need2know-afternoon-edition-081723

Are the headlines. You need to know the deadly wildfires that swept through the Hawaiian town of La Hana. On August 8 have killed at least 111 people and left thousands without homes. But as the recovery process continues, schools in Maui have started the process of reopening and services being resumed on major roadways that were closed. Officials are now testing the air and water quality at area schools to ensure safety. The Department of Education is offering meals and counseling for students, family members and staff. The superintendent for the Hawaii Department of Education said quote, there's still a lot of work to do but overall the campuses and classrooms are in good condition structurally which is encouraging. We know the recovery effort is still in the early stages and we continue to grieve the many lives lost. Hawaii. Governor Josh Green is cautioning developers in the US and elsewhere to not buy land in the wake of the catastrophic wildfires in Maui Green said Hawaii's state government is considering buying land in the historic town in an effort to protect it for the local people. The wildfires destroyed 2700 structures worth a total of $5.6 billion in damages. Green said rebuilding the town could take years. Hundreds of wildfires are also burning in Canada causing thousands of residents to evacuate in the city of Yellow knife that's north of Alberta. About 20,000 people are in harm's way and have been told to leave the area. Officials say those in surrounding areas can register for an air evacuation if they are unable to, to leave by car. The Municipal Affairs Minister said, quote, we find ourselves in a crisis situation and our government is using every tool available to assist those fires have once again led to harmful air quality here in the United States with alerts being issued in some areas both today and tomorrow. The head coach of the US women's soccer team, Vlatko and Donosky has resigned following the team's early exit in the women's World Cup coach Twila Kilgore has been appointed interim coach after Antony's resignation. This comes just two weeks after the US women's soccer team lost to Sweden on penalty kicks with a score of 5 to 4 on August 6 in Melbourne, Australia. The game ultimately disqualified the US team from moving on to the quarter finals. Yesterday, we told you that testimony had just begun in the trial of the two white men accused of shooting a Black Fedex driver. Well, today, a Mississippi judge had declared a mistrial this morning. Attorneys for the defense asked for a mistrial after they say one of the key witnesses in the case, a detective violated multiple rules while defying on the witness stand. According to the attorneys, the officer withheld evidence and blurted out statements that were excluded in this trial. The judge said he had quote no other choice but to grant the motion for a mistrial. The district attorney told reporters he disagrees with the judge's decision and says a new trial will be scheduled. A Federal Appeals court yesterday imposed restrictions on the abortion pill Prestone. However, the order by the US Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals will not take effect until the Supreme Court makes a decision on the case. If the Supreme Court upholds the appeals court's ruling, the restrictions will go into effect. The case comes more than a year since the Supreme Court overturned Roe V Wade, the FDA and Mifepristone distributor Danko Labs argue the lawsuit is unprecedented and that pulling the drug off the market will jeopardize women's health in an effort to fix what lawmakers have referred to as a reading crisis in the United States. More and more states are passing laws that would require students to repeat the third grade if they did not score high enough on standardized reading tests. Tennessee is one state that passed legislation in 2021 which requires third graders to have proficient reading scores before they can enter the fourth grade. The law will go into effect this school year. Tennessee is among at least 16 other states including Louisiana and Alabama who have passed similar legislation to combat the literacy crisis. Among third graders that worsened during the pandemic, dozens of protesters marched to Miami Dade County School board yesterday over new guidelines in Florida's history curriculum. The teach no lies protest says the new standards paint an inaccurate picture of black history. For example, middle school teachers are advised to tell their students that enslaved Black Americans quote develop skills which in some instances could be applied for their personal benefit. The protests were attended by Tennessee Representative Justin Pearson who said the true history is that black people have always fought to make America what it ought to be. The flu bug won't be the only potential health threat. Americans will face over the next few months. According to federal surveillance data, COVID-19 levels are relatively low nationwide but they are on the rise. Take a look. You can't call it a comeback because the Corona virus never really went away. COVID is still here like it's been here throughout as schools across the country reopen for the fall and Americans face the latter half of the calendar year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says COVID-19 hospitalizations have been climbing since early July. The community levels go up and then we start to see the hospitalizations come up afterwards. The Chicago Department of Public Health says it's seen roughly 72 cases per day within the last week, that's a 4% hike from the week before I go a whole 12 hour shift without seeing any. And then the last, you know, 1 to 2 weeks, we see 3456 COVID positive cases coming in. Health officials say although COVID-19 hospitalization rates are at a high not seen since April much lower than before. The CDC says roughly 1% of hospital beds in us inpatient and intensive care units are currently taken by COVID-19 patients. During the omicron surge, more than 20% of all beds were occupied. Although us cases have dropped significantly since the peak of the pandemic. Health officials are advising people to be cautious and fully vaccinated because COVID-19 is here for good. It's probably not going to go away. And thanks to John Lawrence for that report and a new medical milestone, a pig kidney kidney transplant has survived in a human body for over a month. That's the longest time a pig organ has ever survived a human transplant. NYU Lago and health reported that the pig kidney which was genetically modified in order to increase chances of survival worked as well as a human organ. A similar experiment at the University of Alabama successfully transplanted a pair of pig kidneys into a human body for seven days. The NYU Lago team plans to observe their patient for another month if all goes well. They're hoping this could help ease an organ shortage