U.S./World category, Page 968
Former Pennsylvania governor Tom Ridge calls protesters ‘self-absorbed and selfish’Video
Former Republican Governor of Pennsylvania Tom Ridge, who also served as the Homeland Security secretary under President George W. Bush, said recently that armed protesters demonstrating against coronavirus lockdown orders are selfish and not heroes. Ridge, who fought in the Vietnam War and earned the Bronze Star for Valor, wrote...
Anthony Fauci nominated for an ‘Oscar’ of civil service
WASHINGTON — Anthony Fauci, the doctor at the forefront of leading America through the coronavirus pandemic, was named Sunday as one of the finalists for the “Oscars” of the government workforce, an annual award ceremony recognizing the achievements of top public servants. Fauci is one of 27 finalists for the...
Official: Trump had 2 intel briefings on coronavirus in late January
WASHINGTON — The intelligence community briefed President Trump twice in the eight days before he imposed travel restrictions on China in an attempt to stop the spread of the coronavirus, said a senior White House official familiar with the briefings. In a Jan. 23 briefing, Trump was told the virus...
NRA cutting staff and salaries amid coronavirus pandemic
The National Rifle Association has laid off dozens of employees, canceled its national convention and scuttled fundraising, membership and shooting events that normally would be key to rallying its base in an election year. The coronavirus pandemic has upended the gun-rights organization during what should be heady times for the...
Ohio worker killed after becoming trapped in gravel hopper
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — A worker at an industrial site in Ohio died after becoming trapped in a gravel hopper, authorities said. The man, who was in his 60s, was working at Enon Sand and Gravel in Bethel Township, Clark County, the Springfield News-Sun reports. Township fire chief Jacob King said...
California stay-at-home order faces revolts at beaches, rural communitiesVideo
LOS ANGELES — Pressure to reopen parts of California continued to build over the weekend, with more rural counties vowing to ease stay-at-home restrictions and protesters marching against the closure of Orange County beaches, a move intended to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Polls show most Californians support stay-at-home...
Pa. among 6 states joining N.Y. to buy vital coronavirus gear in bulk
NEW YORK — New York is banding together with six nearby states, including Pennsylvania, to purchase equipment and supplies that sometimes have been hard to come by during the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Sunday. Meanwhile, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is praising residents for mostly adhering...
FDA gives emergency OK to coronavirus antibody test with 100% accuracy claim
The Food and Drug Administration gave emergency approval to a coronavirus antibody test that has 100% accuracy, according to its Swiss manufacturer. According to drugmaker Roche, the antibody test has an incredible success rate when determining whether or not someone has been infected with coronavirus. The test was 100% accurate...
Pompeo: ‘Enormous evidence’ links virus to Wuhan lab, though it’s unlikely manmade
WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said “enormous evidence” shows the novel coronavirus outbreak began in a laboratory in Wuhan, China, and Beijing has refused to give international scientists access to learn what happened. “I can tell you that there is a significant amount of evidence that this...
White House adviser: Crowding by shutdown protesters ‘devastatingly worrisome’
WASHINGTON — The sight of anti-shutdown protesters crowded together in public, often unmasked, is “devastatingly worrisome,” the White House coronavirus task coordinator, Dr. Deborah Birx, said Sunday. But Birx, whose boss, President Trump, has called the protesters “very good people,” did not take issue with the demonstrators’ message that states...
Report: Pandemic being used to curb press freedom
BERLIN — An international media rights group said Sunday the coronavirus pandemic is being used by governments around the world to increase restrictions on press freedoms. In a report issued to coincide with World Press Freedom Day 2020, the International Press Institute concluded that in both democratic and autocratic states,...
In a time of covid-19, ‘Obamacare’ still part of the action
WASHINGTON — Covid-19 could have stamped a person “uninsurable” if not for the Affordable Care Act. The ban on insurers using preexisting conditions to deny coverage is a key part of the Obama-era law that the Trump administration still seeks to overturn. Without the law, people who recovered from covid-19...
