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  MANILA, Philippines --- Sixteen people were killed in the aftermath of Typhoon Quinta (international name: Molave), the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said Thursday. In its latest situational report, the NDRRMC said a total of 16 dead, 22 injured, and four missing persons were reported in Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon), Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, and Palawan), the Bicol region, and Western and Central Visayas. The number of people affected is now at 242,220 or 57,742 families in 1,008 barangays in parts of Luzon and Visayas. Of these, 65,579 persons or 16,830 families took shelter in evacuation centers...

Keep on reading: NDRRMC: Typhoon Quinta death toll rises to 16

LUCENA CITY ---- Police arrested five alleged notorious drug pushers in a series of buy-bust operations in this city on Wednesday and Thursday. Lieutenant Colonel Romulo Albacea, Lucena City police chief, said anti-narcotics agents collared Niel Igloria after he sold P500 worth of shabu (crystal meth) to an undercover police officer in Barangay Ibabang Iyam around 8:30 a.m. Thursday. Authorities seized 10 plastic sachets of shabu from Igloria. Earlier, policemen also busted Joseph Ramos in a sting operation in another part of the village at 7:10 a.m. He yielded seven plastic sachets of meth. On Wednesday morning, anti-illegal drug operatives arrested May Morales, Rommel Lanci...

Keep on reading: Cops nab 5 ‘notorious’ drug pushers in Lucena

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said it will pay for any Covid-19 vaccine that is authorized or approved by the US Food and Drug Administration to allow for "broad vaccine access and coverage for all Americans."

MANILA, Philippines --- The second molecular laboratory in Camp Crame, Quezon City is now open and is currently conducting 90 tests daily, servicing mostly police officers, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Police General Camilo Cascolan revealed Thursday. "Yes, 90 tests today till it will be full blast," Cascolan said in a text message to confirm that the second laboratory was already operational and approved by the Department of Health (DOH). In a statement from the PNP Public Information Office, the second laboratory was put up at the PNP General Hospital last Sept. 11 to detect new COVID-19 infections at the police organization. PNP's first molecular laboratory at PNP C...

Keep on reading: 2nd virus lab in Camp Crame now operational

Vietnam deployed hundreds of soldiers and heavy machinery on Thursday to search for survivors after landslides triggered by torrential rains from Typhoon Molave, one of the strongest typhoons in the region in decades, the government said.

MANILA, Philippines --- Environmental health experts said there is an "urgent need" to boost efforts to ban the production, importation, and sale of lead paint, as they highlighted the need to protect children's brain development from lead and other toxic chemicals. During a recent webinar hosted by EcoWaste Coalition with International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN), speakers Dr. Sara Brosche and Dr. Bruce Lanphear noted the importance of concerted, decisive, and urgent action to prevent exposure to environmental contaminants linked with learning and developmental disabilities among children. The webinar, attended by 100 teleconference attendees and 400 Facebook live stream...

Keep on reading: ‘Urgent need’ to ban sale of lead paint — environmental health experts

Two sisters are being held on attempted first-degree murder charges in Illinois for allegedly stabbing a store security guard after being told they needed to wear a mask and use hand sanitizer.

  MEXICO CITY, Mexico -- Fear of dying from the coronavirus led Laura Villa to finally get around to doing what many Mexicans had put off until the pandemic struck -- making a will. While Mexicans happily accept a gift of a sugar skull with their name on it for the Day of the Dead celebration, they are less comfortable talking about matters of inheritance when it comes to discussions of death. "We Mexicans often leave things until 'manana' (tomorrow) and don't like to talk about wills. It's a bad omen," said Villa, a 49-year-old financial sector worker, and mother of two. Only five percent of Mexicans with assets to bequeath have drawn up a will, according to the Mex...

Keep on reading: In land of ‘manana,’ pandemic sparks rush for wills

MANILA, Philippines --- Manila residents may install the radio frequency identification (RFID) stickers on their vehicles through a drive-thru site at the Kartilya ng Katipunan City of Manila this weekend, the city government said Thursday. The drive-thru site is available from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. starting Oct. 31, Saturday until November 1, Sunday. Manila Mayor Isko Moreno's chief of staff Cesar Chavez shared the map as a guide for motorists who plan to have stickers installed on their vehicles. https://twitter.com/ConsINQ/status/1321620738902618112   In an online press briefing on Wednesday, Moreno said the installation site is only for "class one vehicles only" like s...

