Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro; Measles in the U.S. : NPR

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Measles is presently spreading in elements of West Texas. Well being officers believed the illness had been eradicated 25 years in the past, however it has sometimes returned. Circumstances in western Texas counties have greater than doubled since final week, with 58 confirmed circumstances and 13 hospitalizations as of yesterday morning.

• 🎧 Nearly all of circumstances are amongst school-age kids and, in keeping with the state well being division, a lot of the sufferers are both unvaccinated or have an unknown vaccine standing. Measles will be harmful, especially for babies and children, Samantha Larned of NPR community station KTTZ tells Up First. In Gaines County, the place many circumstances have been reported, well being officers have described the communities as “vaccine hesitant.” The vaccination price there may be slightly below 82%, in comparison with the state’s 90% price.

As President Trump’s administration pushes efforts to shrink the federal authorities, some in China see the U.S.’ cuts to pro-democracy and human rights teams overseas as a possibility to realize extra energy.

• 🎧 NPR’s Emily Feng has found that folks with the Chinese language authorities have approached a minimum of two U.S. human rights organizations centered on points associated to China. These people have supplied to attach the organizations with monetary backers based mostly in China. The teams susceptible to shedding their funding embrace those who China and different authoritarian governments criticize, reminiscent of ladies’s rights organizations and authorized support nonprofits. Some human rights advocates are concerned about a growing alignment between how the Trump administration discusses democracy work and the way authoritarian regimes body the identical matter.

Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro has been charged by Brazil’s lawyer common with making an attempt to overturn the nation’s 2022 election. Bolsonaro, the previous far-right chief, is accused of plotting a coup to remain in energy, inciting violence and hatching a plan to poison the present president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

• 🎧 Bolsonaro has denied the allegations in opposition to him, NPR’s Carrie Kahn says. He additionally says the authorized struggle in opposition to him is a similar strategy used against Trump, which he has identified failed. The almost 900-page lengthy report for the investigation is predicated on testimonies, cellphone information and plea offers with shut allies of Bolsonaro. Moreover, there are a whole lot of circumstances in opposition to rioters who have been charged with ransacking the capital on Jan. 8, 2023. If convicted, Kahn says Bolsonaro faces anyplace between 12 years and 4 many years in jail.

Deep dive

Damaged coronary heart syndrome is greater than only a metaphorical thought. Often known as stress cardiomyopathy, the actual situation can deliver on a sudden and dramatic weakening of coronary heart muscle. It usually strikes after a demanding occasion and can be tricky to diagnose. Some checks carried out within the ER can present the identical outcomes as somebody having a coronary heart assault.

• 💔 When an individual has a coronary heart assault, they’ve a blockage in a number of of their coronary arteries. This can be a key distinction from damaged coronary heart syndrome, which does not contain blocked arteries.
• 💔 When the center is weakened, blood and oxygen cannot successfully flow into all through the physique, ensuing within the signs. It’s unclear why some develop this uncommon situation after a demanding occasion.
• 💔 The syndrome is commonest in ladies over the age of fifty, although cardiologists have reported seeing the situation in a broad vary of sufferers. Most sufferers make a full restoration.

Life recommendation

The IRS says it processed 11.7 million tax returns within the first week of the 2025 submitting season. Right here, carts loaded with paperwork are seen at an IRS processing facility in Austin, Texas, final September.

Brandon Bell/Getty Pictures

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Brandon Bell/Getty Pictures

The IRS began accepting tax returns on Jan. 27. Inside the first week of submitting, round 28% of the 11.7 million returns processed resulted in direct deposit refunds. By the April 15 federal deadline, the company expects to obtain over 140 million particular person returns. This is a information to navigating the 2025 tax filing season:

• 🗂️ You’ll be able to monitor the progress of your tax return on the IRS’ devoted The place’s My Refund web page, which is able to present the standing round 24 hours after you file electronically.
• 🗂️ Most refunds are issued inside 21 days of your submitting date. Refunds associated to the Earned Earnings Tax Credit score and the Further Baby Tax Credit score are anticipated after mid-February.
• 🗂️ The free Direct File system has expanded to 25 collaborating states this yr, up from final yr’s 12-state pilot program. It is aimed toward folks with comparatively easy tax returns.

Try extra details about submitting your taxes here.

3 issues to know earlier than you go

A child seal was rescued from New Haven, Conn., over the weekend. The pup, believed to be a number of weeks outdated, is now recovering on the close by Mystic Aquarium.

Caitlin Zerella

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Caitlin Zerella

1. A child seal was rescued from the streets of downtown New Haven, Conn., over the weekend. He was torpid and underweight and is now recovering at Mystic Aquarium.
2. The Nationwide Science Basis terminated 168 workers yesterday to comply with Trump’s executive order aimed toward decreasing the federal workforce, in keeping with an organization spokesperson.
3. The flight knowledge and cockpit voice recorders have been retrieved from the Delta Air Lines flight that flipped the other way up and caught fireplace at Toronto Pearson Worldwide Airport on Monday. Investigators are working to find out the reason for the crash.

This text was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.