New Zealand reports first death linked to Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine

WELLINGTON (Reuters) -New Zealand reported its first recorded death linked to U.S. drugmaker Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine, the health ministry said on Monday, after a woman suffered a rare side effect leading to inflammation of her heart muscle. The news of the death comes as the country battles an outbreak of the Delta variant after nearly six months of being virus free. It followed a review by an independent panel monitoring the safety of the vaccines.

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  What you need to know about the coronavirus right now

  Reuters
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  New Zealand's Auckland stays in lockdown, officials report Pfizer-linked death

  Reuters

Rand Paul claims scientists won't study horse deworming drug ivermectin's use as a potential COVID cure because of their 'hatred for Trump'

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul said researchers won't study ivermectin because of their "hatred for Trump." Paul said he was "in the middle" on whether ivermectin should be used and wanted more research done. This is despite the FDA and CDC asking people to avoid the drug, which is used to deworm horses and cows.

What to Say to A Toxic Person, 6 Words to Defuse the Situation

Dealing with a difficult or toxic personality can feel like walking into a minefield. You never know what's going to set the person off or what they're going to demand of you. Instead of feeling like you're at the mercy of a toxic pal's moods and whims, write down this handy phrase and repeat it whenever you're asked to do something: "I have to think about it."

Lake Tahoe threatened by massive fire, more ordered to flee

Fire officials ordered more evacuations around the Tahoe Basin Sunday evening as crews dealt with a two-week old blaze they said was “more aggressive than anticipated," and continued to edge toward the pristine waters of Lake Tahoe. Today's been a rough day and there's no bones about it," said Jeff Marsoleis, forest supervisor for El Dorado National Forest. A few days ago, he thought crews could halt the Caldor Fire's eastern progress, but “today it let loose."

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  Crews battle to protect Lake Tahoe region from wildfire

  Associated Press
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  Caldor Fire: South Lake Tahoe now under evacuation warning as crews struggle to slow blaze

  USA TODAY

Mom of Marine slain in Kabul says Biden voters 'killed my son'

The mother of one of the slain Marines in Kabul last week said that people who voted for Joe Biden are responsible for her son's death. Kathy McCollum, mother of 20-year-old U.S. Marine Rylee, who was killed in the suicide bombings in Kabul along with 12 other service members, said on SiriusXM radio that “dementia-ridden” Biden is to blame for her son's death along with all who supported him. Twenty years and six-months-old, getting ready to go home from freaking Jordan to be home with his wife to watch the birth of his son, and that feckless, dementia-ridden piece of crap just sent my son to die,” McCollum said in the radio interview with host Andrew Wilkow on “The Wilkow Majority” show.

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  A 20-year-old Marine who was killed in the ISIS-K suicide bombing at Kabul airport was expecting his first child

  Business Insider
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  20-year-old Marine killed in Kabul blast was newlywed expecting to become a father in weeks

  The Telegraph

Here's How Much the Average Social Security Benefit Could Rise in 2022

When you retire, there's a really good chance you'll be reliant on Social Security to some degree to help make ends meet. When national pollster Gallup asked nonretirees about their expected reliance on Social Security when they hang up their work coats for good, just 15% in 2021 expected that it wouldn't be a necessary source of income. Considering how important Social Security is to the financial well-being of its more than 65 million current beneficiaries, there's arguably no decision that plays a bigger role than the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) announcement in the second week of October.

Hostile school board meetings have members calling it quits

A Nevada school board member said he had thoughts of suicide before stepping down amid threats and harassment. The vitriol at board meetings in Wisconsin had one member fearing he would find his tires slashed. School board members are largely unpaid volunteers, traditionally former educators and parents who step forward to shape school policy, choose a superintendent and review the budget.

Video shows 2 enormous great white sharks feasting on a dead humpback whale off Cape Cod

Dead whales are a "really easy" food source for great white sharks, researchers say. Two great white sharks were captured on video feasting on a dead humpback whale off Cape Cod, Massachusetts last week. The footage was shared on Captain John Boats' Facebook page, which is a tour company in NOAA's Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary.

Wedding certificate and cell phone: How a U.S. veteran's wife fled Afghanistan

Whipped by the Taliban and shoved from behind by other desperate Afghans, marriage certificate in hand, Sharifa Afzali thrust her cell phone at the U.S. soldier barring the Kabul airport gate. On the other end was her husband, a U.S. Army veteran in Oklahoma. "And by the grace of God, he let my wife and my interpreter through," Wright recounted to Reuters.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled Kabul so quickly fearing execution by the Taliban that aides who returned from a lunch break wondered where he'd gone

A chaotic picture has emerged of the Afghan government's last days as the Taliban seizing power. President Ashraf Ghani fled when aides were on a lunch break, believing militants had entered the presidential palace. The collapse of the Afghan government sparked chaos, as hundreds of thousands attempted to flee Kabul.

Oregon counties request trucks for bodies as deaths climb

The death toll from COVID-19 in Oregon is climbing so rapidly in some counties that the state has organized delivery of one refrigerated truck to hold the bodies and is sending a second one, the state emergency management department said Saturday. So far, Tillamook County, on Oregon's northwest coast, and Josephine County, in the southwest, requested the trucks, said Bobbi Doan, a spokeswoman for the Oregon Office of Emergency Management. Tillamook County Emergency Director Gordon McCraw wrote in his request to the state that the county's sole funeral home “is now consistently at or exceeding their capacity” of nine bodies.

