New York, NY (AP) — Japan’s economy plunged into recession in the first quarter as the coronavirus pandemic squelched business activity, while leaders in the U.S. and Europe weighed the risks and rewards of lifting COVID-19 restrictions knowing that a vaccine could take years to develop. China, which reported just seven new cases on Monday,…
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Local leaders on the Texas border are asking Republican Gov. Greg Abbott to delay letting more businesses reopen next week. Health officials in El Paso say they’re worried about relaxing lockdown measures after COVID-19 cases in their community surged by 60% in the past two weeks. Abbott on Monday is set…
Manila, Philippines (AP) — More than 150,000 people are riding out a weakening typhoon in emergency shelters in the Philippines after a mass evacuation that was complicated and slowed by the coronavirus. The typhoon has weakened and was blowing northwestward toward the populous main northern island of Luzon. There was no immediate reports of casualties…
SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) — Coronavirus outbreaks are testing the public health networks in pockets of the U.S., while some states prepare to lift lockdown measures, seeing signs of progress. From a hospital near the Navajo Nation to the suburbs of the nation’s capital, front-line medical workers in COVID-19 hot spots are struggling to keep…
Los Angeles, CA (AP) — Former Navy combat pilot Mike Garcia won an improbable victory for an open U.S. House seat running as a Trump Republican in a district on the fringe of heavily Democratic Los Angeles. The victory Wednesday by the political newcomer over Democratic Assemblywoman Christy Smith represents a rare victory for Republicans…
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is defending the $3 trillion price of tag of Democrats’ pandemic relief package as what’s needed to confront the “villainous virus” and economic collapse. “The American people are worth it,” Pelosi told The Associated Press. In an interview Wednesday with AP, Pelosi acknowledged the proposal is a starting…
Washington D.C. (AP) — Battle lines have been drawn over the latest measure to provide economic relief from the coronavirus outbreak. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the Democrat-backed bill introduced Tuesday would come up with more than $3 trillion for states and cities, “hazard pay” for essential workers, a new round of cash payments to…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease expert, is warning Congress that if the country reopens too soon, “the consequences could be really serious.” Fauci is among the experts testifying to a Senate panel as its hearing opened on Tuesday. His testimony comes as President Donald Trump is pressuring states to…
Washington D.C. (AP) — Federal officials say the COVID-19 outbreak has unleashed a wave of fraud. An arm of the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, has opened more than 300 cases in recent weeks that include counterfeit products and medicines as well as fake tests for the virus. Authorities have also found cases…
NEW YORK (AP) — Gov. Andrew Cuomo says several regions of upstate New York that have shown progress in taming the coronavirus outbreak are ready to gradually restart economic activity by the end of the week. Cuomo shut down the entire state March 22 as the New York City area emerged as a global pandemic…