Fifteen years ago an unwelcome viral visitor entered the U.S., and we've been paying for it ever since.
The U.S recorded its first case of West Nile virus back in 1999. Since then, the disease has spread across the lower 48 states and cost the country around $800 million, scientists reported this week in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.
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Tom Brokaw, the NBC News correspondent who for years was one of America's favorite news anchors, has been diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a cancer that affects blood cells in bone marrow, the network says.
Saying that Brokaw "and his physicians are very encouraged with the progress he is making" as he undergoes treatment, NBC released a statement on Brokaw's behalf. Here it is:
"With the exceptional support of my family, medical team and friends, I am very optimistic about the future and look forward to continuing my life, my work and adventures still to come."
"I remain the luckiest guy I know."
"I am very grateful for the interest in my condition but I also hope everyone understands I wish to keep this a private matter."
Six months after Democratic Mayor Bob Filner left office in disgrace because more than a dozen women had stepped forward to accuse him of sexual harassment, San Diegans have chosen a Republican to take over.
On Tuesday, "Kevin Faulconer was elected by a wide margin over fellow Councilman David Alvarez," our colleagues at KPBS report. "The veteran Republican councilman soundly defeated his Democratic opponent 55 to 45 percent (with 86 percent of the vote counted.)"
The San Diego Union-Tribune says Faulconer's victory marks "a new chapter for the city" after Filner's "scandal-plagued tenure." Also, the Union-Tribune says:
"A Faulconer victory breathes new life into the local Republican Party by restoring its control of the mayor's office that its candidates have occupied for much of the past four decades. Faulconer also becomes the only Republican mayor of a top 10 U.S. city, making him one of the party's highest-profile leaders in the state.
"The results dashed the hopes of Alvarez to become San Diego's first Latino mayor and its youngest in nearly 120 years."
Carnival in Rio de Janeiro is a glittering affair that attracts tourists from all over the world. There is, however, a murky and sometimes violent underbelly to the celebrations that recently came under the spotlight after the murder of a top samba school official.
One evening last month, Marcello da Cunha Freire was leaving his office in Rio's Vila Isabel neighborhood when a car pulled up next to him.
"I was here just beside where it happened," says a witness who doesn't want to give her name for fear of reprisals. "I suddenly heard gunfire. I shut the door and hid and after a few minutes I heard at least six more shots. There was a lot of confusion, people shouting."
According to police, unknown assailants in a car opened fire on Freire, hitting him with three bullets. He was taken to hospital where he later died.
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