After early start, worst of flu season may be over

NEW YORK (AP) — The worst of the flu season appears to be over.

The number of states reporting intense or widespread illnesses dropped again last week, and in a few states there was very little flu going around, U.S. health officials said Friday.

The season started earlier than normal, first in the Southeast and then spreading. But now, by some measures, flu activity has been ebbing for at least four weeks in much of the country. Flu and pneumonia deaths also dropped the last two weeks, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.

"It's likely that the worst of the current flu season is over," CDC spokesman Tom Skinner said.

But flu is hard to predict, he and others stressed, and there have been spikes late in the season in the past.

For now, states like Georgia and New York — where doctor's offices were jammed a few weeks ago — are reporting low flu activity. The hot spots are now the West Coast and the Southwest.

Among the places that have seen a drop: Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest in Allentown, Pa., which put up a tent outside its emergency room last month to help deal with the steady stream of patients. There were about 100 patients each day back then. Now it's down to 25 and the hospital may pack up its tent next week, said Terry Burger, director of infection control and prevention for the hospital.

"There's no question that we're seeing a decline," she said.

In early December, CDC officials announced flu season had arrived, a month earlier than usual. They were worried, saying it had been nine years since a winter flu season started like this one. That was 2003-04 — one of the deadliest seasons in the past 35 years, with more than 48,000 deaths.

Like this year, the major flu strain was one that tends to make people sicker, especially the elderly, who are most vulnerable to flu and its complications

But back then, that year's flu vaccine wasn't made to protect against that bug, and fewer people got flu shots. The vaccine is reformulated almost every year, and the CDC has said this year's vaccine is a good match to the types that are circulating. A preliminary CDC study showed it is about 60 percent effective, which is close to the average.

So far, the season has been labeled moderately severe.

Like others, Lehigh Valley's Burger was cautious about making predictions. "I'm not certain we're completely out of the woods," with more wintry weather ahead and people likely to be packed indoors where flu can spread around, she said.

The government does not keep a running tally of flu-related deaths in adults, but has received reports of 59 deaths in children. The most — nine — were in Texas, where flu activity was still high last week. Roughly 100 children die in an average flu season, the CDC says

On average, about 24,000 Americans die each flu season, according to the CDC.

According to the CDC report, the number of states with intense activity is down to 19, from 24 the previous week, and flu is widespread in 38 states, down from 42.

Flu is now minimal in Florida, Kentucky, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire and South Carolina.

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Online:

CDC: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/

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Northeast Shuts Down as Blizzard Batters Millions

A blizzard of possibly historic proportions battered the Northeast Friday into Saturday, and forecasters feared as much as two feet of snow and strong winds could shut down densely populated cities such as New York and Boston, where cars were ordered off the streets.

State officials declared states of emergencies throughout the region, and utilities estimated more than a half-million customers were without power by late Friday night.

Some wondered if the storm could top Boston's all-time single-storm snowfall record of 27.6 inches, set in 2003.

By 9 p.m. Friday, according to the National Weather Service, the storm was spinning off the coast of Long Island, N.Y., and expected to move north-northeastward past New England's coast before its effects tapered off on Saturday afternoon.

"Storm total snowfall accumulations of 1 to 2 feet ... with locally higher amounts are possible across much of the Northeast," the National Weather Service said. "The heaviest snow is forecast to fall across parts of eastern Massachusetts ... Connecticut and Rhode Island where snowfall amounts higher than two feet are possible. In addition to the heavy snowfall ... wind gusts as high as 70 mph are possible ... especially near the coasts."

By 9 p.m. Friday, parts of Connecticut and New York had the highest actual snowfall totals listed by the National Weather Service, with 13 inches measured in Ogdensburg and East Setaukey, N.Y., and Lisbon and North Branford, Conn.

Peak wind gusts included a 71-mph measurement in Buzzards Bay, Mass., the National Weather Service said.

