PLACES: Restaurant eating + Bar drinking stands out as the two leading risk factors, according to latest CDC @CDCMMWR report. > > Restaurants have 3x higher odds> > Bars have 4x higher odds of infection. > > HT @donwinslow for the good reminder. COVID19 https://t.co/XnNtcEDemD pic.twitter.com/vQJySLUF8z> > — Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) September 11, 2020It's worth noting that the CDC's survey didn't distinguish between eating inside a restaurant or outside on a patio; it simply asked if a person ate anywhere designated by the restaurant for dining. It did specify an indoor bar.More stories from theweek.com The true Election Day nightmare scenario The epistemic crisis of political polling Are the troops turning on Trump?

Oregon officials said they are preparing for a 'mass fatality incident' as 500,000 people stand in evacuation zones from the wildfires ravaging the West Coast

There are currently 6 reported deaths in Oregon due to the wildfires that have devastated millions of acres, as well as more in other Western states.

Trump gets second Nobel Peace Prize nomination for brokering deal with Serbia and Kosovo

President Trump nominated for Nobel Peace Prize after Arab nation recognizes Israel; Lucas Tomlinson reports.

‘It’s a lack of respect.’ Why Haitians felt spurned by Kamala Harris’ Miami visit

Kamala Harris courted Venezuelan, African-American and Jewish voters during her first visit to Miami on behalf of her running mate, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.

Here's What the Massive Amount of Smoke Created by West Coast Wildfires Looks Like From Space

Satellite images show massive amounts of smoke engulfing the West Coast of the U.S. and extending hundreds of miles over the Pacific Ocean

Charlottesville removes Confederate statue near rally site

Californian residents defying evacuation orders despite deadly fires sweeping state

'I don't feel it's going to come this way'

Iran says US-brokered deal makes Bahrain partner to Israel 'crimes'

Iran on Saturday angrily accused Bahrain of stirring instability after US President Donald Trump announced Manama and Israel were opening ties in a landmark deal that reinforces America's push to redraw Middle East conflicts.

Osama bin Laden's niece says she will 'never forget' what happened on 9/11

Noor bin Ladin tweeted a statement on September 11 saying she wll "never forget" the terror attacks that took place 19 years ago.

China approves 1st human trials for COVID-19 nasal spray vaccine

China on Wednesday approved Phase 1 human testing of a COVID-19 nasal spray vaccine being developed by researchers at Xiamen University, Hong Kong University, and vaccine maker Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy Enterprise Co. Children and some adults already get a nasal spray vaccine for the flu, and recent research from Washington University School of Medicine suggested a nasal vaccine was actually more effective than an injection at protecting mice against COVID-19 infections.This is the first nasal spray vaccine candidate for COVID-19 to be tested in humans, and preliminary studies showed it can significantly reduce lung damage in infected mice and hamsters, according to Science and Technology Daily, a newspaper linked to China's Ministry of Science and Technology, Bloomberg News reports. The intranasal vaccine aims to promote a natural immune response to the coronavirus by combining the new virus' spike proteins with a weakened flu virus.China now has 10 vaccines in human trials, including four in Phase 3 trials. The U.S. has three Phase 3 trials underway, although AstraZeneca and Oxford University paused their final-stage trial in the U.S. and elsewhere this week to investigate a spinal cord illness in one of its vaccine subjects. "Chinese drugmakers have taken their research abroad because the outbreak at home has been under control for months," The New York Times reports, but Beijing is also effectively using the promise of priority access to a vaccine and loans "in a charm offensive aimed at repairing damaged ties and bringing friends closer in regions China deems vital to its interests."More stories from theweek.com The true Election Day nightmare scenario The epistemic crisis of political polling Are the troops turning on Trump?

'Don't come back until you find him': The harrowing story of a father's desperate attempt to save his son in the Oregon wildfires

Chris Tofte made a gallant attempt to rescue his family from a raging Oregon wildfire.

