Health

WASHINGTON -- Scammers who cheat desperate consumers out of money during the coronavirus pandemic prompted calls for federal legislation to crack down on them during a Senate hearing Tuesday. The proposals would set new standards for data privacy, penalize price-gougers... Read More

WASHINGTON -- Nurses from National Nurses United gathered at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday morning to honor the lives of fellow health care workers who have died from the coronavirus, and to urge Congress to pass legislation to protect them... Read More

WASHINGTON - Bipartisanship ruled the day Monday when several amendments were added to the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2021 to better regulate a class of cancer-linked chemicals on military bases and surrounding communities. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also... Read More

WASHINGTON - Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., on Tuesday provided the most detailed description yet of what's going to be in the Republican-controlled Senate's next coronavirus relief proposal. Speaking on the floor of the Senate, McConnell said the GOP... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump acknowledged a “big flareup” of COVID-19 cases, but divisions between the White House and Senate Republicans and differences with Democrats posed fresh challenges for a new federal aid package with the U.S. crisis worsening and emergency... Read More

BURTON, Mich. (AP) — Crystal and Chris Martin put off some payments on their home in this blue-collar town near Flint and are pinching pennies to make ends meet until they return to work. In Windsor, Connecticut, Anne Druce's family... Read More

BRUSSELS (AP) — Weary but relieved, European Union leaders finally clinched an unprecedented 1.82 trillion euro ($2.1 trillion) budget and coronavirus recovery fund early Tuesday, somehow finding unity after four days and as many nights of fighting and wrangling over... Read More

The Food and Drug Administration on Friday authorized Quest Diagnostics, an American clinical laboratory, to start processing COVID-19 tests in batches in an effort to speed up testing amid a nationwide surge in coronavirus cases. The technique, called specimen pooling,... Read More

N.Y. Gov. Andrew Cuomo and members of the state's COVID-19 task force traveled to Savannah, Ga., Monday to help officials there cope with a surge in coronavirus cases. While in Savannah, Cuomo will host a roundtable meeting with the New... Read More

WASHINGTON - Members of the largest ideological caucus in the House threw down the gauntlet on a new coronavirus relief package Monday, calling on their colleagues on Capitol Hill to strike a deal extending existing benefits now while ensuring continued... Read More

Donald Trump said he plans to approve a health care plan, an immigration plan and “various other plans” in coming weeks as polls show the president trailing Democrat Joe Biden. “Nobody will have done what I’m doing in the next... Read More

WASHINGTON – Members of the Blue Dog Coalition issued a letter urging congressional leaders to include measures to further protect taxpayer dollars in the next round of pandemic response funding.  The coalition, founded on fiscal responsibility and centrist-ideals, highlighted the... Read More

WASHINGTON - Small business representatives made a plea to Congress Thursday for assistance in getting Americans back to work after millions of workers lost their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic. They said that without financial assistance and retraining of the... Read More

WASHINGTON -- Despite an increasing number of coronavirus cases in all but a handful of U.S. states, school districts across the country are pushing ahead with plans to resume in-person classes this fall. With the pandemic continuing, minimizing the risk... Read More

RICHMOND, Va. – Due to the lack of federal workplace guidelines in response to the novel coronavirus pandemic, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced Wednesday emergency occupational safety standards to be implemented statewide. The rules, instituted via an executive order, mandate... Read More

WASHINGTON - The Republican National Committee is reducing the size of its planned presidential nominating convention in Jacksonville, Fla., in August in the face of a continued surge in the number of coronavirus cases in the state. The GOP’s plans... Read More

WASHINGTON - Whether due to office closures, fear of seeking medical assistance during the pandemic, or simply for convenience, the nation has seen a rise in telemedicine over the last four months. While telemedicine isn’t new, barriers to adoption, such... Read More

WASHINGTON - A week before Congress turns its attention to the next coronavirus relief bill, advocates for the nation's restaurants are urging lawmakers to include a number of provisions to specifically bolster the struggling industry. “In just the past two... Read More

Challenges faced by residents of rural and underserved communities regarding barriers to health care were analyzed in a report released by the House Ways and Means Committee. The report, entitled “Left Out: Barriers to Health Equity for Rural and Underserved... Read More

WASHINGTON - U.S. experts on European financial and political policy added their voices to an international call for greater cooperation to combat the COVID-19 pandemic during a congressional hearing Tuesday. They described the struggle to find a vaccine and to... Read More

WASHINGTON - Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., is leading a bipartisan coalition that wants to add a comprehensive solution to PFAS contamination to the Fiscal 2021 National Defense Authorization Act. The amendment -- originally proposed by Dingell and passed with bipartisan... Read More

Angie Benson, a freelance theatrical musician based in northern Virginia, minced no words about her beliefs during a recent conversation with The Well News. Despite the coronavirus pandemic, “the arts are essential,” she said.  “Now more than ever,” she added.... Read More

What is contact tracing, and how does it work with COVID-19? The goal of contact tracing is to alert people who may have been exposed to someone with the coronavirus, and prevent them from spreading it to others. Health experts... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — With U.S. virus cases spiking and the death toll mounting, the White House is working to undercut its most trusted coronavirus expert, playing down the danger as President Donald Trump pushes to get the economy moving before... Read More

As the Trump administration pushes full steam ahead to force schools to resume in-person education, public health experts warn that a one-size-fits-all reopening could drive infection and death rates even higher. They’re urging a more cautious approach, which many local... Read More

The top U.S. education official downplayed the risk of reopening schools in the fall, a high priority of President Donald Trump, and repeated a threat to cut funding to schools that don’t fully resume in-person learning as educators wrestle with... Read More

After waging a pitched, months-long battle against the coronavirus, New York City is now stepping up its efforts to protect its residents from a more familiar adversary -- the onset of summer heat wave season. Even without a global pandemic,... Read More

As governments and businesses across the U.S. continue to struggle with the question of when and how to resume outdoor sports and entertainment events, the United Kingdom is moving ahead with plans to restart this segment of its economy. If... Read More

RALEIGH, N.C. — This spring when North Carolina state lawmakers were debating a bill making it easier for people to vote by mail in November because of coronavirus, they also added in an unrelated provision about photo IDs. Now, Republican... Read More

The United States has reached another grim milestone in the coronavirus pandemic, with the number of confirmed infections surging past 3 million on Wednesday. The official tally, compiled by Johns Hopkins University, is almost twice as high as the second... Read More