Stars deliver inspirational messages in Call to Unite event
LOS ANGELES — Director Lee Daniels talked about past drug use and urged people not to give into the temptation to abuse drugs during the coronavirus pandemic, saying “You are not alone.” Actress Eva Longoria said the pandemic is giving the world a chance to reset itself, and praised health...
Back in session: Senate returns but House stays away
WASHINGTON — The Senate will reopen on Monday as the coronavirus crisis rages and the House stays shuttered, a strategy that leaves Congress as divided as the nation. It’s a politically and physically fraught move by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, convening 100 senators at the U.S. Capitol during a...
Woman killed in alligator attack at South Carolina pond
KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. — Deputies in South Carolina shot and killed an alligator that fatally attacked a woman on Friday, authorities said. The officers were called to a pond on Kiawah Island around 5 p.m. and saw the animal attack, the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office said. The woman was dead....
UK coronavirus death total surpasses 28,000
LONDON — Britain’s Department of Health says a total of 28,131 people have died in hospitals, care homes and the wider community after testing positive for the new coronavirus in the United Kingdom, an increase of 621 from the previous tally. The figures include deaths as of 5 p.m. on...
Serb leader praises Russian arms 21 years after NATO bombing
BELGRADE, Serbia — Serbia’s president thanked Russia on Saturday for making the country’s military “10 times” stronger than when it was bombed by NATO in 1999. Aleksandar Vucic spoke Saturday while visiting an air defense unit near Belgrade that has recently been equipped with the Russian Pantsir-S1 system, which is...
As warmer weather beckons, NYPD to enforce social distancing
NEW YORK — As warmer weather tempted New Yorkers to come out of quarantine, police dispatched 1,000 officers this weekend to enforce social distancing and a ban on congregating in public spaces. Officers set out on foot, bicycles and cars to break up crowds and remind those enjoying the weather...
In US, a virus-era Ramadan presents obstacles, opportunities
For Jamilah Shakir, the first week of Ramadan has been an adjustment. She typically spends every night of the month at the Atlanta Masjid of Al-Islam or another mosque nearby. Now Ramadan has come, and mosques are closed to worshippers to prevent spread of the coronavirus. So Shakir and her...
New Mexico takes more drastic measures against virus hotspot
SANTA FE, N.M. — A modern-day trading post on the southern outskirts of the Navajo Nation was on lockdown over the weekend under the watch of National Guard troops and state police to discourage nonessential travel and commerce as local coronavirus infections soar. Invoking provisions of the state Riot Control...
Farmers markets scaling down with eye on safety due to virus
DETROIT — For a dozen years, Johnny Gyergyou has sold meat, poultry and eggs from his Berlin Township livestock farm at Eastern Market in Detroit. Lately, he’s been staying home as fear of the COVID-19 virus has kept thousands of shoppers away from the popular venue northeast of downtown. “The...
‘I died and came back’: 12-year-old recovers from virus
COVINGTON, La. — As her desperately sick daughter was being airlifted to a hospital, Jennifer Daly was thinking about all the parts of life that still lay ahead for her 12-year-old and whether she’d ever experience them: Would she get to fall in love? Would she get the chance to...
1 Houston police officer killed, 1 injured in copter crash
HOUSTON — A Houston police helicopter crashed early Saturday, killing one of the two officers on board and critically injuring the other, officials said. A pilot and tactical flight officer were aboard a police helicopter when it crashed at an apartment complex around 2 a.m. They were flown to a...
Virgin Galactic completes first glide flight in New Mexico
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Virgin Galactic’s spaceship VSS Unity landed in the New Mexico desert on Friday, marking its first glide flight from Spaceport America as the company moves toward commercial operations. The company announced the flight on social media and shared photos of the craft on the runway and members...
‘Freedom’ protest against coronavirus orders leads to arrests at California Capitol
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — They came with babies strapped to their chests, flags waving and even a speedboat parked at the curb to symbolize California’s closed beaches. Hundreds of people — likely more than 1,000 — crowded around the California State Capitol on Friday to protest Gov. Gavin Newsom’s social distancing...
