Alex Jones gets warning from FDA for pushing phony coronavirus cures online
Infowars founder Alex Jones has received an official warning from the Food and Drug Administration for peddling phony coronavirus cures online. In a formal letter to the alt-right television personality on Thursday, the agency ordered Jones to stop telling viewers of his widely watched broadcasts that they can stave off...
Worldwide deaths from the coronavirus top 100,000
NEW YORK — The worldwide death toll from the coronavirus has hit 100,000, according to the running tally kept by Johns Hopkins University. The sad milestone comes as Christians around the globe mark a Good Friday unlike any other — in front of computer screens instead of in church pews....
Inmates rampage through offices, set fires at Kansas prison
LANSING, Kan. — Inmates at a Kansas prison where at least 26 people have been sickened by the coronavirus rampaged through offices, breaking windows and setting small fires for several hours before the facility was secured, prison officials said Friday. The disturbance, involving about 20 men, began about 3 p.m....
New York coronavirus deaths rise fast, but hospitalizations slow
NEW YORK — New York covid-19-related deaths jumped yet again by more than 700 in a day, while hospitals battling the outbreak reported encouraging news. On the economic front, New York tried to improve its overwhelmed unemployment insurance website. Here are developments in the coronavirus outbreak. THE NUMBERS Coronavirus deaths...
Analysis: Coronavirus shows benefit of learning from other nations
In 1910, when a contagious pneumonic plague was ravaging northeastern China, a physician there concluded that the disease traveled through the air. So he adapted something he had seen in England. He began instructing doctors, nurses, patients and members of the public to wear gauze masks. That pioneering of masks...
Mercury-bound spacecraft buzzes Earth, beams back picturesVideo
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A Mercury-bound spacecraft swooped past Earth on Friday, tweaking its round-about path to the solar system’s smallest and innermost planet. Launched 1½ years ago, Europe and Japan’s Bepi-Colombo spacecraft passed within 8,000 miles of Earth. The closest approach occurred over the South Atlantic, with telescopes in...
Potential coronavirus drugs may cost as little as $1, study saysVideo
Potential coronavirus treatments could be made for as little as $1, well below their typical price tags in pharmacies, according to an analysis of nine drugs in clinical trials. If their promise is confirmed in ongoing studies, medicines for covid-19, including hydroxychloroquine, which President Donald Trump touted as a treatment,...
Judge: Failure to help whales skirts Endangered Species Act
PORTLAND, Maine — A judge has ruled the federal government failed to adequately protect endangered whales from lobster fishing activities, sending the industry and regulators scrambling to figure out what the future holds for one of America’s most lucrative marine industries. Environmental groups sued the U.S. government claiming regulators’ failure...
Nurses weigh their principles vs. safety in virus fightVideo
Paramedics rushed another critical covid-19 patient into the emergency room, and Chicago nurse Cynthia Riemer felt her adrenaline kick in. “Your heart starts racing,” she said. “You’re thinking, ‘How quickly and safely can we get them intubated?’ Because if we don’t, in the next five or 10 minutes, they could...
West Virginia near last in 2020 census responsesVideo
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia has one of the country’s lowest participation rates in the 2020 census. Data compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau shows only about a third of West Virginia households have responded to the head count as of Thursday, putting the state as third worst behind only...
Dairy industry group working to stop purchase limits on milk
If your local grocery store still has a limit on how much milk a customer can buy, the state’s Department of Agriculture wants to know about it. Despite the covid-19 pandemic disrupting the local dairy supply chain, agriculture officials announced the American Dairy Association North East is working to stop...
State police seize more than $11 million worth of drugs in first 3 months of 2020
State police seized more than 68 pounds of cocaine worth about $1.5 million in the first three months of 2020, according to figures released by the law enforcement agency. That amount is part of more than $11 million in illicit drugs troopers confiscated statewide between Jan. 1 and March 31....