S. Korea says troops exchange fire along N. Korean border
SEOUL, South Korea — North and South Korean troops exchanged fire along their tense border on Sunday, the South’s military said, the first such incident since the rivals took unprecedented steps to lower frontline animosities in late 2018. Violent confrontations have occasionally occurred along the border, the world’s most heavily...
Man arrested trying to quarantine on private Disney island
ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida deputies arrested a man who had been living out his quarantine on a shuttered Disney World island, telling authorities it felt like a “tropical paradise.” Orange County Sheriff’s deputies found Richard McGuire on Disney’s Discovery Island on Thursday. He said he’d been there since Monday or...
Tara Reade: ‘I didn’t use sexual harassment’ in Biden complaint
WASHINGTON — Tara Reade, the former Senate staffer who alleges Joe Biden sexually assaulted her 27 years ago, says she filed a limited report with a congressional personnel office that did not explicitly accuse him of sexual assault or harassment. “I remember talking about him wanting me to serve drinks...
Gov. Andrew Cuomo lashes out at protests as New York sees 299 more deaths
NEW YORK — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo insisted Saturday that he won’t tolerate rallies that put public health at risk as the coronavirus crisis claimed another 299 people overnight. Asked about a Long Island rally that attracted scores of protesters, Cuomo said everyone has the right to express their...
Stars deliver inspirational messages in Call to Unite event
LOS ANGELES — Director Lee Daniels talked about past drug use and urged people not to give into the temptation to abuse drugs during the coronavirus pandemic, saying “You are not alone.” Actress Eva Longoria said the pandemic is giving the world a chance to reset itself, and praised health...
Woman killed in alligator attack at South Carolina pond
KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. — Deputies in South Carolina shot and killed an alligator that fatally attacked a woman on Friday, authorities said. The officers were called to a pond on Kiawah Island around 5 p.m. and saw the animal attack, the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office said. The woman was dead....
UK coronavirus death total surpasses 28,000
LONDON — Britain’s Department of Health says a total of 28,131 people have died in hospitals, care homes and the wider community after testing positive for the new coronavirus in the United Kingdom, an increase of 621 from the previous tally. The figures include deaths as of 5 p.m. on...
Serb leader praises Russian arms 21 years after NATO bombing
BELGRADE, Serbia — Serbia’s president thanked Russia on Saturday for making the country’s military “10 times” stronger than when it was bombed by NATO in 1999. Aleksandar Vucic spoke Saturday while visiting an air defense unit near Belgrade that has recently been equipped with the Russian Pantsir-S1 system, which is...
As warmer weather beckons, NYPD to enforce social distancing
NEW YORK — As warmer weather tempted New Yorkers to come out of quarantine, police dispatched 1,000 officers this weekend to enforce social distancing and a ban on congregating in public spaces. Officers set out on foot, bicycles and cars to break up crowds and remind those enjoying the weather...
In US, a virus-era Ramadan presents obstacles, opportunities
For Jamilah Shakir, the first week of Ramadan has been an adjustment. She typically spends every night of the month at the Atlanta Masjid of Al-Islam or another mosque nearby. Now Ramadan has come, and mosques are closed to worshippers to prevent spread of the coronavirus. So Shakir and her...
New Mexico takes more drastic measures against virus hotspot
SANTA FE, N.M. — A modern-day trading post on the southern outskirts of the Navajo Nation was on lockdown over the weekend under the watch of National Guard troops and state police to discourage nonessential travel and commerce as local coronavirus infections soar. Invoking provisions of the state Riot Control...
Farmers markets scaling down with eye on safety due to virus
DETROIT — For a dozen years, Johnny Gyergyou has sold meat, poultry and eggs from his Berlin Township livestock farm at Eastern Market in Detroit. Lately, he’s been staying home as fear of the COVID-19 virus has kept thousands of shoppers away from the popular venue northeast of downtown. “The...
‘I died and came back’: 12-year-old recovers from virus
COVINGTON, La. — As her desperately sick daughter was being airlifted to a hospital, Jennifer Daly was thinking about all the parts of life that still lay ahead for her 12-year-old and whether she’d ever experience them: Would she get to fall in love? Would she get the chance to...
