Health

Relatives of Vanisa Anifa, a 6-month-old orphaned girl who died of Ebola, attend her burial, in Bunia, Congo, Friday, June 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

Confirmed Ebola cases in Congo outbreak top 1,000 with 254 deaths, authorities say

Justin Kabumba And Constant Same Bagalwa, The Associated Press 3 minute read Updated: 6:51 AM CDT

BUNIA, Congo (AP) — Confirmed cases in the Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo have reached 1,003, including 254 deaths, officials said, as tracing those who had been in contact with patients remains a major challenge.

A total of 100 people have recovered in the outbreak concentrated in the Ituri province since it was declared on May 15, Congo’s Ministry of Health said Sunday. At least 365 patients are in hospitals or in isolation, it said.

The Ebola outbreak caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, which has no vaccines or treatment, was the worst ever in its first month. Officials admit there could be far more cases they still don’t know about and that the peak of the outbreak is still ahead.

Contact tracing remains a key issue for local authorities, who have only achieved a 55% coverage rate, the ministry said.

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Environment

Young boys prepare to dive in the Seine river, in Samois-sur-Seine, south of Paris, Friday, June 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

France restricts public alcohol consumption and outdoor sports as heat wave bakes parts of Europe

Oleg Cetinic And Angela Charlton, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

France restricts public alcohol consumption and outdoor sports as heat wave bakes parts of Europe

Oleg Cetinic And Angela Charlton, The Associated Press 5 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 3:29 PM CDT

PARIS (AP) — France endured sizzling temperatures on Sunday, with trains, concerts and sports events canceled and authorities cracking down on drinking alcohol in public, as an exceptional heat wave unfurled across parts of Europe.

Multiple drownings were reported as people sought relief in whatever water they could find.

About a third of France is under a “red alert” for heat, and high temperatures reached 40 C (104 F) in some areas, in a country where air conditioning isn’t widespread. The forecast for Monday is even hotter.

The Eiffel Tower and other Paris venues set up misting stations to cool down crowds. Tourists in Rome dunked in fountains.

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Updated: Yesterday at 3:29 PM CDT

Health

Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz meets with leaders of the Bolivian Workers' Central, or COB, in La Paz, Bolivia, Wednesday, June 17, 2026, after weeks of protests and road blockades across the country.(AP Photo/Juan Karita)

Bolivia’s president declares a state of emergency as road blockades choke supplies

Paola Flores And Isabel Debre, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Bolivia’s president declares a state of emergency as road blockades choke supplies

Paola Flores And Isabel Debre, The Associated Press 4 minute read Saturday, Jun. 20, 2026

LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — President Rodrigo Paz on Saturday declared a state of emergency that gives the military broad power to remove road blockades that have put a stranglehold on fuel and food supplies in Bolivia's seat of government and other major cities.

A wave of protests over the last five weeks has called for Paz to step down over austerity measures imposed by the government, including the cancellation of fuel subsidies, and other issues. The demonstrations have unleashed violent confrontations between dynamite-wielding demonstrators and riot police, leading to at least 365 arrests and 37 injuries, according to authorities.

At least 17 people have died, most of them linked to a lack of medical care caused by transportation disruptions, according to Bolivia’s ombudsman’s office and human rights organizations.

Barricades erected on key roads have effectively isolated the city of La Paz, triggering fuel and food shortages, paralyzing transportation and preventing patients from reaching hospitals — causing at least seven deaths for lack of medical attention, the government says.

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Saturday, Jun. 20, 2026

Health

FILE - Lauren Ellenburg, a nurse, prepares a combination measles, mumps and rubella vaccine for a patient at Tiger Pediatrics in Easley, S.C., March 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Mary Conlon, File)

Utah marks a year of battling measles, with no clear end in sight

Devi Shastri, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

Utah marks a year of battling measles, with no clear end in sight

Devi Shastri, The Associated Press 5 minute read Saturday, Jun. 20, 2026

Utah has spent the past year fighting measles outbreaks — a grim milestone that could affect whether the United States can keep its measles-free designation.

More than 680 people have gotten sick since the state's first outbreak began on June 20, 2025.

Unlike measles outbreaks in Texas, South Carolina and Arizona, the spread in Utah has been tough to contain to one region — infecting undervaccinated communities in nearly every county.

Measles popped up in healthcare settings, big-box stores and restaurants, and youth sporting events. In February, an exposure at a state high school wrestling championship sparked at least 46 cases among attendees.

