(PHOENIX) — Phoenix reached a sweltering milestone Tuesday, with Arizona’s capital city logging its 100th straight day of over 100-degree weather.
The National Weather Service (NWS) Phoenix took to X to share the record-breaking news, warning that the dangerously high temperatures are forecast to continue.
“Phoenix has just reached this mark today and the streak is expected to continue, with no end currently in sight,” NWS Phoenix wrote, adding, “This is by far the longest streak on record.”
The previous record was 76 straight days set in 1993, according to the agency.
Triple-digit temperatures began in Phoenix on May 27, when the city experienced the first 102-degree F day of the streak, and temperatures have stayed consistently high or higher ever since.
The measurements are taken at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, according to the agency.
Ariane Middel, a professor at Arizona State University’s Urban Climate Research Center, called the milestone “a historic and alarming benchmark in our ongoing struggle with extreme heat.”
“The prolonged heat exacerbates health risks, especially for vulnerable populations,” Middel said.
Heat-related illnesses, including heat exhaustion and heatstroke, occur when a person’s body temperature rises faster than the body can cool itself, and can damage the brain and other vital organs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Early symptoms can include dizziness, headaches, nausea, weakness and fatigue, according to the agency.
The public health agency further notes that older adults, the very young and people with chronic diseases and mental illnesses are at the highest risk of heat illnesses.
“This record-breaking heat in Phoenix highlights the urgent need for national awareness of extreme heat. The prolonged exposure to such high temperatures is not just a local issue here in Phoenix but part of broader climate trends that could affect other regions,” she added.
Phoenix is poised to set another extreme heat record the next time the thermostat reaches 110 degrees, which could come later this week, according to officials.
In 2023, Phoenix set the previous record of 54 days with temperatures at or above 110 degrees — and on Friday, the city matched that mark.
Earlier Tuesday, NWS Phoenix shared an “Excessive Heat Warning” for the region as temperatures are expected to reach 10 degrees above normal in the city and across much of the southwest from Wednesday through Friday.
Temperatures could approach 100 degrees in Los Angeles, California and close to 114 in Phoenix.
“Remember to practice smart heat safety by staying hydrated and limiting your time outdoors,” the agency cautioned.
This comes as more than 35 million Americans in eight states are on heat and wildfire alerts from California to North Dakota.
Extreme heat has been a reality this summer for the U.S. and worldwide.
July 2024 was the hottest month ever recorded since global records began in 1850, according to the Global Climate Report from the U.S. National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI).
It was also the 14th consecutive month in which the temperature record was broken, according to the report.
(PHILADELPHIA) — A man accused of stabbing a Philadelphia park ranger on Sunday has been charged with ethnic intimidation, police said.
The suspect — 34-year-old Thomas Riceman — also faces charges of attempted murder, aggravated assault and terroristic threats, a spokesperson for the Philadelphia Police Department told ABC News.
Police said they responded to reports of an assault Sunday afternoon in Rittenhouse Square, where they found the victim in the park’s security booth suffering from multiple stab wounds.
The victim, who had been working inside the security booth, told police the suspect had entered the booth and laid down before the alleged attack.
When the victim asked the suspect to leave, the suspect “suddenly attacked,” stabbing the victim in the face and head with scissors, police said.
According to police, the ethnic intimidation charge was filed because the suspect allegedly told the park ranger to “go back to his own country.”
Despite being injured, police said the victim managed to handcuff the suspect and hold him until police arrived.
The victim was transported to a hospital, where police said he was last listed as being in stable condition.
ABC News wasn’t immediately able to determine if the suspect had retained legal counsel.
A sign reads ‘Road Closed Landslide Damage’ amid an ongoing land movement crisis in the area which has forced power shutoffs to homes, with California Governor Gavin Newsom declaring a state of emergency today, on September 3, 2024 in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency for the Southern California city of Rancho Palos Verdes, where a landslide has threatened homes and caused the local utility provider to cut off electricity and gas to 245 residences due to broken pipes and power lines causing hazards.
On Tuesday afternoon, Newsom issued the declaration for the Los Angeles city community after local elected leaders held a news conference over the weekend and repeated their request that he act.
The governor said in a statement that the city is located on four out of five sub-slides that comprise the Greater Portuguese Landslide Complex. He said land movement in parts of the complex has “significantly accelerated following severe storms in 2023 and 2024.”
