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Massachusetts Governor Declares State Of Emergency, Institutes Travel Ban (+video)

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Photo Credit: Paul and Linda MorrisGov. Deval Patrick declared a state of emergency in Massachusetts Friday afternoon for the blizzard that could bring up to 3 feet of snow.

He also announced he has signed an executive order to ban all travel on all roads in the state starting at 4 p.m. Friday.

There are some exceptions to the ban, including emergency workers, those who work in hospitals and media, and others required to be at their jobs.

The governor said rapid snowfall of 2-3 inches per hour will make for, “extremely dangerous conditions,” and will “make safe travel nearly impossible.”

This is the first time that a Massachusetts governor has issued an executive order like this since the Blizzard of 1978.

Read more from this story HERE.

Egypt Protests: Morsi Issues State of Emergency After Dozens Killed in Riots

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A curfew was to begin Monday after Egypt’s president declared a state of emergency in three Suez Canal provinces hit hardest by a weekend wave of unrest that left more than 50 dead and plunged the nation further into turmoil.

President Mohammed Morsi’s declaration was reminiscent of the tactics used by the country’s ousted regime to get a grip on discontent. This time, the anger is fueled by his Islamist policies and the slow pace of change.

Angry and almost screaming, Morsi vowed in a televised address on Sunday night that he would not hesitate to take even more action to stem the latest eruption of violence across much of the country. But at the same time, he sought to reassure Egyptians that his latest moves would not take the country back into authoritarianism.

“There is no going back on freedom, democracy and the supremacy of the law,” he said.

The worst violence this weekend was in the Mediterranean coastal city of Port Said, where seven people were killed on Sunday, pushing the toll for two days of clashes to at least 44. The unrest was sparked on Saturday by a court conviction and death sentence for 21 defendants involved in a mass soccer riot in the city’s main stadium on Feb. 1, 2012 that left 74 dead.

Read more from this story HERE.

West Nile virus outbreak in Texas kills 17, Dallas mayor declares “state of emergency”

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Photo credit: dr_relling

West Nile virus kills 17 in Texas, sickens hundreds

By AFP.  The US state of Texas is battling an outbreak of the West Nile virus, with 17 deaths being blamed on the mosquito-borne disease, authorities said Wednesday.

Throughout the state, 381 people have been sickened since the start of the year, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.

“Texas is on track to have the most cases of West Nile illness since the disease first emerged in the state in 2002,” it said in a statement.

The county incorporating Dallas, the ninth-largest city in the United States, has been the hardest hit, prompting the mayor to declare a local state of disaster.

“The City of Dallas is experiencing a widespread outbreak of mosquito-borne West Nile virus and has caused and appears likely to continue to cause widespread and severe illness and loss of life,” Mayor Michael Rawlings said in the proclamation of emergency that takes effect Wednesday.  Read more from this story HERE.

Dallas Mayor declares state of emergency, orders aerial spraying for first time in almost 50 years

By Sarah Kutah.  Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings on Wednesday declared the city’s recent West Nile virus outbreak to be a state of emergency and authorized the first aerial spraying of insecticide in the city in more than 45 years.

Dallas and other North Texas cities have agreed to the rare use of aerial spraying from planes to combat the nation’s worst outbreak of West Nile virus so far this year. Dallas last had aerial spraying in 1966, when more than a dozen deaths were blamed on encephalitis.

More than 200 cases of West Nile and 10 deaths linked to the virus have been reported across Dallas County, where officials authorized aerial spraying last week. State health department statistics show 381 cases and 16 deaths related to West Nile statewide.

“The number of cases, the number of deaths are remarkable, and we need to sit up and take notice,” Rawlings said during a city council briefing. “We do have a serious problem right now.”

Aerial spraying for mosquitoes could begin Thursday evening, depending on weather conditions. The state health department, which will pay for the $500,000 aerial spraying with emergency funds, has a contract with national spraying company Clarke. Clarke officials have said two to five planes will be used in Dallas County.  Read more from this story HERE.