funerals

World News

Mourners begin funerals for Iran's president and others killed in helicopter crash

4:51am May 21, 2024

by The Associated Press

Mourners in black began gathering Tuesday for days of funerals and processions for Iran's late president, foreign minister and others killed in a helicopter crash.

The Return to Nature funeral home is marked off with police tape on Oct. 6 in Penrose, Colo.

Colorado funeral home owners arrested following the discovery of 190 decaying bodies

1:50pm November 08, 2023

by Emily Olson

Police searched the Return to Nature funeral home after receiving reports of an "abhorrent smell." The owners are now facing charges of theft, forgery, money laundering and the abuse of a corpse.

The remains of at least 189 decaying bodies were found and removed from the Return to Nature Funeral Home in Penrose, Colorado, officials said Tuesday, Oct. 17.

National

Nearly 200 bodies recovered from a Colorado funeral home accused of improper storage

3:17pm October 19, 2023

by Emily Olson

Police were called to the Return to Nature Funeral Home earlier this month after receiving reports of a strong odor. What they found inside was "horrific," the county sheriff said.

Pews were marked off to encourage social distancing at a funeral home in Temple, Penn., in March of 2021, around the time the Delta variant began to take hold in the United States.

Few eligible families have sought federal payment of COVID funeral expenses

5:01am May 09, 2022

by Blake Farmer

FEMA has a pool of cash set aside to reimburse burial costs — even retroactively — to the families of COVID victims. But clerical challenges and slow outreach have stymied the application process.

The latest inflation data offers a snapshot of Americans' new pandemic spending habits. Prices are down for most goods and services but up sharply for groceries.

We're Eating At Home And It's Costing Us More

11:07am May 13, 2020

by Scott Horsley

The latest inflation data offers a snapshot of Americans' new pandemic spending habits. Prices are down for most goods and services but up sharply for groceries.

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On April 3, Iraqi volunteers in full hazmat gear prayed over the coffin of a 50-year-old who died of COVID-19. She was buried at a cemetery specifically opened for such deaths, some 12 miles from the holy city of Najaf.

Coronavirus Is Changing The Rituals Of Death For Many Religions

5:21pm April 07, 2020

The virus is upending burial traditions across cultures, from the washing of the body of a loved one in Iraq to the gathering of mourners in Israel.

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National

New York City Plans Temporary Burials For The Dead

4:13pm April 06, 2020

by Greg Allen

New York City is struggling to handle the high number of people who have died from COVID-19. So many people have died that officials are looking to temporarily bury the bodies in a city park.

Employee Gina Hansen (right), hands documentation to a client outside Daniel J. Schaefer Funeral Home in Brooklyn, on April 2, 2020.

National

Funeral Homes Overwhelmed With COVID-19 Cases

7:00am April 05, 2020

by Greg Allen

As the U.S. death toll from the coronavirus increases, so does the strain on funeral homes across the country. Funeral directors are struggling to meet the soaring demand for their services.

Health & Safety

Funeral Homes Rely On Virtual Tools Amid COVID-19 Restrictions

1:38pm April 01, 2020

by Keri Brown

Federal health guidelines and state restrictions limiting the size of gatherings are impacting the way we're saying goodbye to our loved ones.

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A few weeks after Javon Johnigan's shooting death on Sept. 3, 2016, his 8-year-old son Jamai demonstrates how he takes selfies with a life-size cutout of his father. Originally made for the funeral and the repast, Jamai keeps the cutout of his dad behind

National

Life-Size Cutouts Help Extend The Relationship With Lost Loved Ones In New Orleans

2:00pm January 14, 2019

In New Orleans, the lifelike representations have become a part of the city's tradition of social grieving and are a source of healing, especially in communities that have suffered from gun violence.