Colorado sues USPS and Postmaster General for potentially misleading voters

Postmaster general Louis DeJoy, a Trump supporter, already under fire for cost-cutting measures that slowed mail processing

The mosquito population in southwest Louisiana is so big after Hurricane Laura that swarms of them are killing cows and horses

Swarms of mosquitoes are attacking livestock in Louisiana, draining their blood until they succumb to death.

Tucker Carlson: "If we're going to survive as a country, we must defeat" Black Lives Matter

In a racially-charged screed, Carlson claims the nation's first Black president left behind "a wake of destruction"

Schools return to hybrid learning as pandemic continues

Images show students and teachers returning to the classroom as schools put new health and safety measures in place to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Joe Biden's security breached while boarding campaign plane

No one was harmed, as the man turned out to be a rogue photographer.

Karl Rove says weakly linked Trump, Biden supporters could turn tightening presidential race

Fox News contributor Karl Rove, senior adviser to President George W. Bush, joins Paul Gigot on 'The Journal Editorial Report.'

For Victoria Azarenka, Disappointment Again, but Plenty of Hope

By BY MATTHEW FUTTERMAN from NYT Sports https://ift.tt/3hpiCoM

New York speeds to open restaurants for indoor dining despite scientists' concerns over COVID-19 spread

A new CDC study found that people infected with the coronavirus were twice as likely to have been at a restaurant than those who had not. Even with social distancing mandates in place, restaurants could become coronavirus hot spots.

Oregon Sheriff’s Officer Suspended for Spreading Rumors About Antifa Arsonists

A sheriff’s deputy in Clackamas County, Oregon was suspended Saturday after video showed him propagating baseless rumors that anti-fascist activists had started the wildfires now devastating the state. Video shows the deputy—an unidentified bald man calling himself Mark—saying, “Antifa motherf--kers are out causing hell, and there’s a lot of lives at stake and there’s a lot of people’s property at stake because these guys got some vendetta.” He also warns of “antifa or other crazy Left wing people” attacking firefighters.Craig Roberts, the Clackamas County Sheriff, said in a statement to Oregon Public Broadcasting, “As soon as I was made aware of this incident, I moved swiftly to place this deputy on leave while we investigate. The Sheriff’s Office mission is to provide calm and safety especially during unprecedented times such as these. I expect nothing less of our deputies, and apologize to all in our community.”The nearby Multnomah County Sheriff’s Department issued a similar warning over reports of groups of armed citizens illegally establishing checkpoints and detaining passersby. The department did not respond to a request for comment on whether the illegal stops were related to conspiracy theories concerning antifa.“While we understand their intent is to keep the community safe, it is never legal to block a public roadway or force other citizens to stop. This type of action increases the risk of injury to everyone at one of these roadblocks,” the announcement read.Rumors of anti-fascist arsonists have no basis in available fact, and law enforcement agencies have had to work overtime dispelling the conspiracy theories, which add chaos to a situation already rife with uncertainty and draw law enforcement resources away from assisting residents in need. A million acres have burned in the Oregon wildfires this fire season, the most on record. The blazes have consumed entire towns and killed more than a dozen people, with dozens more reported missing. One man, described by police as a “local transient,” has been charged with arson in connection to one fire. Local authorities say the 41-year-old has no known connection to anti-fascist activists. Earlier this week as smoke enshrouded cities along the West Coast in darkness, Governor Kate Brown warned, “We expect to see a great deal of loss, both in structures and in human lives. This could be the greatest loss of human lives and property due to wildfire in our state’s history.”Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

A photographer breached Joe Biden's security perimeter at a Pennsylvania airport

Joe Biden's security perimeter was breached at a Pennsylvania airport on Friday. The suspect was quickly removed by Secret Service.

China announces new restrictions on US diplomats' activities

China has announced new restrictions on the activities of U.S. diplomats working in mainland China and Hong Kong, in what it called a justified response to similar measures imposed on Chinese diplomats in the U.S. last year. In a statement posted online late Friday, a foreign ministry spokesperson said the rules would apply to senior diplomats and all other personnel at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing and consulates throughout China.

