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COVID hospitalizations jump again: Maps show where it's worst

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:48 GMT

SPRINGFIELD – For the second week in a row, the number of people being admitted to the hospital with COVID-19 rose significantly, by more than 12%.An additional 9,056 people were hospitalized with the virus last week, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – that represents a 12.5% jump. The summer wave started a few weeks ago. Last week, the number of new hospitalizations was up 12.1%.In about two dozen states, the surge in hospitalizations is far more than 12%. Alabama, Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming all saw more than a 20% increase in new COVID hospitalizations. Map: Does your drinking water contain ‘forever chemicals’? New Hampshire saw the biggest jump in a single week – 96%, or a near doubling in the number of people being admitted. Hover over your state on the map (below) to see the percent inc...

August 8 is National Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor's Porch Day, but why?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:48 GMT

Editor's Note: The video above shows KXAN Live's top headlines for Aug. 8, 2023(KXAN) -- Got some zucchini lying around? You could make zucchini bread, or pasta with it. Or you could sneak it onto your neighbor's porch. Seriously. After all, Aug. 8 is National Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor's Porch Day. National Today describes the holiday as a day for farmers and gardeners to off-load the "way too much" of the vegetable they may have on their hands Aug. 8, which falls in the midst of peak zucchini season. According to the Farmer's Almanac, the vegetable's fertility spawned the holiday. "Every gardener who has grown zucchini knows that this time of year vines go crazy producing hundreds of tiny squash," the Almanac's website says. "They quickly grow to gargantuan size if not picked."Thus, Thomas Roy designated Aug. 8 as National Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor’s Porch Day. Roy also invented No Socks Day and Humbug Day, according to National Today. The exact...

Lower humidity and higher wind speeds keep the wildfire danger critical

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:48 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Most highs today will peak at around 103° to 107°, just like the last two days. Most heat index readings will peak up to 106° to 110°. Today will be the 33rd day in a row of a triple-digit high and the 48th day this season.Central Texas is facing several afternoons of much lower humidity along with increasing wind gusts. The humidity has been lowering into the teens and 20s for several afternoons. Drier air keeps the wildfire threat BLOG: When will 100º days end in Austin? Gusty winds hamper firefighting effortsAn Excessive Heat Warning and Heat Advisory are again in place until 9 p.m. in the same areas we've seen them for the last several days. The Excessive Heat Warning is for all except Blanco and Gillespie Counties. Every county under this Red Flag WarningA Red Flag Warning is in place until 11 p.m. Any fires that start will spread rapidly given ongoing weather and drought conditions.Tuesday's wildfire danger: high to very high across all countiesTomorrow's ...

Austin-based business making strides toward Alzheimer’s disease treatment

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:48 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) –  An Austin-based pharmaceutical company is making promising strides toward developing a new treatment for Alzheimer’s disease. Cassava Sciences has been researching neurodegenerative conditions for over a decade. In a recent trial, one of their medications – simufilam – showed slowed cognitive decline by 38% in patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s disease who had the medication versus patients taking a placebo. “In my opinion, that's a remarkable finding,” CEO and president of Cassava Sciences, Remi Barbier, said. “Alzheimer's makes cancer look like child's play. What we're talking about is a brain with over three billion cells, all of which are interconnected, starting to act up and decay. How do you treat 3 billion anything? It's very, very difficult,” Barbier added. More often in clinical trials, one group will receive the experimental medication while another group will receive a placebo – something like a sugar pill or saline injection ...

Teen who shot 12-year-old brother in St. Paul released from custody pending further investigation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:48 GMT

A 14-year-old boy who fatally shot his 12-year-old brother last weekend at a home on St. Paul’s North End was released from custody Tuesday without charges after prosecutors say there was not “sufficient evidence to proceed with a charging determination.”The Ramsey County attorney’s office said in a Tuesday afternoon statement it has returned the case to St. Paul police “following a careful review of the evidence presented by law enforcement.”“The RCAO will make a charging determination at a future date should additional investigative information become available,” the statement said. “Based upon this decision by the RCAO, the youth will be released from custody.”Police said Tuesday the investigation is still active and remains open.Denisha Hill, the mother of both boys, told the Pioneer Press on Monday that Saturday’s shooting was “a terrible accident.” Although she said she doesn’t know exactly what happened, she thinks her 14-year-old was playing with the gun and didn’t kno...

