WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump gave governors a road map Thursday for recovering from the economic pain of the coronavirus pandemic, laying out “a phased and deliberate approach” to restoring normal activity in places that have strong testing and are seeing a decrease in COVID-19 cases. “We’re starting our life...
Newsom Orders Paid Sick Leave for Food Employees, Including Farm Workers
SACRAMENTO — Farm workers, grocery store and fast-food employees and delivery drivers will receive two weeks of paid sick leave so they won’t feel pressured to keep working while infected with the coronavirus, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced. The executive order signed Thursday covers those who work for large employers, filling...
New Pressure on Lawmakers as Virus Aid for Firms Hits Limit
WASHINGTON — Lawmakers are struggling to break a stalemate over President Donald Trump’s $250 billion emergency request for a small-business program, stoking uncertainty about when additional support will be available in a key rescue program now exhausted of funds. A House session Friday was expected to simply be a pro...
Fresno Unified Parents: Haven’t Heard from Teachers? Here’s What to Do.
If your children are enrolled in Fresno Unified School District and you haven't yet heard from their teachers since schools closed due to COVID-19, you might want to call or email your trustee. Frustrated parents normally would contact their child's school principal, but it was made clear at Wednesday night's...
Apple Rolls out Cheaper iPhone as Pandemic Curbs Spending
NEW YORK — Apple is releasing a new iPhone that will be vastly cheaper than the models it rolled out last fall when the economy was booming and the pandemic had yet to force people to rethink their spending. The second-generation iPhone SE introduced Wednesday will sell for as little as $399,...
Facebook to Warn Users Who “Liked” Coronavirus Hoaxes
NEW YORK — Have you liked or commented on a Facebook post about the COVID-19 pandemic? Facebook is about to begin letting you know if you've spread bad information. The company will soon be letting users know if they liked, reacted to, or commented on posts with harmful misinformation about...
Nurses Suspended for Refusing COVID-19 Care Without N95 Mask
Nurse Mike Gulick was meticulous about not bringing the coronavirus home to his wife and their 2-year-old daughter. He’d stop at a hotel after work just to take a shower. He’d wash his clothes in Lysol disinfectant. They did a tremendous amount of handwashing. But at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in...
Record 22 Million Have Sought Us Jobless Aid Since Virus
WASHINGTON — The wave of layoffs that has engulfed the U.S. economy since the coronavirus struck forced 5.2 million more people to seek unemployment benefits last week, the government reported Thursday. Roughly 22 million have now sought jobless benefits in the past month — easily the worst stretch of U.S. job losses...
Jose Ramirez Working to Assist the Unsung Heroes of Pandemic: Agricultural Workers
[aggregation-styles] Yahoo! Sports Jose Ramirez understands the plight of agricultural workers as well as anyone, because it’s not too long ago that he was one of them. The WBC-WBO super lightweight world champion from Avenal, California, learned the work ethic it took to become a champ in the searing summer...
Feds Under Pressure to Publicly Track Nursing Home Outbreaks
NEW YORK — Federal health officials are coming under increasing pressure to start publicly tracking coronavirus infections and deaths in nursing homes amid criticism they have not been transparent about the scope of outbreaks across the country that have already claimed thousands of lives. Experts say the lack of tracking...