WASHINGTON — Backlash mounting, President Donald Trump's embattled Postmaster General Louis DeJoy will appear Friday before the Senate to testify on mail delivery delays and service changes that lawmakers and others are warning could imperil the November election. Trump has flatly denied he was asking for a slow-walk of the mail. But...
Internet Problems Snag Start of New School Year in Fresno
On the first day of the new school year for Fresno Unified and Clovis Unified students on Monday, school officials quickly learned just how tenuous the distance learning connection between students and teachers could be. Fresno Unified School District website servers couldn't handle the demand and had to be shut...
California Removes 1 County from COVID Watch List, Adds 5 Others
SACRAMENTO — The number of counties on California's monitoring list for coronavirus cases grew to 42 even as Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday the state's overall virus trends were heading in the right direction. Newsom said the state found an additional 14,861 virus cases after reviewing a backlog of nearly...
Investigation: COVID Rips Through Motel Rooms of Guest Workers Who Pick Nation’s Produce
By Jackie Botts and Kate Cimini Beto V. heard the ambulance pull up to the Colonial Motel where he was quarantined by his employer, police sirens close behind. That was his first clue a fellow farmworker had died of COVID-19. Beto, who used a shortened version of his name for...
Lockdown Deaths in India Ignite Debate on Police Brutality
NEW DELHI — For two and a half minutes the popular Indian radio DJ described in graphic detail what she said was the torture and killing of a father and son in police custody. The father was arrested for flouting coronavirus lockdown rules by keeping his mobile phone shop in...
The Home Front: Virus Stalks Nurses After They Leave Work
FULLERTON — There’s red tape running along the floor of the coronavirus unit at St. Jude’s Medical Center in Fullerton, California. It’s a clear line of demarcation. On one side, the cold zone, where only a surgical mask, scrubs and shoe coverings are necessary. On the other, the warm zone,...
Public Health to Immanuel Schools: See You in Court
The Fresno County Public Health Department will seek a Superior Court injunction next week to order Immanuel Schools of Reedley to stop in-person instruction, director David Pomaville said Friday. The department issued a public health officer order on Thursday — the same day the private K-12 school district opened for...
Study Hints, Can’t Prove, Survivor Plasma Fights COVID-19
Mayo Clinic researchers reported a strong hint that blood plasma from COVID-19 survivors helps other patients recover, but it’s not proof and some experts worry if, amid clamor for the treatment, they'll ever get a clear answer. More than 64,000 patients in the U.S. have been given convalescent plasma, a...
Virus Flareups in Europe Lead to Club Closings, Mask Orders
PARIS — New flareups of COVID-19 are disrupting the peak summer vacation season across much of Europe, where authorities in some countries are reimposing restrictions on travelers, closing nightclubs again, banning fireworks displays and expanding mask orders even in chic resort areas. “Unfortunately, this virus doesn’t play ball,” British Transport...
Fresno County to Seek Reopen Waivers for Big Creek, Hume Lake Schools
Two tiny Sierra mountain schools in eastern Fresno County might get to open for classes after all. Fresno County Public Health director David Pomaville said Friday that his department next week will ask the California Departments of Public Health and Education to consider allowing in-person instruction for students in kindergarten...