Americans on alert for coronavirus after CDC warning
US health officials are now signalling that the spread of coronavirus appears inevitable in the United States. And, despite sporting events being postponed or canceled globally because of the coronavirus, the year's largest sporting event — the 2020 summer Olympics — are still scheduled for July in Japan. But officials from International Olympic Committee suggest that could change at any time...
The coronavirus death toll grows in Iran
Iran's coronavirus death toll rose to 16 on Tuesday, the highest outside of China, and real extent infections could be much higher — increasing the country's international isolation as health authorities move to accelerated emergency measures to curb the epidemic's global spread. And, it was a brief state visit, but on his way out of India, President Donld Trump said he asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi about religious freedom...
10: Evidence of car-sized turtles found in Colombia
From The World and PRX, this is The Number in the News. Today’s number: 10. While evidence of giant turtles first emerged in Venezuela in 1976, new research uncovers the first full-sized, 10-foot-long shell that once belonged to what's believed to be the largest turtles in history. A team of researchers from Venezuela, Brazil and Colombia spent six years searching, gathering, processing and researching the giant shells...
The coronavirus continues to spread globally
The coronavirus continues to spread, eroding a sense of safety that comes with distance from China. Europe is confronting its first major eruption of cases in Italy. And, despite a growing chorus of troubling reports of human rights abuses in the disputed region of Kashmir, US President Donald Trump praised Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday during a visit to India...
International cooperation on the coronavirus in China
We speak with the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to find out about international cooperation with scientists in China on the coronavirus outbreak, America's preparedness for infections here and some experimental treatments being tested. South Sudan's political rivals President Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar have announced they will agree to share power and form a unity government by Saturday...
German authorities treat shooting as act of terrorism
Federal prosecutors are treating the mass shooting in Hanau, Germany as an act of terrorism. Far-right extremism is thought to have motivated the shooter, who opened fire in two hookah bars in the western German town and killed at least nine people. We also look at the appointment of Ambassador Richard Grenell as acting director of national intelligence, and ask what impact it might have on US intelligence-gathering capabilities...
Syria's ongoing humanitarian crisis continues to worsen
The humanitarian crisis in northwestern Syria is massive. Since December, an estimated 900,000 civilians have fled from their homes as Syrian government forces — with Russian military help — have continued their offensive in Idlib province. Now, Turkey's president says it's "only a matter of time" before Turkish troops launch an operation of their own. And, as COVID-19 spreads, online platforms like Airbnb are telling users and hosts to take cautionary measures...
10,000: Grow your meal in a repurposed mattress
From The World and PRX, this is The Number in the News. Today’s number: 10,000. Zaatari, a Syrian refugee camp in Jordan, has quickly turned into a city of 80,000 people since opening in 2012. Water can be scarce and the desert soil is too poor to cultivate anything, making nutritious food a hard resource to come by. But scientists from the University of Sheffield in England have a solution. They're teaching refugees how to grow food by using old foam mattresses instead of soil...
A reality check on the coronavirus outbreak
We're due for another coronavirus reality check on what we know and how we know it. Dr. Michael Mina, an infectious disease specialist at Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health, speaks with The World's host Marco Werman about the latest understanding of how the virus spreads, how it incubates and how deadly COVID-19 is compared to other respiratory diseases. And, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos says he’ll start handing out $10 billion worth of grants to fight climate change...
Life goes on despite coronavirus quarantines
The biggest cluster of coronavirus cases outside of China is on a cruise ship called the Diamond Princess. The World's host Marco Werman speaks with one of the passengers on board and with an infectious disease specialist at the University of Toronto. Also, meet a Chinese American family that's now on lockdown in northwest China. Plus, climate change may get some attention in Tuesday's Democratic presidential candidate debate in Nevada...