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Between 2011 and 2018, WHO tracked 1,483 epidemics worldwide, including Ebola and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), the report said. These epidemics and pandemics devastated many of their host countries -- the West Africa Ebola outbreak resulted in a loss of $53 billion in economic and social cost. These huge economic costs translate to severe real-life consequences -- lost jobs, forced displacement, inaccessible healthcare, and greater mortality. While disease, epidemics, and pandemics have always existed, greater population density and the ability to travel anywhere in the world within 36 hours means disease can spread rapidly through a country and then...

Prescribing metformin and vildagliptin to people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes reduced their long-term blood sugar levels more than single-drug therapy in a recent study. Sept. 18 (UPI) -- When it comes to controlling early symptoms of type 2 diabetes, two drugs are better than one, a new study says. Prescribing metformin and vildagliptin to people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes reduced their long-term blood sugar levels more than single-drug therapy, according to findings published Wednesday in The Lancet. The patients also had lower rates of treatment failure than those who only used Metformin, the current first-line drug...

LAREDO, Texas -- The white tents that sit here on the very edge of the U.S border, with Mexico a literal stone’s throw away, represent one of the jewels in the crown of the Trump administration’s recent efforts to get a grip on the immigration crisis. They are the temporary courtrooms set up as part of the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) -- known colloquially as the “Remain in Mexico” policy. That policy, established earlier this year, involves sending migrants who are trying to claim asylum back to Mexico during their proceedings -- instead of releasing them into the U.S. while...

AN FRANCISCO — A California appeals court has ruled that a transgender man can sue a Catholic hospital for cancelling his hysterectomy. The Sacramento Bee reports Wednesday that the decision by the 1st District Court of Appeal overturns a lower court ruling dismissing the discrimination lawsuit. Evan Minton sued Mercy San Juan Medical Center when it canceled his scheduled hysterectomy after he mentioned to a pre-op nurse two days before surgery that he is transgender.

Republican lawmakers had a rare opportunity to publicly question Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz Wednesday at a House Oversight Subcommittee on Government Operations hearing. The panel – focused mainly on the inspector generals – diverted during the hearing to questions regarding Horowitz’s recently completed report on alleged FISA abuse by the FBI and his recently released scathing report on former FBI Director James Comey. Further, Horowitz told the panel he has communicated with Connecticut Attorney John Durham, who was appointed by Attorney General William Barr to investigate the FBI’s handling of the probe into President Trump’s campaign. Under questioning...

American fashion brand Bstroy has received fierce criticism on social media after displaying school shooting-themed hoodies at a show during New York Fashion Week. The brand's spring/summer 2020 collection, designed by Brick Owens and Duey Catorze, featured distressed hoodies reading "Stoneman Douglas," "Sandy Hook," "Virginia Tech" and "Columbine," the sites of four of the deadliest school shootings in the US. Photos from the show posted on the brand's Instagram account, as well as Owens' account, quickly drew outrage, with some commenters identifying themselves as survivors or relatives of victims. On a photo of the Stoneman Douglas hoodie, one person commented,...

President Donald Trump on Wednesday harshly rebuked the Federal Reserve, accusing the central bank and Fed Chair Jerome Powell of having “no guts” by not meting out a more aggressive interest rate cut as the global economy slows. The Federal Reserve on Wednesday cut interest rates again by 25 basis points to a new target range of 1.75% to 2%, and telegraphed a strong likelihood of one more rate cut by the end of the year. However, some on Wall Street anticipated a more aggressive easing of 50 basis points, particularly with financial markets conditions tightening. Indeed, markets sank to...

The Washington Post wrote that Democrats finally have matched Trump’s crowd sizes by pointing to Elizabeth Warren’s Manhattan rally Monday night. Then finally this week, the Democrats — who have long tried to ignore Trump’s bigger-is-better ethos — offered a tangible response of their own in the form of Elizabeth Warren’s Monday evening rally in New York City’s Washington Square Park, where the Massachusetts senator showed that she, too, could match the spectacle of Trump, right down to the large cheering throngs. “Yeah, the lines keep getting longer,” Warren told reporters in New York Tuesday, when asked about the four-hour...

CLAIM: Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) “didn’t have 20,000 people” at her rally in Manhattan on Monday night, according to President Donald Trump. VERDICT: Likely true. The maximum capacity of Washington Square Park is 10,000. As Trump suggested Tuesday, Warren appears to have exaggerated the size of her rally crowd in Washington Square on Monday night — apparently the third time she has done so in recent weeks. Warren’s campaign claimed that 20,000 people had shown up for the event. However, as Breitbart News reported, New York City Parks said that the park did not hold more than 10,000 — the...

Like any eager host ahead of a big event, first lady Melania Trump has spruced up a few things around the White House before welcoming the prime minister of Australia and his wife for the second official state dinner of the Trump presidency on Friday. The first lady focused on refreshing some older features of the presidential mansion’s well-trodden Red, Green and Blue Rooms, which are heavily foot trafficked during near-daily public tours, according to the Associated Press. "The White House does get a lot of wear and tear," Stewart McLaurin, president of the White House Historical Association, said. McLaurin...

