As government steps up Ebola response, CDC discloses nurse allowed to fly before diagnosis
The federal government is ramping up its response to the Ebola crisis after a second Dallas nurse became ill and it was disclosed that she had been cleared to fly a day before her diagnosis.
While Ebola patients are not considered contagious until they have symptoms and only two persons have been known to contract the disease in the U.S., the revelations Wednesday raised new alarms about whether hospitals and the public health system are equipped to handle the deadly disease.
Federal health officials were being called to testify before a congressional committee Thursday to explain where things went wrong.
President Barack Obama directed his administration to respond in a "much more aggressive way" to oversee the Dallas cases and ensure the lessons learned there are transmitted to hospitals and clinics across the country. For the second day in a row he canceled out-of-town trips to stay in Washington and monitor the Ebola response.
Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said nurse Amber Joy Vinson never should have been allowed to fly on a commercial jetliner because she had been exposed to the virus while caring for an Ebola patient who traveled to the U.S. from Liberia.
CDC's protocols face review after Dallas nurse is infected in first US Ebola transmission
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As Thomas Eric Duncan's health deteriorated, nurses Amber Joy Vinson and Nina Pham were at the Ebola patient's side.
They wore protective gear including face shields, hazardous materials suits and protective footwear as they inserted catheters, drew blood and dealt with his body fluids. Still, the two somehow contracted Ebola from the dying man.
As health officials try to figure out how that happened, the nurses' cases have brought new scrutiny to national Ebola protocols that had never before been put to the test at a general hospital. Authorities are examining whether those guidelines need to be rewritten.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention protocols for Ebola recommend that nurses use personal protective equipment such as gloves, goggles, face shields and fluid-resistant gowns — as Vinson and Pham did. They also recommend diligent cleaning and disinfection of any items containing contaminated materials.
CDC director Dr. Tom Frieden has cited a "breach in protocol" that allowed Pham to be infected while she cared for Duncan in the intensive care unit, but has not specified the nature of that breach. He did however note that some of the nurses at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital inadvertently violated the CDC protocols by wearing too much protective gear.
10 Things to Know for Today
Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today:
1. U.S.STEPPING UP EFFORTS TO CONTAIN EBOLA CRISIS
President Obama ordered a "much more aggressive" response to deal with the Dallas hospital cases after a second nurse became sick with the disease.
2. SECOND INFECTION CASE IN TEXAS BRINGS SCRUTINY TO HOSPITAL PROTOCOLS
The fact that two nurses became infected while caring for a dying Ebola patient is causing a review of protective procedures for health care workers.
Hong Kong leader says government is ready to start talks with student protesters
Hong Kong's leader said Thursday he is ready to start talks with student pro-democracy protest leaders as soon as next week, suggesting a breakthrough in a political crisis that has seen activists taking over the city's key business districts for almost three weeks.
But Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying reiterated that Beijing will not retract election restrictions that protesters oppose, raising questions whether the proposed meeting can overcome the vast differences between the two sides.
"As long as students or other sectors in Hong Kong are prepared to focus on this issue, yes we are ready, we are prepared to start the dialogue," he told reporters. "This is why over the past few days ... we expressed the wish to students that we'd like to start the dialogue to discuss universal suffrage as soon as we can, and hopefully within the following week."
Leung did not directly respond to questions about when police will move in to clear out protesters, who have taken over major roads and streets in the city's business districts since Sept. 28 to press for a greater say in choosing the city's leader in the territory's first direct elections.
He said authorities have tolerated the civil disobedience movement until now but it "cannot go on indefinitely."
Ballots already coming in, with Florida leading early tallies for midterms
Midterm elections are almost three weeks away, yet more than 904,000 Americans already have cast their ballots, with almost 60 percent of those early votes in Florida, according to data compiled by The Associated Press from election officials in 11 states.
Those numbers are climbing daily as more states begin their advance voting periods and more voters return mail-in ballots ahead of Nov. 4.
Early voting doesn't predict electoral outcomes, but both major parties emphasized the opportunity in recent elections as they try to lock in core supporters. Thirty-three states and the District of Columbia allow some form of advance voting other than traditional absentee voting requiring an excuse.
A spokesman for national Democrats, Justin Barasky, said the party is especially focused on encouraging early voting by Democrats who usually don't participate in midterms. Returns show that, historically, casual voters who support Democrats in presidential elections are more likely to stay home than average Republican voters.
In the 2010 midterms, when Republicans regained control of the House and won sweeping victories in statehouses around the country, advance voting accounted for almost 27 million ballots out of more than 89 million, meaning about 3 out of 10 voters cast early ballots. Almost 129 million people voted in the 2012 presidential election, 35.8 percent of them before Election Day.
Pistorius sentencing: Reeva Steenkamp's cousin says athlete must 'pay for what he's done'
Oscar Pistorius must "pay for what he's done" and his apology to the family of the girlfriend he killed was not sincere, a cousin of Reeva Steenkamp testified Thursday.
