Health

WATCH: White House COVID task force urges vaccine requirements

By Associated Press

The White House Coronavirus task force is urging public and private sector vaccine requirements to boost vaccination rates and make headway against COVID-19.

State mask bans face federal civil rights inquiries

By Collin Binkley, Associated Press

The Education Department says it's investigating five Republican-led states that have banned mask requirements in schools, saying the policies could amount to discrimination against students with disabilities or health conditions.

Demonstrators in Berlin protest virus measures

By Associated Press

Throughout the afternoon, thousands marched in the German capital’s Friedrichshain, Prenzlauer Berg and Mitte neighborhoods. More than 2,000 police officers were on duty across the city to respond to the protests.

Unwanted record: Russia's COVID deaths hit new high in July

By Associated Press

The report from the Rosstat agency said 50,421 people suffering from COVID-19 died during the month, sharply higher than the previous record of 44,435 in December.

5 Stories: An underwater volcano creates a new island off Japan, customs officials confiscate thousands of fake COVID-19 vaccination cards and other stories you missed

By Deema Zein, Julia Griffin

An Ivory Coast painter turns discarded flip-flops into art, new research suggests chemicals in household products are linked to 900,000 premature deaths each year and artist Josephine Baker is posthumously honored at Paris’s Pantheon. Check out these stories and others…

Judge blocks Florida governor's order banning mask mandates

By Terry Spencer, Curt Anderson, Associated Press

Leon County Circuit Judge John C. Cooper on Friday agreed with a group of parents who claimed in a lawsuit that Gov. Ron DeSantis' ban on the mandates is unconstitutional and cannot be enforced.

Surgery by day, bedpans at night: Staffing shortages in Louisiana hospitals mean some workers pull double duties

By Roby Chavez

NEW ORLEANS – Louisiana hospitals are in a state of concern fueled by critical staff shortages and an astronomical number of new COVID-19 infections. The state, in which only 40% of residents are fully vaccinated, is averaging nearly…

Arizona becomes 13th state to pass 1 million COVID-19 cases

By Terry Tang, Jonathan J. Cooper, Associated Press

"I don't think the human brain can process it," a longtime nurse said of Arizona hitting 1 millions cases and 18,600 deaths. "I don't think when you are an individual that you can fathom that number. It's incomprehensible."…

WATCH: White House COVID task force holds news briefing

By News Desk and Associated Press

The White House COVID task force will hold a news briefing Friday as the U.S. endures a fourth wave of virus infections.

100,000 more COVID deaths expected unless U.S. changes its ways

By Carla K. Johnson, Nicky Forster, Associated Press

But health experts say that toll could be cut in half if nearly everyone wore a mask in public spaces. Experts agree: What the coronavirus has in store this fall depends on human behavior.