A tornado killed at least five people and injured several others in Calhoun County, Alabama, the county's coroner confirmed Thursday evening, according to NBC-affiliate WVTM13.
The big picture: A major tornado outbreak featuring high-end, "violent" tornadoes is underway across the South, with cities including Birmingham and Nashville at risk of severe weather.
Texas officials on Thursday raised the death toll from February’s winter storm to at least 111, up from their initial tally of 57, AP reports.
Why it matters: The storm caused one of the worst power outages in U.S. history as demand for heat strained the state’s electric grid. More than 4 million customers lost power. Millions also lacked access to drinkable water for days.
Various organizations including the World Health Organization are sayingearly data indicate there may be a significant increase in diseases like tuberculosis in the years ahead due to the COVID-19pandemic.
Why it matters: 12 years of progress for worldwide programs to halt TB have been lost over the past 12 months of the pandemic — endangering the goal of eliminating the disease by 2030, some experts say.
As countries struggle to meet ambitious targets to reduce carbon emissions, financial backers and government officials are grappling with how to study ideas for engineering the Earth’s climate.
Why it matters: Once dismissed as science fiction, solar geoengineering is now viewed as a possible tool to help humans reduce the dangerous impacts of climate change on ecosystems and society. However, much remains to be learned about these schemes before they can be considered.
The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are deemed safe and effective for pregnant women, according to a pre-print study out Thursday in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.
Why it matters: The study, which has yet to be peer reviewed, is in line with statements from health officials and the World Health Organization that pregnant and lactating women may take the vaccine.
The Tokyo Olympic torch relay began Thursday in Fukushima prefecture, Japan, one year after the world’s largest sporting event was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
For the record: The relay underscores the Japanese government's resolve to forge ahead with the Olympics despite the pandemic. Confirmed deaths from the coronavirus in Japan remain under 9,000, but officials are still reporting more than 1,000 new cases a day — prompting health experts to warn that "a fourth wave is in sight," per the New York Times.
Brazil became on Wednesday the second country after the U.S. to surpass 300,000 COVID-19 deaths.
For the record: The health ministry confirmed Wednesday another 2,009 Brazilians had died of the coronavirus, taking the total pandemic death toll to 300,685. Brazil's population is much smaller than the U.S., which reached the milestone on Dec. 14, 2020.
Australian officials confirmed on Wednesday the first fatality from the country's extreme weather event, after a man's body was found in a car submerged by floodwaters in western Sydney.
The big picture: Millions of people in the states of New South Wales and Queensland's southeast who'd endured heavy rains since last Thursday finally saw sunshine on Wednesday, but the flood threat remains.
