In brief: CDC tech monitored for possible Ebola exposure
ATLANTA – A laboratory technician at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was being monitored Wednesday for possible accidental exposure to the Ebola virus that came during an experiment, officials said.
The person working in a secure laboratory in Atlanta may have come into contact with a small amount of a live virus, CDC spokeswoman Barbara Reynolds said in an emailed statement. The experimental material was on a sealed plate, but wasn’t supposed to be moved into the lab in which the technician was working, Reynolds said. The worker will be monitored for 21 days and the person’s name hasn’t been released.
Additional employees have been notified, but none has required monitoring, Reynolds said. Other staff will be assessed for exposure.
There is no risk to the public and lab scientists notified CDC officials of what happened on Tuesday, Reynolds said. The lab has been decontaminated twice, and the material in question was destroyed before CDC officials became aware of the mistake.
Transfers from the lab the experiment material came from have been stopped during the internal review, and the lab the exposure may have happened in is closed, Reynolds said.
George H.W. Bush remains in hospital
HOUSTON – Former President George H.W. Bush will remain overnight Wednesday in a Houston hospital where he was taken after experiencing shortness of breath, a family spokesman said.
The 90-year-old Bush had been taken by ambulance to Houston Methodist Hospital on Tuesday evening as a precaution, spokesman Jim McGrath said. Bush had a “good day” and his prognosis “remains positive,” McGrath said in an email late Wednesday.
It was not immediately clear if Bush would be able to spend Christmas at home.
Company recalls caramel apples
WASHINGTON – A Missouri firm is recalling its Happy Apple brand caramel apples because of the potential that they could be contaminated with listeria. The recall comes after at least three deaths and at least 29 illnesses in 10 states have been linked to an outbreak of the deadly bacteria.
Happy Apple Co. of Washington, Missouri, said in a statement Wednesday that one of the apple suppliers to its California facility reported that there may be a connection between the listeria outbreak and the apples it had supplied. The recall covers 31 states.
The Food and Drug Administration is continuing to advise consumers not to eat prepacked, commercially produced whole caramel apples.
The recalled Happy Apple caramel apples were sold in single pack, three packs, four packs and eight packs with a best use by date between Aug. 25 and Nov. 23. They were available for retail sale through grocery, discount and club stores in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin. Happy Apple said the recalled caramel apples were no longer available in stores.
Israeli military strikes Gaza, kills militant
JERUSALEM – Israeli forces on Wednesday struck targets in the Gaza Strip, killing a Hamas militant, after its troops came under attack by Palestinian snipers while patrolling the Israeli side of the border, the military said.
It was the first deadly clash between the sides since a 50-day war over the summer, and came days after Israel carried out its first postwar airstrike in Gaza in response to renewed rocket fire.
The Israeli military said air and tank units attacked targets on Wednesday following the sniper attack. It said one soldier, a member of a Bedouin Arab unit, had been seriously injured.
“Our policy is clear – a strong and vigorous response in the face of any attempt to violate the quiet in the south,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. “We will respond strongly to any attempt to violate the quiet that was achieved” in the summertime operation, he added.
Hamas, the Islamic militant group that rules Gaza, identified the dead man as Tayseir Smeiri, the head of its border reconnaissance unit in the area.
Pakistan to set up courts for terror cases
ISLAMABAD – Pakistan’s prime minister announced today the country will set up special trial courts under the supervision of military officers to prosecute terrorism cases in the wake of the Taliban school massacre.
Nawaz Sharif spoke in a nationally televised address after a marathon meeting with all political parties and the country’s military leadership to hash out new counter-terrorism policies in the wake of the horrific attack.
“The Peshawar attack has shocked the nation. We will not let the blood of our children go in vain,” said Sharif.
In the wake of the Pakistani Taliban attack on Dec. 16 that killed 149 people, the government has scrambled to show that it is getting tough on militancy. The military has stepped up operations in the tribal areas, and the government has reinstated the death penalty. Already six people have been executed.
D.C.’s panda cub is OK after staying in tree
WASHINGTON – The National Zoo in Washington is reassuring fans of the panda cub Bao Bao that she’s doing fine after spending the night in a tree.
Members of the public can watch a live feed online of the zoo’s pandas. When they saw that Bao Bao was in a tree overnight and still there by Wednesday afternoon, they posted worried inquiries on the zoo’s Facebook page.
In a Facebook post to allay their fears, the zoo said Bao Bao climbed the tree after touching a “hot wire” used for animal containment Tuesday afternoon. Zookeepers said Bao Bao’s reaction was predictable and she’s “perfectly fine.”
Bao Bao, who turned 1 in August, is only the second panda born at the zoo to survive to her first birthday.