Free Republic

The first case of Ebola diagnosed in the United States has caused some to call on the United States to ban travel for anyone from the countries in West Africa facing the worst of the Ebola epidemic.... We don't want to isolate parts of the world, or people who aren't sick, because that's going to drive patients with Ebola underground, making it infinitely more difficult to address the outbreak... A travel ban is not the right answer. It’s simply not feasible to build a wall – virtual or real – around a community, city, or country. A travel ban would...

Update at 2:11 p.m.: The patient, dressed in shorts and wearing a surgical mask and a plastic head covering, just walked out of the facility and into the ambulance, which had been covered in plastic. That patient will be transported to Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, where Thomas Eric Duncan was hospitalized. We are working to determine if this person is among the 48 people the Centers for Disease Control is monitoring. So far there has been no comment from the CDC, which already had a 3 p.m. press conference scheduled. Update at 2 p.m.: Frisco paramedics, dressed in protective gear,...

No article yet.

Thomas Eric Duncan, the first known person to develop Ebola in the United States, has died in Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, according to Texas Health Resources. "It is with profound sadness and heartfelt disappointment that we must inform you of the death of Thomas Eric Duncan this morning at 7:51 am. Mr. Duncan succumbed to an insidious disease, Ebola. He fought courageously in this battle. Our professionals, the doctors and nurses in the unit, as well as the entire Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas community, are also grieving his passing. We have offered the family our support and...

What are body fluids? Ebola has been detected in blood and many body fluids. Body fluids include saliva, mucus, vomit, feces, sweat, tears, breast milk, urine, and semen.Can Ebola spread by coughing? By sneezing? Unlike respiratory illnesses like measles or chickenpox, which can be transmitted by virus particles that remain suspended in the air after an infected person coughs or sneezes, Ebola is transmitted by direct contact with body fluids of a person who has symptoms of Ebola disease. Although coughing and sneezing are not common symptoms of Ebola, if a symptomatic patient with Ebola coughs or sneezes on...

At least three eyewitnesses spotted al Qaeda hijackers casing the security checkpoints at Boston’s Logan Airport months before the 9/11 attacks. They saw something and said something — but were ignored, newly unveiled court papers reveal. One of the witnesses, an American Airlines official, actually confronted hijacking ringleader Mohamed Atta after watching him videotape and test a security checkpoint in May 2001 — four months before he boarded the American Airlines flight that crashed into the World Trade Center. The witness alerted security, but authorities never questioned the belligerent Egyptian national or flagged him as a threat.

South Carolina GOP Senator Lindsey Graham is thinking about running for president. Graham told The Weekly Standard in a lengthy interview that he isn’t crazy about other potential Republican candidates’ positions, and that he’s been encouraged by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) to consider entering the race for the GOP presidential nomination. “I’ve strongly encouraged him to give it a look,” McCain told the Standard. “I think Lindsey has vast and deep experience on these issues that very few others have. I happen to like a lot of these guys—I like Jeb Bush, Chris Christie. Ted Cruz has gone out of...

Americans lack confidence in the government’s ability to protect their personal safety and economic security, a sign that their widespread unease about the state of the nation extends far beyond politics, according to the latest Associated Press-GfK poll. […] The poll found that Democrats tend to express more faith in the government’s ability to protect them than do Republicans. Yet even among Democrats, just 27 percent are confident the government can keep them safe from terrorist attacks. Fewer than 1 in 5 say so on each of the other issues, including climate change. […] Urbanites tend to be more confident...

A travel ban to the countries facing an Ebola outbreak could paradoxically make the problem worse, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Tom Frieden said during a Saturday press conference.

A victory by Terri Lynn Land in Michigan’s Senate race in November is important to winning back Republican control of the chamber, former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney told supporters during a GOP rally Thursday in his native state. Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who lost the 2012 presidential race to Barack Obama, said it has been a tough time for the country since that election. “It’s time for him to apologize to America,” Romney said of Obama, speaking to several hundred GOP supporters. But, Romney said, “Help is on the way” in the person of Land, who “will make...

