SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — A fiery debate over public health and personal rights gripped Puerto Rico this week, intensifying Wednesday when legislators clashed with medical experts. The debate began earlier this month after the administrator of Puerto Rico’s House of Representatives announced the mandatory use of face masks, following various COVID-19 cases reported in … Read more
SAN FRANCISCO — California cities and counties still don’t know how much they’ll have to pay for Gov. Gavin Newsom’s pandemic program to house homeless people in hotel rooms after the Federal Emergency Management Agency said in October that it was limiting the number of days eligible for reimbursement. State and local officials say they … Read more
For some people with COVID-19, antiviral pills that can be taken at home can lessen the chances of winding up in the hospital. But the pills have to be taken right away, so you must get tested, obtain a prescription and get the medication within five days of symptoms appearing. The medication is intended for … Read more
NEW YORK — The flu virus is hanging on in the U.S., intensifying in some areas of the country after weeks of an apparent national decline. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data released Friday showed a continued national drop in flu hospitalizations, but other indicators were up — including the number of states with … Read more
NEW YORK — A Brooklyn woman who pleaded guilty to fraud in connection with various pandemic-era relief schemes was sentenced Thursday to three years of probation and $650,000 in penalties. Prosecutors said Chanette Lewis, 32, carried out some of the schemes by leveraging her job at a call center, part of a New York program … Read more
NEW YORK — NEW YORK (AP) — Dr. Anthony Fauci has a memoir coming out in June, a look back at his long career as an infectious disease expert and the many outbreaks he contended with, from HIV/AIDS to the COVID-19 pandemic that made him famous. Viking announced Thursday that Fauci’s “On Call: A Doctor’s … Read more
Almost four years since COVID-19 became a household term, a new work of fiction proves that even a global pandemic can’t curb creativity. “Fourteen Days” is billed as a “collaborative novel.” Edited by Margaret Atwood and Douglas Preston, the book was written by 36 American and Canadian authors. Many of the names will be familiar … Read more
LONDON — The announcement Monday that King Charles III has been diagnosed with cancer has come as a shock to many in Britain, largely because the 75-year-old monarch has generally enjoyed good health through the years. Palace officials did not specify what kind of cancer the king has, or how serious his condition is. They … Read more
WASHINGTON — When IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel met privately with senators recently, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee asked for his assessment of a startling report: A whistleblower estimated that 95% of claims now being made by businesses for a COVID-era tax break were fraudulent. “He looked at his shoes and he basically said, … Read more
When Aaliyah Iglesias was caught vaping at a Texas high school, she didn’t realize how much could be taken from her. Suddenly, the rest of her high school experience was threatened: being student council president, her role as debate team captain and walking at graduation. Even her college scholarships were at risk. She was sent … Read more