Power outages also were reported across the region. As of 11 p.m. Friday, for instance, approximately 300,000 Massachusetts customers were without power, ABC News station WCVB reported. Utilities also reported approximately 170,000 without power in Rhode Island, 30,000 in Connecticut and nearly 20,000 in New York.

The blizzard conditions came together after a storm from the west joined forces with one from the south to form a nor'easter.

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The storm showed the potential for such ferocity that, before it even hit with full force, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick declared a state of emergency Friday afternoon and signed an executive order banning vehicular traffic on roads in his state effective at 4 p.m. ET. It was believed that the last time the state enacted such a ban was during the blizzard of 1978. Violating the ban could result in a penalty of up to a year in jail and a $500 fine.

"[It] could definitely be a historic winter storm for the Northeast," said Adrienne Leptich of the National Weather Service in Upton, N.Y. "We're looking at very strong wind and heavy snow and we're also looking for some coastal flooding."

Airlines began shutting down operations Friday afternoon at major airports in the New York area as well as in Boston, Portland, Maine, Providence, R.I., and other Northeastern airports. By early evening Friday, more than 4,300 flights had been cancelled on Friday and Saturday, according to FlightAware. Airlines hoped to resume flights by Saturday afternoon, though normal schedules were not expected until Sunday.

The snow fell heavily Friday afternoon in New York City. Mayor Michael Bloomberg said clearing the roads was his main concern, and the city readied 1,700 snow plows and 250,000 tons of salt to clear the streets.

New York City was expecting up to 14 inches of snow, which started falling early this morning, though the heaviest amounts were expected to fall at night and into Saturday. Wind gusts of 55 mph were expected in New York City.

"Stay off the city streets. Stay out of your cars and stay at home while the worst of the storm is on us," Bloomberg said Friday.

Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy declared a state of emergency, deploying National Guard troops across the state to assist in rescues and other emergencies. Schools and state courthouses were closed, and all flights after 1:30 p.m. at Bradley Airport, north of Hartford, Conn., were cancelled. The state's largest utility companies planned for the possibility that 30 percent of customers -- more than 400,000 homes and businesses -- would lose power.

Malloy also directed drivers to stay off the state's major highways.

"Please stay off of 95, 91, 84, Merritt Parkway and any other limited-access road in the state," he said Friday evening.

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Boston, Providence, R.I., Hartford, Conn., and other New England cities canceled school today.

"Stay off the streets of our city. Basically, stay home," Boston Mayor Tom Menino warned Thursday.

On Friday, Menino applauded the public's response.

"I'm very pleased with the compliance with the snow emergency," he said. "You drive down some of the roadways, you don't see one car."

Friday evening, Gov. Patrick also applauded the public's cooperation with the statewide vehicle ban, noting the clear roads were helping utility crews get their work done.

"It's been a great, great help and I thank everyone," Patrick said. "I know it's been an imposition."

As of 4:30 p.m. Friday, according to the Department of Defense, 837 National Guard soldiers and airmen under state control had been activated in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York in anticipation of the storm -- 552 in Massachusetts, 235 in Connecticut and 50 in New York. The extra hands were helping with roadways, transportation, making wellness checks on residents and other emergency services.

Beach erosion and coastal flooding was possible from New Jersey to Long Island, N.Y., and into New England coastal areas. It was feared some waves off the coast could reach more than 20 feet.

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Japan may release data proving Chinese radar incident: media

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan may release data it says will prove a Chinese naval vessel directed its fire control radar at a Japanese destroyer near disputed islands in the East China Sea, local media reported.

Japan has said a Chinese frigate on January 30 locked its targeting radar on a Japanese destroyer - a step that usually precedes the firing of weapons - but China insists that its vessel used only ordinary surveillance radar.

The incident has added to tensions between the two nations over the disputed islands.

Japan will consider how much normally classified data it can release, the media reports said, citing comments by Japan Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera on local television.

