By , NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Friday said he would end funding for local governments that fail to adopt reforms addressing excess use of force and bias in their police departments by April 2021.Cuomo said he would sign an executive order mandating that municipalities “reinvent and modernize” their police departments to battle systemic racism.“That should be done in every police agency in this country,” Cuomo told a press conference, after weeks of nationwide protests following the May 25 death of George Floyd, a black man who died in police custody in...…By , NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Friday said he would end funding for local governments that fail to adopt reforms addressing excess use of force and bias in their police departments by April 2021.Cuomo said he would sign an executive order mandating that municipalities “reinvent and modernize” their police departments to battle systemic racism.“That should be done in every police agency in this country,” Cuomo told a press conference, after weeks of nationwide protests following the May 25 death of George Floyd, a black man who died in police custody in...WW…

By , NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Americans spent a glum Easter Sunday largely confined to their homes by the still-raging coronavirus pandemic as the U.S. death toll neared 22,000, with more than half a million confirmed cases nationwide.With 42 states imposing strict stay-at-home orders most churches were shuttered, although many erected crosses outside or even offered drive-through services conducted by priests, pastors or ministers wearing latex gloves and surgical masks.Other Americans turned to online church services to mark the holiest day in the Christian calendar.In Louisiana,...…By , NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Americans spent a glum Easter Sunday largely confined to their homes by the still-raging coronavirus pandemic as the U.S. death toll neared 22,000, with more than half a million confirmed cases nationwide.With 42 states imposing strict stay-at-home orders most churches were shuttered, although many erected crosses outside or even offered drive-through services conducted by priests, pastors or ministers wearing latex gloves and surgical masks.Other Americans turned to online church services to mark the holiest day in the Christian calendar.In Louisiana,...WW…

By , NEW YORK (Reuters) - The two top Democrats in New York’s state legislature said on Sunday that sexual harassment allegations leveled against Governor Andrew Cuomo by five women, most of them former aides, have undermined his ability to lead and he should resign.In calling for the governor to step down, State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins also cited charges that Cuomo’s governing style created a “toxic work environment” and that his office under-reported the coronavirus death toll among nursing home residents.“Everyday there is another account that is drawing away from...…By , NEW YORK (Reuters) - The two top Democrats in New York’s state legislature said on Sunday that sexual harassment allegations leveled against Governor Andrew Cuomo by five women, most of them former aides, have undermined his ability to lead and he should resign.In calling for the governor to step down, State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins also cited charges that Cuomo’s governing style created a “toxic work environment” and that his office under-reported the coronavirus death toll among nursing home residents.“Everyday there is another account that is drawing away from...WW…

By Slideshow (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, the famed curmudgeon photographed at President Joe Biden’s inauguration wearing mittens and a scowl behind his facemask in an image that instantly became a meme, said on Sunday he was happy it may help raise millions for charity.Lifting spirits around the world since it went viral, the meme depicts everything from Sanders' mittens touching Michelangelo's Hand of God in the Sistine Chapel, to the Vermont Democrat helping actor Demi Moore mold clay at the pottery wheel from the film "Ghost," to Sanders joining the World War Two Yalta...…By Slideshow (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, the famed curmudgeon photographed at President Joe Biden’s inauguration wearing mittens and a scowl behind his facemask in an image that instantly became a meme, said on Sunday he was happy it may help raise millions for charity.Lifting spirits around the world since it went viral, the meme depicts everything from Sanders' mittens touching Michelangelo's Hand of God in the Sistine Chapel, to the Vermont Democrat helping actor Demi Moore mold clay at the pottery wheel from the film "Ghost," to Sanders joining the World War Two Yalta...WW…

By NEW YORK (Reuters) - The most powerful medicine being used to bolster the morale of New York area healthcare workers at the epicenter of the U.S. novel coronavirus crisis may well be music.Daily infusions of upbeat songs from The Beatles’ classic “Here Comes the Sun” to the theme from the hang-tough movie “Rocky” are being pumped through hospital public address systems to boost the spirits of nurses, doctors and support staff.About 545,000 people were diagnosed with COVID-19 in the United States as of Sunday, and roughly 21,600 have died of the highly contagious illness.A 4:30 p.m. daily...…By NEW YORK (Reuters) - The most powerful medicine being used to bolster the morale of New York area healthcare workers at the epicenter of the U.S. novel coronavirus crisis may well be music.Daily infusions of upbeat songs from The Beatles’ classic “Here Comes the Sun” to the theme from the hang-tough movie “Rocky” are being pumped through hospital public address systems to boost the spirits of nurses, doctors and support staff.About 545,000 people were diagnosed with COVID-19 in the United States as of Sunday, and roughly 21,600 have died of the highly contagious illness.A 4:30 p.m. daily...WW…

By , NEW YORK (Reuters) - A preliminary survey of New York state residents found that nearly 14% of those tested had antibodies against the novel coronavirus, suggesting that some 2.7 million may already have been infected, Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Thursday.While noting the small sample size of 3,000 people and other limitations of the survey, Cuomo said the implied fatality rate of 0.5% of those infected was lower than some experts feared.“If the infection rate is 13.9 percent, then it changes the theories of what the death rate is if you get infected,” Cuomo told a daily briefing.The...…By , NEW YORK (Reuters) - A preliminary survey of New York state residents found that nearly 14% of those tested had antibodies against the novel coronavirus, suggesting that some 2.7 million may already have been infected, Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Thursday.While noting the small sample size of 3,000 people and other limitations of the survey, Cuomo said the implied fatality rate of 0.5% of those infected was lower than some experts feared.“If the infection rate is 13.9 percent, then it changes the theories of what the death rate is if you get infected,” Cuomo told a daily briefing.The...WW…

By , NEW YORK (Reuters) - A preliminary survey of New York state residents found that nearly 14% of those tested had antibodies against the novel coronavirus, suggesting that some 2.7 million may already have been infected, Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Thursday.While noting the small sample size of 3,000 people and other limitations of the survey, Cuomo said the implied fatality rate of 0.5% of those infected was lower than some experts feared.“If the infection rate is 13.9 percent, then it changes the theories of what the death rate is if you get infected,” Cuomo told a daily briefing.The...…By , NEW YORK (Reuters) - A preliminary survey of New York state residents found that nearly 14% of those tested had antibodies against the novel coronavirus, suggesting that some 2.7 million may already have been infected, Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Thursday.While noting the small sample size of 3,000 people and other limitations of the survey, Cuomo said the implied fatality rate of 0.5% of those infected was lower than some experts feared.“If the infection rate is 13.9 percent, then it changes the theories of what the death rate is if you get infected,” Cuomo told a daily briefing.The...WW…