Alberta health minister to provide COVID-19 update Wednesday afternoon

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell announced Thursday that he will vote against confirming Ketanji Brown Jackson, saying he “cannot and will not” support the groundbreaking nominee for a lifetime appointment on the Supreme Court.

PHILADELPHIA - The United States is expanding efforts to help Ukrainian refugees. It has agreed to accept up to 100,000 people escaping from the war and to increase support for Eastern European nations that have taken in most of the people fleeing Russian forces.While in Brussels to meet with European allies, President Joe Biden said the United States would admit up to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees and provide $1 billion in humanitarian assistance to countries affected by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.The financial support is important because most of the approximately 3.6 million refugees who have fled Ukraine are in neighboring countries such as Poland, Moldova, and Romania and are posing a substantial burden."This is not something that Poland or Romania or Germany should carry on their own," said Biden, who said he hopes to meet with refugees on his European trip.

Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence said on Thursday a ‘strike on Russian ships was successful’ after CCTV footage showed fire, smoke and explosions at the Ukrainian port of Berdyansk.

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS - MARCH 24: Eric Dixon #43 of the Villanova Wildcats shoots a layup against the Michigan Wolverines during the second half of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Sweet 16 Round at AT&T Center on March 24, 2022 in San Anton PHILADELPHIA - Jermaine Samuels scored 22 points and Villanova controlled Michigan in a 63-55 Sweet 16 victory on Thursday night in the NCAA Tournament.Samuels' 8-of-13 shooting performance, much of it coming on tough drives through Michigan defenders and around Dickinson, carried a Wildcats offense that had long stretches of misfiring on 3-pointers.The second-seeded Wildcats (28-7) advanced to the South Region final to play the winner of Thursday night’s matchup between top seed Arizona and No. 5 seed Houston.

PHILADELPHIA - A teen boy is fighting for his life after police say he was shot twice Thursday night in Philadelphia's Wissinoming neighborhood.Officers from the Philadelphia Police Department were called to the 6200 block of Mulberry Street just after 9 p.m.

PHILADELPHIA - Authorities say a store employee shot and killed a would-be robber who brandished a fake gun Thursday night in North Philadelphia. Officers from the Philadelphia Police Department were called to the Dollar General on the 900 block of West Girard Avenue just before 9 p.m. for reports of an armed robbery. Police Inspector D.F.

Packet of pills. (Photo by SSPL/Getty Images)LOS ANGELES - There may be a male birth control pill available soon as scientists presented promising new findings on a contraceptive that reportedly has proven safe and effective on mice.

Today we are reporting 15,871 community cases, 899 hospitalisations and 13 deaths.

ANOKA, Minn. (FOX 9) - A show of overwhelming compassion from the victim’s family is giving a deadly hit-and-run driver the chance to avoid prison for now.

WASHINGTON - Virginia Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, sent weeks of text messages imploring White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to act to overturn the 2020 presidential election — furthering then-President Donald Trump's lies that the free and fair vote was marred by nonexistent fraud, according to copies of the messages obtained by The Washington Post and CBS News.The 29 messages the pair exchanged came in the weeks after the vote in November 2020, when Trump and his top allies were still saying they planned to go to the Supreme Court to have its results voided.The Post reported that on Nov. 10, three days after the election and after The Associated Press and other news outlets declared Democrat Joe Biden the winner, Virginia Thomas, a conservative activist, texted to Meadows: "Help This Great President stand firm, Mark!!! ...

East Ayrshire Council’s chief executive has marked the second anniversary of the Covid lockdown by remembering residents who died having caught the virus.

Avi Schiffmann (Left) and Marco Burstein (Right) (Credit; Avi Schiffmann) CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Harvard student Avi Schiffmann was attending a pro-Ukraine demonstration while visiting San Diego last month when he came up with an idea to create a website connecting Ukrainian refugees to hosts around the world, so they could easily find housing. "I felt like I had the skills to really make something here with technology to help the few hundred million people in Ukraine and all around Eastern Europe," Schiffmann told FOX Television Stations Group Wednesday. Through his research, he found websites currently offering to house refugees were cumbersome and "not up to par at all." That’s when the 19-year-old reached out to fellow classmate Marco Burstein, 18, for help developing the idea. Burstein, who is currently studying computer science at Harvard, agreed to help Schiffmann, and within just three days, the platform Ukraine Take Shelter was completed.RELATED: US to accept up to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees, expand Russia sanctions"I really felt like I just needed to get this out at soon as possible," Schiffman continued, noting his desire to create a site that "really puts the power back in the hands of the refugee", while also being user-friendly."These people are running away from live gunfire, explosives, lost and confused or in a foreign country in a language they don’t speak," Schiffmann said, adding, "They just need to be able to use this website and get the information they need as fast as possible."Since launching Ukraine Take Shelter on March 3, he said the response has been "incredible," citing one story that sticks out in his mind.Homepage and search page for Ukraine Take Shelter website.

