Mosquito bites: The Louisiana Department of Health is urging people to guard against West Nile Virus after Louisiana has reported the most cases of the virus in the country. According to the most recent surveillance report, for the week ending on August 11, 2018, Louisiana has had 53 total human cases. Of those, 9 were asymptomatic, 13 developed West Nile Fever and 31 developed neuroinvasive disease. In comparison, the department reported 21 West Nile Virus cases at this time last year. Read the full announcement.
Screen time: A study out today from the Pew Research Center found that two-thirds of parents are concerned about the amount of time their teenage children spend in front of screens. At the same time, more than half of teens said they often or sometimes find their parents or caregivers to be distracted when the teens are trying to have a conversation with them. Many teens are trying to do something about it: 52% said they have cut back on the time they spend on their phones and 57% did the same with social media. Read the full story.
Spot on: Target reported strong sales growth both at stores and online, helped by remodeled locations and new delivery services. Like Nordstrom, Walmart and Home Depot, it also raised its outlook as retailers benefit from shoppers spending more freely. Target saw sales at stores open at least a year, a key measure of a retailer’s health, rise 6.5%, the strongest growth in 13 years. Traffic in stores and online rose 6.4%, the strongest showing since 2008 when it first started releasing that information. Read the full story.
