WASHINGTON — Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett batted back Democrats' skeptical questions on abortion, health care and a possible disputed election in a lively Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday, insisting she would bring no personal agenda to the court but would decide cases “as they come.” The 48-year-old appellate court judge declared...
Landlords Are Getting Squeezed Between Tenants and Lenders
NEW YORK — When it comes to sympathetic figures, landlords aren't exactly at the top of the list. But they, too, have fallen on hard times, demonstrating how the coronavirus outbreak spares almost no one. Take Shad Elia, who owns 24 single-family apartment units in the Boston area. He says...
Social Security Checks Set to Rise About $20 Month in 2021 Amid Coronavirus Fallout
WASHINGTON — Social Security recipients will get a modest 1.3% cost-of living-increase in 2021, but that might be small comfort amid worries about the coronavirus and its consequences for older people. The increase amounts to $20 a month for the average retired worker, according to estimates released Tuesday by the Social Security Administration....
With Federal Aid Stalled, No Help for California Budget Cuts
SACRAMENTO — When state lawmakers in July cut $150 million from the California court system, they offered this hope to stressed-out administrators: The cuts would vanish if Congress sent the state more money before Oct. 15. Riverside County Superior Court officials were optimistic. They stopped buying things and halted all...
Iran Shatters Its Single-Day Record for Virus Deaths, Cases
TEHRAN, Iran — For the second day in a row, Iran shattered its single-day record for new deaths and infections from the coronavirus, with 272 people confirmed dead among more than 4,200 new cases on Monday. Like in many other countries, the spiraling outbreak in Iran reflects the government's contradictory...
Health Care Is Focus as Barrett Supreme Court Hearing Opens
WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats branded Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett a threat to Americans' health care during the coronavirus pandemic Monday at the start of a fast-tracked hearing that Republicans are confident will end with Barrett's confirmation to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg before Election Day. In a competing effort to approvingly...
It’s Complicated: School Reopenings, Hybrid Learning Look Different Across California
The night before the first day of in-person instruction for elementary students in San Diego County’s Poway Unified School District, principals sent families detailed instructions on how to drop off their children. The following Thursday morning, “welcome back” balloons adorned campuses’ front gates and school employees took students’ temperatures as...
US Layoffs Remain Elevated as 840,000 Seek Jobless Aid
WASHINGTON — The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell slightly last week to a still-high 840,000, evidence that job cuts remain elevated seven months into the pandemic recession. The latest sign of a flagging recovery comes two days after President Donald Trump cut off talks over a new rescue...
Trump Hails Virus Treatment, Says He’s Ready to Do Rallies
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Thursday that he is ready to hold campaign rallies and he credited an experimental drug treatment with helping his recovery from COVID-19, although there is no way for the president or his doctors to know whether the drug had any effect. “I’m feeling good....
Pence, Harris Spar Over COVID-19 in Vice Presidential Debate
SALT LAKE CITY — Trading barbs through plexiglass shields, Republican Mike Pence and Democrat Kamala Harris turned the only vice presidential debate of 2020 into a dissection of the Trump administration’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, with Harris labeling it “the greatest failure of any presidential administration.” Pence, who leads...