U.S./World category, Page 1049
What you need to know today about the virus outbreak
America’s coronavirus infections have surged to the most in the world, reaching 100,000 cases Friday with New York still the worst hit in the country. Troubling new outbreaks are bubbling in other cities including Chicago, Detroit and New Orleans, which is rushing to build a makeshift hospital in its convention...
Handling mail amid coronavirus: Low risk but wash your hands
Kathy Payne has a routine: She wipes down the trays holding the mail she’s about to deliver. She puts on gloves to sort the letters and packages, then a new pair when she climbs into her vehicle. As she fills people’s mailboxes throughout the day, she constantly cleans her steering...
California has surge of virus cases that threatens hospitals
LOS ANGELES — The surge of coronavirus cases in California that health officials have warned was coming has arrived and will worsen, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Friday, while the mayor of Los Angeles warned that by early next week his city could see the kind of crush that has crippled...
4 dead on cruise ship heading to Fort Lauderdale
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Four people have died aboard a Holland America cruise ship that is making its way to Port Everglades, the liner announced Friday. The news comes three days after the company confirmed 77 crew and passengers aboard the Zaandam were sick with coronavirus symptoms. A Miramar couple...
Ohio sets all-mail primary April 28; in-person voting off
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio has set a new, almost exclusively mail-in primary election for April 28 due to the coronavirus, ignoring the timing recommendations of the state elections chief and some voting-rights groups. Republican Gov. Mike DeWine signed a sweeping relief bill containing the change Friday, though he also had...
As virus toll mounts in New York, more hospitals sought
NEW YORK — President Donald Trump and elected leaders in New York are clashing again over the depth of the state’s coronavirus crisis. Meanwhile, the outbreak is taking its toll on the state’s civil servants, with the virus claiming the lives of bus and train workers and a civilian employee...
Canada to cover up to 75% of salaries for businesses
TORONTO — The Canadian government is increasing a payroll subsidy to small- and medium-sized businesses to now cover up to 75% of salaries amid the pandemic. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the major increase over the original 10 percent subsidy plan. Trudeau said it became clear they needed to do...
Pope to mark Holy Week ceremonies in shelter of St. Peter’s
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis will celebrate Holy Week ceremonies in the confines of Vatican City, including a Good Friday Way of the Cross service on the steps of St. Peter’s Basilica instead of at Rome’s Colosseum as customary. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Vatican on Friday announced that...
Lack of social distancing leads to closure of parks, trails
OAK PARK, Ill. — It was a sunny day, the first in about a week when temperatures had climbed past the 50-degree mark, and people in Chicago did what they always do on such a day: They flocked to the shores of Lake Michigan. Mayor Lori Lightfoot did not consider...
Venezuela’s only telecoms satellite is lost in spaceVideo
BOGOTA, Colombia — Venezuela’s only telecommunications satellite has veered off its orbit and stopped working, creating a logistical headache for the cash-strapped South American nation. The Chinese-built satellite was launched among much fanfare in 2008 under the watch of former President Hugo Chavez, who said that the six-ton machine would...
Pedestrian bridge falls onto Detroit freeway; no injuries
DETROIT — A portion of a pedestrian bridge fell early Friday onto a Detroit freeway, blocking traffic, police said. No one was injured in the collapse onto westbound Interstate 94, Lt. Mike Shaw, a Michigan State Police spokesman, said in an email. State police reported on Twitter that the agency...
Appeals grow to close U.S. national parks during pandemicVideo
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is sticking with its crowd-friendly waiver of entrance fees at national parks during the coronavirus pandemic, as managers at some parks try and fail to keep visitors a safe distance apart and communities appeal for a shutdown at other parks that are still open. While...
If you don’t laugh, you cry: Coping with virus through humor
BOSTON — Neil Diamond posts a fireside rendition of “Sweet Caroline” with its familiar lyrics tweaked to say, “Hands … washing hands.” A news anchor asks when social distancing will end because “my husband keeps trying to get into the house.” And a sign outside a neighborhood church reads: “Had...
