Political stumbles from the top compromised the CDC. There could be more murder hornets out there, experts say. It's Wednesday's news.
COVID-19 cases are surging as the nation's public health authority faces a crisis of credibility. Meanwhile, another crisis: We have no idea how many "murder hornet" queens are lurking in the U.S.
It's Ashley, and before I dive into the news, I'd like to send a heartfelt thank you to veterans. Today, my family is remembering my great-uncle, Anthony Kahoʻohanohano, who fought and died in the Korean War and was awarded the Medal of Honor in 2011 for his heroism.
But first, could this be the next new planet? Scientists have discovered an extremely distant object billions of miles beyond Pluto. They are calling the object "the Goblin."
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The CDC chief lost his way during COVID-19. Can we trust our top public health leader?
The nation's public health authority is facing a crisis as COVID-19 cases surge. When the U.S. needed it most, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention compromised the agency's scientific credibility for politics. Has the leadership failure left the agency irreparably harmed? Our investigation's team profiled the failed leader at the agency's helm, Dr. Robert Redfield, and traced the CDC's rocky path that led to declining public trust.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Robert Redfield holds up his mask as he speaks at a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing on a "Review of Coronavirus Response Efforts" on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020, in Washington.
Pool photo by Andrew Harnik
Coronavirus hospitalizations in the US have reached an all-time high
U.S. coronavirus hospitalizations surpassed 60,000 for the first time Tuesday, continuing a steady rise that has seen hospitalizations more than double in less than two months, the COVID Tracking Project reported Wednesday. That number has risen almost 50% in the past two weeks. The previous record was 59,780 on April 12, after which the number gradually declined to 28,608 on Sept. 20. On Wednesday, the U.S. surpassed 240,000 deaths caused by the coronavirus, by far the largest number in the world. The U.S. has 4.3% of the global population but 18.8% of the reported coronavirus deaths.
A nest of a massive, and potentially deadly, invasive hornet species in Washington state likely isn't the only one in the U.S., a state entomologist said. A team with the Washington State Department of Agriculture that destroyed the first discovered nest in the U.S. found about 500 hornets at various stages of their life cycles in the nest — including approximately 200 queens. Some of the queens could have escaped, mated and formed new colonies next year had they not been captured. Good luck sleeping tonight.
In this Oct. 24, 2020, file photo, a Washington state Department of Agriculture worker holds two of the dozens of Asian giant hornets vacuumed from a tree in Blaine, Wash. When scientists destroyed the first nest of so-called murder hornets found in the U.S. recently, they discovered about 500 live specimens inside in various stages of development.
Elaine Thompson, AP
Someone you don't want to be: A Georgia poll counter
Two words: HAND RECOUNT. There will be a hand recount of presidential election results in Georgia, state officials say, due to the extremely close result between Biden and Trump. Biden holds a roughly 14,000-vote lead in the state, or 0.3%. Under Georgia law, candidates can request a recount if the margin of victory is less than 0.5%. Trump's campaign made the request. Would flipping Georgia make a difference for Trump? Not really. Biden has enough electoral votes to be president-elect even without Georgia's 16 electoral votes.
Tens of thousands left the president option blank on ballots, a phenomenon known in political circles as an "undervote."
Florida's west coast is on hurricane watch
Florida's gearing up for another brutal storm. Eta was downgraded to a tropical storm Wednesday from a Category 1 hurricane, but Florida's west coast remains under a hurricane watch. Eta is expected to move closer to the southwestern coast of Florida on Wednesday and approach the west-central coast Wednesday evening at near-hurricane strength, rapidly weakening as it moves inland over the northern portion of the Florida peninsula Thursday. Hurricane-force winds were possible along portions of the west coast of Florida, and heavy rainfall from Eta is expected to continue across South Florida and spread northward across portions of west and north Florida today through Friday.
Flooding from tropical storm Eta hit Martin County, Florida, on November 10, stranding a catfish on pavement in a residential neighborhood.
STRF
A break from the news
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An Amazon driver got his truck stuck in a golf cart tunnel. He blamed his GPS.
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