Oregon wildfire melts trucks, leaves warlike destruction in wake

Matt Manson stared at the burned-out corpse of his pick-up truck on Friday, which sat on a blackened driveway in front of a smoldering pile of rubble that once was his house. Like other residents of the small agricultural town of Phoenix, Oregon, he was in shock as he returned to his neighborhood and saw how fast the Alameda Drive wildfire had engulfed his home and upended his life.

Prosecutors: Chauvin used neck restraints in past arrests

A white police officer accused in the death of George Floyd had used neck or head and upper body restraints seven times before, including four incidents in which prosecutors say he went too far, according to prosecution documents released Friday in the case against four former Minneapolis officers charged in Floyd's death. In one July 2019 arrest, prosecutors say, Derek Chauvin kicked an intoxicated male in the midsection, then applied a neck restraint until he fell unconscious. In June 2017, Chauvin restrained an arrested female by placing his knee on her neck while she was prone on the ground, prosecutors said.

Sixteen dead in US wildfires as cool weather brings hope

More than 20,000 firefighters from across the United States on Friday battled sprawling deadly wildfires up and down the West Coast as the arrival of cooler weather offered hope of a respite.

Trump campaign misspells 'Nobel' Peace Prize in ad to fundraise off of his nomination, which anyone can get

Trump celebrated his second nomination for the award earlier this week on Twitter, reposting several congratulatory tweets from conservatives.

An influencer couple revealed their child's gender on Dubai's Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world

Anasala Family, a YouTube family channel with over 7.7 million subscribers, did a gender reveal event on the world's tallest building.

The Postmaster General Says Ballots Will Arrive On Time. Postal Workers Aren’t So Sure

Postal workers say 2020 election ballots may not be delivered on time due to changes made by the Postmaster General

Tom Ridge: Whistleblower allegation against Trump should outrage all Americans

The allegations should make anyone who had the responsibility to brief a U.S. president furious, and it should make all Americans shudder.

US Navy scraps plan to fly fighter jet over New York City on 9/11 anniversary after it sparked outrage

The announcement that the Navy planned to conduct flight training on 9/11 prompted a New York congressman to ask: "Are you out of your mind?"

Family heartache spotlights Australia virus restrictions

Australia’s government has ramped up pressure on a state government to relax pandemic border restrictions after a woman was refused permission to attend her father’s funeral on Thursday and a dying dad was told he was only allowed to be visited by one of his four children. Sarah Caisip, 26, was refused permission to go to her father's funeral because she was forced to spend 14 days in hotel quarantine in the Queensland state capital of Brisbane in case she brought COVID-19 from her home in Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory. Mark Keans, 39, is dying of cancer in a Brisbane hospital and has been told by Queensland health authorities that his family would have to choose which one of of his four children who live across the border in New South Wales can visit him, his sister Tamara Langborne said.

A top aide assigned to scrutinize the Trump-Russia investigation resigns from the Justice Department.

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A Line of Fire South of Portland and a Yearslong Recovery Ahead

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Remember Brexit?

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Bahrain Says It’s Time to Embrace Israel. The Gulf Hears a Saudi Voice.

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Trump Accuses Judge of ‘Stacking the Deck’ Against Him in Tax Ruling

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Rockets’ Danuel House Leaves N.B.A. Bubble After Violation

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Alexander Zverev Reaches U.S. Open Final, His First in a Grand Slam

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Biden: 'I hope I don't take the bait' in debate with Trump

Joe Biden has said he’d “beat the hell out of” President Donald Trump over his comments about women if they were in high school. When Biden and Trump meet in their first presidential debate later this month, Biden says he has one goal: “I hope I don’t take the bait.” “I hope I don’t get baited into a brawl with this guy, because that’s the only place he’s comfortable,” Biden said Thursday during a fundraiser.

