Rep. Conor Lamb wishes happy birthday to 100-year-old aunt from safe distanceVideo
U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb and a few family members wanted to wish their aunt a happy 100th birthday, but with the coronavirus outbreak they had to keep some distance. So according to a post on his social media, Lamb and members of his family, with the help of the staff...
Pa. reports another 108 confirmed cases of coronavirus; state total now 479
Another 108 new confirmed cases of coronavirus have been reported in Pennsylvania, the state Department of Health announced Sunday. In all, 479 cases have been confirmed in the state, with 5,443 people having been tested. That means 4,964 people have tested negative. Two people have died as a result of...
Senate fails to advance covid-19 rescue package
WASHINGTON — Top-level negotiations between Congress and the White House churned late into the night over a now nearly $2 trillion economic rescue package, as the coronavirus crisis deepened, the nation shut down and the first U.S. senator tested positive for the disease. As President Donald Trump took to the...
Virus rebels from France to Florida flout lockdown practices
PARIS — Young German adults hold “corona parties” and cough toward older people. A Spanish man leashes a goat to go for a walk to skirt confinement orders. From France to Florida to Australia, kitesurfers, college students and others crowd the beaches. Their defiance of lockdown mandates and scientific advice...
38 positive for coronavirus in New York City jails, including Rikers
New York City was hit by the nation’s largest coronavirus jail outbreak to date this week, with at least 38 people testing positive at the notorious Rikers Island complex and nearby facilities — more than half of them incarcerated men, the board that oversees the city’s jail system said Saturday....
Virus outbreak means (mis)information overload: How to cope
The coronavirus pandemic is leading to information overload for many people, often making it difficult to separate fact from fiction and rumor from deliberate efforts to mislead. Already, text messages predicting a nationwide lockdown have circulated, along with social media posts telling people that one way to get tested for...
Trump’s fate tied to an unknown: how fast economy recovers
BALTIMORE — The coronavirus has flung the U.S. economy into a dangerous tailspin, and President Donald Trump’s reelection hopes are caught in the sudden whirlwind. For the next seven months, Trump may be consigned to campaigning in a country beset by a fear of job loss, bankruptcy and disease. It...
Coronavirus at a glance: Italy has 800 new deaths; medical supplies dwindle worldwide
The virus pandemic advanced Sunday after the U.S. and Europe reported soaring new cases, prompting a scramble in some regions to set up additional hospital beds and replenish much-needed medical supplies. Italy announced its biggest day-to-day increase of infections, which rose by 6,600 with nearly 800 new fatalities from the...
Why you should never store canned goods in the garage
Stockpiling food and water is like a little insurance policy: Hopefully you never have to rely on it, but if you do, if could prove to be priceless. Whether it’s the threat of natural disaster or a pandemic, having a safety stash of food and water can give you a...
Italy virus cases soar again; N.Y. eyes temporary hospitals
The coronavirus pandemic took an increasingly bleak toll Saturday in the U.S. and Europe, producing staggering caseloads in New York and Italy and setting off a desperate scramble to set up thousands of additional hospital beds at convention centers and college campuses. Italy, at the heart of western Europe’s rampaging...
Spring break is over: Miami Beach almost unrecognizable as partying ends
MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — It was just a week ago that Felix Mohen landed in Florida, hopped in an Uber and headed straight for Ocean Drive, the famed South Beach promenade of open-air poolside bars, topless sunbathing and neon-lit Art Deco hotels across from 21/2 miles of beaches that swell...
Trump vs Fauci: President’s gut instinct collides with science
WASHINGTON — In a clash of gut instinct versus science, President Donald Trump and the government’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, publicly sparred over whether a malaria drug would work to treat people with coronavirus disease. Trump clung to his feeling that a malaria drug widely available could...
Nursing home outbreaks lay bare chronic industry problems
NEW YORK — Burgeoning coronavirus outbreaks at nursing homes in Washington, Illinois, New Jersey and elsewhere are laying bare the industry’s long-running problems, including a struggle to control infections and a staffing crisis that relies on poorly paid aides who can’t afford to stay home sick. That came into clear...