"The government is considering the extent of what can be disclosed," Kyodo news agency quoted Onodera as saying.

China has accused Japan of smearing its name with the accusations, and on Saturday, the official Xinhua news agency continued the war of words.

"By spreading false accusations and posing as a poor victim, Japan had intended to tarnish China's image so as to gain sympathy and support, but a lie does not help," it said in an English language commentary.

"China has been exercising maximum restraint and stayed committed to solving the dispute through dialogue and consultation."

Japan and China have been involved in a series of incidents in recent months in the East China Sea where Chinese and Japanese naval vessels regularly shadow each others movements.

Both countries claim a small clusters of islands, known as Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan, believed to be rich in oil and gas. Controlled by Japan, possession of the uninhabited outcrops and the sea surrounding them would provide China with easier access to the Pacific.

Hopes had been rising for an easing in tensions, including a possible summit between Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese Communist Party chief Xi Jinping. But the radar issue has seen China and Japan engage in a fresh round of invective.

China's Defence Ministry on Thursday said Japan's complaints did not "match the facts". The Chinese ship's radar, it said, had maintained regular alerting and surveillance operations and the ship "did not use fire control radar".

Japan's position against China has hardened since Abe led his conservative party to a landslide election victory in December, promising to beef up the military and stand tough in territorial disputes.

The commander of U.S. forces in the Asia-Pacific said the squabble between Japan and China underlined the need for rules to prevent such incidents turning into serious conflict.

China also has ongoing territorial disputes with other Asian nations including Vietnam and the Philippines over islands in the South China Sea.

(Reporting by Tim Kelly; Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in BEIJING; Editing by Michael Perry)

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Scores missing after ferry sinks in Bangladesh: officials

DHAKA: Scores of people are missing after a ferry carrying around 100 passengers sank in a river in Bangladesh on Friday, officials said.

"So far we have gathered that the ferry was carrying around 100 people and some have swum to the banks," local police chief Jahangir Hossain told AFP after the accident on the Meghna river in the central district of Munshiganj.

District administrator Saifuddin Badal said that more than 50 people were still unaccounted for.

"We heard around 25 people have swum ashore," he told AFP.

Badal said the boat, named MV Sarosh, was carrying passengers from the capital Dhaka to the southeastern district of Chandpur.

It was not immediately clear what caused the accident but Bangladesh has a history of boating disasters as a result of lax safety standards and frequent overloading of vessels.

Last March 147 people were killed after a passenger vessel sank in the Meghna river after colliding with a cargo ship.

-AFP/fl

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Protest led by Congress minister turns violent, workers ransack DM's office in Bengal

BERHAMPORE: A demonstration led by Union minister of state for railways Adhir Chowdhury turned violent and led to the storming of the district magistrate's office in Murshidabad on Thursday. Though Adhir climbed on a jeep and tried to pacify Congress supporters, the damage was done.

Bricks, stones, broken glass and debris from a wrecked podium for VIP visits lay strewn about the office compound. Adhir and Pradesh Congress president Pradip Bhattacharya denied there was any vandalism but video footage and photographs say otherwise.

The show of might by Adhir is being seen as an attempt to reclaim his image as a Congress strongman at a time when party rebel turned Trinamool minister Humayun Kabir has mounted a bitter campaign in the run-up to the Rezinagar assembly bypoll on February 23. Bhattacharya even defended Adhir, saying: "What is wrong with wanting to meet the DM? I categorically say there was no violence."

Adhir led a 1,500-strong rally to the gates of the DM's office in protest against the alleged custodial death of a Congress supporter. Safiqul Haq, 58, had died in Berhampore jail on January 7 after spending a month behind bars for possession of heroin. Police had never sought his custody but the Congress alleges he was arrested on false charges and died due to police atrocity. The party moved court and a magisterial inquiry identified the cause of death as respiratory trouble due to fluid accumulation in the chest.

