Orlando declares water shortage linked to rise in Florida COVID-19 cases
CBSN
A flood of COVID-19 cases in Florida is leading to a water shortage in Orlando, with the city asking residents to cut their usage for at least several weeks to conserve resources for hospitalized patients.
A surge in hospitalized patients in the state is creating "a regional shortage of liquid oxygen," the Orlando Utilities Commission announced Friday. Liquid oxygen is also used to treat water, and its diversion to hospitals is straining the region's water supplies. City officials are asking residents to stop watering their lawns and washing their cars to save water for COVID-19 patients. "We're asking customers to limit watering their lawns immediately. Lawn irrigation is the most impactful change and would significantly reduce water," the OUC said on its website. It's aiming to get daily use down to 50 million gallons, from the typical 90 million, to keep up with reduced liquid-oxygen supplies.
Washington — Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to testify Wednesday before the Republican-led House Foreign Affairs Committee, which has long sought to question him over the deadly evacuation from Afghanistan.
A federal judge on Tuesday night rejected the sale of the conspiracy platform Infowars to The Onion satirical news outlet after Alex Jones claimed that a recent bankruptcy auction was fraught with illegal collusion.
A group of House Democrats Tuesday called for action from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, days after CBS News published an investigation which found dozens of law enforcement officials illegally sold firearms, even weapons of war, across 23 states, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C.
President-elect Donald Trump made another flurry of job announcements on Tuesday, selecting Andrew Ferguson as the next chair of the Federal Trade Commission, Ronald Johnson was nominated to be ambassador to Mexico, and Kimberly Guilfoyle to be ambassador to Greece.
President-elect Donald Trump announced Monday he is nominating Kimberly Guilfoyle to be U.S. ambassador to Greece. Guilfoyle, a former Fox News host-turned-political fundraiser, was dating Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr.
A federal judge on Tuesday blocked Kroger's $24.6 billion acquisition of Albertsons, ruling that the proposed union would lessen competition for grocery shoppers.
Washington — The House task force investigating the assassination attempts against President-elect Donald Trump released a final report on its probe on Tuesday, presenting a series of recommendations to combat future security failures.
A second infant has died in an 8-state listeria outbreak related to recalled Yu Shang Food ready-to-eat meat and poultry products, according to federal health officials. The products were sold online and at retail locations nationwide, according to federal health officials.
The Justice Department failed to follow department policy and ignored some established protections when seeking records from members of Congress, dozens of congressional staffers and members of the media during the first Trump administration, an internal watchdog found.