As offerings dwindle, some churches fear for their future
NEW YORK — As in-person worship services are canceled or downsized amid the coronavirus outbreak, some churches across the U.S. are bracing for a painful drop in weekly contributions and possible cutbacks in programs and staff. One church leader, Bishop Paul Egensteiner of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s Metropolitan...
Election limbo as coronavirus outbreak upends U.S. primaries
ATLANTA — U.S. elections have been upended by the coronavirus pandemic. At least 13 states have postponed voting and more delays are possible as health officials warn that social distancing and other measures to contain the virus might be in place for weeks, if not months. The states that have...
Coronavirus world glance: Nearly 5,000 new infections in a day in Spain
MADRID — Spain has recorded almost 5,000 new coronavirus infections in 24 hours as it climbed into third place in the global ranking of infections behind China and Italy. Health authorities said Saturday that virus infections have reached 24,926, up from 19,980 the day before. Total deaths were 1,326, up...
Trump’s ‘coup de grâce’? Coronavirus tests a divided America
LARGO, Fla. — As restaurants across the country stacked chairs on tables and shut their doors to try to contain the deadly coronavirus, what would be the final visitors streamed into the Conservative Grounds coffee shop in Largo, Fla. Fox News played on the televisions. Patrons posed for photos in...
Virus outbreak poses massive challenges for US charities
NEW YORK — With its global scope and its staying power, the coronavirus outbreak poses unprecedented challenges for charities and nonprofit groups that rely on donations. The American Red Cross faces a severe blood shortage due to the cancellation of nearly 2,700 blood drives. The Girl Scouts’ annual cookie sale...
Endangered gray wolf population on the rise in southwest US
THE EDGE OF THE GILA WILDERNESS, N.M. — A voice interrupted the crackle of the radio at basecamp: “Starting pursuit.” The rest of the team on the ground was anxious to hear those words after the low-flying helicopter crew had been working all morning to get close to one of...
AP Photos: Public places stand abandoned in time of virus
These are places meant for people. New York’s Grand Central Terminal — a common metaphor for “busy” in much of the English-speaking world — dotted with only scattered commuters. The Grand Place in Brussels at twilight, its cobblestones so devoid of foot traffic that the streetlight reflections sprawl for yards...
Worry and anxiety while planning for birth of baby during coronavirus outbreak
The world can change a lot in nine months. Last fall, everything seemed normal. Summer was drawing to a close. Work was good. My family took a short trip to Lake Erie. Football season was starting. Relatives visited. And my wife and I found out there was an addition to...
US tourists stranded abroad don’t know when they’ll return
Linda Scruggs and Mike Rustici trained for months to hike the winding trails leading to Machu Picchu’s complex of Inca ruins. So they were thrilled when their flight landed last Friday in the Peruvian capital. They managed to do part of their trek but now they are trapped in a...
Possibly ill passengers from cruise ship land in Atlanta; some travelers allowed to head home
ATLANTA — At least 300 cruise ship passengers who had been stranded at sea due to the coronavirus were flown to Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on Friday. But it wasn’t known late Friday whether any of those passengers would be quarantined or allowed to travel home. Several people aboard the...
Hospitals stockpile malaria drug Trump says could treat covid-19
NEW YORK — Hospitals have been rushing to stockpile a decades-old antimalarial drug touted by President Donald Trump and others as a treatment for the new coronavirus. Hydroxychloroquine is being snapped up by medical systems at more than twice the typical pace as U.S. hospitals seek to build large inventories...
Environmental groups urge Americans to eat more fish while hunkering down against virus
Environmental groups have long fought for animal rights, rallied against pollution and pushed back on overfishing, but a new message this week urged the nation to eat more seafood as it hunkers down during the coronavirus pandemic. Specifically, many are asking you to please buy American-caught seafood. “Over the past...
