pandemic

WASHINGTON -- A congressional panel on Wednesday examined whether the federal government’s strategy is appropriate for protecting children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lawmakers asked about the potential for vaccinating children, having them return safely to school and whether they should... Read More

WASHINGTON -- Airlines failed to provide timely refunds for flights cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report from the United States Department of Transportation. USDOT issued two enforcement notices to airlines emphasizing the companies’ obligation to provide... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Department of Defense is establishing a supply chain resiliency working group to address systemic barriers that limit “supply chain visibility” in addition to performing resiliency assessments and developing effective mitigation measures. In February, President Joe Biden issued... Read More

The Biden Administration is investing more than $19 million to expand telehealth access to rural and underserved communities, and Mend, a telemedicine and AI-powered patient engagement platform, is looking to prioritize access in rural areas where there is less internet... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jill Biden is going back to her whiteboard. After months of teaching writing and English to community college students in boxes on a computer screen, the first lady resumes teaching in person Tuesday from a classroom at... Read More

A year and a half into the COVID-19 pandemic, travel bans meant to stem the crisis are taking a significant toll on global growth and trade, according to a new report from The Conference Board, the nonprofit business and research... Read More

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday tossed a legal challenge that claimed Connecticut violated citizens’ 2nd Amendment right when it curtailed fingerprinting services during the pandemic. The Connecticut Citizens’ Defense League and six state residents sued Gov.... Read More

WASHINGTON — The pandemic may have changed the way students learn and how educators incorporate tools for remote learning into their classrooms, but the founder of one of the most recognizable online tools to help educate students doesn’t believe that... Read More

The impact of COVID-19 has been traumatic for many, but for those living with HIV the pandemic may have reawakened feelings of social exclusion and fear with receiving a positive status.  “I'm an HIV positive person and I just survived... Read More

WASHINGTON -- Members of Congress threw their support Tuesday behind President Joe Biden’s goal of helping small and rural businesses but with different perspectives on how to achieve it. Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, suggested that Congress provide a dedicated source... Read More

Movie theaters are seeing a slow uptick in their business as summer and reopenings continue, but the box office take for 2021 to date is still 81% below where it was pre-pandemic, according to analysis by Variety magazine. Though the... Read More

WASHINGTON -- Warnings came from Congress and public health officials Thursday that the Delta variant of COVID-19 is potentially a greater hazard than originally believed. Complicating the risk is what they call “vaccine hesitancy” that could subject millions of Americans... Read More

NEW YORK (AP) — A new analysis of blood samples from 24,000 Americans taken early last year is the latest and largest study to suggest that the new coronavirus popped up in the U.S. in December 2019 — weeks before... Read More

Why do some people get side effects after COVID-19 vaccines? Temporary side effects including headache, fatigue and fever are signs the immune system is revving up -- a normal response to vaccines. And they're common. "The day after getting these... Read More

NEW YORK (AP) — Couples in the U.S. are racing to the altar in a vaccination-era wedding boom that has venues and other vendors in high demand. With restrictions on large gatherings loosening, wedding planners and others who make the... Read More

BOISE, Idaho — Idaho Gov. Brad Little this week reversed an executive order issued by Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin while he was attending a Republican Governors Association conference in Nashville, Tenn.  McGeachin’s order prevented the state and its “political subdivisions,”... Read More

Many hospital beds are full. Waiting lists for outpatient treatment are bulging. And teens and adults seeking help for eating disorders are often finding it takes months to get an appointment. The pandemic created treacherous conditions for eating disorders, leading... Read More

Marna Gatlin, a 58-year-old from Portland, Ore., is the administrator of a Facebook support group for morbidly obese individuals. Gatlin has struggled with obesity for several years but found this past year to be more challenging.  “I decided during the... Read More

WASHINGTON - Before the pandemic, a rural community’s public library in Vermont always saw its parking lot full on Sundays, even though it was closed. The parking lot was filled to the brim with school children finishing their classwork or... Read More

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — A working paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research contends that working from home may be here to stay after the COVID-19 pandemic has subsided. The paper — authored jointly by Steven Davis of the... Read More

STOWE, Vt. (AP) — Eduardo Rovetto is hoping the state of Vermont's reinstated requirement that people who are collecting unemployment benefits must seek work to qualify will help him hire enough staff for his restaurant in the resort town of... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is plunging into the next phase of his administration with the steady approval of a majority of Americans, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. The survey... Read More

Lisa Harris has not physically seen her family since the beginning of the pandemic just to keep them safe from her. She is one of the 50 million essential workers fearing the virus every day, yet still going into work... Read More

ATLANTA (AP) — With her children struggling in many classes last spring, Kelli Rivera became so frustrated with how her suburban Atlanta district was handling the coronavirus pandemic that she withdrew them to home-school them. They're back in public school... Read More

The pandemic has made clear that broadband access goes hand-in-hand with economic opportunity, exposing the inequities and lack of resources for black-owned businesses across the country, according to Commissioner Geoffrey Starks of the Federal Communications Commission. Since the onset of... Read More

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. (AP) — After nearly a year of being trapped in pandemic isolation, some people just want to pick up a sledgehammer and smash something to smithereens."That felt good," sweating insurance executive Josh Elohim said after reducing a... Read More

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom's office on Saturday issued revised guidelines for indoor church services after the Supreme Court lifted the state's ban on indoor worship during the coronavirus pandemic, but left in place restrictions on singing... Read More

WASHINGTON — While the nation continues to grapple with challenges from the pandemic, a bipartisan group of former policymakers and analysts have come together at the Bipartisan Policy Center, a D.C.-based think tank, to suggest urgent federal actions to accelerate... Read More

LONDON (AP) — Despite growing vaccine access, January is looking grim around the globe as the coronavirus resurges and reshapes itself from Britain to Japan to California, filling hospitals and threatening livelihoods anew as governments lock down businesses and race... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress is ending a chaotic session, a two-year political firestorm that started with the longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history, was riven by impeachment and a pandemic, and now closes with a rare rebuff by Republicans of President Donald Trump. In... Read More