Author: mangakiko

California and Illinois on Monday declared health emergencies in their states regarding the monkeypox virus.

The governors’ proclamation will accelerate the administration of vaccines, the work of contact tracing, and prevention efforts, officials said.

The White House on Monday night bolstered its footing against the virus by confirming Bob Fenton and Demetre Daskalakis will be announced Tuesday as national monkeypox coordinator and as deputy, respectively.

Fenton helped lead the country’s mass vaccination effort for Covid-19 as the Federal Emergency Management Agency acting administrator. Daskalakis is director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s HIV prevention division.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the White House’s top medical adviser, said the pair represents “a really good combination” to tackle an illness that still presents some mysteries, including whether the virus can spread when a carrier has no symptoms.

The day’s moves follow declarations of emergency last week in New York state, New York City and San Francisco.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said in a statement Monday that his move would bring to the fight “a whole-of-government response” that will help fund vaccination outreach and research.

“We’ll continue to work with the federal government to secure more vaccines, raise awareness about reducing risk, and stand with the LGBTQ community fighting stigmatization,” he said.

The proclamation will allow emergency medical services workers to administer monkeypox vaccines, the governor’s office said.

The state’s response to the coronavirus pandemic will serve as a guide to launch vaccine clinics in targeted communities, according to Newsom’s statement.

State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, the author of several laws regarding LGBTQ+ issues, welcomed the declaration on monkeypox. “We need to use every tool we have to control it,” he said in a statement.

In Illinois, Pritzker said in a statement that his declaration will likewise give the Department of Public Health the full power of the state to distribute vaccines and to inform the public about the virus.

The illness “requires the full mobilization of all available public health resources to prevent the spread,” he said in the statement.

The Illinois declaration gives the state the ability to procure vaccines on an urgent basis, the governor’s office said.

The governor’s move “will open efficient lines of communication and cooperation across state lines, an essential step in tracking monkeypox and improving tools and processes to prevent and address it,” Illinois Department of Public Health Director Sameer Vohra said in the governor’s statement.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said the declaration was much needed.

“This emergency declaration brings a necessary, increased focus to the Monkeypox (MPV) outbreak we’re seeing here in Chicago, across our state, and around the country,” she said in a statement.

The states with the most monkeypox cases are New York (1,390), California (827), and Illinois (520), according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The vast majority of cases worldwide have been among men who have sex with men, according to the World Health Organization. However, anyone can get it from everyday contact with others, and even with animals, experts say.

Common symptoms include a rash with lesions, malaise, fever and swollen lymph nodes, health officials say. Chills, headache and muscle pain have also been reported for the illness, which usually lasts two to four weeks, according to the CDC.

Dennis Romero

Dennis Romero is a breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital.

Lindsey Piper and Associated Press contributed.

Amid an ongoing legal battle over the 2020 election probe in Georgia, Sen. Lindsey Graham (RS.C.) has added former President Donald Trump’s first White House counsel, Donald McGahn, to her legal team.

Graham continues to fight a subpoena ordering him to appear before a grand jury in Fulton County’s criminal investigation into efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election in the state.

McGhan’s name appeared on a recent legal filing alerting the Fulton County Superior Court that Graham would be moving his challenge to the Northern District of Georgia, as he continues his fight against the subpoena, which he first began last month.

Asked by ABC News on Monday why he brought McGahn on board, Graham said, “He’s he’s a really good guy in this area.”

“I’ve known him, he was a good choice I thought,” Graham said. “That’s sort of his area of ​​practice.”

Graham was subpoenaed last month as part of the Fulton County district attorney’s criminal probe into Trump’s efforts to overturn Georgia’s election results.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis officially launched the investigation in February 2021, sparked in part by the phone call Trump made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in which he pleaded with him to “find 11,780 votes,” the exact number Trump needed to win Georgia.

Graham accepted service of the subpoena, which identifies him as a “necessary and material witness,” last week, after agreeing with the Fulton County prosecutors to drop challenges to the subpoena in South Carolina and Washington, DC, and bring any future challenges in Georgia .

As part of his argument to quash the subpoena, Graham says that he was acting “within [his] official legislative responsibilities” as a senator and chairman of the Judiciary Committee when he allegedly made calls to Georgia officials in the wake of the 2020 election.

