The states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Montana, Iowa, Wyoming, Nebraska and Illinois, are currently the worst affected in terms of the daily average number of cases per 100,000 residents recorded in the past week, according to The New York Times COVID tracker. These are also the locations where the rates of new cases have gotten higher in the past seven days, and are staying high. Wisconsin is among the key battleground states that President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden will be hoping to claim in order to win the election....

That’s probably the reaction of most people when they first try the sport, as I was that spring day. But in my case there’s a twist: I have multiple sclerosis. MS is a chronic, progressive disease of the central nervous system common among young adults and affecting nearly 2.5 million people worldwide. It can affect everything from vision to muscle control. If the disease progresses, an MS patient can find it difficult to walk....

He must have meant it at the time. But practically the moment his successor was inaugurated, Mandela plunged into a hyperactive nonretirement. Several times a month he takes South African CEOs on tours of poor rural areas–and then invites them to build a school or clinic on behalf of the Nelson Mandela Foundation. He has hosted a stream of visiting dignitaries. And he’s slipped easily into the role of global statesman....

“The worst is behind us,” Dorion said. “Next year, we need to start contending for the playoffs. Two years from now, we need to be a playoff team. Three years from now we need to be a team that contends in the playoffs.” MORE: Social media reacts to unexpected World Juniors hero While Dorion’s vision appears to be a year behind schedule, his expectations may not be far off....

Alzheimer’s is a disease of loss, of missing the person who has been claimed by its piracy. I think I have missed my father the most since Sept. 11, or maybe I’ve just missed him differently. If not for this disease, he would be an elder statesman, taking up dignified space in the hushed and hallowed realm of our collective thoughts. We look to statesmen for wisdom, comfort, calm in the face of fear....

The small contingent of soldiers posted on Ukraine’s Snake Island were all killed as Russia invaded the country on Thursday. A radio communication from a Russian Navy warship warned the soldiers to surrender just before the island was shelled, prompting the defiant Ukrainians to respond by telling the Russians to “go f*** yourselves.” “This is a Russian military warship,” the Russians said in a recording of the communication, according to a translation by The Daily Mail....

SPOX and DAZN host Alex Schluter talked to the 41-year-old about his new life at the “Nike Basketball Festival” in Berlin. MORE: How Nowitzki went from unknown to unparalleled After everything I’ve read, I’m quite surprised to see you in decent shape. Dirk Nowitzki: Being seven feet tall, it’s a bit easier to hide. But the weight went up rather quickly. I didn’t really do anything for three months and didn’t put a lot of thought into my discipline in terms of eating....

A YouGov poll released on Thursday morning showed that 35 percent of adults would be “not at all surprised” if a genocide based on religious beliefs happened in modern-day America. The survey was primarily focused on the Holocaust and Anne Frank. The poll also showed that the opinion was a bipartisan one. Thirty-seven percent of Democrats, 34 percent of Republicans and 36 percent of Independents surveyed responded that they would not at all be surprised if such a situation took place....

While Tokyo has been under an emergency order since July 12, new daily cases have since jumped to 5,000 in the capital city and 25,000 nationwide. The surge has forced packed hospitals to turn away people to recover at home, even those requiring supplemental oxygen. The lack of available beds has resulted in more than 35,000 COVID-positive people in Tokyo recovering at home, with one-third of them unable to find an available hospital or treatment hotel bed....

More than 60 million ballots have reportedly been cast already and many states have broken records for early voting. There is speculation that 2020 could see the highest turnout since 1908, with 65 percent of eligible voters expected to take part—that is around 150 million votes. The outcome of the election will likely be decided in crucial swing states, where Trump secured the White House in 2016. Though the race is narrower in some of these states, Biden is still ahead in polling for several states that Trump won last time around....

Even Match.com is offering discounts to subscribers: six months free, if you don’t find Prince (or Princess) Charming in the first six months. While the online-dating industry has been enormously successful so far—the market grew 10 percent last year to $649 million—the number of subscribers is expected to flatten after 2009, reports Jupiter Research. “The growth is not what it was before,” says senior analyst David Card. How heartbreaking.

The Hill-HarrisX poll released Thursday indicated that only 20 percent of Americans want to ease restrictions amid the pandemic. A plurality, 45 percent, said restrictions should remain where they are, while 34 percent said that restrictions should be tightened. Only 8 percent of Democrats wanted restrictions to be eased, with 44 percent preferring current restrictions and 49 percent saying more restrictions should be added. Although a large partisan divide existed, no political party preferred easing restrictions....

That someone was a fiery Progressive Era reformer named Hiram Johnson, who could never have imagined that his well-intentioned but poorly reasoned recall process would be reincarnated 92 years later as High Chaotic Concept: “Survivor” on steroids, “American Idol” with consequences just a tad more serious than whether Ruben will outsell Clay. You can feel Johnson’s spirit now, confused by the flow of half-remembered cultural flotsam below, from Hustler Magazine (Larry Flynt) to “Diff’rent Strokes” (Gary Coleman) to “Politically Incorrect” (Arianna Huffington) to the 1984 L....

On Tuesday, Larry Dean Harmon, 38, of Akron, Ohio confessed to running “Helix” which is a Darknet bitcoin mixer. Along with his plea, Harmon has agreed to forfeit more than 4,400 bitcoin—valued at more than $200 million at Wednesday’s current market price and other items that were involved in the money laundering scheme. Harmon faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, a fine of $500,000, or twice the value of the property involved in the scheme, a term of supervised release of not more than three years and mandatory restitution....

Anatomy The optic nerve is mainly made up of the axons (nerve fibers) of the retinal ganglion cells from the retina. The optic disc or nerve head is the point where the axons from the retinal ganglion cells leave the eye. The nerve head appears as a white circular structure in the back of the eye. There are no photoreceptors on this structure. As a result, humans have a natural blind spot....

When gonorrhea affects the throat, it is also called pharyngeal gonorrhea. Learn more about the symptoms of oral gonorrhea, risk factors, treatment options, side effects, and prevention strategies in this article. Symptoms Not everyone who contracts gonorrhea will experience symptoms. Roughly 1 in every 10 men with gonorrhea won’t experience symptoms, and 5 in 10 women living with gonorrhea won’t experience symptoms. Typically, gonorrhea in the throat doesn’t cause any symptoms....

Russia’s Chechen unit, also known as the Kadyrovtsy, has posted a video of its soldiers in front of a burning building declaring Mariupol has been taken. A leader clad in black claims President Vladimir Putin ordered the unit to “destroy and purge” the city. The video, which has been widely shared on social media, shows the unit celebrating with a leader in distinct black tactical gear. A Ukrainian news agency, Ukraine World, reported that the leader in the video yelled, “An order to destroy and purge Mariupol is fulfilled....