NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — An outbreak of E. coli linked to romaine lettuce appears to have been traced to crops in California, the US food authority said Monday. American consumers were warned against eating the leafy salad by health officials last week. The outbreak has caused 43 people to become sick in the US and another 22 in Canada, according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). “Our investigation at this point suggests […]
Tag: US
US bombers no longer flying over Korean peninsula: US general
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US bombers are no longer conducting flights over South Korea after Seoul asked for such missions to be paused, a US general said Monday. General Charles Brown, who heads US Pacific Air Forces, told Pentagon reporters that the break was to help create space for ongoing diplomatic efforts to address North Korea’s nuclear activities. “As we’re going through the diplomatic aspect, we don’t want to actually do something that’s going […]
Trump says China tariff rates very likely to rise: report
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump said Monday he expected to raise the punitive tariff rates on hundreds of billions in Chinese imports as scheduled next year. Just days ahead of a planned meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Trump also vowed to put tariffs on all remaining imports from China if the two sides failed to reach a deal, according to The Wall Street Journal. Trump already has imposed tariffs on […]
US shuts border post as migrants try to cross from Mexico
by Yemeli Ortega with Sandy Huffaker in San Ysidro Agence France Presse TIJUANA, Mexico (AFP) — US officials briefly closed a border crossing in southern California on Sunday after hundreds of migrants, part of the “caravan” condemned by President Donald Trump, tried to breach a fence from the Mexican city of Tijuana, authorities announced. The dramatic shutdown took place only three days after Trump threatened to close the “whole border” with Mexico if “it […]
California’s deadliest wildfire finally tamed
LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — The deadliest and most destructive fire in California’s history was finally brought totally under control by firefighters, more than two weeks after it erupted, authorities said on Sunday. The so-called Camp Fire, which broke out on November 8, is so far known to have killed 87 people although another 249 people remain unaccounted for. That figure has fallen sharply over the weekend, having stood at 474 on Friday. “#CampFire […]
US shuts border post as migrants try to cross from Mexico
by Yemeli Ortega with Sandy Huffaker in San Ysidro Agence France Presse TIJUANA, Mexico (AFP) — US officials closed a border crossing in southern California on Sunday after hundreds of migrants, part of the “caravan” condemned by President Donald Trump, tried to breach a fence from the Mexican city of Tijuana, authorities announced. The dramatic shutdown took place only three days after Trump threatened to close the “whole border” with Mexico if “it gets to […]
Before Mars landing, a nail-biting ‘six and a half minutes of terror’
by Kerry SHERIDAN Agence France Presse TAMPA, United States (AFP) — A spacecraft that cost nearly a billion dollars is on course to make a perilous landing Monday on Mars, if it can survive a high-speed approach and the scorching heat of entering the Red Planet’s atmosphere, a process NASA has nicknamed “six and a half minutes of terror.” “There is very little room for things to go wrong,” said Rob Grover, head of […]
California fire mostly contained, death toll rises to 84
LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — The fire that has ravaged northern California is now almost completely contained, authorities said Thursday as the death toll rose to 84. Rain fell in the first measurable amounts in months in the drought-stricken area and this helped put out hot spots and smoldering fires, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said. It said the so-called Camp Fire is now 95 percent contained. The number of people […]
NASA counts down to landing of Martian quake-sensor, InSight
by Kerry SHERIDAN Agence France Presse TAMPA, United States (AFP) — NASA is counting down to a nail-biting touchdown Monday of the $993 million Mars InSight, the first spacecraft to listen for quakes and study the inner workings of another rocky planet. No one is on board the spacecraft, which launched nearly seven months ago and has traveled some 300 million miles (482 million kilometers). But part of its mission is to inform efforts to […]
California fire death toll rises to 83
LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — The death toll from the wildfire in northern California rose to 83 Wednesday after crews found two more sets of remains in burned-out buildings, officials said. The number of people listed as unaccounted for in the deadliest and most destructive fire in state history dropped from 870 to 563. This number has been fluctuating wildly amid the confusion of the search for bodies in the town of Paradise, which […]
Amazon says some customer email addresses exposed
SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Amazon on Wednesday said that a website glitch accidentally exposed names and email addresses of some of the e-commerce giant’s customers. Amazon declined to disclose the extent of the software slip-up. “We have fixed the issue and informed customers who may have been impacted,” an Amazon spokesman said in response to an AFP inquiry. There was no breach of Amazon systems or its website, and passwords were kept safe, according […]
Probiotics no help to kids with stomach flu: studies
by Kerry SHERIDAN Agence France Presse TAMPA, United States (AFP) — Probiotics are a multibillion dollar international industry, but new research Wednesday showed they don’t help children recover from stomach flu any better than a placebo. The results of two randomized clinical trials — which came to the same conclusions — were published in the New England Journal of Medicine. “Probiotics had no effect on the children,” said co-author Phillip Tarr, a professor of pediatrics […]