A patient who was evaluated for Ebola at Howard University Hospital in Washington, D.C., does not have the disease, according to the DC Department of Health and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Patient had traveled to Nigeria recently. That person was admitted to the hospital in stable condition and was isolated. The hospital continues to treat the patient for other illnesses. In a White House briefing Friday, Sylvia Burwell, the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, said of the Howard case, "What you see are people taking precautions." There are no confirmed cases of Ebola...

A patient in Worcester, Massachusetts, with a history of travel in West Africa is being evaluated for a possible case of Ebola, health officials confirmed Saturday. In a statement, the University of Massachusetts Memorial Medical Center said that physicians believe it is not likely that the patient has Ebola. The hospital says it is working with the Centers for Disease Control and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health while the patient is examined....

IN THE MIDDLE of a disease outbreak, panic and fear can themselves be a destructive force. When the Ebola virus first broke out in West Africa, governments dropped the ball and were unable to contain the dread, leading people to take action — such as evading quarantine — that spread the infections. A core requirement of managing a crisis like this is that public health officials and political leaders maintain the public’s confidence. This premise applies just as well to the United States as it does to Africa, and in recent days, a significant misstep in Dallas has shaken that...

Pressure mounted Friday for a ban on travel from Ebola-stricken countries in West Africa — a step the White House and top health officials resist as counterproductive and an overreaction to the virus’ arrival in the U.S. The potential for the virus to spread farther, in Dallas and to other U.S. cities, has amplified calls for a ban. On Friday, a hospital in Washington put a Nigerian traveler in isolation with suspicion that he, too, is infected. Public health experts say more cases will inevitably crop up, and the White House deployed top administration officials to offer assurances to an...

U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) today wrote to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner R. Gil Kerlikowske to request additional information on the screening process for incoming passengers to the U.S. following this week’s first confirmed case of Ebola in Dallas: “Under current protocols, what specific events or indicators would justify an enhanced screening process by CBP? Is CBP currently considering additional plans to increase enhanced screenings of incoming passengers?,” wrote Sen. Cornyn. “I urge you to coordinate with the CDC to ensure that we are providing accurate, timely, and appropriate information to all passengers arriving into the United...

Delayed response and mis-steps may have given Ebola the chance to spread. Even a resident inside the apartment quarantined for potential Ebola contamination couldn't understand why she and her family were left to live for days with the Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan's contaminated belongings. "Only the towel is in the plastic bag, but the rest of his stuff stayed the same on the bed," said the woman in the apartment, who goes by the name Louise. "The bed sheets, everything is on the bed." A hazardous materials crew finally showed up Friday to bag up and sanitize the materials,...

The condition of the first Ebola case in the United States was downgraded to critical Saturday by Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas. The patient, Thomas Eric Duncan, had been listed in serious condition in recent days. He was diagnosed with the deadly virus Tuesday.

Our country must secure our borders The epidemic that has devastated Western Africa has now arrived in the United States. In recent weeks, several infected healthcare workers have been flown back to the United States for successful treatment. However, a greater threat looms from ordinary citizens knowingly or unknowingly bringing the disease to our country. This week it was uncovered that Thomas Duncan of Liberia flew to Dallas, Texas on United Airlines. He started his travels in Africa, stopped in Brussels, Belgium before arriving in the United States. While he did not show symptoms of the disease on the flight,...

Senior Administration Officials to Hold Briefing on the U.S. Government Response to the Ebola Pandemic

Obama keeps golfing through beheadings and continues to label acts of radical terrorism as workplace violence. How do you score with blood on your hands? Legal definition describes reckless endangerment as a crime, consisting of acts that create a substantial risk of serious physical injury to another person. The person who commits the act isn’t even required to intend the resulting or potential harm, but must have operated in a way that showed a disregard for the foreseeable consequences of the actions. Soldiers shall be fired and undocumented immigrants hired… In times when great efforts should be directed at strengthening...