Baton Rouge, LA (AP) — Governors in 17 states have committed to regional coordination to reopen their economies during the coronavirus outbreak. But none are in the South, where leaders are going it alone, just as they did in imposing restrictions. As questions about when and how to ease virus-control measures becomes increasingly politically charged,…
An Associated Press investigation has found that a relief fund Congress created to protect small businesses amid the coronavirus crisis has helped companies with thousands of employees, past regulatory run-ins and risks of financial failure even before the economy got walloped. The Paycheck Protection Program was supposed to help small businesses, which typically have less…
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. health regulators have OK’d the first coronavirus test that allows people to take their own sample at home. The test from LabCorp will initially only be available to health care workers and first responders under a doctor’s orders. The sample will still have to be sent back to LabCorp for processing.…
Bangkok, Thailand (AP) — Asian shares are lower after oil prices plunged below zero as storage for crude runs close to full amid a worldwide glut. Shares fell in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shanghai early Tuesday, while New York stock futures edged higher. The cost to have a barrel of U.S. crude delivered in May…
HEADLAND, Ala. (AP) — Two people are dead after a night of severe weather across the Deep South. Mississippi emergency managers say a possible tornado killed one person there Sunday night. And a south Alabama coroner says 61-year-old Jerry Oliver Williams of Henry County was killed when a suspected tornado hit a mobile home Sunday…
(AP) A flood of new research suggests that far more people have had the new coronavirus without any symptoms. That means the virus may turn out to be much less lethal than originally feared. But it also makes it tough to know who’s contagious because people who don’t feel sick can still spread the bug.…
WASHINGTON (AP) — One day after laying out a roadmap for gradually reviving economic activity, President Donald Trump is urging his supporters to “LIBERATE” three states led by Democratic governors, in effect encouraging protests against the stay-at-home restrictions against the coronavirus. The president took to Twitter on Friday with the kind of rhetoric some of…
Beijing, China (AP) — At least 50% more people died in China’s virus epicenter of Wuhan than previously counted. State media attributed the initial undercount to how overwhelmed the health system was while coping with thousands of sick patients. The addition of 1,290 victims raised Wuhan’s death toll to 3,869 and may confirm suspicions that…
FRANKLIN, Tenn. (AP) — The coronavirus pandemic has provoked a spike in demand for food pantries in the U.S. Providers have seen people lining up hours before pantries open, with cars stretching sometimes for miles. But while demand is up as much as 60% in some places, food donations have declined significantly. Katie Fitzgerald is…
Beijing, China (AP) — As countries consider how to restart their virus-halted economies, the early experiences in China and parts of Europe show it will be no easy task. Workers back on the job are wary of spending much. Shoppers are staying away. Masks and social distancing measures are not fading. And pervasive is the…