SACRAMENTO — A coronavirus outbreak is closing California’s Capitol and forcing the Assembly to put off its return to work as infection and hospitalization rates soar across the state. Assemblywoman Autumn Burke, a Democrat from Inglewood, tweeted Monday that she was exposed to COVID-19 by someone when the Assembly met...
New Rules: Foreign Pupils Must Leave US If Classes Go Online
International students will be forced to leave the U.S. or transfer to another college if their schools offer classes entirely online this fall, under new guidelines issued Monday by federal immigration authorities. The guidelines, issued by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, provide additional pressure for universities to reopen even amid...
Governors' Companies Among Recipients of Virus Relief Loans
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Governors who ordered shutdowns as their states responded to the coronavirus pandemic were among millions of beneficiaries of the loan program created to help small businesses weather COVID-19's effect on the economy, data released Monday show. The governors of at least seven states have ties to companies...
AIDS Report: Kids Are Lagging and COVID-19 Is Harming Care
New numbers on the global AIDS epidemic show some big successes, such as fewer deaths and new infections. But there are also some tragic failures: Only half the children with HIV, the virus that causes the disease, are getting treatment. “We are making great progress against the HIV epidemic ......
Trump-Connected Lobbyists Reap Windfall in Federal Virus Aid
WASHINGTON — Forty lobbyists with ties to President Donald Trump helped clients secure more than $10 billion in federal coronavirus aid, among them five former administration officials whose work potentially violates Trump's own ethics policy, according to a report. The lobbyists identified Monday by the watchdog group Public Citizen either worked in...
Scolding Beachgoers Isn’t Helping
[aggregation-styles] The Atlantic Subscription We’ve entered another risky, uncertain phase of America’s pandemic summer. COVID-19 cases are surging across most states, and once again, intensive-care units are filling up. Eighteen states have either paused or rolled back their plans to reopen, and even Republican governors who previously resisted public-health guidelines...
2 Billion Doses of the Oxford Coronavirus Vaccine Will Be Developed by Astrazeneca After a $750 Million Deal With Charities Backed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
[aggregation-styles] Business Insider The vaccine is being produced by AstraZeneca British drug maker, drawing on work by researchers from Oxford University. It announced Thursday that it had signed agreements with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and Gavi the Vaccine Alliance to boost its supplies. The company has committed...
Not So Random Acts: Science Finds That Being Kind Pays off
Acts of kindness may not be that random after all. Science says being kind pays off. Research shows that acts of kindness make us feel better and healthier. Kindness is also key to how we evolved and survived as a species, scientists say. We are hard-wired to be kind. Kindness...
Background Checks, a Metric for Gun Sales, Hit All-Time High
Historic numbers of background checks to purchase or possess a firearm were done in June, a trend in a year marked by uncertainty over the coronavirus pandemic, a subsequent economic recession, protests over racial injustice and calls to reduce police funding. FBI numbers released Wednesday show that 3.9 million background...
Californian Brings Toys for Birthday Kids Isolated by Virus
TRUCKEE — When coronavirus lockdowns came to his California mountain town, businessman Craig Fierro realized there would be no children’s birthday parties — no friends playing games, eating cake and singing “Happy Birthday.” Something must be done, he thought, to ease the disappointment. He found that something in his store....