If parents want their kids to attend Fresno Unified School District's online school for the new school year, they will need to opt in by July 31, Superintendent Bob Nelson said Thursday. Parents who don't reserve a seat for their kids for the eLearn Academy online school will presumably be choosing...
Virus Jump Swells California Lines for Tests; Shortages Loom
LOS ANGELES — Before Brian Haag returned to work styling hair at Los Angeles salon last month, he wanted to ensure his clients he was not infected with coronavirus, so he booked an appointment for a test and was able to breeze through a drive-thru site at Dodger Stadium in...
Newsom Hopes California Schools Won't Be Delayed by Virus
SACRAMENTO — Surging coronavirus cases in California prompted a warning on Wednesday from the nation's most populous county of a possible delay to classroom instruction in public schools next month — a setback Gov. Gavin Newsom said he hopes to avoid by convincing more people to wear face coverings and...
'A Hot Mess': Americans Face Testing Delays as Virus Surges
LOS ANGELES — For two weeks, Rachael Jones has stayed home, going without a paycheck while waiting and waiting for the results of a COVID-19 test from a pharmacy near Philadelphia. “I’m just so disappointed. I just don’t know how — with the resources and the people we have and...
Data: Congress Created Virus Aid, Then Reaped the Benefits
WASHINGTON — At least a dozen lawmakers have ties to organizations that received federal coronavirus aid, according to newly released government data, highlighting how Washington insiders were both author and beneficiary of one of the biggest government programs in U.S. history. Under pressure from Congress and outside groups, the Trump administration...
Trump Threatens to Cut Federal Aid If Schools Don't Reopen
President Donald Trump on Wednesday threatened to withhold federal funding if schools don’t reopen in the fall, and he lashed out at federal health officials over school reopening guidelines that he says are impractical and expensive. Taking to Twitter to voice his frustration, Trump argued that countries including Germany, Denmark...
McConnell Eyes Virus Aid as Evictions, Benefits Cuts Loom
WASHINGTON — An eviction moratorium is lifting. Extra unemployment benefits are ending. Parents are being called to work, but schools are struggling to reopen for fall as the COVID-19 crisis shows no signs of easing. With Congress bracing for the next coronavirus aid package, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is outlining Republican...
DeVos Rejects Part-Time Reopening for Schools Amid Pandemic
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Tuesday assailed plans by some local districts to offer in-person instruction only a few days a week and said schools must be “fully operational” even amid the coronavirus pandemic. Anything less, she says, would fail students and taxpayers. DeVos made the comments during a call with...
GOP Worries Trump's Divisive June Imperils Senate Control
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump's June began with his Bible-clutching photo op outside a church after authorities used chemicals and batons to scatter peaceful demonstrators. It never got less jarring or divisive. By month's end, he was downplaying a coronavirus pandemic upsurge that was forcing Western and Southern states to throttle back their partial...
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms Contracts COVID-19
ATLANTA — Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced Monday that she had tested positive for COVID-19. The 50-year-old Democrat is among the women named as a potential vice-presidential running mate for presumptive presidential nominee Joe Biden. "COVID-19 has literally hit home. I have had NO symptoms and have tested positive,"...