Omicron, appears to be on the rise in Manitoba.According to a provincial spokesperson, as of mid-March, 11.8 per cent of COVID-19 tests were the BA.2 subvariant and recent sequencing suggests the rate of BA.2 is increasing.With a lack of surveillance and a lack of widespread COVID-19 PCR testing, the numbers are skewed, and experts say it’s likely much higher.“Given how long this has probably been circulating and our reduction in access to lab-based testing it would be likely that those ratios are probably higher,” epidemiologist Cynthia Carr told Global News.She added that the rate the original BA.1 Omicron variant multiplied is another indicator the numbers are higher. BA.2 could mean new COVID-19 wave: scientists Experts say the more transmissible BA.2, coupled with a lack of COVID-19 restrictions in place, could be the concoction that fuels a spring wave of COVID-19.“It won’t be surprising at all if there is a spring wave associated with this variant,” Carr said.Virologist Jason Kindrachuk says BA.2 will likely push out BA.1 as the dominant strain, just as Omicron overtook Delta.“What we’re understanding now is BA.2 looks to be a bit more transmissible or transmissive than BA.1,” Kindrachuk said.“That of course, puts us into the awkward position of saying, once again, we have another variant, that is more transmissible than the last variant.”Kindrachuk said that so far, research suggests the severity of BA.2 is similar to BA.1’s.

MCKINNEY, Texas - The Collin County Sheriff's Office said a Minnesota man drove more than 800 miles to meet who he thought was a 15-year-old McKinney girl.Agents within their Child Exploitation Unit said they went undercover, pretending to be a teenage girl, and spoke online with 27-year-old Richard Jenkins II.The sheriff's office said Jenkins "made clear his intentions to meet and engage in sexual activity," and told the girl to tell her parents that she would be staying at a week-long camp in Minnesota.Investigators arrested Jenkins at a North Texas park on Saturday and arrested him for online solicitation of a minor.He is out of jail after posting $250,000 bond.The Texas Department of Public Safety assisted in this case.The sheriff's office reminded parents to monitor what their children are doing online.AdvertisementREAD MORE: 18-year-old dies days after mass shooting at South Dallas spring break party

PHILADELPHIA - Temple University's director of public safety resigned Thursday amid a surge of violence near campus and a staffing shortage on the university's police force.Director Charles Leone will officially step down on Apr. 29 after spending more than 40 years at Temple, the school said. The resignation comes days after Temple's police union reported that it's facing a staffing crisis that has impacted campus safety.

François Legault has tested positive for COVID-19.The premier made the news public on social media Thursday afternoon. Quebec logs 14 new COVID-19 deaths as hospitalizations, ICU cases rise In a Twitter post, Legault said he began experiencing COVID-19-like symptoms earlier in the day and a screening test came back positive.“I feel well,” Legault wrote in French, adding he will be following public health guidelines and work remotely for the next five days.1/2 Cet après-midi, j’ai commencé à ressentir des symptômes de la COVID-19.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 astronauts participate in a training session at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, CA. From left to right: NASA astronaut and SpaceX Crew-4 mission specialist Jessica Watkins; NASA astronaut and SpaceX Crew-4 pilot Robert "Bob" Hi SpaceX's Crew-4 will launch to the International Space Station (ISS) in April aboard a Dragon capsule named "Freedom." NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren announced the name on Twitter on Wednesday. NASA ANNOUNCES PLANS TO DEVELOP SECOND ARTEMIS MOON LANDER"FREEDOM!! Crew-4 will fly to the International Space Station in a new Dragon capsule named ‘Freedom,'" he wrote.

WWE title win at WrestleMania – revealing he’s been told the action during the COVID pandemic helped save lives. McIntyre is readying himself for a battle with Happy Corbin at this year’s Mania – the 38th instalment of WWE’s ultimate spectacular.

