Jan 24, 2019 - Politics & Policy

NASA Johnson Space Center asks workers to clean bathrooms during shutdown

Photo: Loren Elliott/Getty Images

NASA's Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Texas has asked its 200 non-furloughed employees, who are already working without pay due to the government shutdown, to help clean bathrooms until the impasse ends, the Houston Chronicle reports.

Details: About 94% of the 3,055 federal employees at Johnson have been furloughed. A NASA manager on Thursday tweeted a photo of a sign seeking volunteers to clean the bathroom once a week: "This is our reality at the Johnson Space Center. We now have no custodial services while we work without pay to keep the International Space Station operating."

Go deeper: Trump shutdown hits science with stalled research, missed conferences

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Axios

Updated 1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

Global: Total confirmed cases as of 4:30 p.m. ET: 12,128,406 — Total deaths: 551,552 — Total recoveries — 6,650,675 — Map.
U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 4:30 p.m. ET: 3,088,913 — Total deaths: 132,934 — Total recoveries: 953,420 — Total tested: 36,979,745 — Map.
Public health: More young people are spreading the virus — Cases rise in 33 states — Florida reports highest single-day death toll since pandemic began.
Science: World Health Organization acknowledges airborne transmission of coronavirus.
1 🐂 thing: How the world could monitor for potential pandemic animal viruses.

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Alison Snyder

2 hours ago - Science

More young people are getting — and spreading — the coronavirus

Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios

More young people are being infected with the coronavirus, and even though they're less likely to die from it, experts warn the virus' spread among young adults may further fuel outbreaks across the United States.

Why it matters: Some people in their 20s and 30s face serious health complications from COVID-19, and a surge in cases among young people gives the virus a bigger foothold, increasing the risk of infection for more vulnerable people.

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Jacob Knutson

2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Joint Chiefs chairman condemns Confederate symbols

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley criticized Confederate symbols before the House Armed Services Committee on Thursday, and called the Civil War an "act of treason."

Why it matters: Milley said that minority service members — which he noted make up 43% of the U.S. military — may feel uncomfortable that Army bases are named for Confederate generals who "fought for an institution of slavery that may have enslaved one of their ancestors."

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