Health

US wildland firefighting force urged to get vaccinated

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — With a potentially ferocious wildfire season threatening to ignite across the western U.S., a push is on to persuade wildland firefighters to get vaccinated against COVID-19....

Health

Hoover mass vaccination site closes amid dwindling demand

HOOVER, Ala. (AP) — One of the largest COVID-19 vaccination sites in Alabama operated for a final day Tuesday as dwindling demand forced a shutdown despite the fact that only about 25% of the state’s ...

Health

3 existing conditions approved for Ohio medical marijuana

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A Medical Board of Ohio panel has added three existing conditions for Ohioans to buy medical marijuana....

Health

Durst trial to resume after long delay; will jury be ready?

LOS ANGELES (AP) — It took nearly 15 years for police to arrest New York real estate heir Robert Durst in the killing of his best friend and another five to bring him to trial. After just two days of ...

Health

US warns extremists may strike as virus restrictions ease

WASHINGTON (AP) — A national terrorism alert issued Friday warns that violent extremists may take advantage of the easing of pandemic restrictions to conduct attacks. ...

Health

Pennsylvania’s spring primary: ballot issues, judicial races

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Beyond a slew of local races on ballots, Pennsylvania’s primary election on Tuesday will determine the future of a governor’s authority during disaster declarations and a Republ...

Health

Aide: Fund created after Whitmer’s election paid for trip

DETROIT (AP) — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s private round trip to Florida to see her ailing father was paid for from a fund that’s used for travel not covered by tax dollars, her chief of staff said Friday...

Health

Widespread flooding reported in northwest Alaska community

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — An ice jam has caused widespread flooding in the community of Buckland, in northwest Alaska, officials said Thursday.

Health

Fire officials aim to douse blazes fast, avoid megafires

BILLINGS, Mont. — U.S. officials said Thursday they will try to stamp out wildfires as quickly as possible this year as severe drought tightens its grip across the West and sets the stage for another destructive summer of blazes.

Health

Mobile soup kitchens take food, vaccine to Detroit’s poorest

DETROIT — Keenon Carreker walked up to the Salvation Army mobile soup kitchen parked in one of the poorest areas of Detroit for the big hot dogs that came inside bags of food passed out to the city’s needy.

Health

California likely to keep some mask mandates, governor says

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California is likely to have “guidelines and mandates" for wearing masks indoors after the state fully reopens next month, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday, appearing to walk back comments from the previous day that indicated masks would be gone in nearly all situations...

Health

Pfizer shots open to Hoosiers 12 and up starting Thursday

INDIANAPOLIS — Eager to raise Indiana’s lagging vaccination rate, state health officials have announced that residents aged 12 and older will be eligible to receive the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine beginning Thursday...

Health

Children get shots at Georgia clinic after vaccine approved

DECATUR, Ga. — A steady stream of children and their parents arrived at an Atlanta-area clinic Wednesday to become the vanguard in the nation’s new effort to vaccinate 12- to 15-year-olds.

Health

Maine starts COVID-19 shot rollout to kids; nurses honored

U.S. regulators this week expanded the use of Pfizer’s COVID-19

Health

UPS drivers picket in Maine over long hours during pandemic

AUBURN, Maine — United Parcel Service drivers represented by the Teamsters union picketed Wednesday at a distribution hub to call attention to long hours and extra days being worked in the pandemic...

Health

Oregon governor sets vaccination targets for state to reopen

PORTLAND, Ore. — Oregon Gov. Kate Brown on Tuesday announced statewide and county COVID-19 vaccination targets, with the hope of reopening the state's economy.

Health

Arkansas governor forms panel on state’s share of virus aid

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Tuesday formed a panel to come up with ways to spend the $1.5 billion the state is receiving from the latest federal coronavirus relief package...

Health

Men plead not guilty to hate crimes in Ahmaud Arbery death

BRUNSWICK, Ga. — Three Georgia men pleaded not guilty to federal hate crime charges Tuesday in the slaying of Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man who was chased and shot after being spotted running in the white defendants' neighborhood...

Health

California expands drought emergency to large swath of state

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday expanded a drought emergency declaration to a large swath of the nation's most populated state amid “acute water supply shortages" in northern and central parts of California...

Health

Dementia wards in Pennsylvania hard-hit during the pandemic

PITTSBURGH — In the weeks before she died of COVID-19 in the dementia unit of a suburban Philadelphia personal care home, Barbara Demech often lamented about the Alzheimer’s disease that began gripping her mind a decade earlier...

Health

Australian judge upholds temporary ban on Indian travel

SYDNEY — An Australian judge on Monday rejected a challenge to a temporary COVID-19 ban on citizens returning from India.