The Governor’s Office of Emergency Services said it has been coordinating with the city and county for nearly a year to support the response to the landslide, including providing technical assistance, supporting the local assistance center, facilitating a federal mitigation grant for groundwater work in the area and helping officials with initial damage estimates.
The governor’s decision came just hours before residents and local leaders held a meeting to discuss the growing crisis with utility officials.
“We can not predict how much the slide will accelerate in the coming weeks and months,” Larry Chung, vice president of Southern California Edison (SCE), said during the meeting Tuesday evening.
Residents in the growing landslide zone, which has spread about 680 acres over the past year, have been advised to leave the area after SCE shut off power to 245 homes on Sunday and Monday and said many of them will be without electricity and gas indefinitely.
Chung maintained during the meeting that there is “no timeframe” for power restoration in the impacted areas due to the instability of the land.
“The safety of the community members and crews remains our highest priority,” he added.
In January, Sallie Reeves told ABC News that she began noticing little cracks in the walls and floors of her Rancho Palos Verdes home of four decades. But by Tuesday, those cracks had turned into a widening fissure running through her home, wrecking room after room as the earth has been moving under her house at what she estimates is 12 inches a week.
Like Reeves, residents in the oceanfront community have been coping with a landslide crisis that is making their homes uninhabitable.
“This just kept getting worse, and we had animals coming in,” the 81-year-old Reeves told ABC News, pointing to where her home has split in half, exposing her master bedroom to the outdoors.
“This has been a hard pill to swallow,” Reeves told ABC News, adding that her husband is disabled.
She said she and her husband have had to move out of their master bedroom after damage to their roof caused a leak so bad she said it was as if “someone just turned a hose on our bed.”
Over the last four months, she said things have worsened as parts of her ceiling have collapsed, and a space between her outdoor deck and home has widened to about 18 inches. Reeves said she and her husband began sleeping in their living room until the landslide made it uninhabitable. She said now they’ve moved to a rear bedroom.
Rancho Palos Verdes is located about 30 miles south of Los Angeles.
“There is no playbook for an emergency like this one,” Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn, who represents the area, said at a news conference Sunday. “We’re sparing no expense. This is bigger than Rancho Palos Verdes. This land movement is so gigantic and so damaging that one city should not have to bear the burden alone.”
Hahn said the county has committed $5 million to respond to the disaster.
Officials said the shifting land has caused water and gas pipes to leak, and the city has been forced to red-tag at least two homes made uninhabitable by damage.
“Yes, this landslide has been moving for decades, but the acceleration that’s happening currently is beyond what any of us could have foretold, and it demands more response from the state, more response from the federal government,” Hahn said.
Evacuation warnings have been issued for part of the city. However, residents like Reeves said they are not leaving their homes.
“When people say, ‘Why don’t you just go someplace?’ I can’t take him just someplace,” Reeves said of her disabled husband, who is also in his 80s. “I can’t go to a hotel. He can’t get in the beds. I’m his 24-hour care.”
Reeves said she is working with a contractor on plans to lift her home and build a steel foundation that will sit on cribbing, repairs she expects will be out-of-pocket expenses.
“I would be thrilled to show Gavin Newsom my house because I’m not the only one that lives like this,” Reeves said. “This is what Mother Nature is doing.”
(NEW YORK) — Police are investigating multiple separate shootings that occurred Monday night on Interstate 5 in Washington state in what authorities called unacceptable “mayhem.”
Six people were injured in six shooting incidents, including a woman who was critically injured, according to the Washington State Patrol.
A suspect whose vehicle was sought in connection with several of the shootings was arrested in the Tacoma area early Tuesday, police said.
In four of the incidents, the victims reported being shot at by a white Volvo, according to Washington State Patrol spokesperson Chris Loftis. Investigators are still working to determine whether all the shooting incidents involved the same suspect vehicle, according to Capt. Ron Mead, the commander of District 2 of the Washington State Patrol, located in King County.
Police are treating this as a mass shooting event, Loftis said.
“The only difference from this and other events that we see across the country in schools and parks and so forth is the area of the shooting was not confined to a very specific place or location,” Loftis told reporters during a press briefing Tuesday afternoon.
There were two “spasms” of violence along I-5, resulting in the six shooting incidents, Loftis said.