But the Congress trained its guns on SP Humayun Kabir, accusing him of acting for the Trinamool Congress. On Thursday, the entire state Congress leadership — Adhir, Bhattacharya, Abdul Mannan, MPs Mannan Hossain and Abhijeet Mukherjee and 13 MLAs — turned up at the protest meeting in front of the collectorate along with Haq's widow Safina Bewa. They demanded that the district magistrate Rajeev Kumar accept a memorandum against the SP.

Around 1:30pm, 14 Congress leaders set off to submit the memorandum (that was not signed by Adhir) but Kumar was busy and asked them to meet ADG (general) Niranjan Kumar. The delegation returned to the dharna mancha and informed the leadership. It was 3.05pm. Bhattacharya had barely left his seat to address the gathering when Adhir grabbed the microphone and said: "The DM has insulted the Congress workers. We will not tolerate this. I give him 30 minutes to meet us. Or else we will go to his bungalow and gherao him. I will lead people there."

The crowd got restive. Bhattacharya tried to continue his speech but had to give in to the crowd 10 minutes later. Adhir got off the stage and led the crowd to the DM's office. The mob kicked open the gates and went on the rampage. The 70-odd policemen stepped aside and watched the violence. Kumar then called Adhir and urged him to step into his home to meet him. Adhir and Bhattacharya went in even as the crowd went berserk outside. After he came out, Adhir climbed on a damaged jeep and tried to calm the supporters but they took their time to settle down.

Adhir later denied there was any violence. "I can tell you very categorically that none of our Congress workers entered the premises of the district magistrate. No vandalism took place," he said. Bhattacharya backed him, saying: "There was no ransacking of the DM's office. That is totally wrong. Nobody entered it. I am not going to justify this, but I can tell you that no property was damaged," he said.

The DM and the SP were closeted in a two-hour meeting in the evening. "We are trying to find out who provoked the mob," the SP said.

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Opposition leader's funeral brings day of reckoning for Tunisia

TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisia's political crisis looked likely to deepen on Friday with strikes and protests planned around the funeral of assassinated opposition politician Chokri Belaid.

Belaid's killing on Wednesday has brought thousands of people onto the streets of the capital Tunis and other cities in violence-marred protests.

Unions have called a general strike for Friday, setting the stage for further confrontation two years on from the pro-democracy revolution that inspired the Arab Spring.

Tunisia is riven by tensions between the dominant Islamists and their secular opponents, and by disillusionment over the lack of social progress since the overthrow of dictator Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali in January 2011.

In response to Belaid's assassination, Prime Minister Hamdi Jebali, an Islamist, said on Wednesday he would dissolve the government, name a non-partisan cabinet of technocrats and hold early elections. But his partners opposed the move and it is yet to be approved by parliament.

No one has claimed responsibility for the killing of Belaid, a lawyer and secular political figure, who was shot by a gunman as he left home for work on Wednesday.

But a crowd set fire to the headquarters of Ennahda, the Islamist party of Prime Minister Jebali, who leads a coalition with two junior secularist parties. Ennahda denies any involvement.

While Belaid had only a modest political following, his criticism of Ennahda policies spoke for many Tunisians who fear religious radicals are bent on snuffing out freedoms won in the first of the revolts that rippled through the Arab world.

"Criminals assassinated Chokri's body, but will not assassinate Chokri's struggle," his widow Besma said on Thursday.

"My sadness ended when I saw thousands flocking to the streets...at that moment I knew that the country is fine and men and women in my country are defending democracy, freedom and life."

All three ruling parties and sections of the opposition rebuffed Jebali's plan to create a small, technocrat government to take over day-to-day matters until elections could be held, demanding they be consulted before any such move.

"In the likely event that there is no agreement, civil unrest will increase, reaching a level that cannot be contained by the police," said Firas Abi Ali of the London-based Exclusive Analysis think-tank.

