Afghan officials: Taliban attacks on checkpoints kill 29Video
KABUL, Afghanistan — A wave of Taliban attacks on checkpoints across Afghanistan has killed 29 members of the security forces, officials said Monday. In northern Takhar province, 19 security personnel were killed in a battle Sunday night in the district of Khwaja Ghor, according to Jawad Hajri, spokesman for the...
Miami police disperse crowd by David Guetta’s relief concert
MIAMI — Police said they dispersed crowds violating social distancing guidelines during David Guetta’s coronavirus relief concert in Miami. There were no arrests made when police broke up groups on the sidewalks far below the two-hour rooftop concert played by the DJ on Saturday, The Miami Herald reported. Florida has...
Harry and Meghan say they won’t cooperate with U.K. tabloidsVideo
LONDON — The Duke and Duchess of Sussex say they will no longer cooperate with several British tabloid newspapers because of what they call “distorted, false or invasive” stories. Meghan and Prince Harry have written to the editors of The Sun, the Daily Mail, the Daily Express and the Daily...
Trump says he’ll act to increase swab productionVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says he will use the Defense Production Act to increase manufacturing of swabs used to test for the coronavirus. Many governors have for weeks urged the White House to further evoke federal powers to increase private industry’s production of medical supplies as health officials work...
Trump administration, Democrats near deal for more coronavirus aid to small businessesVideo
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration and congressional Democrats expressed optimism Sunday that more than $450 billion in loans and aid to Americans most affected by the coronavirus outbreak will be enacted this week, providing a measure of financial help as the U.S. death toll passes 40,000. The bulk of the...
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine calls for federal help with testing materialsVideo
COLUMBUS — The governor of Ohio called on the federal government to help provide crucial materials that would allow a dramatic increase in testing for coronavirus in his state — and later reported a “very positive” response from the agency concerned. Gov. Mike DeWine said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the...
Israelis accuse Netanyahu of endangering democracyVideo
TEL AVIV, Israel — More than 2,000 Israelis took to the streets of Tel Aviv on Sunday, demonstrating against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s attempts to form an “emergency” government with his chief rival and accusing him of using the coronavirus crisis to escape prosecution on corruption charges. Demonstrators wore face...
Governors say Trump continues to be wrong on coronavirus testing
WASHINGTON — Even as President Trump on Sunday continued to tout the nation’s capacity for adequate coronavirus testing, several governors took to the airwaves to vehemently challenge his assessment and to complain that the federal government has been laggardly in helping provide support for health systems and local economies. “I...
Global health crisis pits economic against health concernsVideo
WASHINGTON — The global health crisis is taking a nasty political turn with tensions worsening between governments locked down to keep the coronavirus at bay and people yearning to restart stalled economies and forestall fears of a depression. Protesters worrying about their livelihoods and bucking infringements on their freedom took...
Official: Police kill gunman who hijacked Dallas-area bus
ROWLETT, Texas — A man opened fire on a Dallas-area public bus on Sunday, hijacking it with two people aboard and leading officers on a chase that ended in a shootout in which the man was killed and three officers were wounded, according to police officials. A man got on...
16 killed in Canada shooting rampage, deadliest in 30 yearsVideo
ENFIELD, Nova Scotia — A gunman disguised as a police officer shot people in their homes and set fires in a rampage across the Canadian province of Nova Scotia that killed 16 people, the deadliest such attack in the country’s history. Officials said Sunday the suspected shooter was also dead....
Treasury Secretary Mnuchin takes credit for putting Trump’s name on stimulus checksVideo
Since it was announced that President Trump’s name was being added to millions of paper economic stimulus checks, many have wondered how that decision came to be. In a shocking twist, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said it was all his idea. In an interview, Mnuchin said that since it would...
Erdogan, Trump agree on ‘close cooperation’ in virus crisis
ISTANBUL — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President Trump have spoken on the phone, discussing the coronavirus pandemic, bilateral relations and regional developments. According to an account of the phone call shared by the Turkish presidency’s office Sunday, the leaders agreed to continue their “close cooperation” against the threats...