Keep on reading: Manila offers drive-thru RFID installation this weekend

Boeing announced it will cut an additional 7,000 jobs as its losses continue to mount following a plunge in revenue.

MANILA, Philippines --- For Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate, "little or nothing" will come out of the government-wide corruption probe ordered by President Rodrigo Duterte---as he asked if the investigation is "just for show." Zarate made the remark after Duterte ordered the Department of Justice (DOJ) to extend its probe on corruption beyond the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) mess and cover the entire government bureaucracy. "Little or nothing will come out of this especially since Pres. Duterte himself has a penchant for absolving his people even before an investigation has started like what he did to [Department of Health] Sec. Francisco Duque, DPWH Sec. [Mark] Vil...

Keep on reading: Zarate asks: Is this anti-corruption drive just for show?

MANILA, Philippines --- Two gun-for-hire suspects who were also in the business of selling illegal firearms were killedin an armed encounter with police officers in Pililia, Rizal on Wednesday, the Philippine National Police Anti-Kidnapping Group (PNP-AKG) said Thursday. In a statement, Police Brigadier General Jonnel Estomo, AKG chief, identified one of the suspects as Jake Pingal Anden, while the accomplice is still unidentified. Estomo said AKG Rizal operatives hatched a buy-bust operation against Anden in Sitio Kawayan in Barangay Halayhayin at 3:15 a.m. after receiving a tip from a confidential informant about the suspects' criminal activities of selling illegal firearms in th...

Keep on reading: 2 gun-for-hire suspects selling illegal firearms killed in Rizal encounter

When Rosa Inchausti and her colleagues started testing wastewater in Tempe, Arizona, it was 2018 and they were not looking for coronavirus. They were tracking the opioid epidemic.

Chef Kwok Keung Tung tosses the wok with one hand, using the other to stir with a metal spatula.

KIDAPAWAN CITY --- At least 51 families were displaced from their homes in a village of Matalam town, Cotabato province following a clash between government troops and New People's Army (NPA) rebels last Saturday, Oct. 24. The 30-minute clash occurred in Sitio Rudson of Barangay Arakan, resulting in the death of a certain Zaldy Gulmatico Pulido, whom the military identified as the leader of an NPA guerrilla front operating in the province. Haron Mantawil, Arakan village chief, said the displaced families have sought refuge at the village center. Mantawil said the villagers are still afraid to return home as tension remains high because Army troopers are still pursuing the rebels...

Keep on reading: 50 families displaced by clash between Army, NPA in Cotabato town

Andre Abram and his roommate were getting ready to shoot a video for his YouTube channel last week in Scottsdale, Arizona, when they were confronted by a man who used racial slurs after asking them what they were doing.

MANILA, Philippines --- Senator Cynthia Villar remains the richest member of the Senate while Senator Leila de Lima is the poorest, their latest statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) showed. As of December 2019, Villar posted a net worth of over P3.8 billion, an increase of over P279.6 million as compared to her declared wealth of more than P3.5 billion in June 2019. Joining her at the top of the list is boxing champ-turned-politician Senator Manny Pacquiao, who is the second richest senator with a net worth of P3,172,524,957. The third richest member of the chamber is Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto with a declared net worth of P567.4 million. H...

Keep on reading: Villar still richest senator with P3.8B net worth; De Lima poorest

Days after Eli Lilly and Company said it would stop a trial of its Covid-19 antibody therapy in hospitalized patients because it was not effective, the company on Wednesday published promising interim results from a trial involving patients with mild and moderate Covid-19.

MANILA, Philippines --- Tropical storm Goni may enter the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) this Thursday morning or afternoon as state meteorologists monitor another low pressure area (LPA) outside the country's territory. The center of tropical storm Goni, which will be named "Rolly" once it enters PAR, was last spotted 1,705 kilometers east of Central Luzon, according to the weather update issued by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) at 4 a.m. It is moving westward at 10 kilometers per hour and has maximum sustained winds of 65 kph near the center and gustiness of 80 kph. Pagasa said that for now, the tropical cyclone ...

Keep on reading: Tropical storm Goni may enter PAR Thursday; another LPA spotted outside PAR

In 1994, Congress dragged the CEOs of the nation's largest tobacco companies to Capitol Hill, where they testified — under oath — that cigarettes are not addictive, contrary to evidence otherwise. It was a watershed moment for the tobacco industry and marked the beginning of the end of Big Tobacco's dominance in America.