California restaurants have unified to file a claim seeking a refund for state and local fees, including for liquor licenses, health permits, and state tourism assessments. One of those involved is Vino Grille & Spirits in northeast Fresno. What could soon follow is a class action lawsuit involving many more establishments in...
Stocks End Another Wobbly Day Lower as Virus Cases Rise
Wall Street's losses mounted for the second straight day Tuesday as momentum slows on worries about rising virus counts and Washington's inability to deliver more aid to the economy. The S&P 500 fell 0.3% after spending much of the day swinging between small gains and losses. Most of the stocks in the...
‘We’re Working on It:’ Pope’s COVID Advisers and the Mask
ROME — Pope Francis’ decision to forego wearing a mask has been noticed, with some concern, by the commission of Vatican experts he appointed to help chart the Catholic Church’s path through the coronavirus pandemic and the aftermath. The Rev. Augusto Zampini, one of the key members of the pope’s...
Fresno, Other Counties Face Restaurant Wrath Over Booze, Health Fees in Pandemic
California's financially battered restaurants filed government claims Monday to recover more than $100 million in fees for liquor and health permits and tourism charges that they say were assessed even though their businesses were shuttered or only partially operating under long-running coronavirus orders. The owners contend they have been being...
Fox News Anchors Quarantine After Virus Exposure on Flight
NEW YORK — Several Fox News Channel on-air personalities were exposed last week to someone on a private plane who later tested positive for COVID-19, leading the network to take extra precautions this week. The network said in a memo to staff members on Monday that there had recently been...
Wary of Angering Public, Iran Has Few Ways to Contain Virus
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — As coronavirus infections reached new heights in Iran this month, overwhelming its hospitals and driving up its death toll, the country’s health minister gave a rare speech criticizing his own government’s refusal to enforce basic health measures. “We asked for fines to be collected from...
GOP Tactics Resemble Autocratic Parties in Hungary & Turkey, Says Swedish Study
[aggregation-styles] The Guardian The Republican party has become dramatically more illiberal in the past two decades and now more closely resembles ruling parties in autocratic societies than its former centre-right equivalents in Europe, according to a new international study. In a significant shift since 2000, the GOP has taken to...
Next up in Hunt for COVID-19 Vaccine: Testing Shots in Kids
The global hunt for a COVID-19 vaccine for kids is only just beginning — a lagging start that has some U.S. pediatricians worried they may not know if any shots work for young children in time for the next school year. Older adults may be most vulnerable to the coronavirus,...
Trump Is Waging a Quiet War Against Civilians in Iran as the Coronavirus Pandemic Drags on
[aggregation-styles] MSN With people in Iran already suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic and crippling US sanctions, the Trump administration earlier this month unveiled yet another set of sanctions that could restrict Iranians' access to food and medicine even further. This move has gone largely unnoticed in the United States, with...
Some Hospitals in Crisis as US Nears High for COVID-19 Cases
BOISE, Idaho — The United States is approaching a record for the number of new daily coronavirus cases in the latest ominous sign about the disease's grip on the nation, as states from Connecticut to Idaho reel under the surge. The impact is being felt in every section of the...