At least nine cases of the mosquito-bourne illness have been detected in Florida.
Health officials there believe all of the cases are from people who contracted the virus while travelling to affected countries.
Governor Rick Scott signed the emergency order on Wednesday, covering Miami-Dade, Lee, Hillsborough and Santa Rosa counties, where the cases of infection were detected.
The order authorised the state's agriculture department to boost the use of mosquito spray in those counties, primarily in residential areas.
"Although Florida's current nine Zika cases were travel-related, we have to ensure Florida is prepared and stays ahead of the spread of the Zika virus in our state," Gov Scott said in a statement.
The move comes a day after health officials in Texas announced that a Zika patient in Dallas acquired the virus through sexual contact - raising fresh fears about the disease, which has been linked to birth defects.
Meanwhile, health officials in Florida's neighbouring state of Georgia confirmed its first Zika case on Wednesday.
That individual contracted the disease after travelling to Columbia in January, and has since made a full recovery, officials said.
US health officials said last week that 31 people in the US have been diagnosed with Zika in the past year. All of the infections are thought to have originated through travel to Latin America.
What Is The Zika Virus?
The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the virus is "spreading explosively" in the Americas.
The group also warned people in Europe to prepare now for the potential spread of the virus during the spring and summer as temperatures rise.
Zika, which is considered to be primarily spread by mosquitoes, has been linked to a steep increase in the number of babies born with microcephaly, which causes abnormally small heads and brains.
Cases have so far been reported in 36 countries and territories, with Brazil among the worst affected.
The US has issued a travel alert to 30 destinations, mostly in Latin America and the Caribbean. Jamaica and Tonga in the South Pacific were added to the list on Wednesday.
Health officials have advised pregnant women to avoid travel to affected areas.
Wednesday, February 3, 2016
Kanye West: Waves Is ‘One of the Greatest Albums'
We’re a week away from the release of Kanye West’s Waves, and the rapper wants to clarify some of his earlier comments about the collection.
“Out of respect for Q-Tip, Puff, Hov, Lauren, Pharcyde, Mary, Stevie, Michael, Hendrix, James, Pete Rock, Pac, Marvin…” West tweeted, referencing legendary musicians like Mary J. Blige, Jay Z and Marvin Gaye, “this new album is ONE of the greatest albums not the greatest just one of … So many musicians touch my life and made me who I am… I want to make something great to honor my idols…”
Last week, West called the collection “the best album of all time,” and has spent a good while tinkering with the album’s name: It was once called So Help Me God, then Swish, and now Waves. (For the record, fans polled by Kim Kardashian preferred the first name.)
Waves is scheduled to premiere at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 11in an event broadcast to theaters around the world.
Cameron 'Happy To Be Judged' On EU Deal
In his statement to the House of Commons earlier, the Prime Minister tried to convince MPs the EU draft deal is a good one for the UK.
However, he is facing significant criticism that he has not met his Conservative Manifesto pledges and that the migrant welfare changes are "unworkable".
In an interview with Sky's Faisal Islam, Mr Cameron was asked whether he had fallen short on what he promised to achieve for Britain's renewed relationship with Europe.
Cameron: Promises vs Proposals
He said: "I am very happy to be judged on what we set out in our manifesto and what we've achieved, because we set up some important goals - we wanted to restrict welfare and we have. We wanted to cut bureaucracy and we will.
"We wanted to ensure fairness for countries outside the eurozone and we will. And we wanted to get out of ever closer union."
He added: "Europe for us is about co-operation, trade, working together for our prosperity and security.
Boris Sends Off Cameron's Red Card
"It's not about a political union and we've made, I think, huge progess on all those issues. Have we solved all of Europe's problems? No.
"Have we solved all of Britain's problems with Europe? No. But this is a much better basis for us to put a referendum to the British public on."
However, he is facing significant criticism that he has not met his Conservative Manifesto pledges and that the migrant welfare changes are "unworkable".
In an interview with Sky's Faisal Islam, Mr Cameron was asked whether he had fallen short on what he promised to achieve for Britain's renewed relationship with Europe.
