Web page for https://www.whitehouse.gov/lab-leak-true-origins-of-covid-19/ on April 18, 2025. Via The White House
(WASHINGTON) -- The White House has redirected COVID.gov to a new landing page called "Lab Leak: True Origins of COVID-19," which makes a five-point argument for the theory that COVID-19 originated from a mistaken lab leak in Wuhan, China.
The new site appears to use theories from the final report of the Republican-led Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, released in December 2024. There has never been a consensus or a "smoking gun" to explain what started the pandemic.
The COVID.gov page, as recently as last week, listed resources for testing, treatment, and vaccination against COVID-19, as well as information for Long COVID.
The five pieces of evidence put forth by the White House for the theory include the following assertions: that the "virus possesses a biological characteristic that is not found in nature," that data shows all cases "stem from a single introduction into humans," that "Wuhan is home to China's foremost SARS research lab," that researchers at that research lab "were sick with COVID-like symptoms in the fall of 2019," and that "if there was evidence of a natural origin it would have already surfaced."
The page includes claims that government officials, including former NIAID Director Dr. Anthony Fauci, helped edit and then amplify a research paper on the origins of COVID-19 published in 2020 that supported natural origin theory.
The current page suggests this paper's explicit intention was to discredit the lab leak theory and remove any doubt that the origins were of natural origin. This is not a new accusation and in the past Fauci and the paper authors disagreed with the accusations that the paper was manipulated or had any specific goal.
The origins of the pandemic have been hotly debated since its start.
The prevailing theories always seemed to focus on two scenarios: either natural exposure to an infected animal or an accidental lab leak.
With no "smoking gun" and limited access to raw data, discussion of the science has played out in a haze of circumstantial evidence.
In October 2021, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released a declassified report on the intelligence community's views on the origin conundrum, which also leaned toward a natural spillover, but represented divided views. A subsequent declassified report released in 2023 also noted that most of the intelligence community was split on the origins of the pandemic. In reports, US agencies generally agreed that the virus was most likely not developed as a biological weapon and that China's leaders did not know about the virus before the start of the global pandemic.
The new splash page features a photo of Fauci and the pardon that former President Joe Biden granted him, highlighting that it was for "any offenses." The page also accuses federal agencies, including NIH and HHS, of breaking laws and violating rules about transparency and cooperation with Congressional investigation. The agencies complied with FOIA requests and other regulatory requests from the committee and also appeared before lawmakers when asked to testify.
The web page also calls into question the efficacy of social distancing, masking and lockdown. The White House also criticized the response from New York officials.
Fauci testified about the accusations before lawmakers in 2024, saying that accusations about him covering up or influencing research about the lab leak theory are untrue.
"The accusation being circulated that I influenced the scientists to change their minds by bribing them with millions of dollars in grant money is absolutely false, and simply preposterous. I had no input into the content of the published paper," Fauci said in June of 2024.
"The second issue is a false accusation that I tried to cover up the possibility that the virus originated from a lab. In fact, the truth is exactly the opposite," Fauci said during that 2024 hearing.
This is not the first time that the White House has made clear its position on the origins of COVID-19. In January, President Trump said that COVID-19 had "strained" his relationship with President Xi Jinping of China.
"But, I like President Xi very much. I've always liked him. We always had a very good relationship. It was very strained with COVID coming out of Wuhan. Obviously, that strained it. I'm sure it strained it with a lot of people, but that strained our relationship," Trump said in remarks to the World Economic Forum.
ABC News' Eric Strauss, Sony Salzman and Cheyenne Haslett contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) -- Three people have died, and their bodies have been recovered after a small plane crash in Nebraska, authorities said.
The Dodge County Sheriff's Office said that âa small plane was traveling along the Platte River south of Fremont when it crashed into the riverâ on Friday night.
âThe three occupants of the plane have been recovered and are confirmed deceased,â authorities continued. âThose identities will not be released at this time pending next of kin notification.â
The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board have now taken over the investigation. The cause of the crash is currently unknown.
