Researchers who study Earth’s movements say mandatory shutdowns of transportation systems and other human activities as a result of the coronavirus pandemic has resulted in a drop in what they call seismic “noise” around the world.An article published Tuesday in the scientific research journal Nature explains that human activity, such as moving vehicles and industrial…
read morePresident Donald Trump is poised to roll back ambitious Obama-era vehicle mileage standards and raise the ceiling on damaging fossil fuel emissions for years to come, gutting one of the United States’ biggest efforts against climate change. The Trump administration is expected to release a final rule Tuesday on mileage standards through 2026. The change…
read moreAs increasing numbers of European hospitals buckle under the strain of tens of thousands of coronavirus patients, the crisis has exposed a surprising paradox: Some of the world’s best health systems are remarkably ill-equipped to handle a pandemic. Outbreak experts say Europe’s hospital-centric systems, lack of epidemic experience and early complacency are partly to…
read moreHuawei’s chairman warned Tuesday that more U.S. moves to increase pressure on the Chinese tech giant might trigger retaliation by Beijing that could damage its worldwide industry. Huawei Technologies Ltd., which makes smartphones and network equipment, reported that its 2019 sales rose by double digits despite curbs imposed in May on its access to U.S.…
read moreGerman scientists say they have identified a strain of bacteria that is feeding on polyurethanes, a plastic resistant to biodegradation. A team of researchers at the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research in Leipzig, Germany, has found that a strain of soil bacterium, identified as Pseudomonas putida, can produce enzymes to digest polyurethanes thus making it biodegradable. The German team says the bacterium found in the soil surrounding a heap of plastic waste…
read moreWith his job on the line, next November’s national election is never far from the mind of President Donald Trump, even as he confronts the country’s growing death toll from the coronavirus pandemic. “I can’t imagine any president doing more than I have,” Trump boasted during a nearly hour-long interview Monday on one of his favorite…
read moreSpain will delay a planned auction of 5G spectrum due to the coronavirus outbreak, the government said on Monday. As part of a Europe-wide drive to speed up the roll out of fast Internet and broaden coverage, Spain had been due to free up space in the 700 MHz band of its network by…
read moreIn Madrid only a few weeks ago, thousands of demonstrators took part in a women’s march, defiant or unaware of calls for social distancing to stop what then appeared to be the distant threat of coronavirus. Now, Spain is one of the biggest battlegrounds in the global war against the pandemic.Spain’s health system is stressed…
read moreFor weeks, President Donald Trump carved out a trail of groundless assurances about the coronavirus pandemic as health officials, governors and local officials sounded alarm about what was coming — and already here. That sunlit trail now has hit a wall.On Sunday, Trump appeared to be bracing the country for a grim death toll as…
read moreA group of cancer patients in Kyrgyzstan is working to meet the demand for protective surgical masks while earning funds to help pay for their treatments.The group is organized by an association known as “Together for Life,” established in July 2019. Originally, the group made handbags and purses as a kind of therapy, as well…
read moreElmo, Rooster and Cookie Monster are doing their part to help keep kids safe as the coronavirus pandemic grinds on. The beloved Sesame Street Muppets are featured in some of four new animated public service spots reminding young fans to take care while doing such things as washing hands and sneezing. One of Elmo’s…
read moreOn the streets of Barcelona, a few lone shoppers and dog walkers, their faces obscured by masks, are the only signs of life in this once-vibrant city — but online it’s a different story. In Spain, as in the rest of the world, increasing numbers of people are going digital to keep community spirits up and…
read moreA Democratic Party leader in western Missouri died Sunday after contracting COVID-19 as the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the state exceeded 900 and the death toll reached 12. The death of William “Al” Grimes, the Henry County Democratic Party chairman, was announced in a tweet from state Chairwoman Jean Peters Baker. It came…
read moreU.S. President Donald Trump accused hospitals on Sunday of hoarding ventilators that are in scarce supply across the United States as the coronavirus spreads, adding any hospitals not using the devices must release them.Trump, whose critics have accused him of trying to deflect blame over his handling of the crisis, did not cite any evidence…
read moreWhite House candidates aren’t usually bashful about asking supporters for money. But as the coronavirus upends everyday life, inundating hospitals, tanking financial markets and putting 3.3 million Americans out of work, President Donald Trump and his likely Democratic rival, Joe Biden, suddenly find themselves navigating perilous terrain. What used to be a routine request for political cash…
read moreNew York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Saturday he was postponing the state’s April 28 presidential primary to June 23 as its number of coronavirus cases climbed to 53,339 and deaths to 728.“We have been behind this virus from day one. We are waiting to see what the virus does,” Cuomo said at a news…
read moreMore deadly than influenza, COVID-19 is a coronavirus – part of a large family of viruses that include the common cold as well as more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Coronaviruses look like a ball surrounded by a crown.Here’s an animated look at how the…
read moreJeff Kao is a ProPublica reporter who FILE – In this Feb. 16, 2020, photo, a policeman stands guard at Tiananmen Gate following the coronavirus outbreak, in Beijing.Twitter continued, “Based on our intensive investigations, we have reliable evidence to support that this is a coordinated state-backed operation. As Twitter is blocked in PRC, many of…
read moreWithin hours of the U.S. House’s overwhelming approval of a $2 trillion bill to blunt the economic destruction caused by the coronavirus, President Donald Trump signed the legislation into law.The rare and speedy bipartisan consensus in Congress to back the bill, the largest emergency aid package in American history, underscored the price of the pandemic.”I…
read moreFederal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell says that the hundreds of thousands of business owners who have shut their doors as a part of the nationwide effort to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus are doing a public service, and that the central bank and other government agencies will do their best to help…
read moreThe largest relief package in U.S. history is expected to be soon signed into law by President Donald Trump, after the $2 trillion coronavirus aid legislation passed a last-minute hurdle in the U.S. House of Representatives. The unprecedented legislation provides billions of dollars in funding to hospitals, small businesses, industries hard-hit by quarantines as well…
read moreBritish Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Friday he had tested positive for coronavirus and was in self-isolation at his Downing Street office. Here is reaction to the news. Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of UK’s Opposition Labor Party “I wish the Prime Minister a speedy recovery and hope his family are safe and…
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