U.S./World category, Page 1024
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...
Report: Toilet paper shortage a result of people being home more, not hoarding
By now, most have heard about confrontations between people wanting to buy toilet paper during the coronavirus pandemic that have reached the point of authorities having to intervene. A recent report from USA Today suggests the idea that people have been selfishly hoarding the highly coveted tool may not paint...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
‘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,...
U.K.’s Boris Johnson out of intensive care as condition improves
LONDON — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s condition has improved and he has been moved out of intensive care where he was treated for three days with COVID-19, his office said Thursday. In a statement, a spokesman at 10, Downing Street said Johnson “has been moved this evening from intensive...
Trudeau: Canada’s first wave of covid-19 cases won’t end until summer
TORONTO — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday Canadians will need to stay at home and practice physical distancing for months as the first wave of covid-19 cases in the country won’t end until the summer and Canada won’t return to normal until there is a vaccine — which...
16.8M Americans thrown out of work as economic toll rises
NEW YORK — A staggering 16.8 million Americans have been thrown onto the unemployment rolls in just three weeks, underscoring the terrifying speed with which the coronavirus outbreak has brought world economies to their knees. Meanwhile, world leaders and health officials fervently warned that the hard-won gains against the scourge...
Virus-hit Wuhan cautiously revives amid thicket of controls
WUHAN, China — Released from their apartments after a 2 1/2-month quarantine, residents of the city where the coronavirus pandemic began are cautiously returning to shopping and strolling in the streets. But they say they still go out little and keep their children home while waiting for schools to reopen....
Tie game: Ancient bit of string shows Neanderthal handiwork
NEW YORK — It looked like a white splotch on the underside of a Neanderthal stone tool. But a microscope showed it was a bunch of fibers twisted around each other. Further examination revealed it was the first direct evidence that Neanderthals could make string, and the oldest known direct...
Bar owner pulls down cash from walls to pay workers
For the past 15 years, patrons have contributed dollar bills to decorate the walls and ceiling of The Sand Bar in Tybee Island, Ga. But now, with the coronavirus pandemic having shut down the bar, owner Jennifer Knox knew there was a better use for that cash. CNN reports Knox...
Tornado or virus? Coronavirus pandemic means tough sheltering decisions
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — As each day brings the United States closer to peak severe weather season, Tornado Alley residents are facing a difficult question: Is it better to take on a twister outside a community shelter or to face the possibility of contracting the new coronavirus inside one? So far,...
Missouri dad charged with accidentally shooting 8-year-old
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — A Missouri man has been charged with accidentally shooting his 8-year-old child after giving a lesson on gun safety as he put a pistol away. Phillip Lumas Sr., 45, of Jefferson City was charged Tuesday with felony second-degree domestic assault and misdemeanor second-degree endangering the welfare...
Record 16.8 million have sought U.S. jobless aid since virusVideo
WASHINGTON — With a startling 6.6 million people seeking jobless benefits last week, the United States has reached a grim landmark: More than one in 10 workers have lost their jobs in just the past three weeks to the coronavirus outbreak. The figures collectively constitute the largest and fastest string...
Astronauts leave virus-plagued planet for space station
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Three astronauts flew to the International Space Station on Thursday, departing the virus-plagued planet with little fanfare and no family members at the launch site to bid them farewell. NASA’s Chris Cassidy and Russians Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner arrived at the orbiting lab in their...
U.S. expels nearly 10,000 to Mexico under new border rules
A U.S. Border Patrol agent wouldn’t let Jackeline Reyes explain why she and her 15-year-old daughter fled Honduras and needed asylum, pointing to the coronavirus. It was just days after the Trump administration quietly empowered itself to shut down the nation’s asylum system. “The agent told us about the virus...
Feds loosen virus rules to let essential workers return
WASHINGTON — In a first, small step toward reopening the country, the Trump administration issued new guidelines to make it easier for essential workers who have been exposed to covid-19 to get back to work if they do not have symptoms of the coronavirus. Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the...
Fire at Moscow retirement home kills 4, leaves 16 injured
MOSCOW — A fire in a retirement home in Moscow killed four people and injured 16 others but firefighters managed to rescue 50 people from the burning building, emergency officials said Thursday. The fire broke out Wednesday night in the basement of the building and quickly spread to the ground...