The Dodge County Sheriffâs Office has asked the community to avoid the area until further notice so that they may continue with their investigation.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Hyundai vehicles on display at the New York International Auto Show on April 16, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Adam Gray/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) -- This weekend, consumers and auto enthusiasts will poke, prod and pepper brand specialists with questions about the latest vehicles on display at the Javits Center.
The annual New York International Auto Show, which officially opened to the public on Friday, is smaller and more condensed than previous years. There are still plenty of vehicles to check out up close, such as the 2026 Hyundai Palisade, Kia K4 Hatchback and EV4, plus Genesis, Toyota, Subaru and Volkswagen introduced new vehicles and concepts.
Of course, one overarching theme looms large: Will these new vehicles be subject to the Trump's administration's 25% industry tariff? Consumers went out in force last month to scoop up available cars, trucks and SUVs before prices inched higher, helping the industry report record sales. In fact, nearly 1.6 million vehicle units were purchased, marking a month-over-month increase of 29.6% and a year-over-year increase of 10.3%, according to Cox Automotive data.
What will happen to new vehicle prices this summer, when temporary pricing pauses announced by automakers disappear? And as uncertainty dominates, how will automakers -- from mainstream to ultra luxe -- respond?
ABC News spoke to various auto executives and industry watchers about the future of the industry. The conversations below have been edited for clarity and space.
Sean Gilpin, chief marketing officer, Hyundai Motor America
Hyundai is a very customer-centric brand, a people-centric brand. We just launched a campaign reminding customers that we're not increasing MSRPs for the next 60 days (ending June 2). What we saw in the some of data and surveys is that customers don't know how a tariff works but they know things will get more expensive potentially, so we wanted to get the message out there.
The June 2 date could be extended. The best medicine for our business is to keep selling cars. We think this message is resonating with customers. We've seen a big uptick in our shopping activity, in customers who are new to the brand and visiting the site for the first time. Dealer traffic is up.
We have a plant in Alabama. The Tucson, our best-selling vehicle, is built there. The Santa Fe is also built in the Alabama plant. We had a grand opening of our Metaplant near Savannah, Georgia, two weeks ago, and 300,000 vehicles will come off the line in phase one. Phase two will bring capacity to 500,000 vehicles. We're continuing to invest here and grow in terms of our footprint. The U.S. is the No. 1 market for Hyundai. We also recently announced a commitment to build a steel plant in Louisiana.
Tony Quiroga, editor-in-chief, Car and Driver
The tariffs make everything a sort of unknown. I've been telling anyone who's in the market in the next year to start shopping now. Inexpensive cars are going to get more expensive because so many are built outside of the U.S. Nissan builds the Kicks, Versa and Sentra in Mexico. Chevy builds the Trax in South Korea, which would be subject to be a big tariff. A lot people could be priced out of the market. If you're in that market, you should definitely be considering buying a car now.
The tariff situation is unsettling and weird and everybody is just sort of wondering what's going to happen and hoping for the best I think.
Vinay Shahani, senior vice president of U.S. marketing and sales, Nissan Americas
The market is healthy right now. There's a lot of shopping, and a lot of cross-shopping, that's happening. We feel really good about the activity out there.
We have plenty of on-ground inventory that's protected from tariffs today. We're very fortunate as a company that we have a very strong industrial footprint here in the U.S. Between Tennessee and Mississippi we produce a lot of vehicles that we sell here in the U.S. There are six models built in the U.S. between Nissan and Infiniti.
The Rogue is currently built at the Smyrna Assembly Plant in Tennessee as well as in Japan. Now we're saying we're going to increase the production of the Rogue in the U.S because it makes sense to do that and we can dial up production to deliver more U.S.-built Rogues. We're also looking at subsequent new vehicles that we're going to launch and saying, how can we optimize our footprint and bring as much as we can to the U.S.? It's already happening -- we're moving production of the Rogue from Japan. The supply and manufacturing teams are already all over it.
