A new threat has been added to the risks posed by fireworks — they can release toxic metals that can damage your lungs. These metals give fireworks their colors, according to researchers who found harmful levels of lead in two of 12 types of commercially available fireworks they tested. “While many are careful to protect themselves from injury from explosions, our results suggest that inhaling firework smoke may cause longer-term damage, a risk that has been largely ignored,” said study senior author Terry Gordon, a professor in the Department of Environmental Medicine at NYU Langone Health in New York City. Gordon and his colleagues collected emissions from a dozen fireworks commonly used in the United States by setting them off in a lab chamber, then exposed mice and human lung cells to low doses of the particles, to mimic an average person’s daily exposure to air pollutants. Along with the lead finding, they found that particle emissions from five types of fireworks significantly increased oxidation, a chemical process in the body that can damage or even kill cells if left unchecked. Fireworks often contain titanium, strontium and copper, in addition to lead, according to the researchers. They also analyzed 14 years’ worth of air quality samples from dozens of sites across the United States by the Environmental Protection Agency throughout each year, and found that…  read on >

The daily tally of new U.S. coronavirus cases passed 50,000 on Wednesday, as more reopening plans across the country were slowed amid fears of spiking infections. A glimmer of hope emerged on the economic front when unemployment numbers were released by the U.S. Labor Department Thursday morning: 4.8 million jobs were added to the national workforce last month, the second straight monthly gain after losing more than 20 million jobs in April, The New York Times reported. Still, 1.4 million Americans filed jobless claims last week, the 15th straight week that unemployment claims have surpassed 1 million. Meanwhile, rapidly rising infection counts continued to thwart reopening plans: On Wednesday, California, Michigan and New York City became the latest to rethink parts of their reopening strategies, the newspaper reported. California shut down bars and halted indoor dining at restaurants in much of the state, while New York City decided not to let its restaurants resume indoor service next week, as originally planned. California, Texas, Arizona, North Carolina and Georgia all broke previous single-day records for new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, while Louisiana’s infection rates continued to rise, the Washington Post reported. In some states, COVID-19 death counts are also rising: Arizona reported a record number of coronavirus-related deaths Wednesday as intensive care units approached 90 percent capacity, the Post reported. Things could get even worse. On…  read on >

The number of new U.S. coronavirus cases broke yet another record on Tuesday, as the nation’s top infectious disease expert warned that daily counts could soon top 100,000 a day if the spread of COVID-19 isn’t slowed. “I can’t make an accurate prediction, but it is going to be very disturbing, I will guarantee you that, because when you have an outbreak in one part of the country, even though in other parts of the country they are doing well, they are vulnerable,” Dr. Anthony Fauci said during a Senate committee hearing on Tuesday. “We’ve really got to do something about that, and we need to do it quickly,” Fauci testified during questioning from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). “Clearly, we are not in total control right now.” More than 47,000 new coronavirus cases were reported in the United States on Tuesday, with case counts spiking 80 percent in the past two weeks, The New York Times reported. Officials in eight states Alaska, Arizona, California, Georgia, Idaho, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas also announced single-day highs. With new cases spiking in the South and West, at least a dozen states and cities have slowed reopening plans, the Washington Post reported. It’s not just new infections that are climbing: COVID-19 hospitalizations are also spiking in seven states, the Post reported, suggesting that more than simply upped testing…  read on >

As U.S. coronavirus infections surged in many states, four of America’s top health officials plan to testify in Congress on Tuesday about how to safely reopen the country. Originally billed as an “update on progress toward safely getting back to work and back to school,” members of the Senate’s health and education committee will instead have to tackle the reality that reopening hasn’t proven safe or easy, The New York Times reported. Dr. Anthony Fauci will be joined at the hearing by Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn; and Adm. Brett Giroir, the assistant secretary for health. With new cases spiking in many parts of the country, at least a dozen states and cities have slowed reopening plans, the Washington Post reported. Not only case counts are climbing: COVID-19 hospitalizations are spiking in seven states, the Post reported. In Texas, Arizona, Nevada, South Carolina, Montana, Georgia and California, seven-day averages are up at least 25 percent from last week, the newspaper said. In California, coronavirus case counts have exploded, now surpassing 220,000 infections, the Times reported. Gov. Gavin Newsom has been forced to roll back the state’s reopening in some counties. On Monday, he said the number of people hospitalized in California had increased 43 percent over the past two…  read on >