NATO has activated its “chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defence elements” amid fears Russia could launch a biological strike in Ukraine.Following an emergency summit of the military alliance on Thursday, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels the decision comes as the allies move to equip Ukraine with its own biological defences.“Our top military commander … has activated NATO’s chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defence elements,” he said.“And allies are deploying additional chemical and biological and nuclear defences to reinforce our existing and new battlegroups, so we are taking measures both to support Ukraine and also to defend ourselves.” How the war in Ukraine stands a month after Russia’s invasion — and what may be next Stoltenberg made the announcement as part of a slew of new measures taken by the military alliance to boost its presence in eastern Europe amid a growing Russian threat, he said.NATO is sending four new battlegroups to Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia, Stoltenberg announced, while promising the allies will further support Ukraine in its fight against Russia as the invasion hit the one-month mark Thursday.However, the West fears Russia, which has yet to make significant ground in Ukraine, could escalate the conflict by using biological weapons. Leaders have expressed their fears over such an attack, but have not provided evidence one is looming.

Fuming NHS heroes who have worked through the deadly Covid-19 pandemic are 'insulted' after being handed a tea or coffee voucher as a 'reward' for their efforts.

DENVER - Firefighters are working to extinguish a fire at Mile high stadium in Denver, Colorado. The cause of the fire is unknown cause at this time, but the fire affected the suite and third level seating area.This is a developing story that will be updatedAdvertisement

PHILADELPHIA - The federal government opened its bribery trial against Philadelphia City Councilman Kenyatta Johnson and his wife Dawn Chavous by accusing the pair of selling Johnson’s office for personal gain.Johnson, who represents the 2nd. Council District which includes parts of Center City, South and Southwest Philadelphia, is accused of taking more than $66k in bribes disguised as fees paid to his wife’s consulting company.Federal prosecutors claim Johnson pressed for a zoning change to help increase the sale price of the former Royal Theater on South Street.

TAKOMA PARK, Md. - It’s something you read about in books or see on television, but for friends Holly Harper and Herrin Hopper, it’s a reality.The two single moms found themselves in challenging times at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown in 2020. Needing support, the two took a daydream and made it a reality when they bought a house and moved in together with their children in June 2020. They then started renting out other spaces in the house to other women, eventually forming the Siren House.The Siren House, located outside Washington, D.C., contains four separate apartments.  (Holly Harper)RELATED: Identical twin brothers each receive heart transplants: 'Quite unique'The Siren House is a four-unit home located in Takoma Park, Maryland, outside Washington, D.C. "We are here for emotional support, friendships, sharing bottles of ketchup," Hopper told FOX Television Stations. "What I think Siren House is...is a safe place for people to be while they figure out things that are hard," Harper added. The massive home offers communal-style living space with each woman able to have their own living quarters with their own bedrooms and bathrooms. "We are here for emotional support, friendships, sharing bottles of ketchup," Herrin Hopper said.  (Holly Harper)Harper and Hopper said they have been friends for more than six years, but hard times fell on both of them.Harper said between 2018 and 2020, she went through a divorce, health scares and deaths in the family, including her father who died from COVID-19. Hopper was also going through her own ordeals, including a divorce.The ladies often talked, sometimes about finding new places to live.

Astronaut Mark Vande Hei (CREDIT: NASA) U.S. astronaut and Fairfax County native Mark Vande Hei has made it through nearly a year in space, but faces what could be his trickiest assignment yet: riding a Russian capsule back to Earth in the midst of deepening tensions between the countries.Download the FOX 5 DC News App for Local Breaking News and WeatherNASA insists Vande Hei’s homecoming plans at the end of the month remain unchanged, even as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has resulted in canceled launches, broken contracts and an escalating war of words by the Russian Space Agency’s hardline leader.

Yesterday the White House published a blog post titled "Let's Clear the Air on COVID," describing the virus as primarily transmitted through aerosols—small, tiny airborne particles.

FILE - Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, walks to the Senate Chambers at the U.S. Capitol on Sept.

PHOENIX - The Arizona Legislature on Thursday joined the growing list of Republican-led states to pass aggressive anti-abortion legislation as the conservative U.S. Supreme Court is considering ratcheting back abortion rights that have been in place for nearly 50 years.The House voted on party lines to outlaw abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy, mirroring a Mississippi law now being considered by the nation’s high court.The bill explicitly says it does not overrule a state law in place for more than 100 years that would ban abortion outright if the Supreme Court overrules Roe v.

St. Patrick’s Day, you may need more than the luck of the Irish to make sure you actually appear in the photos. Students’ pictures were being shot in front of a green screen to be superimposed on a generic background later during editing, but since it was St. Paddy’s Day and the traditional garb was also green, some students quite literally disappeared from their pictures. Oliver Snow is one of those students.

