Health & Safety

Officials in Lahaina are trying to get mental health support to displaced residents

10:18am August 19, 2023

by Eric Westervelt

Besides the challenges of displacement and recovery, officials are scrambling to support the enormous mental health needs of Lahaina residents traumatized by the deadliest wildfire in modern history.

Queue Listen Now

New advancements may help fight the chikungunya virus wave in South America

5:26pm August 18, 2023

by Ari Daniel

More than a quarter million new cases of the chikungunya virus have surfaced in South America this year. New advances may soon help us outfox the virus, which can cause debilitating joint pain.

Dr. Susana Lloveras, an infectious disease physician at Hospital Muñiz in Buenos Aires, Argentina, says she used to see one or two cases of chikungunya a year. But earlier this year there were two to three new cases a day.

Health & Safety

Chikungunya virus surges in South America. But a new discovery could help outfox it

3:32pm August 18, 2023

by Ari Daniel

South America has seen a quarter million cases this year, as climate change is a boon for the mosquitoes that spread it. A study about how the virus infects cells could help inform future treatments.

An illustration of the head and mouth parts of Anopheles sp. female and male mosquitoes. The hairs (or fibrillae) on the antenna of the male enable them to hear the buzz of females in a swarm.

Health & Safety

Hairy ears of male mosquitoes help them find the ladies. Can we disrupt their hearing?

3:28pm August 18, 2023

by Max Barnhart

If the guy skeeters can't hear the buzz of females ... no mating, no new generation. The results of a study on mosquito hearing could lead to a different kind of population control tool.

An override stamp is seen on legislation limiting LGBTQ+ classroom instruction in the early grades

North Carolina laws curtailing transgender rights prompt less backlash than 2016 'bathroom bill'

2:19pm August 18, 2023

by Hannah Schoenbaum and Gary D. Robertson, Associated Press

Seven years ago, North Carolina became ground zero in the nationwide fight over transgender rights with the passage of a

Poor indoor air quality can contribute to health problems. Letting in fresh air, keeping air filters changed and using air purifiers can help.

Indoor pollution can make you sick. Here's how to keep your home's air clean

11:37am August 18, 2023

by Ari Daniel

Poor air quality can drive you indoors, but do you know what you're breathing inside your home? Here's the latest on optimizing ventilation and other air-clearing strategies.

Ukraine's first lady Olena Zelenska heads the country's mental health campaign, called "How Are You?" She says the country is still overcoming the legacy of the Soviet era, when the government sometimes said dissidents had "psychiatric problems" and locked them in mental institutions. She's shown here meeting with students in Paris last December.

With a simple question, Ukrainians probe mental health at a time of war

5:13pm August 17, 2023

by Greg Myre

Ukraine calculates the agony of war in many ways. Lives lost, homes destroyed, families turned into refugees. There's also trauma that's harder to measure — the collective mental health crisis.

Roy Cooper leads round table discussion on medicaid expansion

Health & Safety

NC Governor Roy Cooper highlights the need for Medicaid Expansion in Yadkinville

4:29pm August 17, 2023

by David Ford and Associated Press

Democratic North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper has wrapped up several days of visiting rural counties to highlight their health care and economic needs and how he says getting Medicaid expansion soon can help with these challenges.

Wildfires outside of Yellowknife, the capital of Canada's Northwest Territories, as seen from space on Tuesday. As of Thursday the fires are less than 10 miles outside of the city.

Out-of-control wildfires in Canada force all 20,000 residents of Yellowknife to flee

3:52pm August 17, 2023

by Dustin Jones

More than 230 active wildfires are burning in Canada's Northwest Territories, including one outside the capital of Yellowknife, forcing 20,000 residents to flee.

two people hold a banner at a rally for LGBTQ youth

Veto overridden: Ban on gender-affirming care for minors takes effect in North Carolina

9:05am August 17, 2023

by Hannah Shoenbaum, Associated Press/Report for America

Transgender youth in North Carolina lost access Wednesday to gender-affirming medical treatments after the Republican-led General Assembly overrode the governor’s vetoes of that legislation and other bills touching on gender in sports and LGBTQ+ instruction in the classroom.