'Tis the season to clean your hands and watch what you eat.

Norovirus, a stomach virus that causes vomiting and diarrhea, is making Florida residents sick through contaminated surfaces and contaminated shellfish.

Remarkable: On average, one infected person infects two to seven other people.

“It only takes a few virus particles to cause infection, so it doesn't take much exposure to get sick with norovirus,” he said By Margaret Gorensan infectious disease doctor at Holy Cross Health in Fort Lauderdale.

RELATED: FDA publicizes recall of oysters sold in California and other states because of norovirus concerns

Noroviruses can spread through food, touch and airborne particles.

Earlier this week, the Food and Drug Administration issued two separate seafood recalls in states because of possible norovirus contamination.

On Monday, the FDA warned restaurants, food retailers and consumers in seven states, including Florida, to not eat or sell oysters and manila clams from Rudy's Shellfish in Washington. Two days later, the agency issued one other recall in 15 states, including Florida, for oysters sold as Fanny Bay, Buckley Bay and Royal Miyagi Oysters from British Columbia, Canada. Both recalls indicated possible contamination with norovirus. The recall didn’t mention any reported illnesses related to the oysters and mussels.

Shellfish can absorb untreated human wastewater containing norovirus; If people eat the contaminated shellfish, they’ll turn out to be infected.

Most people experience symptoms 12 to 48 hours after eating contaminated food. The most typical symptoms are nausea, stomach pain, fever, headache and body aches.

When norovirus spreads through direct contact, it normally occurs through shaking hands or touching contaminated surfaces after which putting the hand within the mouth. Such spread often occurs in restaurants, schools and on cruise ships.

This month, norovirus has wreaked havoc on cruise ships. Four ships have reported outbreaks thus far in December, with one ship reporting greater than 100 sick passengers the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

There have been 13 norovirus outbreaks reported on cruise ships this 12 months, but that is the primary time the virus has been confirmed on three ships and suspected on a fourth inside a month. These ships include Holland America's Zuiderdam and Rotterdam and Princess Cruise's Ruby Princess. The most up-to-date outbreak occurred on Cunard's Queen Mary 2, and although passengers experienced norovirus-like symptoms, the precise gastrointestinal illness has not been confirmed.

In all cases, the cruise ships isolated sick passengers and crew members and implemented increased cleansing and disinfection procedures.

Gorensek of Holy Cross said norovirus is seasonal and sometimes spreads more in the course of the winter. “We typically see it more often when people spend time together.”

She said anyone touching food for holiday meals without washing their hands thoroughly can quickly spread it.

Unlike other viruses, norovirus is difficult to kill on surfaces or hands.

“A quick dose of hand sanitizer doesn’t help, just soap and water,” she said. “Bleach-based products work best on surfaces.”

Noroviruses are also relatively heat resistant and might survive temperatures as much as 145 degrees Fahrenheit.

Inhaling airborne norovirus particles can occur — perhaps in an airplane's lavatory — but this approach to spread is less common than contact with contaminated surfaces or food.

Anyone who becomes infected with norovirus must make sure that they drink enough fluids. Gorensek recommends Pedialyte, Gatorade, or broth. “Water is not good because it doesn’t give you the electrolytes you need,” she said.

Young children and people with underlying health conditions should be especially careful, she said, because “they are vulnerable to dehydration and are most at risk.”

Originally published: December 23, 2024 at 12:04 PM PST

By DAN MERICA AND JESSE BEDAYN

ALEXANDRIA, VA. (AP) – The sprawling, windowless warehouses that house rows of high-speed servers that power almost every little thing the world does on phones and computers are increasingly becoming fixtures on the American landscape, popping up in cities and suburbs across the United States states.

The demand for data centers has increased significantly in recent times attributable to the rapid growth of cloud computing artificial intelligenceand city and state governments alike are competing for lucrative deals with big tech firms.

But how Data centers As people begin to maneuver to more densely populated areas, closer to homes and schools, parks and recreation centers, some residents are pushing back against the world's strongest corporations because they worry concerning the economic, social and environmental health of their communities .

