U.S./World category, Page 1018
Gov. Mike DeWine orders all Ohio bars, restaurants to close
COLUMBUS, Ohio — All bars and restaurants in Ohio will be closed as of 9 p.m. Sunday until further notice, said Gov. Mike DeWine, who is taking a tough stance on trying to stem the coronavirus saying “if we don’t take these actions now, it’ll be too late.” DeWine said...
Coronavirus worldwide: Pentagon restricts access; France closes Eiffel Tower; Italy sees 20% surge in cases
Pentagon officials have laid out new restrictions for access to the building, saying people who have been overseas should stay away for two weeks and others should expect more screening questions from officers posted at the entrances. Senior defense officials said in a conference call with reporters that personnel who...
Turkey-Russia patrols start amid protests on Syrian highwayVideo
ANKARA, Turkey — Turkish and Russian troops began joint patrols Sunday on a key highway in northwestern Syria, Turkey’s Defense Ministry said, while both the Russian government and Syrian opposition activists said the patrols were shortened because of protests. Patrols on the highway known as the M4, which runs east-west...
Americans at U.S. airports return to long lines, hourslong waits for screenings
Weary travelers returning to the U.S. amid coronavirus-related travel restrictions were greeted by long lines and hourslong waits for required medical screenings at airports. Posts on social media indicated passengers at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport waited upward of four hours in winding lines, eliciting criticism from elected Illinois officials. Gov....
Spain to follow Italy into lockdown, U.S. expands travel banVideo
BARCELONA, Spain — Spain drew up plans to lock down its 46 million citizens, France closed the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre, and more borders snapped shut around the world as governments took increasingly sweeping measures Saturday to reduce contact among people and contain the spread of the coronavirus. President...
Iran death toll from virus passes 600, Syria shuts schoolsVideo
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran said Saturday the coronavirus outbreak has killed another 97 people, pushing the death toll in the country to 611, as war-ravaged Syria announced a number of strict measures despite the government saying it has no confirmed cases. Iran is suffering from the worst outbreak in the...
Q&A: An explanation of ‘community spread’
The spread of the novel coronavirus is reaching communities across the country and experts say the cases of covid-19 will spike exponentially. What does community spread mean, and how do you stop it? Here’s what you need to know: Q: What is community spread? A: Community spread means that someone...
RSVP ‘maybe’? Coronavirus puts wedding industry on edge
NEW YORK — Guests are jittery, travel is tangled, and soon-to-be brides and grooms are facing tough choices because of the coronavirus outbreak: postpone, cancel or forge ahead with their weddings? Uncertainty as virus cases grow in the U.S. and elsewhere has sent ripples through the wedding industry, from photographers...
U.S. Hispanic Catholics are future, but priest numbers dismal
PHOENIX — Maria Chavira, a senior administrator in the Diocese of Phoenix, says Spanish-speaking Catholic parishes in her area are “bursting at the seams” and celebrates the emergence of Hispanics as the largest ethnic component of the church nationwide. Throughout the Southwest, where the surge has been dramatic, Roman Catholic...
Medical marijuana bills challenge Bible Belt politics
FRANKFORT, Ky. — Facing a potentially historic vote on whether to legalize medical marijuana in Kentucky, Republican lawmaker John Schickel is conflicted. A retired law enforcement officer, Schickel once steadfastly opposed medical cannabis, but his stance has softened. Now he says he’s approaching the question with an open mind. “One...
On eve of Disneyland closure, fun trumps virus fear
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Thousands flocked to Disneyland on Friday for glimpses of Mickey and Minnie, a ride on “It’s a Small World” and a last trip to the Galaxy’s Edge before a historically long closure because of the new coronavirus. It was a rare rainy day in Southern California, and...
EU urges border health checks as virus case count mounts
BRUSSELS — The European Union urged member countries Friday to put health screening procedures in place at their borders to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus but said they must coordinate so people can still quickly get the medical care they need. With Italy reporting the most virus cases...
Lawyer: Man asleep when police fired on house, killing him
SILVER SPRING, Md. — A Maryland man was asleep in his bedroom when police opened fire from outside his house, killing him and wounding his girlfriend, an attorney for the 21-year-old man’s family said Friday. The Montgomery County Police Department said in a news release Friday that Duncan Socrates Lemp...