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Saturday, Jun. 20, 2026

Health

A firefighter puts gear away after responding to an alarm in Pointe Claire, a borough of Montreal, Thursday March 7, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi

Ammonia leak at B.C. ice rink triggers shelter-in-place order, but no one hurt

The Canadian Press 1 minute read Preview

Ammonia leak at B.C. ice rink triggers shelter-in-place order, but no one hurt

The Canadian Press 1 minute read Friday, Jun. 19, 2026

LANGLEY - The City of Langley says an ammonia gas leak at an ice rink that triggered a shelter-in-place order has not resulted in any injuries.

The city says the order was lifted early Friday afternoon after the leak at Langley Twin Rinks.

It says in a statement that Langley City Fire Rescue Service responded to the reported leak at the facility at 5700 Langley Bypass.

The city says the leak was reported just before 7 a.m. and the building was evacuated.

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Friday, Jun. 19, 2026

Health

Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention Director-General Jean Kaseya speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Friday, June 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Amanuel Sileshi)

Africa CDC chief says the continent needs to invest its own funds in Ebola response, vaccine

Samuel Getachew And Evelyne Musambi, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

Africa CDC chief says the continent needs to invest its own funds in Ebola response, vaccine

Samuel Getachew And Evelyne Musambi, The Associated Press 3 minute read Friday, Jun. 19, 2026

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — African officials must step up financing to respond and develop vaccines for the Ebola outbreak in Congo and Uganda, the continent's top health agency said on Friday, warning that the continent cannot continue to rely on foreign partners for its health needs.

The outbreak has claimed more than 200 lives out of 894 confirmed cases since May 15, with up to 35,000 contacts, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. The number of cases is believed to be higher because the outbreak was confirmed weeks late.

Africa CDC Director-General Dr. Jean Kaseya told The Associated Press in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital, that the current outbreak — the worst ever at this stage — is yet another reminder for Africa to invest more in its health sector to reduce its reliance on foreign partners.

“If this outbreak was in Europe, the United States or other continents, they would already have developed a vaccine and medicine,” Kaseya said.

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Friday, Jun. 19, 2026

Health

Catholic nuns from the orphanage where Vanisa Anifa, a 6-month-old orphaned girl who died of Ebola, was staying, attends her funeral in Bunia, Congo, Friday, June 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

Mourners bury a 6-month-old Ebola victim in the Congo outbreak’s third orphanage death

Justin Kabumba And Wilson Mcmakin, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

Mourners bury a 6-month-old Ebola victim in the Congo outbreak’s third orphanage death

Justin Kabumba And Wilson Mcmakin, The Associated Press 3 minute read Saturday, Jun. 20, 2026

BUNIA, Congo (AP) — Mourners gathered Friday to bury a 6-month-old girl who died from Ebola earlier this week, the third child to die at an orphanage in eastern Congo as authorities have struggled to contain the latest outbreak.

Carrying a cross, people stood at a distance as the small coffin was lowered into the ground by masked and gloved health workers, and a Catholic priest prayed over her body.

“It’s a feeling of sadness because we have lost one of our own, a daughter of the church,” said Father Innocent Ndogo.

“As we have always said, the Lord gives, and the Lord takes away.”

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Saturday, Jun. 20, 2026

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Environment

Raccoon rabies outbreak still growing, Quebec public health officials say

Pierre Saint-Arnaud, The Canadian Press 1 minute read Preview

Raccoon rabies outbreak still growing, Quebec public health officials say

Pierre Saint-Arnaud, The Canadian Press 1 minute read Friday, Jun. 19, 2026

LONGUEUIL - Quebec public health officials are sounding the alarm as rabies cases continue to spread in regions to the south and east of Montreal.

The province has recorded 76 cases in 2026, only halfway through the year, compared to 93 for all of 2025.

Officials logged 104 cases over three years, during the province's last outbreak between 2006 and 2009.

Public health officials from the Montérégie and Estrie regions told a media briefing on Thursday that rabies has a 100 per cent mortality rate in humans and animals once symptoms appear.

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Friday, Jun. 19, 2026

Health

Protein products sit for sale at a grocery store, Wednesday, June 10, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

No whey: Small businesses grapple with global whey protein shortage

Ritika Dubey, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Preview

No whey: Small businesses grapple with global whey protein shortage

Ritika Dubey, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Friday, Jun. 19, 2026

When David Baillargeon placed an order for a batch of whey protein for his business last fall, his supplier turned it down.