Cameron: Promises vs Proposals
He said: "I am very happy to be judged on what we set out in our manifesto and what we've achieved, because we set up some important goals - we wanted to restrict welfare and we have. We wanted to cut bureaucracy and we will.
"We wanted to ensure fairness for countries outside the eurozone and we will. And we wanted to get out of ever closer union."
He added: "Europe for us is about co-operation, trade, working together for our prosperity and security.
Boris Sends Off Cameron's Red Card
"It's not about a political union and we've made, I think, huge progess on all those issues. Have we solved all of Europe's problems? No.
"Have we solved all of Britain's problems with Europe? No. But this is a much better basis for us to put a referendum to the British public on."
'Shawshank' Jailbreak Escapee Learns His Fate
David Sweat, 35, had admitted two counts of escape and a single count of promoting prison contraband in the 6 June 2015 breakout from Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora.
Appearing in court on Wednesday with a shaven head and spectacles, the softly spoken Sweat apologised to the community for the inconvenience the jailbreak caused.
He was shot and captured three weeks after the escape about two miles from the border with Canada.
Two days earlier, a federal agent shot and killed the inmate who escaped with him, Richard Matt, 49.
Sweat was already serving a sentence of life in prison without possibility of parole for killing a police officer after a robbery.
He and Matt used hacksaw blades smuggled in frozen hamburger meat to break through their cell walls.
They cut their way into a steam pipe to make their way through a manhole on to the streets of the sleepy upstate New York town.
Two Clinton Correctional employees were charged in connection with the escape.
The brazen jailbreak was compared to the 1994 hit film The Shawshank Redemption.
Appearing in court on Wednesday with a shaven head and spectacles, the softly spoken Sweat apologised to the community for the inconvenience the jailbreak caused.
He was shot and captured three weeks after the escape about two miles from the border with Canada.
Two days earlier, a federal agent shot and killed the inmate who escaped with him, Richard Matt, 49.
Sweat was already serving a sentence of life in prison without possibility of parole for killing a police officer after a robbery.
He and Matt used hacksaw blades smuggled in frozen hamburger meat to break through their cell walls.
They cut their way into a steam pipe to make their way through a manhole on to the streets of the sleepy upstate New York town.
Two Clinton Correctional employees were charged in connection with the escape.
The brazen jailbreak was compared to the 1994 hit film The Shawshank Redemption.
Zika Virus: Will It Spread And Can We Stop It?
Here is what we know:
:: What is the Zika virus?
The Zika virus takes its name from the Zika forest in Uganda, where it was first isolated from a rhesus monkey in 1947.
It is a flavivirus, a group of viruses that also cause yellow fever, dengue and West Nile fever. These diseases are spread by the Aedes mosquito. It is a daytime-biting insect - unlike the malaria mosquito, Anopheles, which bites at night.
About one in five infected people will develop relatively mild symptoms including a fever, muscle pain, red-eyes and a skin rash between three and 12 days after being bitten. There has been a rise in cases of paralysis due to the rare Guillain-Barre syndrome in countries affected by Zika but, at the moment, scientists are not certain that the virus is to blame.
The main concern is for the foetus, with a sharp rise in the number of babies born with microcephaly, an exceptionally small head and incomplete brain development.
:: Is the Zika virus contagious?
Zika is considered to be primarily spread by mosquitoes which inject the virus while feeding on a human's blood. It then multiplies in the human bloodstream and can be picked up by other mosquitoes that bite and feed.
But there have been reports of the virus being sexually transmitted from people who have travelled in Zika-affected areas to partners who have not.
The virus has also been found in semen. Scientists don't know how many sexually transmitted cases there are in South and Central America because mosquitoes are so common and are by far the most likely routed of the virus spreading. The virus is not airborne, so it is not spread from person to person like flu.
:: How long does the Zika virus last?
According to the US Centres for Disease Control, the Zika virus usually remains in the blood of an infected person for up to a week.
It will not cause infections in an infant that is conceived after the virus has disappeared from the blood. There is currently no evidence that Zika virus infection poses a risk of birth defects in future pregnancies.
