Alaska on Wednesday reported 69 new cases of COVID-19 among residents and nonresidents. The state did not report any new deaths among Alaskans with COVID-19, after announcing two deaths the day before. So far, 39 Alaskans with the virus have died, including two recent deaths involving residents of the Anchorage Pioneer Home, one of multiple communal living settings in Anchorage dealing with outbreaks of COVID-19. In addition to the 19 cases associated with the state assisted living facility, there are also 79 confirmed cases at the Brother Francis Shelter and 22 cases among residents and employees at the McLaughlin Youth Center, state and local health officials said this week. The Anchorage School District on Wednesday closed the O'Malley Elementary School building after a staff member there tested positive, according to district spokesman Alan Brown. It is the first time an Anchorage school building has closed due to a COVID-19 case since school began Aug. 20.  

VIDEO: Flames engulfed a condemned church building Wednesday evening in downtown Rockford. Several Rockford Fire Department engine companies were on the scene, fighting the blaze at Kishwaukee and Walnut streets and First Avenue. The fire sent thick plumes of smoke into the sky over downtown Rockford. Smoke could be seen from miles away. The former Rockford Masonic Cathedral, 607 Walnut St., dates back to 1869 and sits just inside the Haight Village Historic District. Officials said the building had been boarded up for some time. It was last known as the Metro Christian Centre. The fire was first reported around 6:45 p.m. and quickly spread throughout the church necessitating a response from as many as 30 firefighters, Rockford Fire Chief Derek Bergsten said. The chief confirmed that the building was not in use. Several windows had been boarded up, and there was no electricity going to the building. Old, dry timbers that frame the church are helping to fuel the fire, he added.  

The Centers for Disease Control has urged governors to be prepared for the distribution of a coronavirus vaccine by November 1, which is two days before Election Day. CDC Director Robert Redfield sent the letter dated August 27 to governors, informing them that the government is contracting with the company McKesson to distribute the vaccine to local health departments and doctors' offices and asked them to expedite any applications for distribution facilities requested by the company. CBS News has obtained a copy of the letter, first reported by McClatchy news service. "CDC urgently requests your assistance in expediting applications for these distribution facilities and, if necessary asks that you consider waiving requirements that would prevent these facilities from becoming fully operational by November 1, 2020," the letter reads. "The requirements you may be asked to waive in order to expedite vaccine distribution will not compromise the safety or integrity of the products being distributed."  

VIDEO: The everyday trauma experienced by first responders across the country and in Northeast Ohio continues to lead to growing levels of post-traumatic stress and the oftentimes life-altering side effects that come with it. In an effort to curb this trend, a coalition of researchers, experts and state officials developed a new science-based mobile app, making Ohio one of the first states with such an offering. Called the F.I.R.S.T. Support app (First Incident Respondence Technology), the app was developed in partnership with Ohio State professor and researcher, Dr. Kenneth Yeager, and Accentus Health. Dr. Yeager leads the STAR Program (Stress, Trauma and Resilience) at OSU's Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health. After an extensive beta period, the app has been released on Android and the Apple app stores. The app had a simple goal in mind: bring scalable and sustainable mental health support to high-stress, high-trauma professions like medicine and public safety.  

A Los Angeles Fire Department firefighter who has been missing for nearly two weeks is likely the victim of a "violent kidnapping," according to the head prosecutor of Baja California, Mexico. Frank Aguilar, 48, was last heard from on the night of Aug. 20, when he went down to check on the condo the family rents out through Airbnb, according to his two daughters. The property is located in the coastal city of Rosarito, less than 20 miles south of the U.S. border. Aguilar traveled alone and was only expected to be there for a few days, they said. The FBI got involved in his disappearance six days later. Investigators in Baja California say there were signs of violence at the condo. "We are working with technical personnel to establish his last instance when his freedom was taken," Hiram Sanchez, the head prosecutor, said. "We have found a lot of evidence that leads us to believe this was an act of violence, nevertheless we have not determined for sure this is what happened to him." &n bsp;

Alabama is the worst state in the nation to work in during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a survey out that rates the states based on their policies to protect working families. Oxfam America, a nonprofit agency dedicated to ending poverty, used 27 different data points in three areas of state assistance - worker protections, healthcare protections and unemployment support. Alabama ranked 52 - dead last - in a survey that included the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. It also ranked last in unemployment services, 49th in healthcare and 48th in worker protections. "The pandemic has exacerbated challenges facing low-wage working families in the US—but it did not create them," Minor Sinclair, Oxfam America's U.S. domestic program director said. "Instead, it has revealed the ugly reality of deep, structural problems for millions of working families who risk falling into poverty, hunger, and homelessness."