Starting at the end of March, we started to see increased activity and it's carried through for the month of April. We have basically said we're holding our pricing between April and May. Then we will evaluate the situation after June 2. In this dynamic environment, where things are changing constantly, you can't plan too far out.
Steven Center, chief operating officer, Kia America
Tariffs are a whole different kettle of fish as they say. Product cycles are long -- they're five, six, seven years or longer. Automakers have long planning horizons and you always want to have a shorter supply line as possible. We learned that during the pandemic. And you always want to build things closer to where you're selling them.
To build a factory takes years of planning and execution. It's very difficult to find a location for an auto plant. You need a lot of space, you need suppliers nearby, you need rail heads to bring in the materials. Most importantly you need a labor pool. And this country is in a state of zero unemployment. So where are you going to find people?
Erin Keating, executive analyst, Cox Automotive
Automakers have been fairly mute on tariffs -- there haven't been any big reveals on how they're going to manage the cost. My advice: if you are in the market, and have been looking to buy a car, go to the dealer and buy one. If you're just worried cars will get more expensive, wait it out. I wouldn't rush ahead to make a decision -- things could change.
There will be a grand redistribution of market share over the next few months. Whoever can capitalize on the frenzy of the consumer will win the day, at least in the second quarter. We've seen increased marketing from automakers and increased shopping behavior on Autotrader and Kelley Blue Book. The lending environment is looser now than in the past. There is still pent-up demand in the market.
We saw a big sales jump in March and will see another in April. Sales though could peter out in May. Automakers are trying to hold pricing right now ... though prices will increase to some degree across the board. At the dealer level, floor planning is not cheap. You don't want to keep inventory on the lot for a long time. If inventory goes quickly, you will have to replenish.
Ford and Honda have relatively low exposure to the tariffs. Toyota also has a lot of strength in the U.S. market in terms of manufacturing.
Vehicle parts are the bigger component of the tariff challenge. It's so difficult to move production to the U.S. Brands are impacted separately; it really comes down to specific models. Vehicles built in the U.S. will get hit with tariffs because of the componentry. The 25% steel and aluminum tariffs are also hitting automakers.
I stress to consumers that it's good to be informed of what's happening. There are things you can do, like vote with your wallet.
Mike Rocco, president and CEO, Bentley Americas
The U.S. is the largest market in the world for Bentley. In the luxury space your world revolves around building an order bank -- making sure you have customers in the system. We've told our retailers to communicate to their clients that we will price protect all retail orders that are in the system. If you have a car coming -- don't worry about it, you're protected. We also announced that in the month of April, any new orders that went into the system would be protected, not just the ones prior to the tariff.
We're looking at pricing on a month-to-month basis. There's a lot of fluidity and things are changing. We haven't had any [vehicle order] cancellations. Our No. 1 priority is to protect our clients and to protect our retailers.
I was recently in Palm Beach and Naples, Florida, talking to 70-80 clients. The feeling I got from customers I spoke to was that they'd have to pay whatever the tariff is ... everyone recognized that the tariff would eventually be passed on to the customer.
Andrea Soria, general manager, Maserati North America
We live day by day. We keep monitoring. We are currently not shipping cars from Italy. It's a very fluid situation. Every day you have different news. If nothing changes we will need to make some decision. We cannot absorb the tariffs entirely. We hope there will be some negotiation coming, some solution, something that will be a little bit more reasonable.
I think everyone in the industry is trying to adjust the sales. My colleagues in Italy ask me every day [about the tariffs]. I say, I wish I had a better answer. Everyone is waiting right now. We protected all the orders that were in the system until April 4. We haven't seen anyone walking away [from an order] so far.
Tyson Jominy, vice president of data & analytics, J.D. Power
The auto industry is probably uniquely positioned to absorb the tariffs because sourcing time frames in the industry are so long. It takes so long to pivot to new ideas.