In Northern Virginia, greater than 300 data centers are situated within the rolling hills of the region's westernmost counties, bordering wooded bike paths that wind through the suburbs. But one in every of the world's newest proposals, Plaza 500, calls for constructing a 500,000-square-foot facility and adjoining substation just a couple of hundred feet from townhomes, playgrounds and a community center.

The pitch to Fairfax County officials from Starwood Capital Group, the private investment firm founded by billionaire Barry Sternlicht, promised jobs and a big property tax increase. But data center critics say the incentives aren't enough to counteract the results of constructing the facilities so near homes.

Tyler Ray, a pacesetter within the fight against the Virginia project, fears that more data centers within the region could threaten the already strained power grid: Over 25% of all electricity produced in Virginia in 2023 went to data centers, a number that remains to be rising could even reach 46% by 2030 if data center growth continues at current rates. Some estimates also show that a medium-sized data center uses the identical water day-after-day as 1,000 homes, raising concerns about water costs. Ray also worries about air quality, as the large diesel generators that power data center hardware send toxic clouds of pollutants into the atmosphere.

Ray and his neighbors tried to stop the event, but their efforts were largely unsuccessful. The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors said in September that every one newly planned data centers would need to adhere to stricter zoning rules, however the Plaza 500 project was exempt.

“I don’t know how a regular resident, even someone who cares deeply about an issue, has any chance of competing against the data center industry,” Ray said the night regulators voted.

For local governments, locating data centers of their communities represents a financial boon: Governor of Virginia. Glenn Youngkin said in 2024 that Virginia's current data centers generated $1 billion in tax revenue.

For average-sized facilities, data centers provide a small variety of direct jobs – often fewer than 100 jobs. Google recently announced that its investment in nearby Loudoun County, which incorporates two data centers, created about 150 direct jobs, a number that data center opponents say isn't well worth the effort. But data center advocates argue that the variety of indirect jobs corresponding to construction, technology support and electrical work make the projects worthwhile. In the identical announcement, Google said their investment not directly created 2,730 jobs.

Kathy Smith, vice chairwoman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, voted in favor of the Plaza 500 proposal because she believes the expansion of knowledge centers in the world is inevitable and Fairfax County should profit from it.

“I have a responsibility to step back from what we’re doing and look at the bigger picture,” Smith said. “Data centers are not going away.”

On the opposite side of the country, in Morrow County, Oregon, Amazon Web Services has built no less than five data centers across the 4,200-person town of Boardman, nestled amongst sprawling farmland dotted with mint beds and wind turbines next to the Columbia River.

Last 12 months, AWS paid about $34 million in property taxes and charges stipulated within the agreements after receiving a $66 million tax break. These payments, along with the corporate's charitable donations of $1.7 in 2023, were instrumental in modernizing infrastructure and strengthening services. Those funds went toward a brand new chief fire engine, a faculty resource officer and $5,000 in grants for homebuyers, totaling no less than $2.8 million.

“This street here? Without AWS, this wouldn't have happened,” said Boardman Mayor Paul Keefer, sitting in the passenger seat of Police Chief Rick Stokoe's patrol car and pointing out the window at construction workers hauling away dirt and laying pavers.

AWS has relationships with local officials, including Keefer and Stokoe, both of whom voted on whether to give the company tax breaks. Some former county commissioners and residents worry those relationships are too cozy.

Skepticism about the deals began years ago when three former elected officials allegedly helped approve data center deals while also owning shares in a company that made data center deals contractually with AWS provides fiber optic cables for the data centers. In June, they each paid $2,000 to settle an ethics complaint.

These officials are no longer in office. But the recent data center deal between Morrow County officials and AWS, which gives the company an estimated $1 billion in tax breaks over 15 years to build five new data centers, raised eyebrows again.

Two former Morrow County commissioners, Jim Doherty and Melissa Lindsay, unsuccessfully pushed in 2022 for AWS to pay more taxes in negotiations for a new data center.

“We didn’t want to blow it up. We didn’t want to drive them away,” Lindsay said. “But there were better offers.”