A new set of fangs, another nightmare encounter for ‘terrified’ Lake Norman woman

A Lake Norman woman still recuperating from a snake attack in May said she was “traumatized” all over again by another unexpected encounter with a staring, slithering serpent. This snake rose from the grass near her Mooresville home, stared at her and followed as she fled with her two dogs, Heatherly Noble told The Charlotte Observer. “I was scared to death,” Noble said of Tuesday's episode.

Rival faction in Philippines' ruling party tries to oust Duterte from chairman role

A row between rival factions in the Philippines's ruling party escalated on Sunday when a group led by boxing star Emmanuel Pacquiao tried to remove President Rodrigo Duterte from his role as party chairman by electing their own. Refusing to recognise the decision, Duterte's supporters said he was still chairman and branded the other faction as "pretenders and attention seekers". Pacquiao, Duterte and their respective supporters have been trying to wrest control of the PDP-Laban party ahead of elections in May by unilaterally electing their own members to leading party roles.

'Very, very bad': Images show damage, flooding from Hurricane Ida

Hurricane Ida made landfall Sunday in southern Louisiana as a ferocious Category 4 storm, tearing roofs from a hospital and homes, flooding roads and sending ferries adrift. There was a report of one fatality in Prairieville after a victim was apparently struck by a falling tree, the Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office said. Jefferson Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng told reporters earlier Sunday that the only road into Grand Isle, a barrier island south of New Orleans that is home to less 1,000 people, was under six feet of water.

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  Hurricane Ida lashes Louisiana, knocks out New Orleans power

  Associated Press
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  Category 4 Ida hammers southern Louisiana

  Associated Press Videos

A Psychologist Says *This* Is the First Thing You Should Do in the Morning for a Happier Day

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that's triggered by the change in seasons. Per the American Psychiatric Association, it affects roughly 5 percent of U.S. adults. Luckily, one way to perk up, per Barbara Nosal, Ph.D., chief clinical officer at Newport Academy, takes all of three seconds to try.

Mountain lion killed after attacking child in California

A mountain lion that attacked a 5-year-old boy and dragged the child across his front lawn in Southern California was shot and killed by a wildlife officer, authorities said Saturday. The 65-pound (30-kilogram) mountain lion attacked the boy while he was playing near his house Thursday in Calabasas and “dragged him about 45 yards across the front lawn, said Capt. Patrick Foy, a spokesman with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. The boy suffered significant traumatic injuries to his head and upper torso but was in stable condition at a Los Angeles hospital, Foy said.

Taliban 'brutally' killed a popular Afghan folk singer just days after it said 'music is forbidden' in Islam, former minister says

The Taliban killed a famous Afghan folk singer on Saturday, a former interior minister said. Fawad Andarabi was reportedly dragged from his village home and shot dead. The killing follows an interview with a Taliban spokesperson who said, "music is forbidden in Islam."

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  Family: Taliban kills Afghan folk singer in restive province

  The Independent
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  Taliban vows to purge education system of anything ‘against Islam’ as Afghan folk singer shot dead

  The Independent

2 brothers arrested; bodies found buried in Illinois yard

Police discovered two containers Saturday in a backyard in suburban Chicago, a few days after a man told investigators that the bodies of his mother and sister were buried there years ago. The man and a brother were also arrested, though no charges were filed while police try to confirm the identities of the remains, said Lyons Police Chief Tom Herion. The investigation began after officers were called to conduct a wellness check Thursday at the home in Lyons, 12 miles (19 kilometers) southwest of Chicago.

Dad grabs dying 24-year-old son’s gun after shootout with off-duty NYPD and opens fire

As a man lay dying on a Bronx street from a shootout with police, his father snatched the gun from his fallen son — and used it to continue the gun battle with cops, authorities said. Two off-duty cops spotted the son, Mike Rosado, 24, shooting at a man on Valentine Ave. near 180th St. in Tremont just after 4 a.m. Sunday, police said. The father and son had been in an argument with a group of people on the corner when it turned physical and the son pulled out the gun and fired at an adversary, cops said.

Matthew Mindler Dies: Former Child Star Who Went Missing Found Dead At 19

Former child star Matthew Mindler, who went missing from his rural Millersville University campus in Pennsylvania earlier this week, has been confirmed dead. The university confirmed his death with an announcement to the student body. It is with a grieving heart that I let you know of the death of 19-year-old Matthew Mindler from Hellertown, Pennsylvania, a first-year student at Millersville University.

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  Former child star Matthew Mindler dies at 19

  TODAY
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  Former Child Star Matthew Mindler Found Dead at 19 After Being Reported Missing

  E! News

How much impact could Sturgis rally have on COVID caseload?

Rumbles from the motorcycles and rock shows of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally have hardly cleared from the Black Hills of South Dakota, and the reports of COVID-19 infections among rallygoers are already streaming in — 178 cases across five states, according to contact tracers. In the three weeks since the rally kicked off, coronavirus cases in South Dakota have shot up at a startling pace — sixfold from the early days of August. While it is not clear how much rallygoers spread the virus through secondary infections, state health officials have so far reported 63 cases among South Dakota residents who attended the event.