It's a completely global industry. Even companies that assemble the majority of their vehicles in the U.S. have parts coming in from overseas. Therefore, no one really is exempt from tariffs. We'll likely see some vehicles go away and automakers could cut back on marketing and reduce R&D costs to reserve cash. There's really little they can do in the short term ... and they're holding cards close to their chest. Everyone is super tight-lipped about their plans.
We saw the industry really take off at the end of March, when the tariffs kicked in the last week. March was one of the strongest months we've seen in four or five years. Some automakers may even set sales records in the first half of the year. We expect a very strong Q2 but could see volume losses in Q4 -- we know we can't continue at this pace.
The automakers locking in prices have higher inventory levels. An automaker would normally be skewered for having 100 days of supply on the ground, but that's a huge asset right now and buys you time. The tariffs may go away and you can see what your competitors are doing.
Our analysis says vehicles will have an 11% additional cost on average, or just shy of $5,000 per unit. But only 5% of the cost will be passed on to the consumer on average, or $2,300 per unit. You can't raise the price of a Hyundai Sonata by $7,000 for example -- that would be the equivalent of pulling out of the segment. Automakers may see negative margins on certain vehicles.
Models like the Porsche 911, Mercedes-Benz G-Class and Range Rover have true pricing power -- customers won't care [about a price increase].
I tell consumers not to rush out and buy a car. Ultimately making the right decision at a slightly more expensive purchase price would be the better decision for the long term.
NACOGDOCHES â A Nacogdoches man was arrested on Tuesday after three different types of illegal narcotics were discovered inside of his vehicle and home. According to the Nacogdoches County Sheriffâs Office, and our news partners at KETK, around 2 p.m. deputies conducted a traffic stop on the 600 block of W Main Street where they asked Michael Anthony Green, 56, of Nacogdoches, if they could search his vehicle and they were denied. Deputies then requested a K9 unit and the dog alerted to the presence of drugs, and a search was conducted. Officials said deputies found a large amount of cash and three different types of of illegal narcotics inside Greenâs vehicle including: Continue reading Nacogdoches man arrested after drugs found during traffic stop
MOUNT PLEASANT â Chapel Hill ISD has announced the hiring of their new head basketball coach and assistant athletic director, who will be bringing a wealth of experience to the school, according to our news partners at KETK. Colton Wager is joining Chapel Hill after various head coaching stints across East Texas, including stops at New Diana, West Sabine and Shelbyville. Throughout his coaching career, Wager has claimed a district and regional championship and earned 105 wins. âCoach Wager is known for his strong leadership, player development, and commitment to excellence on and off the court,â Chapel Hill ISD said.
TYLER â An Alto man has been sentenced to federal prison for drug trafficking violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Abe McGlothin, Jr. Robert Jessie Martin, 47, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine and was sentenced to 220 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker on April 17, 2025. Judge Barker also entered an order forfeiting to the government Martinâs 75 acre property located in Cherokee County. Continue reading Cherokee County man sentenced in drug trafficking conspiracy
CARTHAGE â Our news partners at KETK report that a juvenile has been arrested after allegedly making a threat to a local Carthage daycare. The FBI contacted the Carthage police department after a threat was made on social media âshowing daycare with alarming text overlayâ. An immediate investigation began where officials learned that the suspect was a juvenile and has since been taken into custody. The case will be referred to District Attorney and Juvenile Probation for prosecution, the Carthage police department said.
TEXAS – The New York Times reports that with a big win for school vouchers in Texas in the early hours of Thursday morning, the private-school choice movement conquered the last major Republican-led state. Next up, the rest of the country. Voucher advocates will now turn their attention to Washington, D.C., where Republican allies are advancing a bill that could force the concept even on Democratic states that have resisted for decades. In President Trump and Republican leaders in Congress, voucher proponents have friends in the highest of places. They also have a plan for a federal private-school choice program that could pass this year with simple majorities in the House and the Senate. âItâs a monumental and cascading moment for the school choice movement,â said Tommy Schultz, chief executive of the American Federation for Children, a private-school choice advocacy group.
