Guvs, Army go their own way on Ebola
NEWARK, N.J. – The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday recommended new restrictions for people at highest risk for coming down with the virus, and symptom monitoring for those at lower risk. But some state governors and even an Army commander have gone beyond that guidance.
As contradictory state policies proliferate, the CDC’s Ebola recommendations mark an effort to create a national standard, one that would protect public health without discouraging people from helping fight its spread overseas.
The CDC now says even if they have no symptoms and are not considered contagious, people should stay away from commercial transportation or public gatherings if they have been in direct contact with the bodily fluids of someone sick with Ebola.
But quarantines are determined state by state in the U.S., and the CDC is empowered to only issue guidelines. And even within the federal government, authorities were improvising Monday: A U.S. Army commander in Italy said he and all his troops returning from Liberia would remain in isolation for 21 days, even though he feels they face no risk and show no symptoms.
A nurse who volunteered with Doctors Without Borders in Africa was released after being forced to spend her weekend in a tent in New Jersey upon her return, despite showing no symptoms other than an elevated temperature she blamed on “inhumane” treatment at Newark International Airport.
Markets eye Fed meeting
WASHINGTON – The global economy has slumped. Turmoil has gripped financial markets. And the U.S. job market, despite steady gains, still isn’t fully healthy.
Yet when the Federal Reserve meets again today, few foresee any major policy changes. The Fed is expected to complete a bond-buying program, which was intended to keep long-term interest rates low. And, to support the economy, it will likely reiterate it is in no rush to raise its key short-term rate.
The economy the Fed will discuss has been strengthening, thanks to solid consumer and business spending, manufacturing growth and a surge in hiring that’s lowered the unemployment rate to a six-year low of 5.9 percent.
Still, global weakness poses a potential threat to U.S. growth. The housing industry is still struggling. Most economists have said they think the Fed will start raising rates by mid-2015.
Sheriff: Shooter invited victims to lunch
MARYSVILLE, Wash. – A popular student responsible for a shooting at a Washington state high school on Friday invited his victims to lunch by text message, then shot them at their table, investigators said Monday.
Snohomish County Sheriff Ty Trenary said at a news conference that the five students were at a lunch table when they were shot by 15-year-old Jaylen Fryberg. Fryberg then committed suicide.
Detectives are digging through reams of text messages, phone and social media records as part of an investigation that could take months, Trenary said.
“The question everybody wants is, ‘Why?’” Trenary said. “I don’t know that the ‘why’ is something we can provide.”
Associated Press
