What we know and don’t know about COVID-19

The new coronavirus outbreak centering in China, has led to the spread of a deluge of information, both reliable and unreliable. The WHO calls it an "infodemic." What do we know and don't know about COVID-19? The World’s Elana Gordon hosted a Facebook Live on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020 with Dr. Michael Mina of Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Full story - February 26, 2020
A group of American voters gathered at a BBQ restaurant in Mexico City to watch the Democratic presidential debate broadcast from Charleston, South Carolina, Feb. 25, 2020.

For overseas voters, a primary of their own

US citizens who live abroad and are registered under the Democratic Party will be able to cast their ballots in the Democrats Abroad primary, a little-known vote that could sway election results. 
Full episode - February 26, 2020
A man and a woman are shown with suitcases and wearing face masks while leaving the international arrivals terminal at Los Angeles International Airport.

Americans on alert for coronavirus after CDC warning

US health officials are now signalling that the spread of coronavirus appears inevitable in the United States. And, despite sporting events being postponed or canceled globally because of the coronavirus, the year's largest sporting event — the 2020 summer Olympics — are still scheduled for July in Japan. But officials from International Olympic Committee suggest that could change at any time. Plus, Scotland will soon become the only nation in the world to make tampons and sanitary pads available to women free of charge at various community centers.
Full story - February 26, 2020
A colorful entrance to a Walmart in Wuhan, China, is shown with several advertisements and two men nearby wearing face masks.

Agencies warn of coronavirus spread in US; EU sees more asylum applications; Jerusalem's 'green' cable car plan

Health agencies warn that the spread of the novel coronavirus in the US is a question of when, not if, and more patients test positive in Europe and the Middle East. Trump continues his ongoing battle with the US justice system. Are his actions playing into Russia's hands? In Scotland, parliament is set to approve plans that would make sanitary products freely available for women.
Full story - February 26, 2020
Tourists walk next to the display flight information at Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport, where cases of novel coronavirus has been confirmed in Barcelona, Spain February 26, 2020.

Banning travel is not the best way to contain the coronavirus, Ebola expert says

Closing borders and restricting travel could "drive people who are unwell underground," says Amy Pope, who led the US response to Ebola during the 2014 outbreak.
Full story - February 25, 2020
Iranian women wear protective masks to prevent contracting coronavirus as they walk in the street in Tehran, Iran, Feb. 25, 2020.

Iranians skeptical their government can handle the coronavirus outbreak

Iran’s death toll from the coronavirus increased to 16 on Tuesday — more than in any other country outside of China.
Full story - February 25, 2020
Dead snakes are preserved in jars at a snake farm in Zisiqiao village, Zhejiang province, China, on Feb. 22, 2013.

China cracks down on wildlife trade amid coronavirus outbreak

The new regulation expands on existing rules that ban the trade of rare and endangered species. All terrestrial exotic animals, both bred in captivity and caught in the wild, are now prohibited.
Full story - February 25, 2020
Adela Diaz, who will be a first-time voter in 2020, poses on her campus at the University of Arizona in Tucson.

The top issue for one Arizona first-time voter? Health care.

As the 2020 presidential campaign unfolds, Adela Diaz is keeping her eye on one main issue: health care. The public health major at the University of Arizona will soon be a first-time voter. And this year, Latino voters like Diaz are projected to be the biggest minority voting bloc in the country.
Full episode - February 25, 2020
Women are shown through reflecting glass with one wearing a face mask and a hooded jacket.

The coronavirus death toll grows in Iran

Iran's coronavirus death toll rose to 16 on Tuesday, the highest outside of China, and real extent infections could be much higher — increasing the country's international isolation as health authorities move to accelerated emergency measures to curb the epidemic's global spread. And, it was a brief state visit, but on his way out of India, President Donld Trump said he asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi about religious freedom. Also, researchers at Georgia Tech have devised a mathematical model for making the perfect fried rice.  
Full episode - February 25, 2020
A man is shown laying next to a large turtle shell the size of a midsize car.

10: Evidence of car-sized turtles found in Colombia

From The World and PRX, this is The Number in the News. Today’s number: 10. While evidence of giant turtles first emerged in Venezuela in 1976, new research uncovers the first full-sized, 10-foot-long shell that once belonged to what's believed to be the largest turtles in history. A team of researchers from Venezuela, Brazil and Colombia spent six years searching, gathering, processing and researching the giant shells. The giant turtles would have dwarfed humans and were the size and weight of a modern-day, midsize car. In this week’s special feature of The Number in the News, lead researcher and associate professor Edwin Cadena shares what the turtles were like when they lived 7-13 million years ago as well as what caused them to go extinct. The Number in the News is a daily flash briefing for your smart speaker that we’re featuring as a special here in The World’s podcast feed. Listen to The Number in the News every morning to hear a shareable story in just two minutes. It’s one number you won’t forget, plus why it’s in the news today. Click here to add The Number in the News to your smart speaker News Briefing on an Amazon or Google smart speaker. Produced by The World’s Bianca Hillier.
Full story - February 25, 2020
The Dome of the Rock is shown in the distance in a wide framed photograph of Jerusalem's Old City.

Jerusalem's 'green' cable car plan is challenged in Israel's top court

Rising across Jerusalem to the edges of the Old City, a new cable car plan intended to tackle congestion would pass over the Palestinian territories, sparking controversy.

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