LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — A 6.5-magnitude quake hit the western US state of Idaho on Tuesday with no immediate reports of damage or fatalities. The strong quake, which was felt throughout the state, struck in late afternoon and lasted anywhere between 20 to 30 seconds, residents reported. “That was an earthquake,” the National Weather Service said in a tweet. The US Geological Survey reported that the quake’s epicenter was in a remote mountain […]
Tag: US
Trump warns US headed for ‘very, very painful two weeks’
Washington, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump on Tuesday warned of a “very painful” two weeks as the United States wrestles with a coronavirus surge that the White House warns could kill as many as 240,000 Americans. “This is going to be a very painful, a very, very painful two weeks,” Trump told a press conference at the White House. Trump described the pandemic as “a plague.” “I want every American to be prepared […]
Europeans on UN Security Council condemn North Korean tests
UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — The European members of the UN Security Council on Tuesday condemned North Korea’s latest missile tests, describing the launches as “provocative actions.” Belgium, Estonia, France, Germany, Poland, and the United Kingdom “are deeply concerned by the repeated testing of missiles, using ballistic missile technology,” by North Korea on March 2, 9, 21 and 29, read a statement issued after an informal high-level UN videoconference. The Europeans noted that Pyongyang […]
New York transformed as US virus death toll exceeds China’s
by Peter HUTCHISON Agence France Presse NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Emergency field hospitals have begun going up in New York’s Central Park and at the home of the US Open, as the number of coronavirus deaths in America on Tuesday surpassed those reported by China. The pandemic has killed some 1,000 New Yorkers and America’s financial capital is in a race against time to dramatically ramp up hospital capacity before cases hit […]
AI tool predicts which coronavirus patients get deadly ‘wet lung’
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Researchers in the US and China reported Monday they have developed an artificial intelligence tool that is able to accurately predict which newly infected patients with the novel coronavirus go on to develop severe lung disease. Once deployed, the algorithm could assist doctors in making choices about where to prioritize care in resource-stretched health care systems, said Megan Coffee, a physician and professor at New York University’s Grossman School of […]
‘Volunteer sewing corps’ makes masks, gowns as US supplies dwindle
by Andrew MARSZAL / with Catherine TRIOMPHE in New York LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — From amateur seamstresses and sewing clubs to Hollywood costume-makers, a patchwork army of volunteers across the United States is churning out gowns and masks for emergency workers battling coronavirus. The pandemic that has killed 2,500 nationwide has left medics dangerously exposed to the virus, with doctors forced to reuse scarce masks through the day as hospital supplies of personal […]
Trump says, US to send medical supplies to Italy, France, Spain
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump said Monday that the United States will send medical equipment for combating the coronavirus pandemic to Italy and later France and Spain. Trump, speaking at his daily briefing, went into few specifics about the type of aid or the timing, but said a large quantity was destined for Italy, which has the world’s highest pandemic death toll. “We’re going to be sending approximately $100 million worth of, […]
US coronavirus death toll passes 3,000: Johns Hopkins University
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US death toll from the coronavirus pandemic passed 3,000 on Monday, according to the running tally compiled by the Johns Hopkins University, with more than 163,000 confirmed cases. The United States has recorded 3,008 deaths, according to the tally, while its 163,429 cases are by far the highest national number ahead of Italy, Spain, and China. President Donald Trump has been criticized for an initially slow response by the […]
Human testing for Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine this fall
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Johnson & Johnson said on Monday it had selected a lead candidate vaccine for the new coronavirus that would move to human trials by September and could be ready for emergency use by early next year. The pharmaceutical company has signed an agreement with the US government’s Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority to invest $1 billion in the effort, it said in a statement. J&J began working on the […]
New York welcomes hospital ship as coronavirus accelerates
by Peter HUTCHISON NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — A military hospital ship arrived in New York Monday as America’s coronavirus epicenter gears up for the peak of the pandemic, with emergency restrictions, extended amid grim warnings the death toll will soar. The navy’s 1,000-bed USNS Comfort docked at a Manhattan pier as more US states enforced stay-at-home orders after President Donald Trump abandoned his Easter target for life returning to normal in the United […]
US regulator approves limited use of malaria drugs for virus
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A limited emergency-use authorization for two antimalarial drugs touted as game-changers by President Donald Trump has been issued by the US Food and Drug Administration to treat coronavirus patients. In a statement published Sunday, the US Department of Health and Human Services detailed recent donations of medicine to a national stockpile — including chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, both being investigated as potential COVID-19 treatments. It said the FDA had allowed them […]
Country music star Joe Diffie dies of coronavirus
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Joe Diffie, a Grammy award-winning country music singer who had several chart-topping hits in the 1990s, has died of coronavirus. He was 61. Diffie’s death was announced on his Facebook page, which said he died on Sunday “from complications of coronavirus.” His death came just two days after he had announced that he had tested positive for the virus and was receiving medical care. “My family and I are asking […]