In recent years, the nationâs Republican-dominated and Democratic-dominated states have gone their separate ways on fundamental issues such as abortion rights, health insurance, climate change and energy policy. On education, red states, in a remarkable procession, have adopted measures to use taxpayer dollars to finance private school tuition and home-schooling. In many cases, Washington has let the states drift apart. Vouchers might be different. A national bill would bring private-school choice to states where Democrats and teachersâ unions have always been successful in quashing the concept, contending that vouchers could drain resources from public education, diminish learning standards and leave the most disadvantaged children warehoused in poorly funded public schools. The federal legislation is structured as a $10 billion tax credit for donations to nonprofit groups that offer private-education scholarships, and as such, it could be included as part of a giant budget reconciliation bill expected to be assembled this summer. If so, it would need only 51 votes in a Senate where Republicans hold 53 seats.
Alicia Silverstone is "totally buggin,'" because a Clueless TV series is in development.
Good Morning America has learned of the new series, which will star Silverstone in her iconic role as Cher Horowitz.
The actress will also co-executive produce with Amy Heckerling and Robert Lawrence. Josh Schwartz, Stephanie Savage and Jordan Weiss will executive produce and co-write the series.
Silverstone took to Instagram on Thursday to share the news.
"Totally buggin'⊠in the best way (Swipe to see why)," she wrote in the caption of the post, which featured a screenshot of a Variety article, as well as a gif and a photo of her character, Cher.
The new series, which will stream on Peacock, is a follow-up to the 1995 film, a coming-of-age teen comedy that follows Cher, a shallow, rich and socially successful teen from Beverly Hills who plays matchmaker with her teachers and friends and helps the new girl in school, Tai (Brittany Murphy), gain popularity after a makeover.
The film was a loose adaptation of the Jane Austen novel Emma.
In addition to Silverstone and Murphy, the film starred Stacey Dash, Paul Rudd, Donald Faison and Elisa Donovan.
(AP) â The American Civil Liberties Union on Friday asked two federal judges to order the Trump administration not to deport any Venezuelans held in northern Texas under an 18th century wartime law, contending that immigration authorities appeared to be moving to restart removals despite the U.S. Supreme Courtâs restrictions on how it can use the act.
The group has already sued to block deportations under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 of two Venezuelans held in the Bluebonnet Detention Center and is asking a judge to issue an order barring removals of any immigrants in the region under the law. In an emergency filing early Friday, the ACLU warned that immigration authorities were accusing other Venezuelan men held there of being members of the Tren de Aragua gang that would make them subject to President Donald Trump’s use of the act.
The act has only been invoked three previous times in U.S. history, most recently during World War II to hold Japanese-American civilians in internment camps. The Trump administration contended it gave them power to swiftly remove immigrants they identified as members of the gang, regardless of their immigration status.
The ACLU and the group Democracy Forward sued to halt deportations under the act. The U.S. Supreme Court allowed deportations to resume, but ruled unanimously they could proceed only if those about to be removed had a chance to argue their case in court and were given âa reasonable timeâ to contest their pending removals.
Federal judges in Colorado, New York and southern Texas promptly issued orders barring removal of detainees under the AEA until the administration provides a process for them to make claims in court. But there’s been no such order issued in the area of Texas that covers Bluebonnet, which is located 24 miles north of the city of Abilene in the far northern end of the state.
District Judge James Wesley Hendrix this week declined to bar the administration from removing the two men identified in the ACLU lawsuit because ICE filed sworn declarations that they would not be immediately deported.
But the ACLU’s Friday filing includes sworn declarations from three separate immigration lawyers who said their clients in Bluebonnet were given paperwork indicating they were members of Tren de Aragua and could be deported by Saturday. In one case, immigration lawyer Karene Brown said her client, identified by initials and who only spoke Spanish, was told to sign papers in English.
