WASHINGTON — Early on, the dozen federal officials charged with defending America against the coronavirus gathered day after day in the White House Situation Room, consumed by crises. They grappled with how to evacuate the United States consulate in Wuhan, China, ban Chinese travelers and extract Americans from the Diamond Princess and other cruise ships. […]
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The unleashing of cash by Congress to combat the catastrophe of the pandemic amounts to the traditional American prescription — in gargantuan form. The $2 trillion package of spending expands the standard unemployment insurance system, while setting aside a pool of money that is supposed to aid distressed companies. It may prove to be weak […]
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Here’s what you need to know: Video transcript Back transcript Trump Signs Historic $2 Trillion Coronavirus Relief Bill President Trump signed into law the largest economic stimulus package in modern American history, backing a $2 trillion measure designed to respond to the coronavirus pandemic. This will deliver urgently needed relief to our nation’s families, workers […]
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The past five years have been a remarkable time for America’s opiate-addiction epidemic, now a generation old. The country finally took notice. Media coverage, resources, options, research and acceptance of addicts — all of that expanded. All of that has now been paused or limited as the country confronts the coronavirus. As disastrous as the […]
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America came face to face with the festering problem of digital inequality when most of the country responded to the coronavirus pandemic by shutting elementary and high schools that serve more than 50 million children. Even before the shutdown, an estimated 12 million children were having difficulty completing routine homework assignments — not to mention […]
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“Don’t worry about me,” my mother says when I bring her some groceries. “I have a Ph.D. in loneliness.” We choreograph our movements so as to keep our distance. I take care not to touch anything she might touch, much less touch her. As the severity and scale of the coronavirus pandemic have become clear […]
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WASHINGTON — So much has changed so quickly for Joseph Palma that he barely recognizes his life. On Tuesday last week, he was going to work, helping passengers in the customs area of the Miami airport. The next day, he was laid off without severance or benefits. Five days later, he moved back in with […]
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The 64-year-old patient arrived at a hospital in Brooklyn with symptoms looking like those seen in patients having a serious heart attack. An electrocardiogram revealed an ominous heart rhythm. The patient had high blood levels of a protein called troponin, a sign of damaged heart muscle. Doctors rushed to open the patient’s blocked arteries — […]
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Something strange is happening. Not just the illness and death sweeping the planet. Not just the closing of borders and bars and schools, the hoarding of wipes and sanitizer, the orders — unimaginable to most Americans weeks ago — to “shelter in place.” Something else is afoot. In China and Italy, the air is now […]
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Boris Johnson, the prime minister of Britain, on Friday announced that he had tested positive for the coronavirus. In a brief video released on Twitter, he shared the basics: Having developed “mild symptoms — that’s to say, a temperature and a persistent cough” — he underwent testing and received the bad news. He will now […]
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BEIRUT, Lebanon — When Turkey this week announced indictments against 20 suspects in the killing of the dissident Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi, the prospects dimmed of anyone ever being held accountable for the crime. None of the suspects are in Turkey, and Turkish courts do not normally try defendants in absentia. Calls for international legal […]
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Next to me on the couch, one of my dogs twitches his feet and curls his lower lip in his sleep. His tail thumps on a soft pillow. An “urph” — maybe a stifled bark — escapes his mouth and he wakes himself up, looking at me accusingly. “That was you!” I tell him. As […]
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Here’s what you need to know: ImageA patient, believed to be infected, being moved in Paterson, New Jersey.Credit…Chang W. Lee/The New York Times The U.S. now leads the world in confirmed coronavirus cases. Scientists warned that the United States someday would become the country hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic. That moment arrived on Thursday. […]
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It’s hardly new for anti-abortion politicians to seize on any excuse to try to restrict women’s bodily autonomy, but it is a new low to exploit a pandemic that’s already cost hundreds of American lives, and threatens many thousands more. In recent days, leaders in several states — including Texas, Ohio and Louisiana — have […]
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The $2 trillion coronavirus rescue package that the Senate passed on Wednesday will fundamentally transform the U.S. government by placing thousands of businesses and millions of workers on federally funded life support. The government will pay the wages of some workers who remain on their companies’ payrolls. It will sustain other workers who have lost […]
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Voters should not have to choose between casting a ballot and risking their health. They should not have to endure confusion over the location of polling places or the availability of vote-by-mail. Yet voters might face exactly those problems in November if we do not act now to protect the election from Covid-19. To safeguard […]
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Last week, Ohio’s attorney general ordered abortion clinics in the state to stop performing most surgical abortions. On Monday, the attorney general of Texas issued a stricter directive, applying to “any type of abortion that is not medically necessary to preserve the life or health of the mother” and threatening jail for providers. And other […]
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Here’s what you need to know: The Senate unanimously passed a $2 trillion stimulus plan. ImageSenator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader, at a news conference after the vote on Wednesday.Credit…Anna Moneymaker/The New York Times The Senate voted unanimously on Wednesday to approve a sweeping, $2 trillion fiscal measure to shore up the […]
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WASHINGTON — The American population is growing at its slowest pace since 1919, new government data shows, as a drop in births and an acceleration in deaths put the country closer than ever to an overall decline. The figures, released by the Census Bureau on Thursday and analyzed by demographers, were for the 12 months […]
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The urgent update from the Peace Corps landed abruptly in the email inboxes of volunteers on March 15: It was time to evacuate. Miguel Garcia, a 27-year-old volunteer leader for the corps in the Dominican Republic, had just reassured someone that the corps would be staying on the job. With a sinking heart, he read […]
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As the number of people infected with the coronavirus surpasses 450,000 worldwide, and more than one billion are locked in their homes, scientists are wrestling with one of the most pressing questions of the pandemic: Do people who survive the infection become immune to the virus? The answer is a qualified yes, with some significant […]
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More than 1,200 health care workers have used a private online document to share their stories of fighting the coronavirus pandemic on the front lines. In their accounts, they say the outbreak has turned American hospitals into “war zones.” They talk about being scared to go to work and anxious that they will become infected. […]
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It all started to fall apart for Vinay Patel about a week ago. The occupancy rates at the nine hotels he owns in the Northern Virginia area plummeted from about 50 percent to only a handful of rooms each night because of the coronavirus pandemic. He scrambled to cut costs. Floors were shut down. Bar […]
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