The Update- August 8th

The Update with Brandon Julien

Researchers might have finally scratched below the surface of this medical mystery. Itchiness is a common symptom of various skin conditions, but why that is has long been unclear — until now. A new study out of Harvard Medical School may offer some answers — and relief — for patients with eczema, an inflammatory skin condition affecting over 31 million Americans.

In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Thursday, New York City emergency management officials have apologized for a hard-to-understand flood warning issued in Spanish by drones flying overhead in some neighborhoods. These subway surfers caught a rainy wave. A pair of boneheaded subway surfers rode atop a 7 train in Queens amid a heavy weekend rainstorm, according to a viral video. And it's a tale of weather extremes across the country. Tropical Storm Debby has made a second landfall in South Carolina on its way up the East Coast, where residents as far north as Vermont could get several inches of rain this weekend. Meanwhile, in the American west, visiting Phoenix amid triple-digit temperatures, the U.S. government’s top health official acknowledged that a federal program that helps low-income people pay their utility bills needs to focus more on cooling homes in the summer instead of overwhelmingly on wintertime heating.