Health

Top judges in Brazil want review after deadly police raid

BRASILIA, Brazil — Several justices from Brazil’s Supreme Court say a ruling last year that banned police operations in Rio de Janeiro favelas, or slums, must now be reviewed after one of the city’s deadliest police operations...

Health

As India surges, Bangladesh lacks jabs, faces virus variants

DHAKA, Bangladesh — India's surge in coronavirus cases is having a dangerous effect on neighboring Bangladesh, with health experts warning of imminent vaccine shortages just as the country should be stepping up jabs and as more contagious virus variants are beginning to be detected...

Health

US drops planned limit for toxin that damages infant brains

The Trump administration on Thursday rejected imposing federal drinking-water limits for a chemical used in fireworks and other explosives and linked to brain damage in newborns, opting to...

Health

Official: German slaughterhouse virus outbreak untenable

BERLIN — Germany's agriculture minister said Thursday that conditions at a slaughterhouse where hundreds of workers tested positive for COVID-19 were untenable and backed an official...

Health

Test maker targeted by FDA says it responded to US concerns

WASHINGTON — A company targeted by the Food and Drug Administration for selling unauthorized coronavirus antibody tests says it has responded to regulators' concerns, though it has no...

Health

Poll: Americans not buying White House spin on coronavirus

WASHINGTON — Vice President Mike Pence says the U.S. response to the coronavirus pandemic is “a cause for celebration,” but a new poll finds more than half of Americans calling it fair or...

Health

US warns 3 companies over illegal at-home COVID-19 tests

WASHINGTON — U.S. health regulators are cracking down on three companies for selling at-home blood tests for coronavirus, warning that the products have not been shown to safely and...

Health

Court strikes down Trump rule that drugmakers disclose price

WASHINGTON — In a major legal setback for President Donald Trump on a high-profile consumer issue, a federal appeals court has ruled that his administration lacks the legal authority to force...

Health

White House steps up effort to downplay coronavirus concerns

NEW YORK — President Donald Trump has long been fond of crafting his own version of the facts. But when he said “if we stop testing right now we’d have very few cases” of coronavirus, he may...

Health

World TeamTennis players testing positive for COVID lose pay

A World TeamTennis player or coach who tests positive for COVID-19 when arriving for the three-week 2020 season will be dropped from the league without pay.

Health

What virus? Parisians pack cafes as city gets its magic back

PARIS — Paris is rediscovering its joie de vivre, as cafes and restaurants reopen for the first time since the fast-spreading coronavirus forced them to close their doors on March...

Health

How Brighton was a voice of Premier League during shutdown

When Manchester City wanted some tips ahead of the Premier League restart, the defending champions turned to a team trying to avoid relegation.

Health

UN health chief: Fighting virus very hard in divided world

GENEVA — The head of the World Health Organization said Friday he is “truly concerned” about divisions the coronavirus has created globally and within individual countries, calling it an...

Health

Poll: Americans maintain virus precautions as states reopen

WASHINGTON — Most Americans say they are wearing masks. They are still by and large avoiding restaurants. And the vast majority are still staying at least six feet from others when out and...

Health

Spanish league not ruling out fans in stadiums this season

MADRID — The Spanish league is not ruling out the return of fans to stadiums this season.

Health

Spain PM: pandemic increased mortality among non-virus ill

BARCELONA, Spain — Spain’s prime minister acknowledged Sunday that the country’s COVID-19 outbreak not only directly killed thousands through fatal infections but also likely increased...

Health

NHL: Players can start voluntary group workouts next week

The NHL cleared the way Thursday for players to return to practice rinks next week and firmed up its playoff format even as a ninth player tested positive for the coronavirus.

Health

Study shows Spain far from having ‘herd immunity’ to virus

MADRID — A second round of random testing in Spain for antibodies to the new coronavirus indicates that a third of those infected do not develop symptoms, Spanish health authorities said...

Health

Germany’s Merkel dismisses talk she might seek 5th term

BERLIN — German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday firmly rejected suggestions that she might seek a fifth term at the helm after pledging in 2018 to step down when her current government...

Health

South Africa’s hotspot limits most testing to above age 55

CAPE TOWN, South Africa — South Africa's worst hotspot for the coronavirus is no longer testing most people under age 55 as it tries to clear a backlog of 27,000 tests amid a shortage of...

Health

Heart patients avoided ERs as coronavirus hit, US study says

NEW YORK — Emergency room visits in the U.S. for chest pain and heart attacks fell early this spring, according to a study that supports fears that the coronavirus outbreak scared away people...