During those calls to Raffensperger and others, Graham allegedly asked about “reexamining certain absentee ballots cast in Georgia in order to explore the possibility of a more favorable outcome for former President Donald Trump,” the judge wrote in a filing in the case.

“[Graham] possesses unique knowledge concerning the substance of the telephone calls, the circumstances surrounding his decision to make the telephone calls, the logistics of setting up the telephone calls, and any communications between himself, others involved in the planning and execution of the telephone calls, the Trump Campaign, and other known and unknown individuals involved in the multi-state, coordinated efforts to influence the results of the 2020 election in Georgia,” the filing said.

During a radio interview last month, Graham was asked whether he would “give up the fight” over the subpoena, to which he responded, “No. God, no.”

He is scheduled to appear before the grand jury on the morning of August 23.

ABC News’ Trish Turner contributed to this report.

New Yorkers were largely split in their opinion of whether the US economy is currently experiencing a recession, a contrast from left-leaning media outlets united in their belief that the country is not experiencing an economic downturn.

“I don’t think we’re in a recession,” one New Yorker told Fox News Digital on Monday. “I think technically—some indicators might, people might say that. It doesn’t sound like we’re in a recession to me.”

He went on to acknowledge rising prices, but said that the White House and the Fed are “doing their best,” and that the economy overall is doing pretty well, especially in comparison to other countries.

Another woman that Fox News Digital spoke to near Times Square said it doesn’t feel like the country is currently experiencing a recession, though it did feel like it before the city reopened following stringent COVID restrictions.

COLBERT SKEWERS MSNBC, CNN FOR REDEFINING RECESSION, CLAIMS THEY’RE NOT ‘QUALIFIED’ TO SPEAK ON ISSUE

A New Yorker told Fox News Digital she did not believe the country was currently experiencing a recession, and said things have gotten better since COVID restrictions were lifted.
(FoxNewsDigital)

“I don’t feel like there’s a recession, you know they opened up—there’s a lot of jobs. We’re still in a pandemic, however I don’t feel like it’s a recession because people are working. They can go out ,” she added.

A man who spoke near Radio City Music Hall said some parts of the economy are feeling the pain a “little bit harder” than other sectors, but for many people in New York City it is “life as usual.”

“The inflation hurts a bit. But, these things come and go. It’s a cycle. I think we’ll recover pretty nicely, and I’m optimistic. I don’t like to label things a recession just because the media is saying one thing or another—I think we’ll be fine,” he added.

But a number of other New Yorkers were adamant that the country is in the midst of a recession, and in some cases knocked the media and politicians for concluding otherwise.

RECESSION ‘WORD CHURN’ FROM DEMOCRATS IS NOT WORKING, WARNS WASHINGTON POST COLUMNIST

A New Yorker told Fox News Digital that the media and the White House are ‘changing the definition’ of a recession.
(FoxNewsDigital)

“It is a recession,” said another New Yorker. “They’re trying to change the definition, right? So I think the definition is two quarters, and then it’s a recession. So it’s been two negative quarters for the GDP, and they’re still saying it’s not a recession.”

I have added the media is trying to ignore “the fact” that there is a recession, and that their opinion changes depending on whether a Democrat or a Republican is in office.

Another New Yorker said she was not “super confident” in the current economy, saying rising costs in the city, especially with rent, are “out of control.” She also poured cold water on the idea that a strong labor market meant that a recession was not the correct definition.

“The people in power definitely need to be doing better,” she concluded.

PAUL KRUGMAN DECLARES US NOT IN A RECESSION, CLAIMS ‘NEGATIVITY BIAS’ IN MEDIA

This New Yorker said the US is experiencing a recession, and cited the rising cost of ‘everything,’ especially rent, in New York City.
(FoxNewsDigital)

The Washington Post, CNN, The New York Times and others embraced the White House definition of a recession last week after GDP numbers showed consecutive quarters of negative growth as the US economy enters a recession, and pundits on CNN, MSNBC, CBS, ABC and elsewhere also played up the notion of “fears” of a recession, rather than acknowledging the US was now, by definition, going through one.

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Other segments on CNN, CBS News, MSNBC, NBC News, and ABC News largely refrained from saying that the country is in a recession, pointing to job growth and consumer spending.