COVID-19

Education

Guilford County Schools Announce Changes To Grading During Pandemic

3:53pm April 15, 2020

Guilford County is offering guidance on the grading process for the remainder of the school year for grades K-12. This comes as districts across the states are adjusting while buildings r

Germany's social distancing requirements have been extended to May 3, but the country is taking steps to re-open parts of public life. Here, two men sit at a distance in Berlin's Kreuzberg district on Wednesday.

In Germany, Some Shops Will Reopen Next Week, But Social Distancing Continues

3:26pm April 15, 2020

by Laurel Wamsley

The government is also strongly recommending, but not requiring, that face masks are worn on public transit and while shopping.

Retail sales plunged a record 8.7% last month as the coronavirus pandemic shut down economic activity around the country.

Economy

Retail Spending Just Fell Off A Cliff

2:04pm April 15, 2020

by Alina Selyukh

Americans are still spending a fair amount on food and online deliveries, but the shutdowns of stores, malls and restaurants led to a record 8.7% sales drop in March.

Politics & Government

N. Carolina Lawsuit Cites Virus To Stop Touch-Screen Voting

1:47pm April 15, 2020

by Gary D. Robertson, Associated Press

Passengers are tested for COVID-19 at Dubai International Airport on Wednesday before departing to Tunisia.

Emirates Airline Begins Conducting Rapid COVID-19 Tests For Boarding Passengers

1:25pm April 15, 2020

by Laurel Wamsley

The testing began with passengers on a flight from Dubai to Tunisia on Wednesday. The airline says it is the first to roll out rapid testing.

The IRS has a new online tool for those who haven't already supplied their bank information.

Want Relief Money Sooner? Give The IRS Your Bank Account Number

1:07pm April 15, 2020

by Scott Horsley

The Treasury has begun sending $1,200 relief payments to people economically affected by the coronavirus. The IRS set up a website for those who haven't already supplied their bank information.

Ellen DeGeneres was criticized for telling a joke comparing life under quarantine to being in jail. She was telling it from inside her mansion.

Arts

The Rich Really Are Different. They Can Shelter In Nicer Places

12:12pm April 15, 2020

by Jim Zarroli

The coronavirus strikes both rich and poor people, but waiting out the pandemic is a lot easier if you've got a yacht. Ellen DeGeneres and other stars have been called insensitive about COVID-19.

Teaneck Volunteer Ambulance Corps member Bobby Alexiou, 20, wheels out a stretcher outside the home of a potential COVID-19-positive patient in Teaneck, N.J., after suiting up in a protective suit, donated goggles from the local high school and an N95 mas

National

As Deaths Mount, Volunteer EMTs At New Jersey's Coronavirus Epicenter Labor On

11:34am April 15, 2020

by Karen Yi

The EMT crew on the front lines of one of the hardest-hit New Jersey towns is all volunteer. They say calls are getting more intense and more people are dying.

Countries under coronavirus lockdowns should only ease those restrictions if they can control new infections and trace contacts, the World Health Organization says. Here, Hashim, a health care worker, recently greeted his daughter through a glass door as

Health & Safety

WHO Sets 6 Conditions For Ending A Coronavirus Lockdown

11:28am April 15, 2020

by Bill Chappell

The easing of shutdowns is a hot topic, as economic output is now stalled in many countries – including the U.S. But ending a shutdown too soon could backfire, the World Health Organization says.

The World Health Organization is is "absolutely critical to the world's efforts to win the war against COVID-19," U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said, after President Trump said he will halt funding to the agency. Here, a WHO staff member inspec

'As Dangerous As It Sounds': Reactions To U.S. Plan To Defund WHO During A Pandemic

11:24am April 15, 2020

Philanthropist Bill Gates and others warn against undercutting the World Health Organization during a crisis that's being compared to World War II and the Great Depression.