Flu vaccine more effective this year
NEW YORK – The flu vaccine is doing a better job this year.
Preliminary data suggest it is 59 percent effective. That’s a big improvement from last winter’s nasty flu season when the vaccine was less than 20 percent effective.
It’s been a milder flu season so far, though health officials said it has not yet peaked.
Heavy snow, strong winds whip through Midwest
CHICAGO – A powerful storm brought heavy snow and biting winds to parts of the Midwest on Wednesday, leading to mass flight cancellations at Chicago airports and school closings in several states.
Airlines cancelled more than 1,000 flights to and from Chicago’s major airports. Most were at O’Hare, but Southwest Airlines cancelled all of its departures out of Midway for the day.
The heaviest snow was expected in northern Indiana, where powerful winds blowing off Lake Michigan could keep snow piling up past midnight and bury the area in up to 18 inches.
In Michigan, the winds were so strong, they caused the Saginaw River to swell and appear to flow backward, though it remained well below flood stage, The Bay City Times reported.
Russian leader pushes Syria truce deal amid skepticism
BEIRUT – Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke Wednesday with key players in the Syria conflict, including President Bashar Assad, ahead of a U.S.-Russia-engineered cease-fire, as the opposition voiced concerns that the truce due to begin later this week will only benefit the Syrian government.
Government troops backed by Russian warplanes waged fierce battles to regain control of a strategic road southeast of Aleppo from the Islamic State group. The extremist group seized the town of Khanaser and surrounding hills on Tuesday, cutting the main land route to Aleppo.
The truce agreement, which is set to take effect at midnight Friday local time, does not cover the Islamic State group, Syria’s al-Qaida branch known as the Nusra Front, or any other militia designated as a terrorist group by the U.N. Security Council.
It’s not clear exactly where along Syria’s complicated front lines the fighting would stop and for how long – or where counterterrorism operations could continue. Also unresolved are how breaches in the truce would be dealt with.
200 at Miami University of Ohio sick from norovirus
OXFORD, Ohio – Miami University of Ohio says some 200 students have been sickened in a norovirus outbreak.
It’s the latest U.S. school to be hit by the highly contagious virus, which also affected some 100 students at the University of Michigan and 200 at Ursinus College in Pennsylvania in recent days.
School officials have urged students at Miami to step up hygiene efforts with frequent handwashing and disinfecting. Symptoms include vomiting, diarrhea and nausea.
Associated Press