CAMDEN, N.J. - A Camden County man is facing charges after prosecutors said his nephew suffered lethal exposure to fentynal that caused the child to have a medical emergency aboard a school bus and die days later.According to prosecutors, 36-year-old Troy Nokes manufactured fentynal at a home in Blackwood where he lived with his 12-year-old nephew. An investigation found that Nokes made the deadly drug the weekend before the child died and ordered him to clean paraphernalia that contained fentynal. Authorities responded to Gloucester Township Elementary School Jan.

This photo provided by the Fairfield Police Department shows Nohema Graber. FAIRFIELD, Iowa - Two Iowa teenagers murdered their 66-year-old Spanish teacher with a baseball bat, police allege, in new court documents released on Tuesday. Jeremy Goodale and Willard Miller, both 16, are accused of killing Nohema Graber, 66, a woman who taught them Spanish at Fairfield High School in Fairfield, Iowa, about 95 miles southwest of Des Moines. Both have been charged as adults with first-degree murder. Graber’s body was found hidden under a tarp, a wheelbarrow and railroad ties in a local park last November a day after she was reported missing.BACKGROUND: Teacher's body found under tarp at park, 2 students charged in killingGoodale also wrote Snapchat messages describing how he and Miller surveilled Graber, following her and killing her with a bat, where they hid her body and how they disposed of evidence, the newly released documents allege.The documents were unsealed by a judge this week. Jeremy Goodale and Willard Miller, both 16, have been charged with first-degree murder in the death of the Spanish teacher Nohema Graber.

learning gaps caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.In a news release, the Upper Grand District School Board said it is receiving just under $4 million from the Ministry of Education that will be allocated towards summer programming, reading intervention programs and student success initiatives. Ontario to revamp approach to literacy after damning report released “The plan will focus on students with the highest needs as a result of the learning disruption caused by the pandemic with a focus on literacy and numeracy needs,” Upper Grand said.The first phase will begin in the spring and will see the launch of a reading intervention program for elementary students, led by qualified teachers.It also includes support for secondary students struggling in their current courses.Phase 2 involves literacy and numeracy summer camps for elementary students and summer learning strategies courses at the secondary level.The third phase is the same as the first but will run from Sept.

This Morning.During Thursday’s (March 24) instalment of the popular ITV morning show, the 60-year-old agony aunt joined Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield on the show to discuss all the issues concerning viewers on the show.Yet fans couldn’t help but notice that the broadcaster sounded a little worse for wear on the show as she launched into a coughing fit while live on TV.Now, the mum-of-two has revealed that she has contracted Covid-19 just hours after she appeared on the show.In a video she shared to her Instagram feed, the starlet explained how she was feeling “slightly queasy” but otherwise feels perfectly fine.As she help up a positive lateral flow test which clearly showed two lines on the test, she told her 135,000 followers: “Ah, well, here it is - I've got Covid. Gosh.

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Proning—lying on the stomach—has been useful for treating intubated, sedated COVID-19 patients, but a new study designed to tease out possible benefits for awake patients found that the method is difficult to use.

COVID-19 restrictions — including a rule mandating masks in all public spaces — health officials say the number of people in hospital and ICU due to the virus has risen.The week-over-week increase comes despite a drop in hospitalizations and ICU admissions reported in the last 24 hours. COVID-19: 4 more deaths, increase in hospitalizations reported in Manitoba According to numbers released by the province Thursday, Manitoba saw 128 new hospitalizations linked to COVID-19 and 11 new admissions to intensive care units due to the virus over the past week.That’s a 4.9 per cent increase in hospitalizations and a 57.1 per cent jump in ICU numbers.But while the overall numbers appeared to be on the rise in the last week, data reported on the province’s online COVID-19 dashboard show 369 people were in hospital with the virus as of Thursday morning, down 18 from Wednesday.The province says the of number people in ICU as a result of COVID-19 also fell to 18 as of Thursday morning, four fewer than had been reported 24 hours earlier.Meanwhile, health officials reported four additional deaths linked to the virus Thursday and released information about the 15 Manitobans with COVID-19 who have died over the past week.

a week prior. Two-dose coverage for those five and older is now 87.9 per cent, up from 87.7 per cent.For third doses, 50.8 per cent of people five and older have received a booster, up from 50.5 per cent a week earlier.

NEW DELHI :

People walk through Times Square on March 11, 2022 in New York City two years since the pandemic. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images) NEW YORK - Here's a look at how the 10 most populous metro areas in the U.S. changed during the first full year of the pandemic, from mid-2020 to mid-2021, according to U.S.