Kim Martin spoke on the fourth day of the sentencing portion of the double-amputee Olympian's trial. Following the testimony, which is expected to end this week, Judge Thokozile Masipa will rule on what punishment Pistorius must serve after convicting him of culpable homicide for shooting Steenkamp through a toilet door in his home.
"My lady, I really believe the accused, Mr. Pistorius, needs to pay for what he's done," Martin testified before the red-robed judge.
"My family are not seeking revenge," Martin said. "We just feel to take somebody's life, to shoot somebody behind the door who is unarmed, who is harmless, needs sufficient punishment."
Pistorius was acquitted of murder for the Feb. 14, 2013 killing and found guilty of the lesser crime of negligent killing. Masipa has wide latitude when deciding on a sentence for culpable homicide, and could order a suspended sentence and a fine, house arrest, or send him to prison for up to 15 years.
Kurdish official appeals for weapons for Kobani fighters, says airstrikes are not enough
A Syrian Kurdish official is calling on the international community to allow weapons into the border town of Kobani for the fight against Islamic State militants.
Idriss Nassan, deputy head of Kobani's foreign relations committee, says the Islamic State group can bring in reinforcements and weapons at any time and endanger the town near Turkey. He said airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition are not enough.
Nassan's comments on Thursday came a day after the Pentagon spokesman said Kobani remains in danger of falling to the Islamic State fighters.
Kirby said two weeks of airstrikes have killed hundreds of Islamic State fighters, and have stiffened Kobani's defenders.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the death toll since the Islamic State offensive began in mid-September has reached more than 660.
Avalanches, blizzard leave at least 25 dead in Nepal but dozens more missing
Search and rescue teams flying on army helicopters spotted the bodies of eight more trekkers killed in a series of blizzards and avalanches that have hit central Nepal in recent days, raising the death toll in the region to 25, officials said Thursday.
About 70 people were still missing along or near the popular Annapurna trail, said Ganga Sagar Pant of the Trekking Agencies Association of Nepal, and the death toll there was expected to rise.
The route, 160 kilometers (100 miles) northwest of the capital, Katmandu, was filled with international hikers because October is peak trekking season, when the air is clear and the weather is cool. There were also many Nepalese on the trails because of local festivals.
At least 12 people died when they were caught in a sudden blizzard Tuesday in the Thorong La pass area.
As the weather improved, rescue workers recovered the bodies of four hikers — two Poles, an Israeli and a Nepali — from around Thorong La. Two trekkers from Hong Kong and 12 Israelis were airlifted Wednesday to Katmandu, where they were being treated at Shree Birendra Hospital.
Rape and romance: Thailand soap operas' long-successful mix draws fire after real-life crimes
In a famous scene from Thailand's award-winning soap opera "The Power of Shadows," the handsome protagonist gets drunk and rapes the leading lady. He later begs her forgiveness, and the producers say they will live happily ever after in the sequel.
Boy Meets Girl, Boy Rapes Girl, Boy Marries Girl. The premise is so common in Thailand's popular primetime melodramas it could be called a national twist on the universal romantic plotline. But calls for change are growing.
The recent real-life rape and murder of a girl on an overnight train in Thailand has focused national outrage on messages in popular culture that trivialize — and some say even encourage — rape. Even the powerful general who took over the country in a coup this year had to apologize after suggesting that women who wear bikinis on the beach are vulnerable to sexual assault.
Many in the soap opera industry continue to defend sexual violence, in part, as a key to high ratings in a fiercely competitive industry that draws more than 18 million viewers a night to network television, nearly a quarter of Thailand's population.
Award-winning director Sitthiwat Tappan even describes some rape scenes as a sort of public service.
Apple likely to unveil new iPads, Mac system, details on Apple Pay at Thursday event
Apple Inc. is expected to unveil new iPads at an event Thursday, as the company tries to drive excitement amid slowing demand for tablet computers. Apple may also announce a new Mac operating system and possibly new Mac computers. Watchers also await a possible launch date for Apple Pay, the company's new system for using iPhones to make credit and debit card payments at retail stores.
As usual, Apple isn't disclosing what it plans to reveal at its headquarters in Cupertino, California, Thursday. Invites to its event carried the cryptic message, "It's been way too long." CEO Tim Cook is expected to preside over the event, which begins at 10 a.m. PDT (1 p.m. EDT).
NEW IPADS:
It's been a year since Apple came out with a lighter, thinner full-size model called the iPad Air. Apple is expected to refresh that with a faster processor and possibly a fingerprint ID sensor akin to what's found on recent iPhones. The sensor would let people use a fingerprint instead of a passcode to unlock the device and authorize Apple Pay purchases.
That's what's happening. Read more stories to jump start your day in our special Breakfast Buzz section.