The first occurred over 17 minutes, between 8:26 and 8:43 p.m. local time, northbound on I-5, he said.
It unfolded at I-5 and State Road 18, when “several rounds” were fired from a white Volvo, striking the passenger of a car, Loftis said. The driver took the 320th Street exit and contacted a fire station, and the female passenger was transported to a local hospital, where she remains in critical condition, he said.
A few minutes later, at 8:42 p.m. local time, a victim reported being shot at on I-5 near Martin Luther King Jr. Way and sustained abrasions from broken glass, Loftis said. The victim did not have a description of the suspect vehicle.
One minute later, on I-5 just south of I-90, a victim reported being shot at by an unknown vehicle and sustaining a grazing wound to the leg, Loftis said. The victim was transported to a local hospital as a precaution, he said.
The second wave of gun violence occurred between 10:57 p.m. and 11:01 p.m. local time, southbound on I-5, Loftis said.
On I-5 at State Road 18 at 10:57 p.m., a driver and passenger reported being shot at by a white Volvo, Loftis said. They sustained non-life-threatening wounds to the legs and have since been released from the hospital, Loftis said.
One minute later, another shooting involving a white Volvo was reported on I-5 near South 375 Street, Loftis said. Windows in the car were broken, but no one was injured, he said.
Then, at 11:01 p.m., on I-5 near 54th Avenue, a victim reported being shot by a white Volvo, Loftis said. The victim was shot in the neck and transported to a local hospital, he said.
A suspect was subsequently identified and arrested in the Tacoma area, police said.
Pierce County sheriff’s deputies arrived at the home of the possible suspect late Monday, but his vehicle wasn’t there, the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department said.
Shortly after midnight on Tuesday, a deputy saw the suspect vehicle pull into an apartment complex, the sheriff’s department said. Backup arrived, and deputies followed the vehicle, which was subsequently disabled by stop sticks set up by a Fircrest police officer, authorities said.
“Once the vehicle ran over the sticks it came to a stop and deputies initiated a felony stop,” the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department said in a press release. “The suspect was compliant and taken into custody by a Fircrest officer and WSP trooper.”
The suspect has been booked into King County Jail on first-degree assault, police said.
State police said they are not releasing the name of the suspect at this time or speaking to an alleged motive.
“I’m not going to give that credibility for the mayhem he created,” Mead told reporters.
All of the victims are believed to have been random in what Mead called an “unwarranted, unprovoked attack.”
“Any one of us could have been that unwitting victim,” he said while decrying the gun violence.
Police said there may be additional victims. A person who was traveling on I-5 to Portland Monday night called police Tuesday to report that their car had been shot, Loftis said.
“They heard the news accounts and realized that they may have been involved in this situation,” he said.
No one was injured in that incident. The person is in the process of traveling to Bellevue to speak with detectives to determine if this is a potential seventh victim of the shooting spate, Loftis said.
“We would like to encourage other folks who may have been in this area last night during these timeframes, if you saw something, call,” he said.
At this time, police said they can only connect the shootings in which the victims reported seeing the white Volvo, Mead said.
“While the timing certainly would suggest that all of these are related, we’re only going to be able to connect what we can connect through physical evidence,” he said. “Beyond that is speculative, and that’s why we will do the investigation to make sure that we can tie them to the additional shootings.”
Former U.S. President and current Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks about the economy, inflation, and manufacturing during a campaign event at Alro Steel on August 29, 2024 in Potterville, Michigan. (Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)
(ATLANTA) — A federal judge in Atlanta on Tuesday issued a temporary injunction ordering Donald Trump and his campaign to stop using a song co-written by the late musician Isaac Hayes at their events.
The song “Hold On, I’m Coming,” published in 1966, was played at Trump rallies and can be heard in campaign videos that were posted online, according to court documents reviewed by ABC News. The judge did not order that these videos be taken down, according to a statement from Trump representative Ronald Coleman.
“The campaign had already agreed to cease further use,” Coleman told ABC News in a statement. “We’re very gratified that the court recognized the First Amendment issues at stake and didn’t order a takedown of existing videos.”
Isaac Hayes III, Hayes’ son, said in a social media post last month that he was demanding $3 million in licensing fees from Trump and his campaign for unauthorized use of the song “Hold On, I’m Coming.” Trump and his partners played the song over 150 times without permission, court documents said.