COVID-19 vaccine fourth-dose campaign for the general population that would be launched in the fall.Quebecers most vulnerable to serious consequences from the disease — seniors over 80, immunocompromised people and residents of long-term care homes — can start receiving a fourth dose of vaccine next week, health officials said Wednesday. The same day, the immunization committee said the government should start planning to give second boosters out to everyone in a few months.In a written opinion released Thursday, the Comité sur l’immunisation du Québec recommended the government implement “a new vaccine strategy aimed at periodically boosting immunity against COVID-19 while also allowing for the ability to react to a possible emergence of a new variant of concern.”Quebec to offer 4th dose of COVID-19 vaccine to at-risk groups as cases, hospitalizations riseA mass second-booster campaign, the committee suggested, could take place in September or October and target “either all persons authorized to receive vaccines against COVID-19, or those usually targeted by the seasonal influenza vaccination program.”Currently, only 52 per cent of the population aged five and older have received a third dose of vaccine, according to provincial health data.The committee released an analysis of hospitalizations and deaths that occurred between January and mid-March indicating that people 80 and older were almost 200 times more likely to die of COVID-19 than those under 60, and 16 times more likely to be hospitalized.

A pair of new studies detail the role of aspirin in the treatment of COVID-19, one estimating lower rates of in-hospital death and pulmonary embolism in moderately ill patients, and the other showing that blood thinners didn't decrease the need for organ support in critically ill patients.

Your heart health and lifespan could be boosted by drinking two cups of coffee a day, a new study has found.

HOUSTON - It's been nearly two weeks since a grand jury declined to criminally charge Deshaun Watson, now reports from the New York Times suggest a Texas grand jury is seeking another charge. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Deshaun Watson will not face criminal charges, grand jury determinesAccording to the report, a grand jury in Brazoria County, just south of Houston past Sugar Land is looking into evidence from the 10th accusation of sexual misconduct against the former Houston Texans Quarterback. This new report also comes almost a week after Watson was traded to the Cleveland Browns. Texans General Manager Nicholas Caserio delivers remarks on Deshaun Watson joining the Cleveland BrownsThe grand jury’s decision in early March came about a year after the women first filed their suits, accusing Watson of exposing himself, touching them with his penis, or kissing them against their will during massage appointments. One woman alleged Watson forced her to perform oral sex.Attorney Rusty Hardin held a press conference Friday after a grand jury determined Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson will not face criminal charges.During a special hearing in February, Rusty Hardin, Watson's attorney, asked the judge to delay the deposition of his client until there is a resolution with the criminal case filed against him, saying there will be prejudicial impacts.The judge ultimately ruled the deposition can go on, but will be restricted to the nine accusers who have not filed a criminal complaint.

Delta, American and United Airlines, and others are urging the White House to end a federal mask mandate on airplanes, along with international pre-departure testing requirements.The airline executives sent a letter to the president late Wednesday, saying the restrictions are no longer aligned with the realities of the current epidemiological environment.This comes after the Biden administration decided this month to extend current mask requirements at airports, train stations, ride-sharing vehicles, and other transportation through April 18. The order was set to expire on March 18.In the letter, the CEOs told the president, "It makes no sense that people are still required to wear masks on airplanes, yet are allowed to congregate in crowded restaurants, schools and at sporting events without masks, despite none of these venues having the protective air filtration system that aircraft do."READ: CDC director expects COVID-19 to become a 'seasonal virus'Passengers who spoke with FOX 13 Thursday morning at Tampa International Airport said they feel it's time to ease mask requirements on planes and airports."I think it makes sense.

Alberta Health Minister Jason Copping shares details on the public health restrictions being removed when Alberta moves to Step 2 of its reopening plan come Tuesday, March 1.

Alberta Health Minister Jason Copping announced new measures to make access to pediatric COVID-19 vaccines easier in an effort to increase vaccination rates.

COVID-19 data Tuesday, which shows the number of people in hospital with the disease declined over the long weekend.A post on the chief medical officer of health’s Twitter account Tuesday afternoon stated a network change over the weekend caused unintended IT issues. As a result, “only ballpark figures” were released.According to the estimated numbers, there are now about 1,380 people being treated in hospital with COVID-19, a drop from 1,494 patients in Alberta hospitals on Friday.The number of people being treated for COVID-19 in intensive care units also dropped — from 116 patients Friday to about 95 Tuesday.It’s not known how many deaths were reported to Alberta Health over the long weekend.

COVID-19 will be lifted early next month.“On Saturday, Feb. 26, the government will announce a final decision about proceeding to Phase 2 of our plan to lift almost all restrictions on March 1,” Kenney tweeted Monday evening, saying it will be a “prudent decision based on the latest data.”The premier wrote there is “encouraging data” showing a “steep drop” in the Omicron variant wave of the pandemic.