Brazil’s governors rise up against President Jair Bolsonaro’s coronavirus stanceVideo
SAO PAULO — Brazil’s governors are defying President Jair Bolsonaro over his call to reopen schools and businesses, dismissing his argument that the “cure” of widespread shutdowns to contain the spread of the new coronavirus is worse than the disease. Bolsonaro contends that the clampdown already ordered by many governors...
Space Force launches its 1st mission with virus precautions
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The newly established U.S. Space Force launched its first national security satellite Thursday with a leaner staff because of the coronavirus pandemic. “Nothing stops the space launch mission!” the 45th Space Wing tweeted from Cape Canaveral. The approximately $1 billion satellite is the sixth and final...
Trump say feds developing new guidelines for coronavirus risk
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Thursday that federal officials are developing guidelines to rate counties by risk of virus spread, as he aims to begin to ease nationwide guidelines meant to stem the coronavirus outbreak. In a letter to the nation’s governors, Trump said the new guidelines are meant...
Autism diagnosis more common in the U.S. as racial gap closesVideo
NEW YORK — Autism has grown slightly more common in the United States, but a gap in diagnosis of white and black kids has disappeared, according to a government report released Thursday. Closure of that gap — thanks to increased screening — is the main reason autism diagnoses are up...
Congress’ relief bill would vastly expand unemployment aidVideo
NEW YORK — With record-high numbers of Americans seeking unemployment benefits after losing their jobs because of the coronavirus, Congress is set to significantly enhance the program. The $2.2 trillion rescue package nearing final approval will, for four months, add $600 a week to standard unemployment benefits, which vary by...
Meghan to narrate Disney nature film in first post-royal job
Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, has her first post-royal job: narrating a Disney documentary about elephants. Disney announced Thursday that the duchess, who is married to Britain’s Prince Harry, is lending her voice to “Elephant,” released April 3 on the Disney+ streaming service. It’s one of a series of animal-...
Dreaming of lottery riches? Virus could cut jackpots
DES MOINES, Iowa — Hoping to escape all the coronavirus-caused economic uncertainty by winning a giant lottery jackpot? Think again. Those jackpots are going to shrink as the pandemic tamps down lottery sales. The group that oversees the Powerball game announced Wednesday night that it would cut minimum jackpots in...
U.S. indicts Venezuela’s Maduro on narcoterrorism chargesVideo
MIAMI — Nicolás Maduro effectively converted Venezuela into a criminal enterprise at the service of drug traffickers and terrorist groups as he and his allies stole billions from the South American country, the Justice Department charged in several indictments against the embattled socialist and his inner circle that were made...
U.S. unemployment claims soar to record 3.3 million as layoffs jumpVideo
WASHINGTON — Nearly 3.3 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week — more than quadruple the previous record set in 1982 — amid a widespread economic shutdown caused by the coronavirus. The surge in weekly applications was a stunning reflection of the damage the viral outbreak is doing to...
Iraqi military says 2 rockets hit Baghdad’s Green ZoneVideo
BAGHDAD — Iraq’s military on Thursday said at least two rockets hit inside Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone, the seat of Iraq’s government and home to the American Embassy, in the first attack following a brief lull in violence from earlier this month. Iraqi officials also said the United States...
New Zealand mosque gunman pleads guilty to murder, terrorism
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — The man who committed the worst atrocity in New Zealand’s modern history when he slaughtered 51 worshippers at two Christchurch mosques unexpectedly pleaded guilty to all charges Thursday. The attacks targeting people praying at the mosques a year ago shocked the nation and prompted new laws...
G-7 foreign ministers spar over coronavirus amid pandemic
WASHINGTON — Foreign ministers from the Group of 7 leading industrialized democracies sparred Wednesday over whether to call out China as the source of the coronavirus pandemic. Meeting by video conference because of the outbreak, the ministers agreed on the need for joint efforts to halt the spread of the...