“We won,” Isaac Hayes III posted on Instagram on Tuesday after the hearing. “@realdonaldtrump has been barred from playing @isaachayes music forever.”
The injunction stops the campaign from playing the song pending further proceedings, Coleman told ABC News, and the court would consider a motion for reconsideration based on copyright ownership if appropriate.
“The campaign has a license to play the music through an agreement with BMI and ASCAP,” the Trump campaign said in a statement emailed to ABC News in response to the ruling, referring to performance rights groups Broadcast Music Inc and the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.
Neither Isaac Hayes III nor attorneys for Isaac Hayes Enterprises — the company that handles licensing for Hayes’ estate — have responded to ABC News’ request for statements. Neither sides’ attorneys have responded to ABC News regarding any decision made on money allegedly owed to Isaac Hayes Enterprises.
The song was popularized by the music duo Sam & Dave in 1966 and reached No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 at the time, according to court documents. Hayes, who wrote the song with David Porter, passed away at age 65 in 2008, but his estate is the current owner of right and title to the song, the court documents noted.
After Trump and his campaign played the song in 2020 as “outro” music at one of their events, a cease-and-desist letter was sent to the Trump campaign on behalf of Isaac Hayes Enterprises, according to court documents.
The Donald J. Trump for President campaign, Republican National Committee (RNC), conservative advocacy group Turning Point, National Rifle Association (NRA), American Conservative Union and BTC were named as defendants on the complaint filed by Isaac Hayes Enterprises last month, for hosting events and uploading videos where the song was played, according to court documents.
The motion was withdrawn on Tuesday by Hayes Enterprises as to Turning Point, NRA and RNC, the court noted.
Hayes is part of a group of musicians who have called for Trump to stop playing their music at his events, which include Beyoncé, the Foo Fighters, Jack White and Celine Dion.
(NEW YORK) — An archery hunter who was knocked down and bitten by a bear while hunting elk with his friend has survived the surprise attack, officials said.
The incident occurred on Sunday morning when the hunter and his friend were hunting elk west of Henrys Lake in Island Park, Idaho, approximately 15 miles west of Yellowstone National Park, and were attacked by an adult male grizzly bear.
During the surprise encounter in the Caribou-Targhee National Forest near the Divide Creek Road, one of the hunters was “knocked down and bitten by the bear,” according to a statement from Idaho Fish and Game regarding the incident.
“Both men were able to utilize their sidearms to shoot the bear, deterring the attack and killing the bear,” Idaho Fish and Game said. “The hunters were able to call 911 and the injured individual was transported by helicopter to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center where he is being treated for non-life-threatening injuries.”
Idaho Fish and Game say they responded to the scene where the attack happened after coordinating with Fremont County Sheriff’s Office, Caribou-Targhee National Forest and Emergency Medical Service teams and that conservation officers conducted a “thorough investigation and determined that the hunters acted in self-defense during a surprise encounter with the bear from a very close distance.”
“I am extremely grateful that both of these individuals survived this encounter,” said Fish and Game Regional Supervisor Matt Pieron. “I have had the opportunity to speak with the injured hunter and his family and they are truly wonderful people. I wish him a speedy recovery from his injuries and the trauma these two hunters experienced.”
According to U.S. Fish and Wildlife, it is illegal to kill bears unless it is in a situation that requires self-defense.
“Grizzly bears in the 48 contiguous states are currently protected as a threatened species. It is illegal to harm, harass or kill these bears, except in cases of self-defense or the defense of others,” U.S. officials said. “Grizzly bear conservation is complex and only made possible through a variety of partnerships with the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee, state wildlife agencies, Native American Tribes, federal agencies, universities and other organizations.”
Idaho Fish and Game took the opportunity to remind people about safety procedures when hunting, suggesting that people venturing out in to the wilderness in north Idaho and the Greater Yellowstone area should always carry bear spray and keep it readily accessible, always hunt with partners and make each other aware of plans, keep an eye out for grizzly bear signs like fresh tracks, retrieve meat as quickly as possible and hang it — along with food and garbage — at least 200 yards from camp and 10 feet off the ground, and finally, by making noise when not hunting, especially around creeks and thick vegetation because “most attacks occur by inadvertently surprising a bear at close range.”
Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Ivanovych Kuleba talks to media prior to the start of an Informal meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs in the Europa Building on August 29, 2024 in Brussels, Belgium. (Thierry Monasse/Getty Images)
(LONDON) — Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba is the latest government minister to tender a resignation amid what could become a major shake-up of top officials under President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, according to a lawmaker.
Ruslan Stefanchuk — the chairman of the Ukrainian Rada parliament — said in a statement posted to Facebook that Kuleba had submitted his resignation to the body, uploading a photograph of a letter that appeared to be signed by the foreign minister, who has been in his post since 2020.
Stefanchuk said Kuleba’s resignation would be “considered at one of the upcoming plenary meetings,” though did not offer a specific date.
Kuleba is the latest in a slew of top ministers to offer their resignations in what appears to be a significant government shake-up.
Among them — according to Stefanchuk’s updates — are Strategic Industries Minister Alexander Kamyshin, Justice Minister Denys Maliuska, Ecology Minister Ruslan Strilets, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishyna and Deputy Prime Minister and Reintegration Minister Iryna Vereshchuk.
David Arakhamia, the leader of Zelenskyy’s Servant of the People Party group in the Rada, wrote on Telegram on Tuesday that “a major reboot of the government can already be expected this week,” affecting as many as half of all government staff.
“Tomorrow is the day of layoffs, and the day after tomorrow is the day of appointments,” he added.
Oleksandr Merezhko — another member of parliament representing Zelenskyy’s party, and the chair of the Rada’s foreign affairs committee — told ABC News that the reshuffle is intended to “fill several vacancies in the government.”
The move is also “partly because the government needs to get prepared for the challenges lying ahead,” he added, “especially during winter.” Replacements will be appointed this week, Merezhko said.
(WASHINGTON) — The grisly discovery of six murdered hostages in a tunnel under Gaza over the weekend has sent U.S. officials scrambling to devise a new strategy to advance the already beleaguered negotiations aimed at securing a cease-fire deal and allow dozens of detainees to return home.
“Our team is still working to try to get this to closure,” White House spokesperson John Kirby said Tuesday. “Not that we didn’t have a sense of urgency before — we certainly did, but the killings over the weekend, the executions is the only way to put it, just underscores how important it is to keep that work alive and keep going.”
The Biden administration is now crafting a new framework for a hostage release and cease-fire agreement with its partners Qatar and Egypt and expects to present a finalized, all-encompassing proposal to Israel and Hamas in the coming days, according to a U.S. official.
But Kirby refuted reports that it would be presented to both sides as a “take it or leave it” option and declined to say what would happen if both Israel and Hamas didn’t accept the forthcoming proposal.
“I’m not using that phrase,” he said. “I am simply going to refuse to speculate about what might happen or what might not happen.”
On Monday, the Israeli Ministry of Health said that after examining the bodies of the six recovered hostages, it determined they were shot at close range and killed shortly before they were recovered.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Hamas’ armed wing blamed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the deaths, saying his “insistence on freeing the prisoners through military pressure instead of concluding a deal will mean their return to their families in coffins, and their families will have to choose between dead or alive.”
Sources told ABC News that although the Israel Defense Forces was not conducting a rescue operation at the time the hostages are thought to have been killed, specialized units were operating under Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city, nearby where the hostages were being held.
“I think when you see an order like that, it shows just what a depraved group we are dealing with in Hamas, when they make clear that they will execute innocent human beings rather than let them be rescued,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.
Two U.S. officials familiar with ongoing cease-fire talks said representatives from Hamas did not warn mediators that it would begin executing detainees to thwart Israel’s attempts to recover them by any means other than negotiating their release.
However, a Hamas spokesperson said Monday that guards had been operating under instructions to kill hostages in their custody if Israeli forces neared their locations since June, when the IDF successfully freed four hostages in a raid that killed dozens of Palestinians.
High stakes, little leverage
Despite stuttering progress, the Biden administration argues that negotiations were picking up steam in recent days.
“We did have constructive talks last week in the region to try and reach agreement on the final gaps,” Miller said Tuesday. “We made progress on dealing with the obstacles that remain, but ultimately, finalizing an agreement will require both sides to show flexibility.”
But despite immense pressure from the Israeli public, Netanyahu indicated on Monday that he would not back down from his demand that the IDF must maintain a presence in the strategic Philadelphi corridor between southern Gaza and Egypt — a major sticking point in the talks.
