NPR News

The emphasis on keeping disease out is rooted in Tongan history. Years ago, Westerners brought diseases like smallpox, the plague and measles into the country

The case pits First Amendment protections for robust free speech against the right of someone not to be defamed, i.e. not to have damaging and untrue claims made publicly against her, even if she’s a prominent public figure.

Zara Rutherford, who stopped in Juneau late last year during her solo trip around the world, touched down in western Belgium on Thursday — five months after she started her journey.

Researchers found that right after the third shot of the Pfizer vaccine, protection against a symptomatic infection is pretty good. Two weeks after the shot, the booster cuts the risk by about 70%.

The people who take care of and educate children under 5 years old – both parents and providers – are in a special kind of hell right now.

Safe drinking water is one of the most immediate needs. The volcanic ash and seawater have contaminated the island chain’s potable supply and the government there has advised people to drink only bottled water.

Even three days after the blast, Tonga remains largely cut off from the world. Undersea communications cables appear to have been cut, and the airport is covered in ash, preventing relief flights from arriving at the capital city of Nuku’alofa.

Households can order four rapid tests, which the Postal Service says will be shipped for free “in late January.”

Biden also said six new federal medical teams will be dispatched to aid overwhelmed hospitals in six states.

The emergence of a less severe variant like omicron is not a sign that SARS-CoV-2 is evolving into a milder virus that is less able to infect the lungs.