Coronavirus deaths top 3,000 as warnings sound for global economyVideo
SEOUL, South Korea — The number of new virus infections rose worldwide along with fears of a weakening global economy, even as cases in China dropped to their lowest level in six weeks on Monday and hundreds of patients at the outbreak’s epicenter were released from hospitals. The number of...
South Korean military: North Korea fires unidentified projectiles
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea fired two unidentified projectiles from a coastal area Monday as it resumed weapons demonstrations following a monthslong hiatus. The launches came two days after North Korea’s state media said leader Kim Jong Un supervised an artillery drill aimed at testing the combat readiness of...
Judge rules head of immigration agency Ken Cuccinelli was unlawfully named
SAN DIEGO — A federal judge has ruled that Ken Cuccinelli was unlawfully appointed to lead the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency and, as a result, lacked authority to give asylum seekers less time to prepare for initial screening interviews. Cuccinelli, a former Virginia attorney general and an immigration...
Joe Biden warmly welcomed in Selma as Dems court black votersVideo
SELMA, Ala. — Joe Biden received a warm reception Sunday in this crucible of the civil rights movement as he and other Democratic presidential hopefuls appealed for black support in a town where demonstrators were once beaten for marching for the right to vote. Themes of fighting voter suppression, providing...
DA: Bucks County man shot, wounded by police during standoff dies
DOYLESTOWN — A man shot and wounded by police during a standoff near Philadelphia last month has died, authorities said. The Bucks County district attorney’s office said Thomas Edward Zeller, 61, was pronounced dead Sunday afternoon at Abington Hospital-Jefferson Health. The Montgomery County coroner’s office was scheduled to do an...
New York confirms 1st positive test of new coronavirus
NEW YORK — New York confirmed Sunday the state’s first positive test of the new virus that has sickened tens of thousands of people across the globe. A woman in her late 30s contracted the virus while traveling in Iran, according to a statement from Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office. She...
Pete Buttigieg ends historic presidential campaign, urges unity
WASHINGTON — Pete Buttigieg, who rose from relative obscurity as an Indiana mayor to a barrier-breaking, top-tier candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, ended his campaign on Sunday. The decision by the first openly gay candidate to seriously contend for the presidency — and among the youngest ever — came...
Charges dropped against man shot by Chicago cop at stationVideo
CHICAGO — A man shot and seriously wounded by a Chicago police officer in a downtown train station won’t face charges, as prosecutors on Sunday dropped the criminal case stemming from an incident captured on bystander video and shared widely. Cook County prosecutors moved to drop resisting arrest and criminal...
West Virginia University president responds after 2 shootings
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The president of West Virginia University released a letter Sunday emphasizing the university’s commitment to safety after two recent shootings near the Morgantown campus, one of them involving a fatality. WVU President Gordon Gee wrote to the community that the campus of more than 26,000 students is...
Weary and divided, Israel goes back to the polls
JERUSALEM — For the third time in under a year, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking reelection, and once again the Israeli leader is on the ropes. After two inconclusive elections last year, opinion polls forecast another stalemate — a troubling scenario for Netanyahu, who will go on trial on...
Turkey, Syria fighting escalates; refugees mass at EU borderVideo
KASTANIES, Greece — Thousands of migrants and refugees massed at Turkey’s western frontier Sunday, trying to enter Greece by land and sea after Turkey said its borders were open to those hoping to head to Europe. In Syria, Turkish troops shot down two Syrian warplanes after the Syrian military downed...
Pentagon sees Taliban deal as allowing fuller focus on China
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration’s peace deal with the Taliban opens the door for an initial American troop withdrawal that Defense Secretary Mark Esper sees as a step toward the broader goal of preparing for potential war with China. Esper has his eye on “great power competition,” which means staying...
Surgeon General asks people to ‘stop buying masks’ amid coronavirus outbreak
The surgeon general made a plea to Americans to stop buying face masks, saying that they are not effective in preventing people from catching the coronavirus. But he implored that healthcare providers do need them. “Seriously people - STOP BUYING MASKS!” U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams complained Saturday on...
