AP National News

The Latest: Governor extends Oregon’s state of emergency

By The Associated Press
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by Rayos Syndication User

SALEM, Ore. – Gov. Kate Brown on Thursday extended Oregon’s declaration of a state of emergency until May 2 as confirmed COVID-19 cases drop but hundreds of new cases continue to be reported daily. The Oregon Health Authority on Thursday reported 553 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, bringing the state total to 154,554. The state’s death toll is 2,204. The agency’s…

At divided time, Ohio unites behind statue of John Glenn

By JULIE CARR SMYTH - Associated Press
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by Rayos Syndication User

Political divisions these days may be deep, but Ohioans never cease to agree on John Glenn. Both Republicans and Democrats on a state panel heaped praise on the late astronaut and U.S. senator Thursday, as they voted unanimously to put a 7-foot, 600-pound bronze statue of him on display at the Ohio Statehouse for the next year. The period beginning next month will include his 100th birthday this July, as well as the 60th anniversary of his famous flight as the first American to orbit Earth next February. The vote was delayed about a year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Latest: Kentucky urges Black citizens to get vaccinated

By The Associated Press
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by Rayos Syndication User

LEXINGTON, Ky.: The Rev. Jim Thurman counts himself among the converts who recognize the importance of taking a COVID-19 vaccine. The prominent Black activist received his second dose of vaccine Wednesday as Kentucky’s governor highlighted efforts to encourage minority populations to roll up their sleeves for the shots. “It’s a matter between life and death,” said Thurman, president of the…

AP FACT CHECK: Biden on virus deaths, Kerry’s climate crisis

By HOPE YEN and SETH BORENSTEIN - Associated Press
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by Rayos Syndication User

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and his team are getting the numbers wrong when they talk about the enormity of the mounting COVID-19 death toll and the looming climate change threat. A look at the claims: BIDEN: “Each day, I receive a small card in my pocket that I carry with me in my schedule. It shows the number…

The Latest: Tennessee probe finds wasted vaccines

By The Associated Press
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by Rayos Syndication User

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — More than 2,400 doses of COVID-19 vaccines in Tennessee’s most populous county went to waste over the past month while local officials sat on tens of thousands of shots that they thought had already gone into arms, the state’s top health official announced Tuesday. The finding comes after the Department of Health launched an investigation over the…

The Latest: Mexico receives shipment of Sputnik V vaccine

By The Associated Press
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by Rayos Syndication User

MEXICO CITY — Mexico has received its first shipment of Russia’s Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine. Some 200,000 doses arrived to Mexico City’s international airport late Monday night aboard a British Airways flight from Moscow. Officials plan to use the doses to begin vaccinating seniors in the capital’s most marginalized boroughs on Wednesday. Mexico Foreign Affairs Secretary Marcelo Ebrard confirmed their…

Rules planned to save right whales loom over lobster fishers

By PATRICK WHITTLE - Associated Press
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by Rayos Syndication User

America’s lobster fishery is getting close to the date when it will have to contend with new rules designed to try to save a species of whale from extinction. The North Atlantic right whale numbers only about 360, and scientists have said the animal’s small population of breeding females could spell doom for the species. The National Marine Fisheries Service is developing new rules to reduce the possibility of entanglement in fishing gear, which can kill the whales. A court decision required the fisheries service to finalize the rules by May 31. A spokesperson says the agency is on track to produce the final rules on time.

DISPATCH: Covering loss, even as it comes to your own door

By SOPHIA EPPOLITO - Associated Press/Report for America
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by Rayos Syndication User

In a wrenching coincidence that seemed made for 2020, one journalist lost both her grandmothers in four months last year. Neither had COVID-19, and both lived well into their 90s. But the pandemic carved a deep, lasting impression upon the last few months of their lives. The journalist struggled to process her own personal loss while covering the chaos and upheaval brought by the coronavirus pandemic. But now, months after her grandmothers died, she can’t help but focus on the blessings.