Missouri’s death toll from the delta variant of COVID-19 is rising, especially in the hard-hit southwestern corner of the state. The Springfield-Greene County Health Department announced Wednesday that 82 people have died from COVID-19 since July 1. The health department cited 67 deaths in July and 15 in the first nine days of August. The…
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urging all pregnant women to get vaccinated against COVID-19. The advice comes as hospitals in hot spots around the U.S. see disturbing numbers of unvaccinated mothers-to-be seriously ill with the virus. The CDC recommendation echoes recent guidance from top obstetrician groups. The agency had previously encouraged pregnant…
Earth is getting so hot that temperatures in about a decade will probably blow past a level of warming that world leaders have sought to prevent. That’s according to a report released Monday that the United Nations calls a “code red for humanity.” Report co-author Linda Mearns says she sees nowhere that will be safe…
St. Louis County Executive Sam Page is urging the County Council to adopt a mask requirement amid a huge spike in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. Page last month announced a mask requirement for indoor public places, only to have the County Council vote 5-2 to overturn it. Republican Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt sued to…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Hiring surged in July as American employers added 943,000 jobs. The unemployment rate dropped to 5.4% as the U.S. economy continues to bounce back with surprising vigor from last year’s coronavirus shutdown. The July numbers exceeded economists’ forecast for more than 860,000 new jobs. Hotels and restaurants, reopening and doing brisk business,…
EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. (AP) — Officials say five children all younger than 10 who were left home without an adult died in a fire at an apartment building in southwestern Illinois. Fire crews were called to the building before 3 a.m. Friday and reported finding two children already dead. The three other children were…
ST. LOUIS (AP) — A St. Louis lawyer who was pardoned along with his wife for waving guns at social justice demonstrators is suing to get the guns back. Mark McCloskey, a Republican candidate of U.S. Senate, is also seeking to have fines they paid returned. In a lawsuit filed Wednesday in St. Louis City…
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Coronavirus hospitalizations are once again surging as the virus’ more potent delta variant cuts across the country. The swift rise is forcing hospitals to pivot back to COVID-19 readiness just weeks after many shuttered coronavirus wards, field hospitals and other emergency pandemic measures. A Florida hospital chain is suspending elective…
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — A jury in the upcoming trial of a Missouri man accused of killing his Chinese wife will be allowed to hear recordings of arguments between the couple. Circuit Judge Brouck Jacobs ruled Tuesday that 13 hours of recordings will be allowed at the first-degree murder trial of Joseph Elledge. The Columbia…
NEW YORK (AP) — In his response to an independent investigation that found he sexually harassed 11 women, Gov. Andrew Cuomo cited his own family member’s sexual assault to explain his behavior with accuser Charlotte Bennett. That component of his statement came under criticism from sexual assault survivors, their advocates and even crisis public relations…