White House blocking Fauci testimony, panel spokesman says
WASHINGTON — A spokesman for a key House panel said Friday that the White House has blocked Dr. Anthony Fauci from testifying next week at a hearing on the coronavirus outbreak. House Appropriations Committee spokesman Evan Hollander said the panel sought Fauci — the highly respected director of the National...
Anheuser-Busch wins latest round of beer wars against Molson
MADISON, Wis. — A federal appeals court on Friday struck down a lower court’s ruling in favor of brewing giant Molson Coors, determining that Anheuser-Busch can advertise and use packaging implying that its rival beers contain corn syrup. The order from a three-judge panel on the 7th U.S. Court of...
Middle finger didn’t warrant traffic stop, says North Carolina court
RALEIGH, N.C. — A state trooper’s decision to stop a driver who flashed an obscene hand gesture wasn’t justified, the North Carolina Supreme Court ruled Friday, overturning lower court decisions. The justices ruled unanimously that the evidence showed Trooper Paul Stevens lacked reasonable suspicion to pull over Shawn Patrick Ellis...
Remdesivir given go-ahead by FDA for emergency use against coronavirus
WASHINGTON — U.S. regulators on Friday allowed emergency use of an experimental drug that appears to help some coronavirus patients recover faster. It is the first drug shown to help fight COVID-19, which has killed more than 230,000 people worldwide. The FDA said in a statement that Gilead Science’s intravenous...
Stocks slide as Amazon, other companies detail coronavirus fallout
Stocks closed broadly lower on Wall Street on Friday after Amazon and other big companies reported disappointing results, the latest evidence of how the coronavirus pandemic is hobbling the economy and hurting corporate earnings. A day after closing out its best month since 1987, the S&P 500 fell 2.8%. The...
Trump says Michigan governor should ‘give a little’ to restart economy
LANSING, Mich. — President Donald Trump tweeted Friday that Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer should “give a little” and “put out the fire” a day after hundreds of conservative demonstrators, some with assault weapons, protested at the state Capitol against stay-at-home restrictions she imposed to fight the coronavirus pandemic. The Governor...
Man goes to clear out dead mom’s New York home, finds body in freezer
NEW YORK — A man found a decomposed body in his dead mother’s freezer as he was clearing out her Manhattan apartment, police said. He found the body this week in a chest freezer that had been sealed with duct tape, the Daily News reported. Investigators said the body appeared...
Budget fallout from virus hitting Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
The economic hurt from measures to contain the coronavirus unfolded more Friday, as Pennsylvania state government’s tax collections collapsed in April and, in Philadelphia, Mayor Jim Kenney proposed tax increases and layoffs. The state Revenue Department reported collecting $2.2 billion in April, half of what it had originally expected in...
House panel wants Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos to testify in antitrust probe
WASHINGTON — House lawmakers investigating the market dominance of Big Tech are asking Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos to testify to address possible misleading statements by the company on its competition practices. In a letter to Bezos on Friday, leaders of the House Judiciary Committee from both parties are holding out...
WHO chief reiterates coronavirus had natural origin
GENEVA — The head of emergencies at the World Health Organization reiterated that the group believes the novel coronavirus is “natural in origin.” Dr. Michael Ryan responded Friday to comments by President Donald Trump, who said he has seen information that the virus may have emerged from a virology institute...
South Dakota Smithfield pork plant will reopen Monday, according to union
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — A South Dakota pork processing plant will partially reopen Monday after shuttering for more than two weeks because of a coronavirus outbreak that infected hundreds of employees, a union that represents plant workers said Friday. Smithfield Foods asked about 250 employees to report to the plant...
Decline in critical coronavirus patients in Italy continues
ROME — The number of patients in Italy’s intensive care beds is continuing to decline. That’s allowing hospitals to better deal with the covid-19 outbreak, which when it began weeks ago had overwhelmed the national health care system, especially in heavily stricken northern regions. According to health ministry figures released...
