AP National News

Texts: US Census Manager Told Counters to Use Fake Answers

The Associated Press has obtained text messages a U.S. Census Bureau supervisor in Alabama sent to workers telling them how to fake counts of households by entering misleading data. The texts from October say the effort’s goal was to close the census count in cases where they couldn’t tell who lived in a household after two visits. Workers were told…

DC Boosts Limits on Restaurants, Gatherings Amid Virus Spike

DC Mayor Muriel Bowser/ AP Images WASHINGTON (AP) – The nation’s capital is tightening its public COVID-19 restrictions in the face of spiraling virus numbers locally and around the country. Mayor Muriel Bowser said Monday that the District of Columbia will remain in Phase 2 of its reopening plan, but she announced a number of adjustments. Starting Wednesday, Nov. 25,…

Biden Transition Gets Government OK

President Donald Trump waves to supporters from his motorcade as people gather for a march Saturday, Nov. 14, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) WASHINGTON (AP) – The federal government has recognized President-elect Joe Biden as the “apparent winner” of the Nov. 3 election. That formally starts the transition of power after President Donald Trump has spent weeks testing the…

AstraZeneca: COVID-19 Vaccine ‘Highly Effective’ Prevention

LONDON (AP) – AstraZeneca says late-stage trials of its COVID-19 vaccine developed with Oxford University were “highly effective” in preventing disease. The results are based on an interim analysis of trials in the U.K. and Brazil of the vaccine. Dr. Andrew Pollard said, “these findings show that we have an effective vaccine that will save many lives.” He said if…

New York Investigates President Trump’s Consulting Payments

NEW YORK (AP) – New York’s attorney general has sent a subpoena to the Trump Organization for records related to consulting fees paid to Ivanka Trump as part of an investigation into the president’s business dealings. That’s according to a law enforcement official who spoke to The Associated Press Thursday on condition of anonymity. The New York Times reported that…

Biden Turns 78, Making Him The Oldest U.S. President-Elect

(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) WASHINGTON (AP) – President-elect Joe Biden has a birthday Friday and is turning 78. In exactly two months, he’ll take the reins of a politically fractured nation facing the worst public health crisis in a century, high unemployment, and a reckoning on racial injustice. Biden will enter office as the oldest president in the nation’s history, displacing…

Not Just COVID: Nursing Home Neglect Deaths Surge in Shadows

As more than 97,000 of America’s long-term care residents have died in the coronavirus pandemic, advocates for the elderly say a tandem wave of death separate from the virus has quietly claimed tens of thousands more, often because overburdened workers haven’t been able to give them the care they need. Care home watchdogs say they are being flooded with reports…

The Latest: Australia has no local case 1st time in months

CANBERRA, Australia — Australia has recorded no new locally transmitted coronavirus infection for the first time in five months.

In Melbourne, the capital of Victoria state, which had the highest number of cases in the country, residents were enjoying the first weekend of cafes, restaurants and pubs reopening to walk-in customers.

The city only has one mystery case without a known source. There are 61 active cases left across the state, down from 70 on Saturday.

State Deputy Premier James Merlino hailed Sunday’s zero figures as “another great day for Victoria,” but urged caution ahead of

The Latest: UK gives Manchester deadline to OK tighter rules

LONDON — The British government has given the city of Manchester a noon Tuesday deadline to agree to tighter coronavirus measures, as Prime Minister Boris Johnson struggles to impose his plan for localized restrictions on restive regions.

Johnson’s government is resisting a recommendation from its scientific advisory committee for a short “circuit-breaker” lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Instead it has adopted a three-tier system for England, with areas classed as medium, high and very high risk. In the top tier, pubs have to close and people are barred from mixing with

The Latest: Portugal backs away from mandatory tracing app

LISBON, Portugal — Portugal’s prime minister is backing down from his plan to make the government’s COVID-19 tracing app mandatory.

Prime Minister Antonio Costa said in a television interview that the widely contested move, which was due to be voted on later this week in parliament, required further debate.

Portugal’s Stayaway COVID app has been downloaded 2.3 million times — just over one third of the government’s target.

Costa’s plan for compulsory use was widely criticized as unworkable. Among other complaints, police said the measure was unenforceable, and legal experts said it was