WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump seemed to understand the severity of the coronavirus threat even as he was telling the nation that the virus was no worse than the seasonal flu and insisting that the U.S. government had it totally under control, according to a new book by journalist Bob Woodward....
What Slowdown? Amazon Seeks To Hire 33,000 People
NEW YORK — Amazon is on a hiring spree. In the latest sign of how it's prospering while others are faltering during the pandemic, Amazon said Wednesday it is seeking to bring aboard 33,000 people for corporate and tech roles in the next few months. It's the largest number of...
Next Up: Californians Brace for the ‘Twindemic’
In the border county of Imperial, health officials are sharing a promising progress report: After being branded a hot spot, coronavirus hospitalizations are down. Sick patients are no longer being transferred out of county. Businesses are reopening. “It’s absolutely fantastic,” said Adolphe Edward, the CEO of El Centro Regional Medical...
India Records World’s Biggest Single-Day Jump in Virus Cases
NEW DELHI — India registered 78,761 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, the biggest single-day spike in the world since the pandemic began, just as the government began easing restrictions to help the battered economy. The surge raised India's tally to over 3.5 million, and came as the government announced the...
Walters: Do Crises Help or Hurt Tax Hikes?
Does the trauma enveloping California this year — pandemic, recession, heat waves, blackouts and disastrous wildfires — make voters more or less likely to vote for tax increases? Sponsors of a $12 billion a year hike in taxes on warehouses, office buildings, factories and other commercial property hope it’s more....
New Virus Cases Decline in the US and Experts Credit Masks
NEW YORK — The number of Americans newly diagnosed with the coronavirus is falling — a development experts credit at least partly to increased wearing of masks — even as the outbreak continues to claim nearly 1,000 lives in the U.S. each day. About 43,000 new cases are being reported...
Poll: Many in US Shoring Up Finances Amid Downturn
WASHINGTON — It's the paradox of a pandemic that has crushed the U.S. economy: 12.9 million lost jobs and a dangerous rash of businesses closing, yet the personal finances of many Americans have remained strong — and in some ways have even improved. A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center...
Walters: Short-Circuiting the Legislative Process for Electric Cars
The 2020 session of the California Legislature is radically different from any other in the state’s 170-year history, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. Legislators abandoned the Capitol last spring after giving Gov. Gavin Newsom carte blanche authority and a billion dollars to deal with the crisis. When they finally returned...
Walters: California Gambles With Stopgap Legislation
The severe recession that has engulfed California as the state battles the COVID-19 pandemic presents the state’s dominant Democrats with a very large dilemma. As businesses closed their doors and unemployment skyrocketed, the natural inclination of Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic legislators was to spend money to relieve the economic...
Q&A: California’s New Electricity-Blackout Challenge
BERKELEY — As if the pandemic and economic recession weren't bad enough, millions of Californians now face recurring threats of abrupt blackouts during a heat wave in the nation's most populous state. California's Independent System Operator, a nonprofit agency that manages the state's power supply, ordered utilities to impose temporary...