Health

WASHINGTON - It came as no surprise last week when the majority of questions posed to two members of Congress during a virtual town hall Friday focused on currently stalled negotiations over the next COVID-19 relief package. Despite being on... Read More

TOPEKA, Kan. --Today, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly announced that the Kansas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, in collaboration with the Kansas Department for Children and Families, is making visible personal protective equipment available to deaf and hard... Read More

Gen. David Thompson, the United States Space Force Vice Chief of Space Operations, tested positive for COVID-19 Wednesday, the Department of the Air Force said in an email.  Thompson was tested Oct. 28 after learning that “a close family member,... Read More

WASHINGTON — An alarming new surge of coronavirus infections drowned out President Donald Trump's false claims that the health crisis was "ending," imperiling his reelection chances as hospitals struggled Wednesday with a rising COVID-19 caseload in key battleground states. Officials recorded more than... Read More

The White House and many Americans have pinned their hopes for defeating the COVID-19 pandemic on a vaccine being developed at "warp speed." But some scientific experts warn they're all expecting too much, too soon. "Everyone thinks COVID-19 will go away with... Read More

Flying ranks below grocery shopping and eating in a restaurant when it comes to the risk of contracting COVID-19 in a public place, a new study claims. It's all in the ventilation and the protocols, researchers at Harvard University's T.H. Chan School... Read More

WASHINGTON — Newly confirmed U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett will immediately be embroiled in some of the nation's biggest legal battles, including cases that could determine whether the president who nominated her gets four more years in the White House. The 48-year-old Barrett, who... Read More

WASHINGTON — Senators prepared to leave town Monday night for their October recess with virtually no prospect of passing new COVID-19 aid legislation before the Nov. 3 elections. Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin spoke by phone for 52 minutes on Monday in what has... Read More

At AMC Town Center in the Kansas City suburb of Leawood, Kan., the 20-screen complex has a few recent offerings: There's a new comedy starring Robert DeNiro and Rob Riggle, Christopher Nolan's "Tenet" and a thriller with Russell Crowe. But it's the oldies that tell the story of how the coronavirus... Read More

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the chamber could pass a pandemic relief plan this week, though a deal with the White House remains elusive and the Republican-led Senate might not act before the Nov. 3 U.S. election. Pelosi and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows accused each other of "moving the... Read More

WASHINGTON — Dr. Deborah Birx, response coordinator for the White House Coronavirus Task Force, made an appearance at the National Association of Counties’ Virtual Policy Summit to explain her current prioritization of developing a critical understanding of virus spread on... Read More

This week, the Bipartisan Policy Center, a think tank based in Washington, D.C, hosted Reps. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J. and Dave Joyce, R-Ohio,  for a discussion of rural broadband access in connection with telehealth and education. The discussion was part of... Read More

WASHINGTON – Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., introduced a bill in the House of Representatives with bipartisan support that would guarantee access to the future novel coronavirus vaccine at no cost to Medicare beneficiaries. The bill, entitled the “Securing Affordable Vaccines... Read More

Public skepticism about coronavirus vaccines and enthusiasm on the right for so-called herd immunity are colliding as the U.S. outbreak is worsening, developments that could dash hopes for containing COVID-19 in the months ahead. Herd immunity aims instead to expose more people... Read More

WASHINGTON - Amid ongoing COVID-19 economic aid negotiations and the approaching election, the Senate shot down on Tuesday a standalone measure authorizing a second round of forgivable loans to small businesses. Republicans were unified in their attempt to push forward the bill while nearly... Read More

Seven months into the pandemic, it’s no secret that plenty of people still downplay the risks of COVID-19, scoffing at mask-wearing and social distancing. Politics clearly feeds that mindset, as suggested by a new Pew Research Center survey in which... Read More

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump burst back onto the campaign trail Monday night, delivering an energetic and combative hourlong speech in Central Florida meant to demonstrate his recovery from COVID-19 and resuscitate his faltering reelection campaign. Trump portrayed his illness... Read More

DALLAS — The Pakistani immigrant was desperate. COVID-19 was spreading through the Prairieland compound, an isolated immigrant detention center about an hour southwest of Dallas. The diabetic man’s time in the facility became too much. He made a tough decision:... Read More

WASHINGTON — Anger on Capitol Hill boiled over Tuesday after President Donald Trump called an abrupt end to negotiations with House Democrats over additional coronavirus relief, delaying action until after the election. Trump announced he was walking away from the... Read More

Clarence Troutman survived a two-month hospital stay with COVID-19, then went home in early June. But he’s far from over the disease, still suffering from limited endurance, shortness of breath and hands that can be stiff and swollen. “Before COVID,... Read More

For a term that’s at least 100 years old, “herd immunity” has gained new life in 2020. It starred in many headlines last month, when reports surfaced that a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force and adviser to... Read More

The federal government did a quick pivot on the threat of the coronavirus spreading through the air, changing a key piece of guidance over the weekend. On Sept. 18, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned that tiny airborne... Read More

Sixty-one percent of Americans are worried that the U.S. could be on the verge of another Civil War, while 52% say they've already started stockpiling food and other essential in anticipation of social unrest, according to a new national poll.... Read More

WASHINGTON - A bipartisan resolution introduced by Sens. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., and Chuck Grassly, R-Iowa, would designate Oct. 5-9 “Malnutrition Awareness Week.” Malnutrition is a significant problem in the United States and results from eating a diet which does not... Read More

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released guidelines for fall holiday celebrations. As part of the recommendations, the CDC ranked traditional celebratory activities for Halloween and other fall holidays to help Americans celebrate the autumn season safely amid... Read More

WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin offered a $1.62 trillion COVID-19 relief proposal in talks with Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday, offering more state and local assistance than GOP negotiators have to-date in a sign of potential progress toward a... Read More

WASHINGTON -- A congressional committee sought assurances from medical experts Wednesday that the COVID-19 vaccines pharmaceutical companies plan to distribute soon will protect the public from the disease. Lawmakers were concerned that political pressure would force the companies to sacrifice... Read More

Most Americans have never heard of Dr. Richard Whitley, an expert in pediatric infectious diseases at the University of Alabama-Birmingham. Yet as the coronavirus pandemic drags on and the public eagerly awaits a vaccine, he may well be among the... Read More

WASHINGTON – The Democratic Blue Dog Coalition announced its support for an emergency funding bill to help municipalities withstand the lasting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The legislation, introduced in the House by Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J., provides $500 billion... Read More

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer jointly released a statement urging Congress to open an oversight investigation concerning “the Trump administration’s politicization of government functions,” that undermined the nation’s pandemic response. In their statement, the governors... Read More