âICE informed F.G.M. that these papers were coming from the President, and that he will be deported even if he did not sign it,â Brown wrote.
The ACLU asked Hendrix to issue a temporary order halting any such deportations. Later on Friday, with no response from Hendrix, the ACLU asked District Judge James E. Boasberg in Washington to issue a similar emergency order, saying they had information that detainees were being loaded on buses. Boasberg is the judge who originally ruled on the first Alien Enemies Act case, and found there’s probable cause that the Trump administration committed criminal contempt by disobeying his ruling, only to see the Supreme Court rule that only judges where migrants are being held have jurisdiction to halt their removal.
ICE said it would not comment on the litigation.
Also on Friday, a Massachusetts judge made permanent his temporary ban on the administration deporting immigrants who have exhausted their appeals to countries other than their home ones unless they are informed of their destination and given a chance to object if they’d face torture or death there.
Some countries, like Venezuela, do not accept deportations from the United States, which has led the Trump administration to strike agreements with other countries like Panama to house them. Venezuelans subject to Trump’s Alien Enemies Act have been sent to El Salvador and housed in its notorious main prison.
(AP) â The U.S. has 800 cases of measles nationwide as of Friday, and two more states identified outbreaks this week.
Texas is driving the high numbers, with an outbreak centered in West Texas that started nearly three months ago and is up to 597 cases. Two unvaccinated elementary school-aged children died from measles-related illnesses near the epicenter in Texas, and an adult in New Mexico who was not vaccinated died of a measles-related illness.
Other states with active outbreaks â defined as three or more cases â include Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Oklahoma, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Mexico. The U.S. has more than double the number of measles cases it saw in all of 2024.
Measles is caused by a highly contagious virus thatâs airborne and spreads easily when an infected person breathes, sneezes or coughs. It is preventable through vaccines, and has been considered eliminated from the U.S. since 2000.
Health experts fear the virus will take hold in other U.S. communities with low vaccination rates and that the spread could stretch on for a year.
In North America, an outbreak in Ontario, Canada has sickened 925 from mid-October through April 16. That’s on top of cases in Mexico that the World Health Organization has said are linked to the Texas outbreak. A large outbreak in Chihuahua state has 433 cases as of April 18, according to data from the state health ministry.
Here’s what else you need to know about measles in the U.S.
How many measles cases are there in Texas and New Mexico?
Texas state health officials said Friday there were 36 new cases of measles since Tuesday, bringing the total to 597 across 25 counties â most of them in West Texas. Four more Texans were hospitalized, for a total of 62 throughout the outbreak, and Parmer and Potter counties logger their first cases.
State health officials estimated about 4% of cases â fewer than 30 â are actively infectious.
Sixty-two percent of Texas’ cases are in Gaines County, population 22,892, where the virus started spreading in a close-knit, undervaccinated Mennonite community. The county has logged 371 cases since late January â just over 1% of the county’s residents.
The April 3 death in Texas was an 8-year-old child, according to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Health officials in Texas said the child did not have underlying health conditions and died of âwhat the child’s doctor described as measles pulmonary failure.â A unvaccinated child with no underlying conditions died of measles in Texas in late February â Kennedy said age 6.
New Mexico announced five new cases this week, bringing the stateâs total to 63. Three more people were in the hospital this week, for a total of six since the outbreak started. Most of the state’s cases are in Lea County. Two are in Eddy County and Chaves and Don?a Ana counties have one each.
State health officials say the cases are linked to Texasâ outbreak based on genetic testing. New Mexico reported its first measles-related death in an adult on March 6.
How many cases are there in Kansas?
Kansas has 37 cases in eight counties in the southwest part of the state, health officials announced Wednesday.
Finney, Ford, Grant, Gray and Morton counties have fewer than five cases each. Haskell County has the most with eight cases, Stevens County has seven, Kiowa County has six.
