ORLANDO, Florida, July 23 -- The American Academy of Optometry issued the following letter by President Barbara Caffery: As COVID-19 spread across North America, our societies' weaknesses and vulnerabilities were exposed like fluorescein seeping through cracks in the cornea. Indeed, SARS CoV-2 threatens our lives and the systems, communities, and economies on which we rely. The pandemic has brought the importance of societal health to the forefront. We are "all in this together," whether we c  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, July 23 -- The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics - New England Regional Information Office issued the following report on the occupational employment and wages for selected nursing occupations in the Massachusetts metropolitan areas for May 2019: The eight metropolitan areas located either entirely or partially in Massachusetts had annual wages that were significantly above the national average for licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses. Six  more

WASHINGTON, July 23 -- The Center for Science in the Public Interest issued the following news release on July 22: Nearly 3,500 of the nation's leading public health experts are speaking out against White House attacks on National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease Director Dr. Anthony S. Fauci and are calling on President Donald Trump not to sideline science or scientists as the country continues to reel from the COVID-19 pandemic. The signers include two former Commissioners of the F  more

WASHINGTON, July 23 -- The Competitive Enterprise Institute issued the following study on July 22: As individuals and businesses continue to address the COVID-19 health crisis, access to technologies and services that have enabled large swaths of the economy to move online remains critical. Broadband Internet allows people to work from home with relatively little disruption. Electronic payments enable faster online ordering and contactless delivery of needed items, from groceries to prescriptio  more

HANOVER, New Hampshire, July 23 -- Dartmouth College issued the following news release: A citizen science program that began over a decade ago has confirmed the use of dragonflies to measure mercury pollution, according to a study in Environmental Science & Technology. The national research effort, which grew from a regional project to collect dragonfly larvae, found that the young form of the insect predator can be used as a "biosentinel" to indicate the amount of mercury that is present in f  more

WASHINGTON, July 23 -- The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee issued the following news release: Vulnerable incumbent Senator Susan Collins is facing growing scrutiny for avoiding questions about her support for Trump's re-election campaign. CNN spotlighted Senator Collins' hypocrisy for saying that she is only focused on her own race "despite endorsing previous GOP presidential nominees," and HuffPost found that Collins' "desperate" deflections seemed politically motivated and her excuse  more

WASHINGTON, July 23 -- Federal Housing Finance Agency issued the following news release: U.S. house prices fell in May, down 0.3 percent from the previous month, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) House Price Index (HPI). House prices rose 4.9 percent from May 2019 to May 2020. The previously reported 0.2 percent increase for April 2020 was revised downward to 0.1 percent. For the nine census divisions, seasonally adjusted monthly house price changes from April 2020 to May   more

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts, July 23 -- The Nieman Foundation issued the following news on July 22: In a period of unprecedented challenges for journalism, Harvard University's Nieman Foundation has selected an innovative and distinguished group of journalists for its 2020-21 fellowship class and has created new visiting fellowships to address racial justice and public health. Nieman, a center for internationally recognized journalism fellowships, publications and programs, has selected 16 Nieman  more

WASHINGTON, July 23 -- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' National Institutes of Health issued the following news release: In a paper in the New England Journal of Medicine(link is external), scientific leaders from the National Institutes of Health set forth a framework to increase significantly the number, quality and type of daily tests for detecting SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and help reduce inequities for underserved populations that have been disproportiona  more

PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island, July 23 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release: A North Smithfield, Rhode Island, laminating and coating facility has taken steps to reduce its air emissions to settle claims by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that it failed to comply with the terms of its Clean Air Act permit. The facility, formerly owned by Dartex Coatings, Inc., a subsidiary of Trelleborg, constructed an enclosure around its laminating line and paid a  more

WASHINGTON, July 23 -- Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Alabama, issued the following news release: Congressman Mo Brooks voted "No" on H.R. 6395, the FY2021 National Defense Authorization Act ("NDAA"). The FY21 NDAA passed the House 295-125, (Socialist Democrats voted "Yes" 187-43, Republicans voted "No" 108-81). Congressman Brooks voted "Yes" on an earlier, untainted version of the FY21 NDAA that unanimously passed the House Armed Services Committee. Click HERE for Congressman Brooks' July 2nd statement on  more

WASHINGTON, July 23 -- Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Massachusetts, issued the following news release: The House of Representatives passed the National Defense Authorization Act. It includes a number of locally-important policies Representative Seth Moulton (D-MA) has championed as a member of the House Armed Services Committee, which writes the nation's defense spending bill. "Since the very beginning of our country, Massachusetts' workers have built the tools and technologies to protect it," Moulton   more

WASHINGTON, July 23 -- Sen. Tom Carper, D-Delaware, ranking Democratic member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.), top Democrat on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, urged Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Wheeler to withdraw the agency's legally flawed proposal that would drastically curtail the agency's environmental permit appeals process, which currently allows communities  more

WASHINGTON, July 23 -- Sen. Thomas Carper, D-Delaware, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.), top Democrat on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, urged Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Wheeler to withdraw the agency's legally flawed proposal that would drastically curtail the agency's environmental permit appeals process, which currently allows communities to elevate concerns about projects, such as electric generation facilities,   more

WASHINGTON, July 23 -- The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee issued the following testimony by Jonathan Epstein, vice president for science and outreach at the EcoHealth Alliance, at a hearing entitled "Stopping the Spread: Examining the Increased Risk of Zoonotic Disease from Illegal Wildlife Trafficking" on July 22: My name is Dr. Jonathan Epstein from EcoHealth Alliance. Thank you Chairman Barrasso and Ranking Member Carper for inviting me to speak before this committee on the im  more

ST. LOUIS, Missouri, July 23 -- The Washington University St. Louis School of Medicine issued the following news release: Many children treated for childhood malnutrition in developing countries never fully recover. They suffer from stunted growth, immune system dysfunction and poor cognitive development that typically cause long-term health issues into adulthood. Now, new research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Re  more

MANCHESTER, England, July 23 -- The University of Manchester issued the following news release: Manchester doctors have played a leading role in global coronavirus research, which has found the first drug shown to increase survival rates in people hospitalised with COVID-19. The peer-reviewed results of the RECOVERY trial, published in the New England Journal of Medicine on 17 July (https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2021436), indicate that the low-cost drug, dexamethasone, 'significa  more

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, July 23 -- Vanderbilt University Medical Center issued the following news: Newly released data on treatment outcomes of people with cancer diagnosed with COVID-19 reveal a racial disparity in access to Remdesivir, an antiviral drug that has been shown to shorten hospital stays, and increased mortality associated with dexamethasone, a steroid that has had the opposite effect in the general patient population. The data on 2,186 adults in the United States by the COVID-19 an  more

SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts, July 23 -- Western New England University issued the following news release: Western New England University has announced the addition of a new Master of Science in Construction Management program to the list of graduate degree offerings. "Construction Management is defined as a professional service that uses specialized, project management techniques to oversee the planning, design, and construction of a project, from its beginning to its end," says Kenneth Lee, fo  more