Kirby hit back at the prime minister, saying his insistence ran counter to agreements the Israeli government had already made.
“I’m not going to get into a debate with the prime minister,” Kirby said, asserting that multiple draft agreements agreed to by Israel over the last several months called for the removal of the IDF from all densely populated areas of Gaza, including the Philadelphi corridor.
“That’s the proposal that Israel had agreed to and again,” he said.
Pressure builds on Biden after Israeli strike kills dozens of civilians in Rafah
While the United States has considerable diplomatic sway over Israel, it has much less leverage over Hamas. Through the negotiations, the administration has had little insight into the thinking of its leader, Yahya Sinwar, whom Secretary of State Antony Blinken describes as “the primary decider” in cease-fire negotiations.
Experts see Hamas’ apparent brutalist shift and the execution of hostages near the Philadelphi corridor as a play to push IDF troops away from the area, which could allow the group to rearm. Israel has not indicated that it will continue to pursue rescue missions or alter any operations along Gaza’s southern border.
The prospect of a broader conflict in the Middle East could also hinge on progress in the negotiations between Israel and Hamas. Iran has blamed Israel for carrying out an attack in Tehran that killed Hamas’ political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in late July and vowed to retaliate. Israel took responsibility for a strike in July that killed Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukr, but has not said if it was also behind the attack that killed Haniyeh in Tehran.
It’s not clear why Iran has not yet carried out its threat, but U.S. officials believe Tehran may be wary of thwarting Gaza cease-fire negotiations.
The hostages still in Gaza
Even before the killing of the six hostages, U.S. and Israeli officials had already assessed that a deal might free a relatively small number of detainees — assessing that fewer than 50 were still living. Officials say there are now 97 hostages remaining in Gaza.
Even before the discovery of the slain hostages, U.S. officials told ABC News that only around a dozen hostages might initially be freed if Israel and Hamas agreed to the framework that was partially outlined by President Joe Biden in May. At least three of the detainees who were discovered dead in the tunnel — including dual American Israeli citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23 — would have been among them, they say.
Twelve American citizens were taken during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks. Two were released in late October, and two more were freed in November as part of a cease-fire deal.
Of the eight Americans who remain detained in Gaza, four have been declared dead. U.S. and Israeli officials believe that four others — Edan Alexander, 19; Sagui Dekel-Chen, 36; Omer Neutra, 22, and Keith Siegel, 65 — could be alive.
(NEW YORK) — As mosquito season continues, public health officials in the U.S. have been tracking several different illnesses caused by the pesky flying insect.
Health officials are reporting at least eighteen deaths from West Nile virus in the U.S. this year, with three recent deaths recorded in Wisconsin and Illinois. There have been six cases of eastern equine encephalitis (EEE), including one person who died after testing positive for the virus, as well as dengue cases recorded in several states. The viruses that cause all three illnesses are transmitted to humans via mosquito bite.
“What we’ve seen is a rapid uptake in certain viruses that haven’t been in the limelight in recent years. Both West Nile virus and ‘triple E,’ which is eastern equine encephalitis, have had an uptick, particularly post-COVID,” Dr. Larry Han, an assistant professor of public health and health sciences at Northeastern University in Boston, told ABC News.
“There’s also been a rise in dengue relative to what we’ve seen in recent years. And so, these ‘triple threats,’ you might say, have led to more attention and more worry among the general populace.”
Experts who spoke with ABC News said some of the uptick is due to the “randomness” regarding which seasons have a greater number of cases than others, coupled with the general rise in mosquito-borne viruses during the summer and early fall months.
Here are some ways to tell the difference between West Nile, EEE, and dengue. However, if you’re concerned you might have contracted any of these viruses, you should contact your doctor immediately.
How common are West Nile, EEE and dengue?
West Nile virus is the leading cause of mosquito-borne disease in the contiguous United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It was first identified in the Western Hemisphere in August 1999 after people were diagnosed in New York City.
Dengue viruses are spread through bites from infected Aedes species mosquitoes, mostly found in tropical and subtropical regions of the world, according to the CDC. These mosquitoes are also responsible for spreading Zika and chikungunya viruses.
