North America

Biden wins Tennessee, Oklahoma primaries: US media

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Joe Biden has won the Democratic primary in Tennessee and Oklahoma, US media projected, bringing to five his number of wins in the crucial Super Tuesday contests to pick a challenger to take on President Donald Trump. The states send 64 and 37 delegates to the party’s convention, respectively, and the victories underscore a strong start to the night for the centrist former vice president over his leftist rival, Senator […]

LA County sheriff says deputies took photos of Kobe Bryant crash site

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Eight Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies are facing administration action for taking or sharing graphic photos of the Kobe Bryant crash scene, authorities said. “We identified the deputies involved, they came to the station on their own and had admitted they had taken them and they had deleted them,” Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said in interviews with several broadcast outlets on Monday. “And we’re content that those […]

Win each for Sanders, Biden as first Super Tuesday polls close: US networks

BURLINGTON, United States (AFP) — Joe Biden was projected to win the Virginia primary and Bernie Sanders triumphed in his home state of Vermont as polls closed in the first of 14 states voting Tuesday to pick a Democratic challenger to President Donald Trump. The leftist Sanders had been expecting a comfortable Super Tuesday win in his home state, with 16 delegates up for grabs, but centrist Joe Biden hoped to stall his momentum nationwide […]

Tornadoes tear though Tennessee, 25 dead

by Becca MILFELD WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Tornadoes ripped through Tennessee early Tuesday, leaving at least 25 people dead, destroying buildings and toppling power lines hours before the southern US state voted in Super Tuesday primaries. Voting hours were extended due to the devastation the twisters wrought when they touched down shortly after midnight — rubble was strewn across the state capital Nashville. Residents ran for their lives as their homes came down around […]

Argentina, Chile confirm first coronavirus cases

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AFP) — Argentina and Chile both said on Tuesday they had confirmed their first case of the novel coronavirus in patients who recently returned from travels. A 43-year-old infected Argentine man had returned from Italy on March 1, while a 33-year-old Chilean man had spent a month in southeast Asia. Health Minister Gines Gonzalez Garcia said the Argentine patient has been in isolation since presenting himself to a private health clinic in […]

US death toll from coronavirus jumps to nine

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — The US death toll from the novel coronavirus rose to nine on Tuesday, all in the state of Washington and many of them residents of the same nursing home, officials said. Eight of the deaths have been in King County, which encompasses Seattle, and one was in neighboring Snohomish County. Nationwide, there are more than 100 confirmed cases, on both coasts and in the Midwest. The Life Care Center, […]

Google cancels developers gathering due to coronavirus

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Google on Tuesday canceled its major annual gathering of software developers amid concerns over the deadly coronavirus. The internet giant said it nixed the festival-like event Google I/O event scheduled for May a short distance from the “Googleplex” in the Silicon Valley city of Mountain View. “Due to concerns around the coronavirus (COVID-19), we’ve decided to cancel this year’s physical event at Shoreline Amphitheatre,” a Google statement said. A […]

Buttigieg endorses Joe Biden for president

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Democrat Pete Buttigieg endorsed Joe Biden for US president on Monday, providing a major boost to the former vice president’s White House hopes just one day after the onetime Indiana mayor himself dropped out of the race. “I’m delighted to endorse and support Joe Biden for president,” Buttigieg said shortly before Biden was to take the stage at a rally in Dallas on the eve of Super Tuesday when residents […]

Coronavirus treatments could be available by summer: Pence

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Drugs to treat the novel coronavirus could be available by this summer or fall, US Vice President Mike Pence said Monday. “The vaccine may not be available until late this year or early next, but the therapeutics to give relief to the people who contract the coronavirus could be available by summer or early fall,” he told a news conference. The Gilead drug remdesivir has already been used to treat […]

Second man dies of coronavirus in US

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The second fatality from the novel coronavirus on US soil has been confirmed, health officials said Sunday. The man, who died Saturday, was in his 70s and had “underlying health conditions,” according to the public health office in King County, Washington state. The death occurred Saturday in King County, the most populous in the state and home to Seattle, a city of more than 700,000 people. It is the second […]

Trump aides defend US coronavirus response

by Jim MANNION WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Vice President Mike Pence on Sunday defended the US administration’s handling of the coronavirus epidemic after the first confirmed death on American soil and rising criticism of the state of US preparedness. Pence and Health Secretary Alex Azar made the rounds of Sunday talk shows with the message that risks from the disease remain low for most Americans, while promising to make up for testing shortfalls. “We […]

US President Trump moves to calm virus fears after first death on US soil

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump moved to quell fears about the novel coronavirus after the first death on US soil was confirmed Saturday. The US fatality occurred in Washington State’s King county, which includes Seattle, a city of more than 700,000 people, said health officials. The victim was not immediately identified, but Trump told reporters that the victim was a woman in her late 50s. “We’ve taken the most aggressive […]