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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Health insurance giant Blue Shield of California will be the outside administrator tasked with ramping up coronavirus vaccinations, which to date has been slow, stilted and plagued by confusion, the state health agency said in a statement Wednesday.
Pro Football Hall of Famer and “Good Morning America” host Michael Strahan has tested positive for COVID-19 and is self-quarantining, according to people familiar with the situation.
TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares skidded on Thursday as a reality check set in about longtime economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic, giving Wall Street its worst day since October.
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Travelers returning to New Zealand will face stricter rules at quarantine hotels as health authorities investigate how up to three people got infected with the coronavirus while isolating at Auckland’s Pullman Hotel.
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan House Republicans on Wednesday proposed a $3.5 billion coronavirus recovery plan but threatened to withhold billions to K-12 schools unless Gov. Gretchen Whitmer cedes her administration's power to prohibit in-person instruction and sports to local health departments.
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer sought “common ground” with the Republican-led Legislature in her State of the State address Wednesday, calling for quick passage of a multibillion-dollar relief plan that would prioritize coronavirus vaccinations and additional aid to Michigan schools and businesses to help end the pandemic.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania's state Senate on Wednesday unanimously approved legislation to distribute just over $900 million to aid schools and hospitality-related businesses hit hard by the coronavirus, as well as people struggling to pay rent or utility bills.
Washington’s second-half schedule might not be as jam-packed as first thought, after the NBA said Wednesday it was rescheduling some Wizards g…
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — States are loosening their coronavirus restrictions on restaurants and other businesses because of improved infection and hospitalization numbers but are moving gradually and cautiously, in part because of the more contagious variant taking hold in the U.S.
WASHINGTON (AP) — At least two journalists tested positive for coronavirus after witnessing the Trump administration's final three federal executions, but the Bureau of Prisons knowingly withheld the diagnoses from other media witnesses and did not perform any contact tracing, The Associated Press has learned.
GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) — Oregon health workers who got stuck in a snowstorm on their way back from a COVID-19 vaccination event went car to car injecting stranded drivers before several of the doses expired.
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Two former Republican speakers of the Idaho House took the unusual step of releasing a letter Wednesday blasting the Republican-dominated Legislature for its attempts to strip GOP Gov. Brad Little and future governors of emergency powers during crises like the coronavirus pandemic.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas health officials on Wednesday sought to determine whether a coronavirus variant might be fueling a new outbreak at a minimum-security state prison where inmates regularly work in surrounding communities.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia will receive more doses of coronavirus vaccines next week, Gov. Jim Justice said Wednesday, as the number of active cases statewide continues to decline.
BARTOW, Fla. (AP) — A Florida fire captain accused of stealing COVID-19 vaccines meant for first responders turned himself in Wednesday afternoon, sheriff's officials said.
Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad:
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana’s crowd size limits will be relaxed starting next week following recent improvements in the statewide COVID-19 infection and hospitalization rates, the governor announced Wednesday.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina lawmakers are vying to override the Department of Health and Environmental Control's board on an allocation plan meant to equitably distribute the state's limited coronavirus vaccine supply.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Gov. Mike Parson in his State of the State speech Wednesday touted his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, even as an outbreak among lawmakers forced him to break tradition and switch the venue for his address.
BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union and drugmaker AstraZeneca sparred Wednesday over a delay in coronavirus vaccine deliveries amid a deepening dispute that raises concerns about international competition for limited supplies of the shots needed to end the pandemic.
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — New Hampshire businesses that have been fined for violating emergency orders during the coronavirus pandemic would get their money back under a GOP-sponsored bill before a House committee on Wednesday.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — The predominantly Black farming communities on Lake Okeechobee's shores are at least 25 miles (40 kilometers) from the nearest Publix supermarket — and that's a problem, as Gov. Ron DeSantis has given the chain sole distribution rights for the coronavirus vaccine in Palm Beach County.
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday that he was erasing the handful of remaining “orange zones” in the state where tougher pandemic restrictions had been in place because of the fast spread of COVID-19.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Facing escalating criticism over the state's rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam outlined a seri…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin will become one of only 10 states without statewide mask mandates if the Assembly votes as scheduled Thursday to overturn Gov. Tony Evers' order, but masks will still be required in some of its largest cities thanks to local ordinances.
