News Center

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sharpened her criticism of President Trump’s early dismissal of the coronavirus, saying the delay cost American lives. She criticized the president's initial response to the virus during a Sunday morning interview on CNN.

POSTED MARCH 29, 2020 10:20 AM

Hundreds of worshippers attended services at a Louisiana church on Sunday, flouting a ban on large gatherings, angering neighbors and seemingly turning a deaf ear to their governor, who once again warned that hospitals could soon be overwhelmed with new cases of the coronavirus. Assistant ministers and worshippers who stood outside the front doors and in the parking lot of Life Tabernacle told news reporters to leave, saying cameras would not be allowed on the property and they had been told not to talk to the news media. Across the street, Paul Quinn and other neighbors took pains to stay 6 feet (2 meters) apart from each other as they stood in a driveway and commented on their opposition to the services being held.

POSTED MARCH 29, 2020 1:51 PM

"Despite everything I experienced along the way, they deported me the next day," one indigenous teenager from Guatemala told CBS News.

POSTED MARCH 30, 2020 10:06 PM

As U.S. spy agencies seek to assemble a precise picture of the world's coronavirus outbreaks, they are finding serious gaps in their ability to assess the situation in China, Russia and North Korea, according to five U.S. government sources familiar with the intelligence reporting. The four countries are known by U.S. spy agencies as "hard targets" because of the heavy state controls on information and the difficulty, even in normal times, of collecting intelligence from within their closed leadership circles.

POSTED MARCH 30, 2020 5:13 PM

Wuhan residents are increasingly skeptical of the Chinese Communist Party’s reported coronavirus death count of approximately 2,500 deaths in the city to date, with most people believing the actual number is at least 40,000."Maybe the authorities are gradually releasing the real figures, intentionally or unintentionally, so that people will gradually come to accept the reality," a Wuhan resident, who gave only his surname Mao, told Radio Free Asia.A city source added that, based on the aggregation of funeral and cremation numbers, authorities likely know the real number and are keeping it under wraps."Every funeral home reports data on cremations directly to the authorities twice daily," the source said. "This means that each funeral home only knows how many cremations it has conducted, but not the situation at the other funeral homes."The city began lifting its lockdown on Saturday after two months of mandatory shutdown, with a complete lift of restrictions set for April 8. Funeral homes in Wuhan have been handing out the cremated remains to families every day, but rumors began circulating after one funeral home received two shipments of 5,000 urns over the course of two days, according to photos reported by Chinese media outlet Caixin, which were later censored.Reports of the funeral’s crematoriums working nonstop also raised questions."It can't be right … because the incinerators have been working round the clock, so how can so few people have died?" a man surnamed Zhang told RFA.Wuhan residents said the government was paying families 3,000 yuan for "funeral allowances" in exchange for silence."There have been a lot of funerals in the past few days, and the authorities are handing out 3,000 yuan in hush money to families who get their loved ones' remains laid to rest ahead of Qing Ming," Wuhan resident Chen Yaohui said, in a reference to the traditional grave tending festival on April 5.“During the epidemic, they transferred cremation workers from around China to Wuhan keep cremate bodies around the clock," he added.China has used state propaganda in an attempt to avoid blame for the spreading of COVID-19, despite reports showing how the government suppressed initial reports of human-to-human transmission and gagged Wuhan labs that discovered the novel virus resembled the deadly SARS virus of 2002-2003.

POSTED MARCH 30, 2020 12:48 PM

Despite the lockdown, on Sunday the Philippines reported a daily increase of 343 new coronavirus cases — its highest one day increase yet.

POSTED MARCH 30, 2020 11:12 PM

"I think in some of the metro areas we were late in getting people to follow the 15-day guidelines," the White House coronavirus response coordinator said on "TODAY."

POSTED MARCH 30, 2020 10:47 AM

Commander Greg Carnicle, a 31-year police veteran, died after being shot in the line of duty. Two officers were shot and are expected to recover.

POSTED MARCH 30, 2020 11:07 AM

Several crew members who recently left the Norwegian Encore cruise ship told the Miami Herald they are worried about their colleagues still on board, as many are possibly suffering from the COVID-19 coronavirus.Thousands of cruise line employees — including many whose contracts have expired — remain on their ships, despite all U.S. sailings being canceled until mid-April because of the coronavirus pandemic. Many are from foreign countries, and the cruise lines say they can't leave because their flights keep getting canceled.In the case of the Encore, the last passengers got off in Miami on March 15. Crew members told the Herald the captain said there were no confirmed cases of COVID-19, but then they started noticing more dining carts in the hallways, indicating food was being sent to people in isolation. "They kept saying no one had symptoms, everyone is fine, you're in the best place you can be," one crew member said. "We knew that wasn't true because we saw all the carts."Crew members who were able to finally leave the Encore on March 23 told the Herald that upon disembarkation, no one at the port took their temperature or asked if they had any COVID-19 symptoms. One person has since tested positive, and several have symptoms.These crew members believe dozens of the roughly 1,000 people still on the Encore are sick. Some are also no longer being paid — the Herald reports that a letter was distributed to employees on Wednesday from a Norwegian human relations executive stating that all workers would have access to food, medical services, Wi-Fi, and laundry, but those whose contracts have expired will not receive any financial compensation, even if they can't leave because of travel restrictions."I'm worried about the people still on board," one crew member told the Herald. "I'm worried we've been lied to this whole time by management. It is reckless behavior on their part, in my opinion, and endangering."More stories from theweek.com Fox News reportedly fears its early downplaying of COVID-19 leaves it open to lawsuits CDC is weighing advising Americans to wear face masks outdoors Trump's message to blue states battling coronavirus: Drop dead

POSTED MARCH 30, 2020 2:38 AM

Critics said Mexico's president was downplaying the coronavirus threat. But he has now shifted his tone.

POSTED MARCH 30, 2020 12:09 AM