As coronavirus cases across the United States climb toward a third peak , the country surpassed a total of eight million total known cases on Thursday afternoon, according to a New York Times database. Epidemiologists warned of a new, worrisome phase as 17 states are seeing surges unlike anything they experienced earlier in the pandemic. States including Alaska, Minnesota, Montana and Wisconsin reported more new cases during the seven-day stretch that ended on Wednesday than in any other week since the virus arrived in the country. Reports of new cases are trending upward in 41 states over the last two weeks, while nine states are holding case numbers roughly steady. No state in the country is seeing a sustained decline. Many of the 17 states seeing more new cases than ever […]