"If unrest continued for more than two weeks, the army would probably reluctantly step in and back a technocrat government, as well as fresh elections for a new Constituent Assembly."

The economic effect of political uncertainty and street unrest could be serious in a country which has yet to draft a post-revolutionary constitution and which relies heavily on the tourist trade.

The cost of insuring Tunisian government bonds against default rose to its highest level in more than four years on Thursday and ratings agency Fitch said it could further downgrade Tunisia if political instability continues or worsens.

(Writing by Robin Pomeroy; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

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China bans ads on gift-giving to officials: media

BEIJING: China has banned ads that encourage giving luxury gifts to authorities, state media said on Thursday, the latest push against official extravagance since new leaders took charge vowing better governance.

The ban came ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday on Sunday, as part of a high-profile campaign against government waste and corruption launched after Xi Jinping and others took over the ruling Communist Party in November.

Offering presents to authorities to curry favour is a widespread practice in China, and one of many targets in a party directive in December that also outlined restrictions on splashy banquets, travel and government cars.

"Some commercials broadcast on some channels support a culture of gift giving to superiors that include luxury watches, rare stamps and gold coins," the Global Times reported, citing the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT).

"This has spread incorrect values and help create a bad social ethos," it quoted SARFT as saying, adding that it also urged more public service advertisements promoting "Chinese traditions and civilised lifestyles", calling radio and TV "important cultural and ideological strongholds".

The paper quoted television company employees saying that the ban was on particular types of promotions, rather than on product types.

The China Daily described the affected advertisements as those suggesting goods were "must-have items for superiors".

It quoted Zhang Zhian, a communications academic at a university in Guangzhou, saying that choosing gifts was "always a headache" for him when he returns home for the New Year holiday.

"The easiest solution is to choose the gift they all know, which is often one that is heavily advertised," he said. "Although many people would regard the content of ads that promote products as a proper gift as silly, they re-inforce the notion of gift-giving."

State media have in recent months reported widely on decisions by official bodies from the military to local governments to ditch red carpets, floral arrangements and other expenditures as part of the nationwide campaign.

- AFP/xq

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Another youth held for online abuse of all-girl rock band of Kashmir

SRINAGAR: Another youth has been arrested in connection with the online abuses and threats to the all-girl rock band of Kashmir, which forced them to quit singing.

Irshad Ahmad Chara, resident of S D Colony, Batamaloo, was arrested late on Wednesday night by the police, who was raiding different places to apprehend him.

Tariq Khan, was apprehended from Bijbehara, a town in South Kashmir, and Rameez Shah was also arrested from Ganderbal in central Kashmir on Wednesday night, police sources said.

Jammu and Kashmir director general of police Ashok Prasad, who is closely monitoring the case, has directed stepping up of patrolling in the areas where two of the three girls of the band group reside.

Police have started tracking down the internet protocol addresses of the 26 users whose comments, out of the total 900 posts on the band's Facebook page, were found abusive, officials said.

They said the delay of three days in lodging the FIR was due to large number of posts on the Facebook page of Kashmir's all-girl band 'Pragaash', that took time to get scanned.

A case in the matter has been registered under Section 66A of IT Act and Section 506 RPC (criminal intimidation) in the Rajbagh police station here.

A member of the band had on Wednesday said they decided to call it quits as they respected the decree of Kashmir's grand Mufti who found singing un-Islamic.

"We respect the Mufti sahib who said it (singing) is 'haram'. We respect the opinion of people of Kashmir also. That is why we quit," she said, adding that the band was not disbanded because of online threats.

The DGP has requested all central agencies to extend support to apprehend all those who had hurled online abuses at the all-girl band.

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New whooping cough strain in US raises questions

NEW YORK (AP) — Researchers have discovered the first U.S. cases of whooping cough caused by a germ that may be resistant to the vaccine.

Health officials are looking into whether cases like the dozen found in Philadelphia might be one reason the nation just had its worst year for whooping cough in six decades. The new bug was previously reported in Japan, France and Finland.

