Breaking News

COVID-19

Super: Smooth start to Jersey Shore schooling

JERSEY SHORE — The first couple of weeks of school have gone “extremely well,” Superintendent Dr. Brian Ulmer reported to the Jersey Shore Area School Board via a virtual meeting Monday evening. Attributing the success of the new school year to the students following the health and safety procedures that have been enacted during the pandemic, Ulmer said, “kids are doing what they’re being asked to do and that has made the beginning of this school year go much, much better than it could have gone.” A donation of PPE supplies for staff and students from Highmark was ...

Summer of COVID-19 ends with health officials worried

The Lost Summer of 2020 drew to a close Monday with many big Labor Day gatherings canceled across the U.S. and health authorities pleading with people to keep their distance from others so as not to cause another coronavirus surge like the one that followed Memorial Day. Downtown Atlanta was ...

Bold hopes for virus antibody tests remain unfulfilled

WASHINGTON — At the height of the coronavirus lockdown, President Donald Trump and his top health advisers trumpeted a new test that would help Americans reclaim their lives — one that would tell them if they already had the virus and were protected from getting it again. Their arrival would help “get Americans back to work” by showing those who might have “the wonderful, beautiful immunity,” said Trump, a point repeated at the daily briefings last April. Months later, the U.S. is awash in the tests but the bold predictions about their usefulness have yet to ...

Candidates weigh in on area jobs, economy

Candidates in this year’s election say boosting the economy and increasing numbers of jobs comes down to either reopening more businesses and/or bringing more government money to employers and employees. COVID-19, they agree, has posed unique challenges for many people out of work and ...

States plan for cuts as Congress deadlocks on more virus aid

Spending cuts to schools, childhood vaccinations and job-training programs. New taxes on millionaires, cigarettes and legalized marijuana. Borrowing, drawing from rainy day funds and reducing government workers’ pay. These are some actions states are considering to shore up their finances amid a sharp drop in tax revenue caused by the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. With Congress deadlocked for months on a new coronavirus relief package, many states haven’t had the luxury of waiting to see whether more money is on the way. Some that have delayed budget decisions are ...

US unemployment rate falls to 8.4% even as hiring slows

WASHINGTON — U.S. unemployment dropped sharply in August from 10.2% to a still-high 8.4%, with about half the 22 million jobs lost to the coronavirus outbreak recovered so far, the government said Friday in one of the last major economic reports before Election Day. Employers added 1.4 million jobs last month, down from 1.7 million in July and the fewest since hiring resumed in May. And an increasingly large share of Americans reported that their jobs are gone for good, according to the Labor Department report. Altogether, that was seen by economists as evidence that further ...