"He's like, 'Bro, I told you. There's nothing left,'" Baillargeon said, founder of Canadian Premier Supplements, a small-scale contract manufacturer for protein supplements, which helps the likes of influencers and gym owners launch their own products.

Consumer appetites for protein have spiked in recent years, partly fuelled by social media trends promoting high-protein diets and the rise of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs that have users eating more nutrient-dense, high-protein foods. Businesses have taken notice. Store shelves are now packed with everything from protein-heavy nachos to pasta and breakfast cereal, while protein-laden coffee drinks are popping up on Starbucks and Tim Hortons menus.

But for manufacturers of whey protein — a low-calorie, easily digestible supplement — ramping up production is not quick and simple. That's left many struggling to keep up with the surge in demand.

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Friday, Jun. 19, 2026

Health

Surgical Services Minister Adriana LaGrange says the status quo isn't working as Alberta's UCP government invites surgeons to apply this summer to be able to charge patients for elective procedures. Surgical Health Minister Adriana LaGrange provides an update on what steps the government is taking related to allegations by former Alberta Health Services CEO Athana Mentzelopoulos, in Calgary, Alta., Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Alberta dual-practice doctors could begin offering private surgeries in fall

Lisa Johnson, The Canadian Press 2 minute read Preview

Alberta dual-practice doctors could begin offering private surgeries in fall

Lisa Johnson, The Canadian Press 2 minute read Thursday, Jun. 18, 2026

EDMONTON - Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's government will allow some physicians to offer privately paid surgical procedures while also working in the publicly funded system beginning in September.

It's inviting surgeons to apply this summer to be able to charge patients for elective procedures like hip and knee replacements outside their publicly funded practice.

Surgical Services Minister Adriana LaGrange says the status quo isn't working as too many Albertans are sitting in the queue too long to get surgery.

She says the change will attract doctors, increase capacity and cut down waits by allowing some patients to choose a paid option close to home.

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Thursday, Jun. 18, 2026

Health

Scott vetoes Vermont Legislature’s latest attempt at healthcare reform

Olivia Gieger/vtdigger, The Associated Press 5 minute read Thursday, Jun. 18, 2026

Gov. Phil Scott has vetoed S.190, a healthcare bill designed to fast-track premium savings for two groups of insurance customers: public school employees and people buying plans on Vermont’s Affordable Care Act marketplace.

The bill was one of the few healthcare reform initiatives the Legislature passed this session.

It would have sped up the state’s ability to begin using a cost-saving tool called reference-based pricing, but only for those two groups of insurance buyers.

In a Tuesday letter explaining his decision, Scott said he intends to use executive action to instead push forward parts of an insurance reform bill his administration put forward this session.

Health

FILE - Rosa Hernández shows a photo of her late daughter Rosaura Almonte in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Dec. 10, 2023. Hernández asked for an exception for her daughter to get an abortion in order to use chemotherapy as her leukemia treatment, but was denied because that would put the fetus at risk of death in the Dominican Republic where abortion is criminalized without exceptions. Both her daughter and daughter's 13-week-old fetus died in 2012. (AP Photo/Ricardo Hernandez, File)

Mother of pregnant teen with cancer who died challenges Dominican Republic’s strict abortion ban

Dánica Coto, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

Mother of pregnant teen with cancer who died challenges Dominican Republic’s strict abortion ban

Dánica Coto, The Associated Press 3 minute read Thursday, Jun. 18, 2026

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The mother of a teenage girl who died after doctors in the Dominican Republic delayed treating her for cancer because she was pregnant is challenging the country’s strict abortion ban.

Civil society groups including a Christian organization joined the challenge, arguing that the ban violates the rights to life, health, dignity and equality, and that such protections should be extended to pregnant girls and women.

The challenge was filed Wednesday in the country’s Constitutional Court.

The Dominican Republic has one of the strictest abortion bans in the region, criminalizing it without exception and regardless of circumstance. Women face up to two years in prison for having an abortion, while doctors or midwives could face five to 20 years.

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Thursday, Jun. 18, 2026

Health

Ebola cases increase almost 40% in a week as death toll passes 200

Wilson Mcmakin, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

Ebola cases increase almost 40% in a week as death toll passes 200

Wilson Mcmakin, The Associated Press 3 minute read Thursday, Jun. 18, 2026

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — The Ebola outbreak in Congo and Uganda has claimed more than 200 lives in its first month and is the worst known outbreak at this stage, with up to 35,000 suspected potential contacts, Africa’s Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday.

