NEW YORK — This is the deadliest year in U.S. history, with deaths expected to top 3 million for the first time — due mainly to the coronavirus pandemic. Final mortality data for this year will not be available for months. But preliminary numbers suggest that the United States is...
Walters: No Federal Bailout for California Budget
California’s fiscal squeeze tightened up Sunday when congressional leaders reached agreement on a $900 billion COVID-19 relief package that did not include direct aid to state and local governments. It means that Gov. Gavin Newsom faces fewer choices in fashioning a 2021-22 fiscal year budget that he must propose to...
Virus Today: 2020 Shaping Up as Deadliest Year in US History
Here's what's happening Tuesday with the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S.: Three Things to Know Today —Largely because of the pandemic, this is shaping up as the deadliest year in U.S. history, with deaths expected to exceed 3 million for the first time. The 2020 death rate could be at least 15%...
What the Federal Stimulus Package Means for California
The federal stimulus package that lawmakers in Washington have agreed to is “very encouraging news” for California, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday as he outlined how much of the $900 billion federal package is likely to flow to the Golden State. “While it’s a lower number than we had hoped for, it...
California Could See 100,000 Hospitalizations Within a Month
SACRAMENTO — California has recorded a half-million coronavirus cases in the last two weeks, overwhelming emergency rooms in urban centers and rural areas including along the Mexican border where a small hospital system warns it is fast running out of patient beds. The state could be facing a once-unthinkable caseload...
Highlights of $900 Billion COVID-19 Relief, Wrap Up Bills
Congressional leaders have hashed out a massive, year-end catchall bill that combines $900 billion in COVID-19 aid with a $1.4 trillion omnibus spending bill and reams of other unfinished legislation on taxes, energy, education and health care. The huge bill is slated for votes on Monday — with lawmakers having...
During Crucial Holiday Season, US Consumer Confidence Slumps
SILVER SPRING, Md. — A closely-watched gauge of U.S. consumer confidence tumbled in December as rising coronavirus cases dragged American optimism to its lowest level since the summer. However, rising pessimism is now spreading during the crucial holiday season, which could make or break a number of retailers, airlines, restaurants...
Biden to Address COVID Bill, Holiday Pandemic Precautions
WILMINGTON, Del. — President-elect Joe Biden will speak Tuesday as the nation deals with a COVID-19 surge that’s casting a shadow over the Christmas holiday this week. Biden will deliver remarks in Wilmington, Delaware on Tuesday afternoon, where he’s expected to speak on the $900 billion coronavirus aid bill passed...
California Desperately Searches for More Nurses and Doctors
SAN FRANCISCO — Since the coronavirus pandemic took hold in the U.S., Sara Houze has been on the road — going from one hospital to another to care for COVID-19 patients on the brink of death. A cardiac intensive care nurse from Washington, D.C., with expertise in heart rhythm, airway...
US Deaths in 2020 Top 3 Million, by Far Most Ever Counted
NEW YORK — This is the deadliest year in U.S. history, with deaths expected to top 3 million for the first time — due mainly to the coronavirus pandemic. Final mortality data for this year will not be available for months. But preliminary numbers suggest that the United States is...