Fringe review: ‘Wells is Third on the Waitlist’ is clever, nerdy and delightfully self-referential

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:48 GMT

Worth consideringComedian Wells Farnham, who for years has been waitlisted, finally won the Fringe lottery and got his own show. He never thought this day would come — which, now, is the problem. During this clever and self-referential comedy set, a world-weary and delightfully public-policy-obsessed Farnham becomes increasingly unhinged as he tries to figure out what his Fringe show should be about. “Wells is Third on the Waitlist” truly did come together somewhat last-minute, and that’s apparent. But Farnham’s jokes are smart, his writing is mostly tight and sharp, and his outraged delivery is just fun to watch. The show is a sleeper hit.Presented by Wells Farnham at Augsburg Studio; 10 p.m. Aug. 8, 8:30 p.m. Aug. 11, 10 p.m. Aug. 12Still unsure of what to see? Check out all our Fringe reviews here.The Minnesota Fringe Festival turns 30 this year, presenting 101 hourlong stage acts from Aug. 3-13 at theaters throughout Minneapolis. Pioneer Press reporters will post the...

Lebanese restaurant sets opening date in Watervliet after move

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:48 GMT

WATERVLIET, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Teta Marie’s Lebanese Restaurant is ready to open at its new home in Watervliet. Owner Brenda Hage announced the restaurant is opening on August 15 at 2 p.m. after its ribbon cutting. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! Teta Marie's moved from Ontario Street in Cohoes to the old Papa’s building at 1297 Broadway in Watervliet. Hage said the restaurant outgrew its spot in Cohoes after its first year and a half.Hage opened Teta Marie's in September 2020. She said she initially looked at the old Papa's building as a spot to open the restaurant but ultimately went with the Cohoes location. Filli’s opens Express Store in New Lebanon "It felt like it was meant to be," said Hage. She and her husband spent the last four and a half months working on the new space.The restaurant serves Lebanese food such as falafel, stuffed grape leaves, kabobs, shawarma, salads, and more. In the new space, Teta Marie's will hav...

Fatal crash under investigation in Highland

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:48 GMT

HIGHLAND, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Investigations into a fatal two-car crash on Sunday morning are ongoing. According to the Town of Lloyd Police, the accident happened on Route 9W near Chapel Hill Road. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! Police say a 21-year-old Poughkeepsie man was driving southbound in a 2008 Ford Explorer. The Explorer crossed into the northbound lane and struck a 2016 Chevy Cruse traveling north. The 50-year-old driver of the Chevy Cruse sustained internal injuries and was transported to Vassar Hospital by the New Paltz Rescue Squad. A 52-year-old passenger in the Chevy Cruse was transported to the Mid-Hudson Regional Hospital by the Mobil Life Ambulance. The passenger succumbed to her injuries.The driver of the Ford Explorer was uninjured. Names are being withheld pending family notification.

52 days on the road: A migrant family’s desperate journey to Chicago

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:48 GMT

Nell Salzman | Chicago TribuneEsperanza Beatriz Mendez didn’t get to say goodbye to her mother before leaving her home in Venezuela with her three children.Her mother, whom she called the most important person in her life, was so strongly opposed to her making the dangerous trek to the U.S. that she wouldn’t say goodbye. Esperanza sobbed outside her mother’s house, but she knew she needed to leave, she said.“I have plans: The first is to work and buy a house and bring my mom,” she said in Spanish. “I hope she’s doing OK, that she hasn’t fallen into depression, and that she’ll wait for me.”Esperanza and her children fled Venezuela to escape an economic collapse that had shut down her kids’ schools and her city’s grocery stores. Their goal now: to make it to Chicago and meet a relative.The group of five — Esperanza, her three kids and her son’s pregnant girlfriend, plus the family dog — trekked over 3,000 miles for more than seven weeks and survived Panama’s Darién Gap, a harrowing ju...

How to look at the pros and cons of independent living as we age

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:48 GMT

By Helen Dennis | Southern California News GroupQ. One of my concerns about getting older is losing my independence, particularly since I am a very independent older woman. The thought of having to rely on someone else for my well-being is not only uncomfortable but scary. How does one come to grips with this?  A.R.Most older adults have spent their entire lives living independently. They worked, earned money, supported themselves, raised families and made their own decisions for decades. Yet aging can bring about changes that lead to becoming more dependent. These include financial difficulties, inability to care for oneself both physically and mentally or having to relocate because of limitations.The topic is on many people’s minds as indicated by surveys as well as conversations with friends. One survey ranked fear of becoming dependent in later life as the No. 1 concern followed by safe issues and memory loss. Another survey ranked it No. 4 after loneliness, declining health and...