VACCINE NO MATCH AGAINST FLU BUG AT SEASON’S END
The flu vaccine turned out to be a big disappointment again.
The vaccine didn’t work against a flu bug that popped up halfway through the past flu season, dragging down overall effectiveness to just 29 percent, the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday.
The flu shot was working well early in the season, with effectiveness put at 47 percent in February. But it was virtually worthless during a second wave driven by a tougher strain, at just 9 percent.
Attorneys seek emergency court order to end “health and welfare crisis” in migrant detention centers.
Attorneys have asked a federal judge to order immediate inspections of migrant detention facilities by public health professionals, arguing that if a court does not intervene, more children may fall ill and possibly die in U.S. custody.
The filing Wednesday night came after lawyers interviewed dozens of children in U.S. Customs and Border Protection facilities along the border and reported rampant sickness, as well as a lack of access to basic hygiene items and proper nutrition.
Attorneys described the conditions as “flagrant and persistent” violations of the law and asked the judge to find the United States in contempt.
Remains identified of Nebraska twins killed at Pearl Harbor.
» Authorities say the remains of twin brothers killed in the Pearl Harbor attack have been identified and will be returned to Nebraska.
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency said Thursday in a news release that the remains of Machinist’s Mate 2nd Class Leo Blitz and Fireman 1st Class Rudolph Blitz were identified last month.
Both were 20 years old and were assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma when the ship and others were attacked by Japanese planes on Dec. 7, 1941. The attack on the Oklahoma resulted in the deaths of 429 crewmen, including the Blitzes.
Governor signs rules to finally allow pot sales.
AU G USTA,
INE» Gov. Janet Mills signed a M A bill Thursday setting up a legal framework for the sale of recreational marijuana to adults as early as next year.
Her office said Thursday that Maine’s Office of Marijuana Policy plans to accept applications for licenses by the end of 2019.
The Democratic governor said her administration has worked quickly to implement the voterapproved law since she took office this year.
Maine’s voters chose to legalize both the use and sale of recreational marijuana among adults in November 2016, but months of delays and political squabbles have slowed the implementation of a commercial industry.
The state now has a legal road map for marijuana to arrive in stores as soon as early 2020.
Two officers hurt in motorcade for fallen officer.
ST. LO U I S
» Two police officers in Missouri were injured when their motorcycles clipped each other and crashed as they escorted the body of a fallen police officer to a funeral home.
KMOV-TV reported that St. Charles County Police Chief David Todd said both officers injured Thursday during the motorcade for slain Officer Michael Langsdorf were expected to be OK.
Todd said one officer from his department could be hospitalized overnight after reportedly hitting his head and suffering a possible broken leg.
Todd said the other officer, who is from the Webster Groves Police Department, was expected to be discharged.
Langsdorf, who was from the North County Police Cooperative, was killed Sunday after responding to a bad check case in the St. Louis County town of Wellston.
A suspect is charged with firstdegree murder. Langsdorf’s funeral is Monday.