‘Rumours spread just like wildfire’: Fire officials deny blazes spreading across Oregon and Washington started by political extremists

‘Rumours make the job of protecting the community more difficult,’ officials say

Tropical development likely in East Pacific as system churns towards favorable conditions

After almost a week of quiet conditions following Tropical Storm Julio, AccuWeather meteorologists are monitoring a couple of tropical features brewing in the East Pacific Ocean.According to AccuWeather Tropical Expert Dan Kottlowski, forecasters will be focusing on an area of disturbed weather located about 300 miles to the southwest of the southwestern coast of Mexico.This feature has been designated Invest 92E by the National Hurricane Center. Invest 92E is expected to track slowly to the west-northwest through this weekend and into the beginning of next week. This path will take the storm through the warm waters of the Pacific Ocean and into an area of low to moderate wind shear.Wind shear is the change in speed or direction of the wind at different levels in the atmosphere and plays a strong role in the development and organization of tropical systems.CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APPThis environment could allow this tropical disturbance to become more organized by the beginning of next week, and there is a medium to high potential that 92E evolves into a tropical depression, or even a tropical storm, by Sunday or Monday."92E is expected to track to the west-northwest though the beginning of the week, away from the western coast of Mexico, and will not bring any direct impacts to land in the near future," added Kottlowski.While the storm is located far enough away from the coast that torrential rain and gusty winds will not reach Mexico, as the storm becomes more organized, it can kick up rough surf and an increased risk for rip currents along the Mexican coast.Shipping interests should monitor this system into at least the middle of next week to avoid the dangers of tracking through downpours, strong wind gusts and rough surf.The next system to reach tropical storm status, or to gain sustained winds of at least 63 km/h (39 mph), in the East Pacific basin would be given the name Karina."Another area of disturbed weather [is located] 400 miles to the southwest of the southern tip of Baja California and remains disorganized," said Kottlowski. He added that the chances for this to become an organized tropical system continue to diminish.Meanwhile, the Atlantic tropical basin remains active as forecasters continue to track Tropical Storm Paulette, Tropical Storm Rene and several disturbances.Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.

A sheriff launched an algorithm to predict who might commit a crime. Dozens of people said they were harassed by deputies for no reason.

A new report sheds light on the pitfalls of "predictive policing" and casts doubt on AI-powered tools meant to fight crime.

Daughter of Trump supporter who died of COVID-19 rips president's pandemic comments to Woodward

"The president's lies are undeniable and inexcusable,” said Kristin Urquiza, who delivered a blistering rebuke of Trump's handling of the pandemic at the Democratic convention.

Rhea Chakraborty: Why is Indian TV obsessed with Sushant Singh Rajput's death?

Sushant Singh Rajput's death and the media frenzy around his girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty have dominated news.

'War zone': Deadly wildfires rage in Western states: Death toll rises as hundreds of thousands evacuate

At least 90 wildfires driven by strong winds were racing through more than a dozen Western states on Thursday. Here are the latest developments.

Farmers hold out at Mexican dam as tensions build

Hundreds of farmers continued to hold a remote dam in northern Mexico Friday as President Andrés Manuel López Obrador tried to explain to the country why water must be released to the United States under an international treaty. Concern was building that if the farmers refuse to budge, the National Guard would be sent in again and there could be violence. Overnight, power to the La Boquilla dam site in Chihuahua was cut and there were reports that cell phone service there had also dropped, making activists suspect a move by authorities to evict them could be imminent.