Originally published: December 5, 2024 at 11:35am PST

California drivers are probably the most confrontational drivers of all 50 states, in accordance with a brand new survey, with a high percentage having experienced road rage in the shape of cutting, verbal abuse and tailgating.

To determine which states have the angriest and most confrontational drivers, news and data website Forbes Advisors surveyed 10,000 licensed drivers and compared all 50 states on nine key criteria.

According to the survey, nearly half of respondents said one other California driver intentionally cut them off.

The data also showed that just about a 3rd of respondents said that they had been yelled at, insulted, cursed at or threatened by one other California driver.

More than 60% of respondents said one other driver had tailgated them. And greater than a 3rd of California drivers reported that one other driver had attempted to dam their automotive while merging or changing lanes.

But it is just not only in California that aggression in traffic and confrontational drivers occur.

The variety of violent road rage incidents has risen sharply within the United States over the past decade. According to an evaluation of information from the nonprofit Gun Violence Archive conducted by The Trace, a nonprofit newsroom that covers gun violence in America, road rage shootings increased by greater than 400% between 2014 and 2023. During that 10-year period, offended drivers shot and killed 3,095 people, in accordance with The Trace.

While California tops the list of states with the worst road rage, probably the most polite drivers within the country will be present in Hawaii.

Originally published: August 5, 2024 at 2:20 p.m.

As wars proceed in Ukraine and Gaza, one other conflict-torn place is taking steps toward implementing a historic peace agreement. From the mid-Sixties to 2016, Colombia was characterised by conflict between the federal government, left-wing guerrilla movements and right-wing paramilitary groups. Now the federal government and rebels are working to achieve a comprehensive agreement that addresses many critical areas, including environmental damage and cleanup.

Researchers from the University of Notre Dame Richard Marcantonio And Josefina Echavarria Alvarez Study of peace and conflict issues, including their impact on the environment. They are currently advising negotiations between the Colombian government and several other rebel groups over war damage to land, water and other natural resources. They explain that while Colombia's transition from war to peace has been difficult, the agreement provides a model for addressing the devastating consequences of war in countries comparable to Gaza and Ukraine.

Is it common in peace agreements to handle environmental damage?

Few agreements contain environmental provisions and even fewer provide for his or her implementation, although research shows that there could be many drivers of conflict directly or not directly related to the environment.

We work with a research program on the University of Notre Dame called Matrix of peace agreements, which monitors the implementation of comprehensive peace agreements in 34 countries worldwide. Only ten of the agreements contain agreements on natural resource management, and these have generally not triggered major steps to guard the environment.

How is the Colombia Agreement different?

Colombia is taken into account that most comprehensive peace agreement which has been signed up to now. Topics starting from security to social justice to political participation are discussed intimately.

The agreement recognizes that a peaceful post-war society requires not only respect for human rights but in addition “the protection of the environment and nature and its nature.” renewable and non-renewable resources and biodiversity.” More than 20% of the commitments within the agreement are environmentally related.

They fall into 4 principal categories:

– Adaptation and response to climate change

– Conservation of natural resources and habitats

– Protect environmental health through measures comparable to access to wash water

– Process questions, comparable to: B. ensuring that communities could be involved in decisions about rural programs and resource management

There are also gaps. For example, many protected areas have been established deforested for livestock and coca cultivation within the post-chord time. And there aren’t any provisions on toxic pollution, a problem that other agreements address also neglect.

This often results in power vacuums Transitions between war and peace, as government agencies work to revive operations. During these phases, natural resources and environmental health have to be protected.

In Sierra Leone, for instance, raw material extraction by foreign firms increased dramatically immediately after the crisis Lomé Peace Agreement The civil war in that country finally led to 2002. Companies often took advantage of the shortage of governance and support in rural areas illegally or dangerously mined metals with none official supervision. Even today, these areas are still fighting the consequences of mining contaminated drinking water and fishcrucial source of protein within the region.

What are the ecological consequences of the war in Ukraine?

