Cincinnati Edition

A Kentucky law that allows for involuntary treatment of people facing addiction is now being challenged as unconstitutional. The Matthew Casey Wethington Act for Substance Abuse Intervention was passed in 2004. It is being challenged on three grounds: violation of due process, equal protection and First Amendment rights.

A powerful tool in preventing the spread of COVID-19 is wearing a face covering. But for those in our community who are hard of hearing or deaf, cloth masks create more than just a barrier to the spread of disease - they are a barrier to communication.

In a typical year, between one and three children are lost to drowning in backyard swimming pools during a Cincinnati summer. This year, Cincinnati Children's Hospital reports nine such deaths.

Former advisor to Hillary Clinton, Jennifer Palmieri writes for the Washington Post, "I am proud to declare that I have been a woman struggling to succeed in a man's world and even more proud to declare my independence from it." In her new book, She Proclaims: Our Declaration of Independence from a Man's World , Palmieri offers a manifesto for women seeking empowerment outside patriarchy.

A depressed mood or anxiety in COVID-19 patients could point to the virus' potential impact on the central nervous system. These two psychological symptoms were most closely associated with a loss of smell and taste rather than the more severe indicators of the novel coronavirus such as shortness of breath, cough or fever, according to the study.

Since the coronavirus pandemic some of the in-person services the library offers have had to be put on hold. And that includes the popular storytimes that bring families together with a librarian to share a book. Now the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County is taking a new approach to storytime by helping parents and caregivers tackle important conversations through books.

There are many unknowns with the novel coronavirus that researchers have yet to work out in the lab and through case studies. One question is whether patients are immune to COVID-19 after infection and why, on the other hand, some patients are reporting a seeming resurgence of the virus after recovery.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to the world more than just a health crisis. There is a significant economic toll and other issues at play. One is an increase in domestic violence cases directly tied to our stay-at-home orders. Locally, the organization Women Helping Women is reporting a 30% increase in calls to its hotline.

Dean Regas, the astronomer for the Cincinnati Observatory , has stayed busy during the pandemic with online tours and educational sessions; releasing the updated version of his book, 100 Things to See In the Night Sky ; preparing for this week's Perseid meteor shower; and restarting his WVXU podcast, Looking Up .

Cincinnati's streetcar is on track to run again, without fares. This comes after Cincinnati City Council was able to override the mayor's veto. But the mayor vetoed another piece of streetcar legislation this week.