When COVID-19 tore through Donald Wallace’s nursing home, he was one of the lucky few to avoid infection. He died a horrible death anyway. Hale and happy before the pandemic, the 75-year-old retired Alabama truck driver became so malnourished and dehydrated that he dropped to 98 pounds and looked to...
‘Tired to the Bone’: Hospitals Overwhelmed With Virus Cases
Overwhelmed hospitals are converting chapels, cafeterias, waiting rooms, hallways, even a parking garage into patient treatment areas. Staff members are desperately calling around to other medical centers in search of open beds. Fatigue and frustration are setting in among front-line workers. Conditions inside the nation’s hospitals are deteriorating by the...
Walters: French Laundry Flap Spotlights Capitol Insiders
Twenty-two years ago, on the day after Gray Davis was elected governor of California, I hopped aboard a Southwest Airlines plane bound for Los Angeles. I was heading south for Davis’ morning-after press conference and I was not alone. Several journalists and other Capitol figures were on the plane, including...
Berlin Police Forcefully Disperse Protest Over Virus Rules
BERLIN — German police fired water cannons Wednesday at demonstrators protesting coronavirus restrictions in Berlin's government district, after crowds ignored calls to wear masks and keep their distance from one another in line with pandemic regulations. As water shot from the cannons rained down on protesters outside the landmark Brandenburg...
Pfizer: COVID-19 Shot 95% Effective, Seeking Clearance Soon
Pfizer said Wednesday that new test results show its coronavirus vaccine is 95% effective, is safe and also protects older people most at risk of dying — the last data needed to seek emergency use of limited shot supplies as the catastrophic outbreak worsens across the globe. The announcement from...
Volunteers Still Needed to Test Variety of COVID-19 Vaccines
Two COVID-19 vaccines might be nearing the finish line, but scientists caution it's critical that enough people volunteer to help finish studying other candidates in the U.S. and around the world. Moderna Inc. and competitor Pfizer Inc. recently announced preliminary results showing their vaccines appear more than 90% effective, at least for...
Will ‘Simultaneous Teaching’ Succeed in Clovis Schools Despite Concerns?
Eighteen first-graders are bending their heads over their desks in Room 1 at Valley Oak Elementary School, intent on writing or drawing in their journals. Teacher Julie McGough walks among them, answering their questions and observing their work. But these aren't her only students. On a large projection board at...
States Plead for More Federal Help as Virus Outbreak Worsens
With more shutdowns looming and a vaccine months away from wide distribution, governors across the U.S. are pleading for more help from Washington ahead of what is shaping up to be a bleak winter. Renewed restrictions on indoor businesses, the coming end of unemployment benefits for millions of Americans and...
With Spending Already Falling, Virus Spike Threatens U.S. Economy, Says Fed Chief
WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Tuesday that the nationwide surge in confirmed coronavirus could slow the economy in the months ahead by discouraging consumers from spending. “We’re seeing states begin to impose some activity restrictions," Powell said in an online discussion with the Bay Area Council, a...
Newsom’s Cozy Ties with Top Lobbyist Showcased by Dinner Party Debacle
[aggregation-styles] Politico Not every political operative can celebrate their 50th birthday with the governor of America’s most populous state during a pandemic. Not every political operative is Jason Kinney. California Gov. Gavin Newsom is weathering a ferocious backlash for his decision to attend a celebration for Kinney on Nov. 6...