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House Democrats press the leaders of federal agencies for details on whether President Trump has stymied health experts from taking more effective action to stem the spread of the coronavirus.

State Health officials reported a single-day spike of 245 coronavirus-related deaths, Tuesday, increasing the statewide death toll to 7,402 fatalities. Tuesday’s reported deaths marked the third highest single day number of fatalities since the beginning of the pandemic.The Florida Department of Health also reported 5,446 new cases of COVID-19, Aug. 4, increasing the statewide total to 497,330 cases.Yesterday marked the tenth consecutive day the state has reported fewer than 10,000 cases in a day.

What’s wrong with Brazilian Pepper? Nothing – if it is growing where it is native in South America. As with so many exotics, the problems come when a species is introduced to an area where it is NOT native. It then may have the upper hand – no natural controls. The problem is that we – as a species – have a fascination with novelty – something new, something different, and we have a propensity to move species around – to flaunt or sometimes to financially benefit from the novelty of a species. So it was with Brazilian Pepper. During the Elizabethan era of the 1800s, elaborate Christmas holiday decorations came into vogue – and nearly eradicated our native American Holly. In search for an alternative, Brazilian Pepper was introduced to Florida and marketed under various trade names such as “Florida Holly”. The first mistake was introducing it. The second mistake was to make people think it was a holly, the third mistake was not eradicating it as soon as the first two mistakes were recognized. Now it’s too late. Brazilian Pepper is well entrenched in south Florida ecosystems. It has downsides that were not anticipated – highly competitive with native species, and positive sides that have often been ignored – a source of winter food and shelter for native wintering and resident birds and other wildlife.

Over the decades, the nonprofit Calusa Nature Center and Planetarium has introduced countless people of all ages to the natural world, and the cosmos, through educational programs. Their 105-acre site features a natural history museum with live native and teaching animals, a butterfly garden and raptor aviary, as well as exhibits about the animals, plants, and environment of Southwest Florida. And they host events like music under the stars, paint and sips, night hikes, summer camps, and even an event called Potter in the Park. We sat down in their planetarium on a Saturday morning to shine some light on the work they do and the resources they provide to the community.

Schools were shut when the novel coronavirus first became a concern. Here's how Hong Kong handled re-opening — and now, a second closing due to a spike in cases.

Online misinformation is fueling a backlash in some places against coronavirus containment strategies such as contact tracing and isolation. Some health officials have even received violent threats.

With Super Tuesday in the rearview mirror, we look to what's to come on Big Tuesday and how the coronavirus will affect the presidential election.

An epidemiologist and a grad school graduate who'd gone to see family reflect on how tough it was to be cut off — and what they learned from their months-long quarantine.

President Trump plans to seal off the U.S-Mexico border to migrants under a law intended to protect the country from communicable disease. The border with Canada is closed to non-essential travel.

In Wuhan, China, most of the millions of people on lockdown have not gotten sick from COVID-19. But worries and isolation can affect their mental health.