In only four states in the entire country the rate was above 15 percent. Region Seven, which includes Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska, had the highest rate in the country as of the week ending on December 16, 18.5 percent. For weeks the four states have been identified as the worst-hit by the virus in the country, with more people testing positive than anywhere else.
Throughout 2023, records for the warmest temperatures around the world were broken one by one. But record-eclipsing temperatures will no longer be an anomaly if greenhouse gas emissions that fuel global warming continue at the current pace, according to climate scientists.