The state’s first reported case, identified in Stevens County on March 13, is linked to the Texas and New Mexico outbreaks based on genetic testing, a state health department spokesperson said. But health officials have not determined how the person was exposed.
How many cases are there in Oklahoma?
Cases in Oklahoma remained steady at 12 total cases Friday: nine confirmed and three probable. The first two probable cases were âassociatedâ with the West Texas and New Mexico outbreaks, the state health department said.
A state health department spokesperson said measles exposures were confirmed in Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Rogers and Custer counties, but wouldn’t say which counties had cases.
How many cases are there in Ohio?
The Ohio Department of Health confirmed 30 measles cases in the state Thursday. The state county includes only Ohio residents.
There are 14 cases in Ashtabula County near Cleveland, 14 in Knox County and one each in Allen and Holmes counties, the state said. The outbreak in Ashtabula County started with an unvaccinated adult who had interacted with someone who had traveled internationally.
Health officials in Knox County, in east-central Ohio, say there are a total of 20 people with measles, but seven of them do not live in Ohio. In 2022, a measles outbreak in central Ohio sickened 85.
How many cases are there in Indiana?
Indiana has confirmed six connected cases of measles in Allen County in the northeast part of the state â four are unvaccinated minors and two are adults whose vaccination status is unknown. The cases have no known link to other outbreaks, the Allen County Department of Health said April 9.
How many cases are there in Pennsylvania?
In far northwest Pennsylvania, Erie County health officials declared a measles outbreak Monday after finding two new cases linked to a measles case confirmed March 30.
The state has had nine cases overall this year, six of which are not linked to the outbreak, including international travel-related cases in Montgomery County and one in Philadelphia.
How many cases are there in Michigan?
Montcalm County, near Grand Rapids in western Michigan, has three linked measles cases. State health officials say the cases are tied to a large measles outbreak in Ontario, Canada.
The state has seven confirmed measles cases as of Thursday, but the remaining four are not part of the Montcalm County outbreak. Michigan’s last measles outbreak was in 2019.
Where else is measles showing up in the U.S.?
There have been 800 cases in 2025 as of Friday, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and 10 clusters â defined as three or more related cases.
Measles cases have been reported in Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, and Washington.
Cases and outbreaks in the U.S. are frequently traced to someone who caught the disease abroad. In 2019, the U.S. saw 1,274 cases and almost lost its status of having eliminated measles.
What do you need to know about the MMR vaccine?
The best way to avoid measles is to get the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. The first shot is recommended for children between 12 and 15 months old and the second between 4 and 6 years old.
Getting another MMR shot is harmless if there are concerns about waning immunity, the CDC says. People who have documentation of receiving a live measles vaccine in the 1960s donât need to be revaccinated, but people who were immunized before 1968 with an ineffective measles vaccine made from âkilledâ virus should be revaccinated with at least one dose, the agency said.
People who have documentation that they had measles are immune and those born before 1957 generally donât need the shots because most children back then had measles and now have âpresumptive immunity.â
In communities with high vaccination rates â above 95% â diseases like measles have a harder time spreading through communities. This is called âherd immunity.â
But childhood vaccination rates have declined nationwide since the pandemic and more parents are claiming religious or personal conscience waivers to exempt their kids from required shots. The U.S. saw a rise in measles cases in 2024, including an outbreak in Chicago that sickened more than 60.
What are the symptoms of measles?
Measles first infects the respiratory tract, then spreads throughout the body, causing a high fever, runny nose, cough, red, watery eyes and a rash.
The rash generally appears three to five days after the first symptoms, beginning as flat red spots on the face and then spreading downward to the neck, trunk, arms, legs and feet. When the rash appears, the fever may spike over 104 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the CDC.
Most kids will recover from measles, but infection can lead to dangerous complications such as pneumonia, blindness, brain swelling and death.
How can you treat measles?
Thereâs no specific treatment for measles, so doctors generally try to alleviate symptoms, prevent complications and keep patients comfortable.
