Latest news with #triStateArea
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Surge of ticks in US Northeast sets off health concerns
STORY: In the woods an hour north of New York City, students are on high alert, not for bears or coyotes, but something much smaller: ticks, some the size of a sesame seed. They're dragging cloth through the terrain to collect the critters and hey're finding more arachnids than usual. Dr. Tom Daniels is the director of Fordham University's Louis Calder Center. 'It's been a really hot year for ticks. We're seeing numbers that are generally about 30 to 40% higher than we saw last year, for example.' The bulk of the students findings are blacklegged ticks, responsible for spreading Lyme disease. Other species included the American dog tick, which is linked to Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and the invasive Asian longhorned tick. 'There's speculation, of course, that one of the reasons we're seeing more ticks, not just a number, but even a higher diversity, has to do with global warming. And that certainly is a factor. We're seeing ticks in areas that we hadn't seen them before. But the black legged tick numbers go up and down from one year to the next. And we don't always know why it is that that happens.' Scientists also point to a soaring deer population and people moving to more wooded areas. 'The wildlife is here, the ticks are here, and now we're here. And that raises our risk.' His lab also operates the Fordham Tick Index - tracking tick activity across the region. This summer it's consistently showing high risk for tick bites in the tri-state area: the region around southern New York, Connecticut and northern New Jersey. More tick bites means a greater risk for tick-borne illnesss like Lyme disease, which affects nearly half a million Americans annually, according to the CDC. Dr. Bruce Faber is an infectious disease physician. 'Only about three or 4% of ticks carry Lyme. Nevertheless, there's so many ticks and so many tick bites in certain areas. If you go hiking in the woods in the Northeast right now and you don't do anything to protect yourself, it would not be unusual to see that individual come back with five or ten ticks all over their body.' Experts are urging precautions like using tick repellents, wearing long sleeves and checking yourself and pets after activities outside.
Yahoo
24-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Voters head to the polls to cast their ballots in the NYC primary election
NEW YORK (PIX11) – Thousands of voters are heading to the polls on Tuesday to cast their ballots in the New York City primary elections. All eyes are on the Democratic mayoral primary, with former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani as principal rivals. A poll from PIX11 News/Emerson College/The Hill showed Mamdani inching out Cuomo in the final round of ranked-choice voting. More News: NY Elections The other mayoral hopefuls vying for votes include: Council Speaker Adrienne Adams City Comptroller Brad Lander State Sen. Jessica Ramos State Sen. Zellnor Myrie Former Assemblymember Michael Blake Former City Comptroller Scott Stringer Hedge fund manager Whitney Tilson Educator Selma Batholomew Artist Paperboy Prince Only 4% of voters were undecided, according to the PIX11 News/Emerson College/The Hill poll. The heat could also pose a problem for some voters. Temperatures are expected to reach the mid-90s in much of the tri-state area amid an excessive heat warning and air quality alert. More Local News The winner of the Democratic mayoral primary will go on to face independent candidates Mayor Eric Adams and Jim Walden and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa. Polling places open at 6 a.m. and close at 9 p.m. Find your polling place by clicking here. Erin Pflaumer is a digital content producer from Long Island who has covered both local and national news since 2018. She joined PIX11 in 2023. See more of her work here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