The damage is gigantic: air, water and soil pollution, deforestation and large amounts of waste, including destroyed buildings, burned-out cars and hundreds of tons of destroyed military equipment. Russia's destruction of the Kakhovka Dam flooded villages, destroyed crops and destroyed irrigation systems.

The cost estimates are staggering. A joint commission of the World Bank, the federal government of Ukraine and other institutions currently estimates the direct damage at roughly $152 billion.

Additionally, there might be costs for site remediation, infrastructure reconstruction and other repairs greater than $486 billion in the following decade, starting at the top of 2023. This number increases on daily basis the war continues.

There is widespread interest in a single Green and sustainable reconstruction This would come with steps comparable to using sustainable constructing materials and powering the grid with renewable energy. President Volodymyr Zelensky insisted that Russia must pay for the damage caused. It is still unclear How that might work, although some US and European lawmakers support it Seizure of frozen Russian assets held in western banks to cover costs.

There is a legal basis to carry Russia accountable. In 2022, the UN General Assembly adopted a set of principles for Protection of the environment during armed conflicts. Among other existing laws, they depend on a protocol to the 1949 Geneva Conventions that prohibits the usage of “methods or means of warfare that are intended or likely to have far-reaching, long-term and serious consequences.” Damage to the natural environment.”

There was only Modest discussion thus far how these principles could be integrated right into a formal peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia. But a working group that included Ukrainian and EU officials, in addition to former leaders from Sweden, Finland, Ireland and Brazil, has really helpful a framework for doing so Combat environmental damage and hold perpetrators accountable.

What environmental impacts are known or alleged in Gaza?

Environmental damage in Gaza can also be devastating. The UN estimated in early 2024 that there have been over 100,000 cubic meters (26 million gallons) of untreated sewage and sewage flows every day onto land or into the Mediterranean.

Gaza's drinking water system was inadequate before the war and was further weakened by military strikes. On average, Gazans now have access to about 3 liters of water per person per day – lower than 1 gallon.

Thousands of buildings were destroyed and sprawled Hazardous substances comparable to asbestos. Every bomb dropped spreads toxic substances that remain in the bottom unless cleaned up. Concurrent environmental and infrastructure impacts comparable to water and electricity shortages are contributing to larger crises, comparable to the collapse of the health system in Gaza, which may have long-term human costs.

How can future peace agreements address these impacts?

Incorporating the environment into peace agreements is just not easy. Resources comparable to energy, clean soil and water are vital, and that is precisely why armed forces can do that trying to manage or destroy them. Happens in each Ukraine and Gaza.

Peace negotiators are inclined to deal with social, political and economic issues relatively than environmental reparations. But if environmental damage stays unresolved until a peace agreement is signed, people displaced and marginalized by conflict will remain in precarious positions.

It may even result in fighting resuming. According to the UN Environment Program, at the least 40% of all domestic wars over the past 60 years have been related to natural resources. In these cases, fights were twice as more likely to occur Resumption inside five years of the top of the conflict.

We see some lessons for future negotiations.

Firstly, it is vital that agreements are made Recognize environmental damage as one in every of the principal consequences of war and to acknowledge that a healthy environment is crucial for sustainable livelihoods and peace.

Second, linking environmental regulations to other issues comparable to rural reform and political participation could be achieved create higher, more sustainable and equal conditions for the restoration of democracy. An example is the Colombia Accords.

Third, it is vital to obviously define the goals, comparable to what infrastructure and institutions should be rebuilt, who’s answerable for completing these tasks and what the timeline is. This can assist be certain that environmental restoration doesn’t turn out to be a secondary goal.

Fourth, the international community has a crucial role to play in monitoring and verifying environmental cleanup and providing financial and technical support. Foreign donors have already done this has pledged $66 billion to rebuild Ukraine and have stated that they are going to require grantees to fulfill strict environmental standards so as to receive funding.

Rebuilding nations and concurrently regenerating communities and ecosystems after wars is a large task, but in addition a possibility to achieve this construct something higher. We view Ukraine and Gaza as potential test cases for addressing the environmental impact of war and making a more sustainable future.

