Measles cases highest in decade
A flurry of imported measles cases has kindled outbreaks in 15 states and two cities that together have given the United States its largest case toll in a decade, health officials said Monday.
Since January, doctors have reported 132 measles cases, just shy of the 138 reached in 1997, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports. So far, no child has died. Most cases have occurred in children whose parents decided against having them vaccinated. Twenty children less than a year old were too young to be vaccinated.
Although the total number of cases is small, officials say that each new outbreak increases the odds that measles may come roaring back.
This month, 14 years after the United Kingdom announced the halt of local measles transmission, the government announced a resurgence. The CDC announced an end to local transmission in 2000, but health officials fret that the U.S. interruption, too, may be temporary.
NEW YORK
Obama camp rails at magazine cover
A satirical New Yorker magazine cover cartoon depicting Barack Obama and his wife as flag-burning, fist-bumping radicals drew outrage from the Democratic presidential candidate’s campaign as it appeared on newsstands Monday.
The illustration, titled “The Politics of Fear” and drawn by Barry Blitt, depicts Obama wearing traditional Muslim clothing – sandals, robe and turban – while his wife, Michelle, has an assault rifle slung over one shoulder and is dressed in camouflage and combat boots with her hair in an Afro.
The cartoon, which Obama’s campaign said was “tasteless and offensive,” is not explained inside the magazine.
In a statement, the magazine said the cover combines “fantastical images about the Obamas and shows them for the obvious distortions they are.”
Obama, who is Christian, has long fought rumors that he is secretly a Muslim. His wife has endured her own attacks.
BOSTON
Move afoot to lift gay marriage limit
When Massachusetts became the first state to issue marriage licenses to gay couples in 2004, it left one big roadblock in place: Out-of-state couples need not apply.
Now an effort is gaining momentum to repeal a 1913 state law that has prevented out-of-state gay couples from getting married. The law says couples cannot be married in Massachusetts if their unions would be illegal in their home states.
The Democratic leaders of the state House and Senate and Gov. Deval Patrick support a repeal, which could come up for a vote as early as today in the Senate and could reach the governor’s desk by the end of week.