Americans evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship return with coronavirus
Fourteen of the 300 Americans who were aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan have tested positive for coronavirus, according to the Los Angeles Times.
More than 300 U.S. citizens from the ship were evacuated and were put on chartered flights to military bases in California and Texas.
All of the Americans will be quarantined for 14 days on the bases, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Pearl River cresting causes Mississippi flooding
Gov. Tate Reeves has declared a state of emergency as the Pearl River crested Monday in Mississippi’s capital city of Jackson, according to Fox News.
Officials have conducted 16 assisted evacuations and 200 door-to-door visits to advise residents of the flooding.
It will take days for the water to recede, and rain in the forecast for Wednesday and Thursday may make the situation worse, said Janice Dean, senior meteorologist for Fox News.
Democrats voted with Republicans to block Virginia governor’s bill to ban assault weapons
An attempt to ban assault-style weapons in Virginia failed after four moderate Democrats on Virginia’s Senate Judiciary Committee sided with Republicans to block the Democratic governor’s bill, according to New York Daily News.
The 10-5 vote will table the bill for the remainder of the year, allowing for lawmakers to further review the proposal.
House Delegate Mark Levine, one of the delegates who sponsored the bill, promised to bring the proposal back to the Senate next year.
Senate Committee voted to study assault weapons bill for another year. We already know weapons of war don’t belong on our streets. I fear mass murder with these weapons between now and then, but I am proud of House of Delegates for doing what we could. We will be back.
— Mark Levine (@DelegateMark) February 17, 2020
New disposable vape pens are flooding the market
Despite the Trump administration’s partial ban on flavored e-cigarettes, new disposable vape pens have caused a setback in efforts to curb teen vaping, according to NPR.
It hasn’t taken long for kids to find alternatives to flavored cartridges, said Matt Myers, a member of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.
Companies such as Puff Bar, Stig, and Viigo introduced single-use vape pens that offer flavors similar to the ones Juul had to remove from the market because they were targeted toward minors.
