Donald Trump

Happening Today: Barbara Bush, Mike Pompeo, Mice, Organ Donations, Taylor Swift

What to Know

  • Barbara Bush, the former first lady and mother of another president, has died at age 92, a family spokesman says
  • Researchers found the droppings of NYC house mice carry bacteria and viruses capable of causing fever and even deadly diseases in humans
  • Newscaster Carl Kasell, a signature voice of NPR who brought his gravitas to "Morning Edition" has died at age 84, NPR says

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Barbara Bush, Wife of 1 President and Mother of Another, Dies, Spokesman Says

Barbara Bush, the snowy-haired first lady whose plainspoken manner and utter lack of pretense made her more popular at times than her husband, President George H.W. Bush, died, a family spokesman said. She was 92. Mrs. Bush brought a grandmotherly style to buttoned-down Washington, often appearing in her trademark fake pearl chokers and displaying no vanity about her white hair and wrinkles. The Bushes, who were married Jan. 6, 1945, had the longest marriage of any presidential couple in American history. And Mrs. Bush was one of only two first ladies who had a child who was elected president. The other was Abigail Adams, wife of John Adams and mother of John Quincy Adams. On Sunday, family spokesman Jim McGrath said the former first lady had decided to decline further medical treatment for health problems and focus instead on "comfort care" at home. She had been in the hospital recently for congestive heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. In 2009, she had heart valve replacement surgery and had a long history of treatment for Graves' disease, a thyroid condition. According to funeral arrangements, members of the general public will be able to pay their respects.

Pompeo Met With North Korea's Kim Jong Un, U.S. Officials Say

CIA Director Mike Pompeo recently traveled to North Korea to meet with leader Kim Jong Un, two U.S. officials said. The highly unusual, secret visit comes as the enemy nations prepare for a meeting between President Donald Trump and Kim, in what would the first ever summit between U.S. and North Korean during more than six decades of hostility since the Korean War. The officials spoke anonymously about Pompeo's trip because they were not authorized to discuss it publicly. The Washington Post, which first reported Pompeo's meeting with Kim, said it took place over Easter weekend — just over two weeks ago, shortly after the CIA chief was nominated to become secretary of state. Trump, who is currently at his Florida resort meeting with Japanese leader Shinzo Abe, said the U.S. and North Korea were holding direct talks at "extremely high levels" in preparation for a possible summit with Kim. But White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump and Kim have not spoken directly. Trump is planning to meet with Kim by early June.

1 Dead After Jet Engine on Flight From NYC Rips Apart

One person was killed and seven others were hurt when a Southwest Airlines jet blew an engine at 32,000 feet, sending shrapnel shooting through a window and setting of a desperate scramble to save a woman from getting sucked out of the depressurized cabin. But travelers aboard twin-engine Boeing 737 bound from LaGuardia Airport to Dallas Love field said they were able to pull the woman back into the plane after the blast, which forced the craft's pilot to take it into a rapid descent to make an emergency landing in Philadelphia. The woman who died in the blast was identified as Jennifer Riordan, a mother of two and a public relations executive at Wells Fargo in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Her death marks the first fatality during an accident aboard a U.S. airline since 2009. Seven of the other 148 people aboard the plane were treated for injuries after the landing in Philadelphia. The National Transportation Safety Board sent a go team to the landing site to investigate along with the Federal Aviation Administration. NTSB chairman Robert Sumwalt said based on a preliminary examination, there was evidence of what he called "metal fatigue" near the site where the turbine's fan blade comes into the engine's hub.

NYC House Mice Can Actually Kill You, Study Reveals

Researchers discovered the droppings of New York City house mice carry bacteria and unknown viruses capable of causing fever and even life-threatening gastrointestinal diseases in humans. In the report “Of Mice and Disease: Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Discovered in NYC Mice,” scientists at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health also identified that house mice in the city possess several genes enabling antimicrobial resistance to antibiotics. Researchers collected 416 mice from New York City apartments in Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx over the span of a year. A genetic analysis of their droppings revealed that the mice carry a number of gastrointestinal disease-causing bacteria, including C. difficile, E. coli, Shigella, as well as Salmonella. Salmonella is a leading cause of bacterial food poisoning in the United States with 1.4 million reported cases a year along with 15,000 hospitalizations and 400 deaths. According to researchers, salmonella infections can be the result of food contaminated with animal waste, including mice droppings. C. difficile infections, while generally acquired in healthcare settings, could also be spread in the community by the mice that harbor the pathogens.

Organs From Drug Overdoses Could Help Transplant Shortage

Fatal drug overdoses are increasing organ donations, and researchers reported people who receive those transplants generally fare as well as patients given organs from more traditional donors. The findings could encourage more use of organs from overdose victims. Researchers from Johns Hopkins University found those transplants have jumped nearly 24-fold since 2000. That was before overdoses were making headlines or most transplant centers considered accepting such organs. In 2016, there were 3,533 transplants using overdose-related donated organs, up from just 149 such transplants in 2000, the study found. Deaths from overdoses are on the rise yet most occur outside hospitals, blocking organ donation. Still, those deaths now account for about 13 percent of the nation's deceased organ donors, up from 1 percent in 2000, the researchers calculated. There are nearly 115,000 people on the national waiting list for a transplant.

Newscaster Carl Kasell of NPR's “Morning Edition” Dies at 84

Newscaster Carl Kasell, a signature voice of NPR who brought his gravitas to "Morning Edition" and later his wit to "Wait, Wait ... Don't Tell Me!" has died. He was 84. NPR said Kasell died from complications from Alzheimer's disease in Potomac, Maryland. He retired in 2014. Kasell's radio career spanned half a century, starting as a morning DJ and newscaster at WGBR-AM in Goldsboro, North Carolina. He spent a decade at radio station WAVA in Arlington, Virginia, going from morning anchor to news director. He was a newscaster for 30 years on "Morning Edition" until 2009. Kasell then became the official judge and scorekeeper of the Chicago-based show "Wait, Wait ... Don't Tell Me!" in 1998. He left his voice on hundreds of answering machines as part of that show's prize. Kasell joined NPR as a part-time employee in 1975 for "Weekend All Things Considered" and then announced the news on the first broadcast of "Morning Edition" in 1979 alongside host Bob Edwards.

Mask-Wearing Man Arrested at Taylor Swift House Had Knife, Rope, Police Say

A Colorado man who was wearing a mask and had a knife in his car when he was arrested outside a Beverly Hills home owned by Taylor Swift was released from custody while police continued their investigation. Julius Sandrock, 38, was arrested on suspicion of stalking after officers went to the home. Swift, who lives in New York, wasn't at the home, police said. Sandrock was freed from jail, according to a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department website. It wasn't immediately clear whether Sandrock had a lawyer. Meanwhile, police obtained a temporary restraining order preventing Sandrock from possessing guns. According to the document, Sandrock was wearing a mask and rubber gloves when he was taken into custody and told police he had driven from his home in Broomfield, Colorado, to see Swift. A search of his car turned up a knife, rope, ammunition and more masks and gloves, according to the restraining order.

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