With 894 confirmed cases so far, the current outbreak is three times worse than a previous outbreak in Uganda in 2000, which had 281 cases at the same point, said Dr. Wessam Mankoula, a medical epidemiologist at Africa CDC.

The latest number of cases is believed to be higher because the outbreak was confirmed on May 15, weeks after it was suspected to have begun. The number of cases has increased 38% since last week and is now in 32 health zones across eastern Congo, said Mankoula.

The outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, which has no approved vaccines or treatments and was not tested for in the early days. The more common Zaire virus, for which there is a vaccine, was responsible for most of Congo’s past 16 outbreaks of the disease.

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Thursday, Jun. 18, 2026

Health

FILE - A sign marks an entrance to a Moderna building in Cambridge, Mass., May 18, 2020. (AP Photo/Bill Sikes, File)prnto

FDA panel backs first-of-its-kind flu vaccine using mRNA technology

Lauran Neergaard And Matthew Perrone, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

FDA panel backs first-of-its-kind flu vaccine using mRNA technology

Lauran Neergaard And Matthew Perrone, The Associated Press 5 minute read Thursday, Jun. 18, 2026

WASHINGTON (AP) — A new kind of flu vaccine moved a step closer to the U.S. market Thursday as federal health advisers recommended approval of the first made with the same mRNA technology that was key to ending the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Food and Drug Administration is evaluating Moderna's new shot, dubbed mFlusiva, for older Americans ahead of the winter flu season. Moderna is seeking full approval for the vaccine's use in people ages 50 to 64 — along with authorization for use in those 65 and older while it conducts additional testing.

The FDA's independent advisory committee evaluated Moderna's studies of the vaccine and voted unanimously that its benefits appear to outweigh any risks for both age groups. The FDA will consider that recommendation in making a final decision by early August.

Tens of thousands of Americans die from influenza every year, and older adults are among the most vulnerable. There are various types of flu vaccines already available in the U.S., including three specifically recommended for people 65 and older. But vaccines made with the Nobel Prize-winning mRNA technology are faster to manufacture than other types — something experts say might help if the shape-shifting flu virus mutates in a way that requires suddenly brewing new doses to match.

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Thursday, Jun. 18, 2026

Health

The offshore supply ship Paul A. Sacuta is seen moored in the port of St. John's, Nfld., Friday, June 23, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Radon in Newfoundland public housing a reminder of urgent national problem: experts

Sarah Smellie, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Preview

Radon in Newfoundland public housing a reminder of urgent national problem: experts

Sarah Smellie, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Thursday, Jun. 18, 2026

ST. JOHN'S - The Newfoundland and Labrador government recently found hazardous levels of a cancer-causing gas in some of its public housing units, prompting some experts to call for mandatory testing across the country.

The Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corp. tested for radon in 172 of its housing units as part of a pilot program with Health Canada and found 23 had levels exceeding federal health guidelines and needing remediation, a spokesperson said.

The public housing authority included some of those test results in a post to the provincial procurement website last month, looking for tenders from contractors that could install mitigation systems.

Kelley Bush, manager of Health Canada's national radon outreach program, applauded Newfoundland and Labrador's efforts and said provinces are stepping up to test public housing for the deadly, odourless gas. But she said there is more work to be done.

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Thursday, Jun. 18, 2026

Health

Gloria Masanka, a mother of two daughters, poses for a photo at her home in Kinshasa, Congo, Monday, April 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Samy Ntumba Shambuyi)

The pressure to have baby boys can harm African mothers’ health

Rodney Muhumuza, The Associated Press 6 minute read Preview

The pressure to have baby boys can harm African mothers’ health

Rodney Muhumuza, The Associated Press 6 minute read Thursday, Jun. 18, 2026

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — When Prosper Mbumba married, he expected to have only two children. But one had to be a son. Four daughters later, he and his wife were still trying.

Mbumba was eager to produce a male heir according to the customary demands of his Luba people in Congo.

“In my tribe, in my culture, that was like an insult, having only daughters,” the human rights activist said. “I should do my best to get more children, expecting to have a boy.”

He and his wife, Régine Ntumba, said they were relieved when the first of two sons was born. Mbumba, sitting with his wife in an open-air bar in the Congolese capital of Kinshasa, described finally feeling a “little satisfied.”

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Thursday, Jun. 18, 2026

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