The new trailer for the Jordan Peele-produced sports horror film Him leaves it all on the field.
Marlon Wayans stars as a championship quarterback who offers to train a rising football star played by Tyriq Withers. But as we see in the teaser, his means of achieving success may have sinister consequences.
âIf you want to transcend the game, you have to dig deep,â Wayansâ character says in the trailer. âYour mind and your body have to be in sync. Talent is how hard youâre willing to work. No days off. No sleep. We grind. Iâm never good enough ... thatâs how great people think.â
He continues, âSo youâre gonna have to ask yourself: what am I willing to sacrifice?â
The film, directed by Justin Tipping, also stars Julia Fox, Tim Heidecker, Jim Jefferies, Akeem Hayes and Tierra Whack. It hits theaters Sept. 19.
Tyler – City of Tyler reports that downtown traffic signals are without power, and Oncor estimates power will be restored around 3:30 p.m. on Friday. However, if damage or additional repairs are identified during restoration, the estimated time could be extended. Street crews have placed stop signs and generators at main intersections. City officials remind drivers they should treat a “dark” traffic signal as an all-way stop. Meaning, each vehicle comes to a complete stop and takes its turn to proceed through the intersection.
Â
Zoë Kravitz may have just found her next directorial project.
The actress and filmmaker is in talks to direct How to Save a Marriage for Sony Pictures, Deadline reports.
This would mark her second directing gig after her debut film, Blink Twice.
Ross Evans wrote the script for How to Save a Marriage and Robert Pattinson is on board to produce it. Pattinson starred alongside Kravitz in the 2022 film The Batman. At the moment he is only set to produce this upcoming film.
Plot details are being left under wraps, although sources told Deadline the new film will have edgy undertones similar to that of Blink Twice.
Blink Twice was released in August 2024. It stars Naomi Ackie and Channing Tatum.
(TALLAHASSEE, Fla.) -- A Florida State University graduate student shared with ABC News the harrowing moments she was shot on campus and forced to play dead as the gunman reloaded.
Madison Askins, 23, one of seven people shot near FSU's student union on Thursday, said she was walking with a friend when she heard gunshots.
Askins and her friend "took off running," but "unfortunately, I fell," she said.
Her friend tried to help her up, but Askins said she was then shot in her buttocks. Her friend ran to safety, which she said was "valid."
As Askins lay wounded, she said she remained calm and thought about what her parents told her to do during active shooter drills: play dead.
"I released all the muscles in my body, closed my eyes and held my breath," she said. "And I would take short breaths in between when I needed to."
"At one point I did think [the gunman] had walked away, so I was going to shift over to grab my phone to share my last 'I love you's' with my family," she said.
âI wanted to call my dad, tell him I loved him,â she said, wiping away tears.
But she said she then heard the gunman approach and reload his weapon. She said she heard him calmly say, "Keep running."
"I know for certain if I was moving he would've shot me again," she said.
Askins said she "didn't want to entertain" the thought of dying, adding, "I knew I just needed to stay calm."
Eventually the gunman left and Askins said she stayed where she was until an officer came to her rescue.
"She packed my wound for me and she kept an eye on the surrounding area," Askins said. "I knew everything was over when we had multiple officers come over and they tell me they got him. I was able to breathe."
Two people were killed and six others were wounded in the shooting. All six injured are expected to survive, officials said.
Askins said she'll likely remain in the hospital for several more days. She still has the bullet lodged in her vertebrae and will have it removed in a later surgery, she said.
But Askins said this won't slow her down in finishing her studies and pursuing her dreams.
"I'm glad to be with my family, glad to keep moving forward. I've got an internship lined up. I'm so ready to go for it," she said.
"I'm not gonna let it tear me down," she added. "No, he doesnât get that."
The suspected gunman, 20-year-old FSU student Phoenix Ikner, was shot by officers and is also expected to survive, authorities said. A motive is not known.