"It's quite intriguing. It's the first time we've seen this here," said Dr. Tom Clark of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The U.S. cases are detailed in a brief report from the CDC and other researchers in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine.

Whooping cough is a highly contagious disease that can strike people of any age but is most dangerous to children. It was once common, but cases in the U.S. dropped after a vaccine was introduced in the 1940s.

An increase in illnesses in recent years has been partially blamed on a version of the vaccine used since the 1990s, which doesn't last as long. Last year, the CDC received reports of 41,880 cases, according to a preliminary count. That included 18 deaths.

The new study suggests that the new whooping cough strain may be why more people have been getting sick. Experts don't think it's more deadly, but the shots may not work as well against it.

In a small, soon-to-be published study, French researchers found the vaccine seemed to lower the risk of severe disease from the new strain in infants. But it didn't prevent illness completely, said Nicole Guiso of the Pasteur Institute, one of the researchers.

The new germ was first identified in France, where more extensive testing is routinely done for whooping cough. The strain now accounts for 14 percent of cases there, Guiso said.

In the United States, doctors usually rely on a rapid test to help make a diagnosis. The extra lab work isn't done often enough to give health officials a good idea how common the new type is here, experts said.

"We definitely need some more information about this before we can draw any conclusions," the CDC's Clark said.

The U.S. cases were found in the past two years in patients at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children in Philadelphia. One of the study's researchers works for a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, which makes a version of the old whooping cough vaccine that is sold in other countries.

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JournaL: http://www.nejm.org

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Armstrong May Testify Under Oath on Doping

Facing a federal criminal investigation and a deadline that originally was tonight to tell all under oath to anti-doping authorities or lose his last chance at reducing his lifetime sporting ban, Lance Armstrong now may cooperate.

His apparent 11th-hour about-face, according to the U.S. Anti Doping Agency (USADA), suggests he might testify under oath and give full details to USADA of how he cheated for so long.

"We have been in communication with Mr. Armstrong and his representatives and we understand that he does want to be part of the solution and assist in the effort to clean up the sport of cycling," USADA CEO Travis T. Tygart said in a written statement this evening. "We have agreed to his request for an additional two weeks to work on details to hopefully allow for this to happen."

Neither Armstrong nor his attorney responded to emails seeking comment on the USADA announcement.

The news of Armstrong's possible and unexpected cooperation came a day after ABC News reported he was in the crosshairs of federal criminal investigators. According to a high-level source, "agents are actively investigating Armstrong for obstruction, witness tampering and intimidation" for allegedly threatening people who dared tell the truth about his cheating.

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The case was re-ignited by Armstrong's confession last month to Oprah Winfrey that he doped his way to all seven of his Tour de France titles, telling Winfrey he used performance-enhancing drugs throughout his career and then lied about it. He made the confession after years of vehement denials that he cheated.

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If charges are ultimately filed, the consequences of "serious potential crimes" could be severe, ABC News legal analyst Dan Abrams said -- including "possible sentences up to five, 10 years."

Investigators are not concerned with the drug use, but Armstrong's behavior in trying to maintain his secret by allegedly threatening and interfering with potential witnesses.

Armstrong was previously under a separate federal investigation that reportedly looked at drug distribution, conspiracy and fraud allegations -- but that case was dropped without explanation a year ago. Sources at the time said that agents had recommended an indictment and could not understand why the case was suddenly dropped.

"There were plenty of people, even within federal law enforcement, who felt like he was getting preferential treatment," said T.J. Quinn, an investigative reporter with ESPN.

The pressures against Armstrong today are immense and include civil claims that could cost him tens of millions of dollars.

Armstrong is currently serving a lifetime ban in sport handed down by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, and today was the deadline he was given to cooperate under oath if he ever wanted the ban lifted.

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ABC News' Michael S. James contributed to this report.

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