France to unveil end-of-lockdown plan within 2 weeks
France will unveil within two weeks a plan to progressively lift restrictions on travel and business that aimed to curb the coronavirus epidemic, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said Sunday. After May 11, when the lockdown starts to get lifted, “our lives won’t be exactly the same as before,” Philippe warned...
Judge blocks Kansas rule limiting religious gatherings amid outbreak
TOPEKA, Kan. — A federal judge signaled he believes there’s a good chance Kansas is violating religious freedom and free speech rights with a coronavirus-inspired 10-person limit on in-person attendance at religious services or activities, and he blocked its enforcement against two churches that sued over it. The ruling Saturday...
Biden wins mail-in Wyoming Democratic caucus
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Joe Biden has won Wyoming’s Democratic presidential caucus, which had been postponed for two weeks and scaled back to only mail-in ballots because of the coronavirus pandemic, state party officials said Sunday. The results were announced less than two weeks after Bernie Sanders dropped out and endorsed...
Photo of protesters at Ohio statehouse compared to zombie movie
A photo of protesters outside the Ohio Statehouse from this week has draw comparisons to a scene from a zombie movie. The photo taken by Joshua A. Bickel of The Columbus Dispatch on Monday shows protesters outside the Ohio Statehouse Atrium where reporters were listening to the state’s coronavirus response...
Evolving aid package offers billions for hospitals, testing
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration and Congress are nearing an agreement as early as Sunday on an aid package of up to $450 billion to boost a small-business loan program that has run out of money and add funds for hospitals and covid-19 testing. With small business owners reeling during...
Coronavirus accelerates decline of coal industry
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Travis Deti has been working the phones to try to get government support for the U.S. coal industry during the coronavirus pandemic. Between recent calls, the head of the Wyoming Mining Association tried to unclog a sink at home. But unlike Deti’s sink, which eventually started flowing...
Chief: Man ambushed 3 Texas officers in home, killing 1
SAN MARCOS, Texas — A man who killed one Texas police officer and wounded two before killing himself was wearing body armor and waiting to ambush them when they arrived at his home in response to a domestic violence call, authorities said Sunday. The attack Saturday in San Marcos, a...
Coronavirus deaths down in N.Y., but officials urge vigilance
NEW YORK — New York’s daily toll of coronavirus deaths has hit its lowest point in more than two weeks, but officials still warn New York City and the rest of the state aren’t ready to ease up on shutdowns of schools, businesses and gatherings. Mayor Bill de Blasio warned...
Storms rake Deep South, 1 week after deadly tornado outbreak
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Strong wind, hail and thunderstorms pounded parts of the Deep South on Sunday as forecasters warned residents to brace for possible tornadoes and flooding across a region still reeling from a deadly storm outbreak a week earlier. Tornado watches ranged across parts of Louisiana and Mississippi into...
Video tribute honors Oklahoma bombing victims amid outbreakVideo
OKLAHOMA CITY — Survivors and loved ones of the 168 people who were killed in the Oklahoma City bombing were not able to gather Sunday to mark the 25th anniversary of the attack, but that did not stop them from remembering. Because the annual remembrance ceremony was canceled due to...
Battleground power plays rage as everyday politics go quiet
DES MOINES, Iowa — Door-knocking? Over. Local party activity? Some Facebook traffic, if that. Across an arc of vital swing states, the coronavirus has put politics on an uneasy pause. Instead, political fights among state leaders from Iowa to Pennsylvania over the handling of the pandemic’s impact are raging as...
Gov. Andrew Cuomo set to allow video weddings in New York
NEW YORK —For those in New York looking for something to celebrate amid the coronavirus pandemic, the state is untangling some red tape around tying the knot: New Yorkers will be able to get marriage licenses online and wed via video during the crisis. Many marriage bureaus have been closed...