US seeks to curb dangers of antibiotic resistance
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration on Thursday announced measures to tackle the growing threat of antibiotic resistance, outlining a national strategy that includes incentives for the development of new drugs, tighter stewardship of existing ones, and improvements in tracking the use of antibiotics and the microbes that are resistant to them. The actions are the first major White House effort to confront a public health crisis that takes at least 23,000 lives a year, and many experts were pleased that a president had finally focused on the issue. But some said the strategy fell short in not recommending tougher measures against the overuse of antibiotics in agriculture, which, they argue, is a big part of the problem. Researchers have been warning for years that antibiotics are losing their power because of overuse. Some warn that if the trend is not halted, we could return to the time before antibiotics, when it was common for people to die from ordinary infections and for children not to survive strep throat.
Sunny skies in store
The last weekend of astronomical summer will be a pleasant one, as a high pressure system moves into place over the northeastern United States. Today will be a bit chillier than normal, as a sea breeze develops in the afternoon, bringing cooler air from over Massachusetts Bay, where sea surface temperatures are currently around 60°F (16°C). Tonight will be especially chilly, as clear skies and calm winds allow the land surface to efficiently radiate heat away, bringing temperatures down to the middle 40s (°F) early tomorrow morning. However, winds will shift to be from the south tomorrow as the high pressure begins to lift and a cold front approaches from the west. These southerly winds will bring warmer air up to New England, raising the temperature to near 70°F (21°C) tomorrow, and several degrees higher than that on Sunday. Expect a chance of showers on Sunday night, and temperatures returning to the 60s (°F) in its wake at the beginning of next week.
Cool, dry weather to return soon
Cambridge experienced a nice taste of fall this weekend with clear, blue skies and lows approaching the 40s (°F) . The high pressure system associated with this benign weather is now moving off into the Atlantic. Expect unsettled weather today as a low pressure system approaches from the southwest and a weak frontal boundary pushes through the area. Scattered showers this morning should give way to mostly cloudy skies in the afternoon. Expect moderate westerly winds behind that front.
Shorts (right)
Microsoft agreed Monday to buy the creator of Minecraft, the world-building computer game, for $2.5 billion, in a move meant to add the immensely popular title to its stock of content.
US responds to Islamic State’s plan to enter through Mexico
WASHINGTON — Militants for the Islamic State have traveled to Mexico and are just miles from the United States. They plan to cross over the porous border and will “imminently” launch car bomb attacks. And the threat is so real that federal law enforcement officers have been placed at a heightened state of alert, and an American military base near the border has increased its security.
Study points to well leaks, not fracking, for water contamination
A study of tainted drinking water in areas where natural gas is produced from shale shows that the contamination is most likely due to leaky wells rather than the process of hydraulic fracturing used to release the gas from the rock.
Number of Americans with health insurance increases
Federal researchers reported on Tuesday that the number of Americans without health insurance had declined substantially in the first quarter of this year, the first federal measure of the number of uninsured Americans since the Affordable Care Act extended coverage to millions of people in January.
US is still open to talking to Iran about Islamic State
PARIS — Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday that the Obama administration would keep the door open to confidential communications with Iran on the security crisis in Iraq, despite sarcastic criticism from Iran’s supreme leader, who said the American plan for bombing Islamic militants, their common enemy, was absurd.
Shorts (left)
NEW DELHI — The maker of one of the costliest drugs in the world announced Monday that it had struck deals with seven generic drugmakers in India to sell lower-cost versions of the medicine — a $1,000-a-pill hepatitis C treatment — in poorer countries.
North Korea sentences American to 6 years of labor
SEOUL, South Korea — The Supreme Court in North Korea on Sunday sentenced one of the three Americans known to be held in the country to six years of hard labor for committing “hostile acts” against the North.
US, Europe back new economic sanctions against Russia
BRUSSELS — The United States and Europe agreed on Thursday to place additional economic sanctions on Russia over its role in promoting separatist warfare in eastern Ukraine despite a fragile new cease-fire that went into effect last week.
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In a move that could shore up the dire shortage of opinions on the Internet, Google has acquired Polar, an online poll company. The deal was announced on Polar’s website and through Google’s social network, Google Plus.
Cool, fall weather in store
It definitely feels like fall in Cambridge! Yesterday, temperatures reached a warm 80°F (27°C) thanks to breezy southwest winds ahead of an approaching cold front. This cold front passed through the area late last night, leaving us with cooler conditions and cloudless skies in its wake. Expect a high temperature of 68°F (20°C) today with winds from the north. More clouds should start filtering in tomorrow, but temperatures will remain cool with a high near 66°F (19°C). Tomorrow evening, a low-pressure system will form off of the coast to our south and travel northeastward along the coast of New England. We may see some rain showers associated with this system tomorrow evening into early Sunday. Otherwise, Sunday and Monday look dry with mostly sunny skies and high temperatures in the upper sixties (Sunday) to low seventies (Monday).
Deal reached on Gaza reconstruction
JERUSALEM — President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority said Thursday night that he had reached an agreement with Israel and the United Nations to allow imports of reconstruction materials into the Gaza Strip, apparently bypassing Hamas to fulfill a key tenet of the cease-fire agreement that halted hostilities on Aug. 26.
Shorts (right)
Two days after a graphic video surfaced showing star running back Ray Rice knocking out his then-fiancée, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell continued to scramble to get ahead of the brewing controversy about whether he had seen the video before suspending the player for two games.
Documents unsealed in Yahoo’s case against US data requests
The federal government was so determined to collect the Internet communications of Yahoo customers in 2008 that it threatened the company with fines of $250,000 per day if it did not immediately comply with a secret court order to turn over the data.
72-hour wait for abortion is enacted in Missouri
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Republican-controlled Missouri Legislature has enacted one of the most stringent waiting periods for women seeking abortions, overriding a veto by the state’s Democratic governor, Jay Nixon.
September returns to normal
The beginning of September has seen abnormally scorching temperatures at the Institute this year. Three days above 90°F (32°C) have contributed to September being the warmest month of the year so far in Boston. However, the cold front that sent a series of severe thunderstorms over Massachusetts on Saturday afternoon also ushered in a regime of more seasonable weather, and the observed high and low temperatures on each of the last two days have each been within 4°F of their climatological normals.
Princeton faculty to vote on sexual misconduct policies
Princeton University may soon make significant changes in the way it handles allegations of sexual misconduct, including lowering the standards required to find someone guilty in its disciplinary proceedings.