Authorities announce 2nd coronavirus death in United StatesVideo
SEATTLE — Health officials in Washington state said Sunday night that a second person had died from the coronavirus. Researchers said the virus may have been circulating for weeks undetected in the greater Seattle area. In a statement, Public Health—Seattle & King County said a man in his 70s died...
Coronavirus outbreak batters economies, raises fear of spread
TOKYO — Amid fears about where the next outbreak of a fast-spreading new virus would appear, infections and deaths continued to rise across the globe Sunday, emptying streets of tourists and workers, shaking economies and rewriting the realities of daily life. Panic-buying of daily necessities emerged in Japan, tourist sites...
Coronavirus fears close down France’s Louvre Museum
PARIS — The spreading coronavirus epidemic shut down France’s Louvre Museum on Sunday, with workers who guard its trove of artworks fearful of being contaminated by the museum’s flow of visitors from around the world. “We are very worried because we have visitors from everywhere,” said Andre Sacristin, a Louvre...
Joe Biden hopes South Carolina win boosts him on Super Tuesday
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Joe Biden said Sunday he can “unite this country, the whole country” after scoring a thundering victory in South Carolina’s Democratic primary that could force moderate rivals out of the race and blunt the rise of progressive leader Bernie Sanders. Biden vowed he would improve his campaign...
Coughing pope cancels participating in Lenten retreat
VATICAN CITY — A coughing Pope Francis told pilgrims gathered for the traditional Sunday blessing that he is canceling his participation at a week-long spiritual retreat in the Roman countryside because of a cold. It is the first time in his seven-year papacy that he has missed the spiritual exercises...
President’s power to fire independent agency heads faces test
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is about to tell President Donald Trump whether he has more power to use a favorite phrase: “You’re fired.” A case being argued at the high court on Tuesday could threaten the structure of agencies that form an enormous swath of the federal government. It...
Greensburg native had ‘the best’ life
If everything in Bill Heubel’s world was “the best,” as he liked to say, then his life would fit that description too. “He was quite a man,” said his niece, Bernadette Scully. Mr. Heubel was a veteran, a retired lawyer, a world traveler, an avid golfer, a musician, a composer,...
Analysis: Biden buys time with emphatic South Carolina win
Joe Biden bought himself time. It’s unclear how much. Biden’s victory in South Carolina on Saturday was emphatic enough to let him make the claim that it had reordered the race for the Democratic presidential nomination. He can now credibly argue he is the overwhelming favorite of black voters who...
Biden wins South Carolina, hopes for Super Tuesday momentum; Steyer drops out
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Joe Biden scored a thundering victory in South Carolina’s Democratic primary on Saturday, riding a wave of African American support and ending progressive rival Bernie Sanders’ winning streak. Biden’s win came at a do-or-die moment in his 2020 bid as the moderate Democrat bounced back from underwhelming...
Socialist hardliner aims gun on Guaidó march in Venezuela
CARACAS, Venezuela — Socialist hardliners in Venezuela opened fire during a march headed by Juan Guaidó, injuring a 16-year-old demonstrator and adding to tensions in the country as the opposition leader seeks to revive his campaign to oust Nicolás Maduro. A photo of the confrontation provided exclusively to The Associated...
Perspective on coronavirus: How does it stack up with the flu, historic outbreaks?Video
As figures stand now, the new coronavirus disease — Covid-19 — is 20- to 40-times more deadly than the typical flu, depending on where you are in the world. Experts agree that it will eventually spread everywhere. The case-fatality ratio also could drop as more data becomes available. Putting it...
U.S. ups travel restrictions as Trump says more coronavirus cases ‘likely’
WASHINGTON — Seeking to reassure the American public, President Donald Trump said Saturday there was “no reason to panic” as the new coronavirus claimed its first victim inside the U.S. The White House also announced new restrictions on international travel to prevent its spread. Trump, speaking only moments after the...