Most Americans don't know two vital facts about pregnancy, including the date of pregnancy and the length of a trimester — and that might matter as more states implement abortion restrictions.

Florida has passed a brand new law on May 1, 2024, which bans abortions after the sixth week of pregnancy a couple of exceptions – including documented rape, incest and saving the lifetime of the mother.

Florida joins the bulk Southern States who now have outright bans or extremely restrictive abortion laws enacted because the Supreme Court overturned Federal right to abortion in June 2022. Many of the restrictive laws ban abortions after a set variety of weeks.

Anti-abortion rights groups comparable to Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America have called for the six-week abortion ban the gold standard in abortion policy. Florida Republicans who support the bill have called it a reasonable compromise between an entire ban on abortion and few restrictions on abortion.

Some gynecologists explained that many ladies I don't even know they're pregnant six weeks. Research shows that girls On average, women discover they’re pregnant after five and a half weeks. About 23% don't know until the seventh week of pregnancy or later.

Do Americans, including those enacting six-week lockdowns, actually understand how pregnancy timing or dating works?

We are Scholars from Political Science, Gender and public opinion and are writing a book about public opinion on abortion after the Supreme Court struck down federal abortion rights in June 2022.

How does pregnancy work?

To gain insights into this topic, we developed some pregnancy questions and included them in a research survey at the top of September 2023. The survey included 1,356 respondents who were broadly representative of the U.S. population. The average age of the respondents was 46 years. Approximately 49% of those individuals were men, while 70% were white and 29% were college graduates. Meanwhile, 43% of them were Democrats and 38% were Republicans.

The first query asked respondents how pregnancies are dated. The right answer is that pregnancies are dated to the primary day of the lady's last menstrual period, which is commonly two to 3 weeks before conception.

The second query was about trimesters. Many Americans are accustomed to the term trimester and Surveys consistently show that Americans find first trimester abortion most acceptable. We asked Americans in the event that they knew roughly what number of weeks a trimester lasts. The correct answer is 13.

Americans' Pregnancy Knowledge

We found that only a 3rd of respondents knew easy methods to term a pregnancy. A majority – about 60% – incorrectly assumed that the pregnancy began at conception or within the weeks because the woman's last sexual activity. Less than 1 / 4 of respondents answered each pregnancy knowledge questions appropriately.

In our survey, we also asked respondents whether or not they supported a six-week abortion ban. Similar to others national surveysfind that almost all Americans oppose strict abortion restrictions – only 35% support six-week abortion bans.

Importantly, we discover that those that support a six-week abortion ban are significantly less likely than others to appropriately understand the timing of pregnancy. The statistically significant association between low knowledge concerning the timing of pregnancy and support for a six-week abortion ban also holds true in analyzes that account for potentially confounding variables.

Some anti-abortion lawmakers have shown her ignorance concerning the pregnancy Before.

For example, there’s a protracted history of some anti-abortion politicians falsely claiming this was the case very rare for a one that is raped to turn into pregnant. Our survey shows that a big proportion of abortion opponents lack knowledge concerning the basics of pregnancy.

A gender inequality

Perhaps unsurprisingly, women on this survey knew more about pregnancy than men. For example, the query of how pregnancies are terminated was answered appropriately by 43% of ladies, in comparison with only 23% of men. As noted above, the vast majority of Americans incorrectly consider that pregnancy is dated from conception, but significantly more men than women consider this to be true.

This finding is especially vital when considering the gender breakdown of the Florida state legislature that approved the six-week ban. Although we don't have data on these lawmakers' pregnancy knowledge, we all know that those that voted for the ban did so predominantly men.

Florida's six-week ban will make it much harder for anyone there to get abortions — and it should impact Floridians, too Neighbore states who want or need an abortion. In 2023, the closest abortion clinic was in Florida 6.4 million women live within the south. In 2023 around 7,700 women from other southern states, where abortion is now largely bannedShe traveled to Florida to have abortions.

Overall, our findings raise serious questions on whether Americans without medical training – much like those in our state legislatures – have the knowledge mandatory to control access to abortion.

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