“It would be very rare to see dengue cases unless you lived in more tropical climates, so you might see this in Florida, some Southern states along the East Coast, but, for example, you would nearly never see this in Massachusetts or in the Midwest or West,” Han said.
Comparatively, EEE is quite rare, with only a few cases reported in the U.S. every year. However, similar to dengue, most cases occur in the Eastern or Gulf Coast states, according to the CDC.
What are the symptoms?
The majority of people with West Nile virus do not present with symptoms, but about one in five will experience fever along with headaches, body aches, joint pain, diarrhea, vomiting, or a rash. Symptoms typically disappear in a week or less for most people but weakness and fatigue may last for weeks or months. For some people, however, the disease can progress to something far more concerning.
“About one out of 150 of those people that develop signs and symptoms can actually develop a more severe disease, like West Nile encephalitis, where we have the swelling of the brain that could potentially be fatal,” Dr. Thomas Duszynski, director of epidemiology education at the Indiana University Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health, told ABC News.
Similarly, about one in four people who contract dengue develop symptoms lasting two to seven days, but symptoms are usually mild and may include fever, rash, nausea, vomiting, muscle pain, joint pain and bone pain.
Duszynski explained that most U.S. dengue cases are typically seen among people who contract it while traveling abroad, where dengue is endemic or where cases are more common, and who then bring the virus back to the U.S. Because dengue’s symptoms are not specific to the virus, they’re often confused with other illnesses, according to the CDC.
Most people who are infected with EEE show either mild symptoms or no symptoms at all, according to the CDC. However, severe cases typically present with fever, headache, chills and vomiting.
Like West Nile virus, EEE also can progress to a more severe condition, like encephalitis or meningitis, the latter of which is swelling of the membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord. Many survivors can experience ongoing neurologic problems, including convulsions, paralysis and intellectual disability. About 30% of encephalitis cases caused by EEE result in death.
“I think the mortality risk if one were to contract dengue or West Nile virus would be very low. For EEE, it’s the opposite; it’s very high,” Han said.
Treatments and vaccines
There are no disease-specific treatments for any of the viruses. The CDC recommends rest, fluids, and over-the-counter medications to relieve symptoms. Patients with severe illness often need to be hospitalized and receive additional supportive treatments, such as intravenous fluids.
There also are no vaccines available for West Nile or EEE. However, a dengue vaccine is available in the U.S. and is FDA approved for children between ages 9 and 16 who have a laboratory-confirmed previous dengue virus infection and who live in areas where dengue is endemic.
The vaccine also is available in Puerto Rico and is part of the territory’s routine childhood immunization schedule, the CDC said.
Dengue can be caused by dengue virus strains 1, 2, 3 or 4, with a person being infected multiple times over the course of their life, Duszynski told ABC News, so a vaccine may be able to help prevent infection from a different strain.
“If I got infected with one strain, if I get bit by this mosquito with the same strain, I’m probably going to be okay,’ he said. “But it’s those three other strains that are out there that … I could get infected with even though I had strain 1.”
How to best protect yourself from infection
There are no differences when it comes to protecting yourself from dengue, EEE or West Nile virus, the experts told ABC News. Prevention methods include using effective mosquito repellents, wearing long-sleeve shirts and long pants when outside, and staying in places with air conditioning, when possible. The CDC also recommends emptying containers of still or stagnant water, to eliminate places where mosquitos can breed.
“The single deadliest [animal] to the human species has been the mosquito,” Han said. “So, while we might think of sharks or we might think of lions or tigers, it’s really the mosquito that has led to the devastation of the human population multiple times throughout history.”
“I’m not saying that we should kill off all mosquitoes, because they play an important role in ecology, but there are various new techniques and strategies people are thinking about to combat mosquito-borne viruses and illnesses,” Han continued. “I’m hopeful that we can make mosquito borne viruses less of a threat to humanity.”
(WASHINGTON) — Former President Donald Trump has waived his right to be present at his arraignment in his federal election interference case and has authorized his attorney to enter a plea of not guilty on his behalf, according to a filing Tuesday.
Special counsel Jack Smith unsealed a new indictment last week related to Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The superseding indictment included the same charges but removed allegations related to Trump’s official acts as president in light of the Supreme Court’s ruling on presidential immunity.
The court has not yet set a formal date for Trump’s new arraignment.
Both sides are due to appear in court on Thursday for a previously-scheduled conference in the case.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
