The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the first over-the-counter HIV test, which allows users to test themselves for the virus within 20 minutes in the privacy of their homes. WORLD +1
North Carolina’s Republican legislature passed a bill that strips $343,000 in federal funding from private family planning providers, namely, Planned Parenthood, and redirects the funds to county health departments. WORLD -1
The Tristate’s extreme heat wave is blamed for the deaths of about 1,000 chicks at a mail processing plant in Louisville, Ky. The chicks were mailed from Iowa to recipients all over Kentucky in perforated cardboard boxes. CINCINNATI -2
Duke Energy CEO Bill Johnson resigned after one day in his new leadership position and will receive $44.4 million in exit payments. WORLD -2
Ohio’s free prescription-drug discount program, Ohio’s Best Rx, has expanded and is now available to all Ohioans regardless of age or income; the discounts were previously available to only senior citizens, low-income families and disabled people. CINCINNATI +1
In response to public confusion over mermaid existence sparked by Animal Planet’s documentary-style fiction show Mermaids: The Body Found, The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has officially announced that “no evidence of aquatic humanoids has ever been found.” WORLD -1
Cincinnati gained its eighth sister city in Mysore, India, a partnership that will enhance the business and economic relationships between the two regions. CINCINNATI +2
THIS WEEK:
CINCINNATI +1, WORLD -3
TO DATE:
CINCINNATI -1, WORLD -53