Iowa refuses to close bars and require masks as Covid-19 cases surge in cities

Iowa City and Ames endure worst surge in the country as cases have risen sharply across the whole midwestIowa’s governor, Kim Reynolds, is refusing to enforce a White House coronavirus taskforce recommendation to close bars and require people to wear masks after Covid-19 infections in some of the state’s cities surged.Meanwhile, coronavirus cases have risen sharply across the whole midwest in recent weeks putting the region at the forefront of America’s pandemic. The region accounted for six of the eight states with the highest number of new Covid-19 cases by early September even as infections fell in other parts of the US previously among the worst hit.North Dakota has the largest number of positive cases per capita in the country over the past 14 days. Iowa and South Dakota are enduring the highest percentage increases. Missouri has seen more than 1,300 new cases a day on average over the past week.In Iowa, the increase was centered on university towns following the return of students to classes. By late August, two of the state’s cities, Ames and Iowa City, were enduring the worst coronavirus surges in the country. The per capita infection rates were higher than any individual country.Amid warnings that the failure to enforce masks and social distancing was likely to cost hundreds of additional lives in the coming months, the White House taskforce said in a report on 31 August that bars “must be closed” in 61 of Iowa’s 99 counties and seating in restaurants should be limited. It also recommended restrictions on the size of gatherings in the worst hit counties along with the closure of gyms.“Community transmission continues to be high in rural and urban counties across Iowa, with increasing transmission in the major university towns,” the report warned. “Mask mandates across the state must be in place to decrease transmission.”But Reynolds has limited bar closures to six counties including those with the universities. She would go no further than “strongly encouraging” people to wear masks, saying that they were “not a silver bullet”.“I still believe it’s up to the governors in the various states to make those decisions,” the governor said.Missouri’s governor, Mike Parson, has also consistently resisted making masks obligatory in public spaces, instead issuing guidelines recommending their use while questioning their effectiveness. Authorities in the state’s major cities, including St Louis and Kansas City, have imposed their own mandatory requirements.In July, Anthony Fauci, the president’s lead coronavirus expert, urged the midwest’s political leaders to follow the science by warning that the region should learn from the surge in cases in southern states during the summer.The University of Washington’s Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation has predicted that without mandatory masks, the number of daily coronavirus deaths in Iowa will be six times higher than if 95% of people used face coverings.Reynolds blamed “social activity among young adults” for driving the rise in coronavirus numbers. The White House task force warned that university towns need to routinely test all students “to immediately identify new cases and outbreaks and isolate and quarantine”.Students at the University of Iowa have demanded testing after nearly 1,600 cases have been self-reported on the campus since 18 August but the university has resisted.“Our numbers are clearly terrifying,” an associate professor, Naomi Greyser, told CNN. “They’re really scary and my students are scared.”In the counties around Iowa City and Ames well above half of all of those tested for Covid-19 were positive for the virus.Reynolds also backed plans by Iowa State University to allow 25,000 spectators to attend its first college football home game of the season this week. The university reversed the decision after strong criticism.Coronavirus policy in the midwest has become closely bound up with politics with even prominent politicians buying into conspiracy theories.The US senator for Iowa, Joni Ernst, speculated that doctors were exaggerating the fatalities by falsely pinning deaths from other causes on Covid-19. Ernst, a Republican facing a close race for re-election, picked up on a conspiracy theory that misinterprets official statistics to say she was “so sceptical” about the official coronavirus death toll.“These healthcare providers and others are reimbursed at a higher rate if Covid is tied to it, so what do you think they’re doing?” she said, according to the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier.The Iowa Medical Society called Ernst’s comments “incredibly disappointing”. “Now is not the time to spread mistruths and distrust. We must work together to keep Iowans safe and healthy,” it said.

Injured army veteran pushes back after his image is used in anti-Trump ‘propaganda’

A US Army veteran has hit out at social media users for using photographs of him in attacks against president Donald Trump’s alleged comments on veterans. Mr Trump has fiercely denied the article’s claims. Posts began circulating on social media using the image of Bobby Henline, lone survivor out of five soldiers in an IED blast in Iraq, hitting out at the president’s alleged comments, the veteran told Fox News in an interview.

Pritzker Prize–Winning Architect Richard Rogers Has Announced His Retirement

Suspended NY HS senior arrested for showing up to school in violation of COVID-19 restrictions

17-year-old Maverick Stow returned to his high school campus after being warned not to show up and that he'd be arrested if he entered school grounds; Laura Ingle reports on the latest.

Exclusive: Susan Collins' plight gets worse with new corruption allegation, possible ethics probe

Ethics watchdog accuses Maine senator of "blatant corruption" after GOP tax bill sweetened husband's investments

South Dakota governor says study blaming motorbike rally for 260,000 coronavirus infections ‘completely false’

State has reportedly seen 126 per cent increase in cases over last two weeks