Because of backlash, Feds say they will continue to fund coronavirus testing sitesVideo
The Department of Health and Human Services says it will continue to support community-based coronavirus testing sites around the country despite saying earlier in the week it would stop. The funding was to discontinue on Friday but because of social media backlash and criticism of local officials, the agency says...
Judges, lawyers pay price for packing Brooklyn courthouse
NEW YORK — Dozens of lawyers, court officers and clerks crowded onto the wooden benches in Judge Johnny Lee Baynes’ courtroom March 12 as they waited for the judge to hear cases at his calendar call, the busiest day of his week. It was business as usual — which unnerved...
Sen. Bob Casey, Excela doctor urge caution when it comes to reopening businesses
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey Jr. and Excela Health’s chief medical officer urged the public to be patient and consider “the greater good” when it comes to reopening businesses amid the coronavirus pandemic. “In order to preserve public health and to prevent the spread of a disease for which there’s no...
Judge orders Chicago jail to do more to halt spread of coronavirusVideo
CHICAGO — A federal judge in Chicago Thursday ordered one of the nation’s largest jails to take prompt action to stem the potentially catastrophic spread of the coronavirus, including by ensuring that its more than 4,000 detainees have access to adequate soap and sanitizer. U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly also...
As covid-19 kills, NYC shortens deadline for claiming deadVideo
NEW YORK — As New York City deals with a mounting coronavirus death toll and dwindling morgue space, the city has shortened the amount of time it will hold unclaimed remains before they are buried in the city’s public cemetery. Under the new policy, the medical examiner’s office will keep...
Mad magazine illustrator Mort Drucker dies at 91
NEW YORK — Mort Drucker, the Mad Magazine cartoonist who for decades lovingly spoofed politicians, celebrities and popular culture, died Thursday at 91. Drucker’s daughter, Laurie Bachner, told The Associated Press he fell ill last week, having difficulty walking and developing breathing problems. She did not give a specific cause...
U.N. chief warns covid-19 increases inequality for women
UNITED NATIONS — U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Thursday the coronavirus pandemic is deepening existing inequalities and “is having devastating social and economic consequences for women and girls” that could reverse limited progress toward gender equality over the past 25 years. The U.N. chief said in a video message and...
White House weighs new panel to map post-virus economic recoveryVideo
WASHINGTON — The White House is considering whether to create a working group focused on reviving the U.S. economy after the coronavirus pandemic eases, and whether the panel should include representatives from the private sector. The discussions are in their early stages, according to three people familiar with the matter....
Applications for mail-in ballots surge as lockdown continues
Applications for mail-in ballots are surging across Pennsylvania, even as President Trump repeatedly condemns mail-in voting as a scheme that could hamper GOP chances to prevail at the polls. According to the Pennsylvania Department of State, the number of applications for mail-in ballots increased from 179,172 on April 1 to...
General says coronavirus may affect more Navy shipsVideo
WASHINGTON — Pentagon leaders anticipate that the coronavirus may strike more Navy ships at sea after an outbreak aboard an aircraft carrier in the Pacific infected more than 400 sailors, a top general said Thursday. Gen. John Hyten, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said one member of...
Biden woos skeptical Sanders supporters with new proposals
WASHINGTON — Joe Biden on Thursday unveiled plans to expand eligibility for Medicare and forgive college debt for millions of Americans, as the former vice president begins courting progressives who lost their leader when Bernie Sanders left the presidential race. Biden’s swift move to shore up his left flank underscores...
‘You can’t relax’: New York coronavirus deaths up, but hospital trends hopeful
NEW YORK — New York state posted a record-breaking increase in coronavirus deaths for a third consecutive day even as a surge of patients in overwhelmed hospitals slowed, while isolation-weary residents were warned Thursday the crisis was far from over. The number of deaths rose by 799 to more than...
Smithfield temporarily shuts pork plant after 80-plus employees contract coronavirus
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — A Smithfield Foods pork processing plant in South Dakota will temporarily close for cleaning after more than 80 employees were confirmed to have the coronavirus, the company announced Thursday. Smithfield Foods plans to suspend operations in a large section of the Sioux Falls plant on Saturday,...