Death toll at least 21 as Egypt storms, flooding enter 2nd day
CAIRO — Thunderstorms and flooding around Egypt entered a second day Friday, interrupting daily life in much of the country, including the capital Cairo, as the death toll rose to 21, authorities said. Most of the victims were in rural areas and slums. At least six children died either from...
‘Not a wave, a tsunami’: Italy hospitals at coronavirus limit
ROME — Talk of a 400-bed field hospital in Milan’s fairgrounds. A team of Chinese experts and surplus ventilators arriving on a cargo plane. Doctors Without Borders, usually dispatched to the third world when disasters strike, working triage in Italy’s prosperous north. The coronavirus outbreak tearing through Italy has turned...
Trump declares coronavirus pandemic a national emergency
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced Friday that he is declaring the coronavirus pandemic a national emergency, as Washington struggles with providing Americans with relief and officials race to slow the spread of the outbreak. Speaking from the Rose Garden, Trump said, “I am officially declaring a national emergency.” He...
U.S. hospitals brace for ‘tremendous strain’ from new virus
U.S. hospitals are setting up circus-like triage tents, calling doctors out of retirement, guarding their supplies of face masks and making plans to cancel elective surgery as they brace for an expected onslaught of coronavirus patients. Depending on how bad the crisis gets, the sick could find themselves waiting on...
Delta slashes flights by 40% as virus cripples global travel
Delta Air Lines will cut passenger-carrying capacity by 40% to deal with a nosedive in travel demand, and it is talking to the White House and Congress about assistance to get through a downturn caused by the new coronavirus. The 40% cut in capacity is the largest in Delta’s history,...
Trump administration: $1.3M for fast coronavirus test development
President Donald Trump’s administration announced Friday it is awarding $1.3 million to two companies trying to develop rapid covid-19 tests that could detect whether a person is positive for the new coronavirus within an hour. The Department of Health and Human Services said it is awarding $679,000 to DiaSorin Molecular,...
Big city, big worry: New Yorkers fret as bustling city slows as coronavirus spreads
NEW YORK — New Yorkers will awake Friday to find the coronavirus has left their famously bustling city with no Broadway, no basketball games, no big gatherings, and a populace unnerved by an ever-worsening crisis. A dizzying series of temporary coronavirus-related closures announced Thursday included some of the city’s cultural...
Trudeau’s wife tests positive for new coronavirus
TORONTO — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s wife has tested positive for the new coronavirus, his office announced Thursday night. It said Sophie Grégoire Trudeau was felling well and would remain in isolation. “The Prime Minister is in good health with no symptoms. As a precautionary measure and following the...
Coronavirus brings entertainment world to a standstill
NEW YORK — The entertainment industry prepared Thursday for an unprecedented shutdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus, canceling upcoming movies, suspending all Broadway performances and scuttling concert tours until it’s safe to welcome crowds back. To accommodate calls for social distancing, Hollywood moved to pause the normal hum...
Boris Yaro, LA Times photographer who took iconic image of mortally wounded RFK, dies
LOS ANGELES — As Robert F. Kennedy was leaving the Ambassador Hotel on June 5, 1968, following his victory in that year’s California Democratic presidential primary, a part-time Los Angeles Times photographer, working on his own time in hopes of catching a shot for his wall, followed. “The idea went...
Horse-drawn carriages might be a thing of the past in Chicago as City Council considers measure to ban them
CHICAGO — Horse-drawn carriages could be pulled from the streets of Chicago if City Council passes an ordinance next week. The city’s Committee on License and Consumer Protection on Wednesday unanimously approved the ordinance, which would effectively take carriages off the streets by Jan. 1, 2021. The measure halts the...
Officials: U.S. strikes Iran-backed group that hit Iraq base
WASHINGTON — The U.S. launched airstrikes Thursday in Iraq, American officials said, targeting the Iranian-backed Shia militia members believed responsible for the rocket attack that killed and wounded American and British troops at a base north of Baghdad. One U.S. official said multiple strikes targeted Kataib Hezbollah weapons facilities inside...