The central bank announces it’s taking down its benchmark overnight lending rate to a target range of 1.75% to 2%. According to the Fed’s “dot plot” of individual expectations, five members thought the FOMC should have held its previous range of 2% to 2.25%, five approved of the 25 basis point cut but keeping rates there through the rest of the year, and seven favored at least one more cut this year. The Federal Reserve approved a much-anticipated quarter-point interest rate cut Wednesday but offered few indications that further reductions are ahead as members split on what to do next......

Federal prosecutors on Wednesday claimed a former American Airlines mechanic accused of sabotaging a flight’s navigation system had ties to ISIS, according to ABC10. Prosecutors in Miami said Abdul-Majeed Marouf Ahmed Alani admitted to sabotaging the airplane July 17 ahead of a scheduled flight from Miami to Nassau, Bahamas, but said it was out of frustration over stalled union contract talks.

A teacher at Carter-Riverside High School in Fort Worth, Texas, has been fired after tweeting about enforcing United States immigration laws by deporting illegal aliens. The Fort Worth ISD board fired high school teacher Georgia Clark on Tuesday after unanimously voting 8-0 at a specially called meeting, according to a report by FOX 4 News. The high school teacher was first suspended earlier this year after tweeting at President Donald Trump to “remove the illegals from Fort Worth.” Clark was officially terminated on Tuesday after an investigation into the teacher’s tweets supporting the enforcement of U.S. immigration laws had concluded....

Former presidential nominee Hillary Clinton blamed voter suppression for her 2016 loss, and threw her support behind claims made by former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams regarding the 2018 Georgia governor race. "You can run the best campaign, you can have the best plans, you can get the nomination, you can win the popular vote. And you can lose the Electoral College and therefore the election for these four reasons. Number one, voter suppression," Clinton said Tuesday an "In Defense of Democracy" event at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. "We saw what happened in Georgia where Stacey Abrams should...

A gut-wrenching new PSA showing students protecting themselves from a shooter with their 'back-to-school essentials' calls on Americans to stop treating campus gun violence as inevitable and to educate themselves on how to prevent it. The video was released Wednesday by Sandy Hook Promise, an organization formed by the parents of children killed in the 2012 massacre that left 26 dead at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. By mocking classic back-to-school commercials, the PSA offers a ruthless reminder of how commonplace school shootings have become. It starts off like any other summertime school shopping ad with students showing...

[Catholic Caucus] NJ Bishop Supportive of Pro-LGBT Group in His Diocese A local Catholic: 'With Bp. Checchio, we seem to have another wolf in sheep's clothing' SOUTH PLAINFIELD, N.J. (ChurchMilitant.com) - Bishop James Checchio of the diocese of Metuchen, New Jersey, whose episcopal ordination was attended by notorious homosexual predator Theodore McCarrick, supports a pro-LGBT group hosted in his diocese.Theodore McCarrick lays hands on James Checchio at his episcopal ordination on May 3, 2016 Father John Alvarado, the pastor of the Church of the Sacred Heart in South Plainfield, is listed as the moderator and facilitator of In God's Image...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Six weeks after a pair of mass shootings killed more than 30 people, Congress remains "in a holding pattern" on gun control as lawmakers await proposals from the White House, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said. While President Donald Trump has said he would veto a House-passed bill to expand background checks for gun purchases, McConnell said Tuesday he is hopeful there are other gun-related proposals that Congress can approve and Trump can support. Trump and White House aides have discussed a number of gun control measures with members of Congress, including steps to go after fraudulent...

As Commander in Chief, I am proud to join a grateful Nation in wishing the United States Air Force a happy 72nd birthday. Established after the conclusion of World War II and with the passing of the National Security Act of 1947, the United States Air Force is the world’s most dominant fighting force in air, space, and cyberspace. For more than seven decades, America’s airmen have been at the forefront of protecting our citizens and helping the United States promote global peace and prosperity. In their endeavor to always Aim High, these patriots use unrivaled technology and ingenuity to...

The U.S. Department of Defense has ordered a large-scale turbo activation of ships in the U.S. Maritime Administration’s (MARAD) Ready Reserve Force fleet. The turbo activation is part of a large-scale activation exercise ordered by the U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) on September 16. The activation calls for a total of 28 RRF fleet vessels to transition from reduced operating status to fully crewed and full operating status within 5-days. Activations are commonly followed by immediate sea trials.

The Democrat Party is holding a vote to censure Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema because they perceive her moderate stances and voting habits as too friendly towards President Donald Trump. The liberal senator is by no means a closet Republican, in fact, she has opposed Trump 81 percent of the time — but that is not good enough for her far-left party peers. “Here’s the thing: We really support Kyrsten Sinema, we want her to succeed, we want her to be the best senator in the country,” Dan O’Neal, state coordinator for Progressive Democrats of America, told the Arizona Republic. “But...