:: How to prevent Zika virus?
There is no treatment or vaccine, so prevention is essential. The basic rules of mosquito avoidance are to wear long sleeved tops and trousers and to use insect repellents containing DEET.
The Aedes mosquito bites primarily between dawn and mid-morning, and then between mid-afternoon and dusk.
Because the risk is thought to be primarily to unborn babies, women are advised not to travel in affected countries if they are pregnant or planning to become pregnant.
Men who have travelled in affected countries should use condoms when they return home, if their partner is pregnant - for 28 days if they haven't had Zika symptom, for six months if they have.
:: How to test for Zika virus?
There are no commercially available diagnostic tests for Zika.
In the first week of the infection, genetic material from the virus can be detected with specialist techniques. In the latter stages antibodies can be detected.
:: Where will the Zika virus spread?
The virus is spreading fast.
The first case was in Brazil in May 2015. It now affects more than 30 countries. It's likely to affect every country in the Americas apart from Canada and Chile.
But it could spread further - either in the blood of travellers, or in mosquitoes stowed away in bags or cargo. The Aedes mosquito is found throughout the tropics and sub-tropics - as far north as southern Europe.
Drone Shows Apple's 'Spaceship' HQ Taking Shape
The new campus - called the 'spaceship' by some - will hold up to 12,000 employees and sits just one mile from Apple's existing Cupertino, California, base.
It was originally due to open in 2015 but a series of delays meant construction only got under way last year.
The video shows work continuing on the main building, and the beginnings of what will become a covered auditorium.
A parking area can be seen on one side, along with a large solar panel covering the roof.
The building's footprint is huge - 2.8 million square feet - and an observation deck will allow staff and visitors to look out across the whole site.
It was Apple co-founder and chief executive Steve Jobs who pushed for the $5bn project, before his death in 2011.
The video was filmed around a fortnight ago, and shows Apple's rapid progress with the project.
The video shows a handful of cranes towering above the site, and vast landscaping features taking shape.
A second Apple campus is planned in North San Jose, California.
It was originally due to open in 2015 but a series of delays meant construction only got under way last year.
The video shows work continuing on the main building, and the beginnings of what will become a covered auditorium.
A parking area can be seen on one side, along with a large solar panel covering the roof.
The building's footprint is huge - 2.8 million square feet - and an observation deck will allow staff and visitors to look out across the whole site.
It was Apple co-founder and chief executive Steve Jobs who pushed for the $5bn project, before his death in 2011.
The video was filmed around a fortnight ago, and shows Apple's rapid progress with the project.
The video shows a handful of cranes towering above the site, and vast landscaping features taking shape.
A second Apple campus is planned in North San Jose, California.
Beezow Doo-Doo Zopittybop-Bop-Bop Arrested
Beezow Doo-doo Zopittybop-bop-bop is accused of first-degree assault against police officers, along with malicious mischief and malicious harassment.
The 34-year-old allegedly attacked officers at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington state, on Sunday.
Prosecutor Mark Thompson referred to the accused in court on Monday by his original name of Jeffrey Drew Wilschke, which he changed in 2011, reports the Tri-City Herald.
Zopittybop-bop-bop allegedly fought with police who were called to investigate a report of someone tearing down fliers from a library entrance.
According to the Tri-City Herald, the suspect repeatedly tried to grab an officer's gun, bit him on the hand, tried to stab the officer with a pen and swung a handcuff case at his head.
He was shot by three different officers with Tasers, but twice managed to rip off the electrical lines and keep running, police say.
Zopittybop-bop-bop also allegedly threw rocks and a brick at a Thurston County Sheriff's Office deputy.
The officers said that punching the suspect or striking him with a metal baton appeared to have little effect.
Zopittybop-bop-bop was finally handcuffed and arrested after a third officer used a stun gun on him, according to police.
His moniker generated national headlines attention when he was arrested in 2012 on marijuana and weapon charges.
A year later he was back in custody on drug charges in Iowa.
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