By , (Reuters) - Americans defied pleas from state and local officials to stay home for the Thanksgiving holiday in the face of the surging coronavirus pandemic, triggering fresh warnings from health officials with the release of vaccines still weeks away.U.S. President-elect Joe Biden joined in the calls for safety, urging people to forgo big family gatherings, wear protective masks and maintain social distancing.“I know we can and we will beat this virus,” Biden said in a speech delivered in a near-empty Wilmington, Delaware, theater to a handful of staffers and reporters wearing masks...…By , (Reuters) - Americans defied pleas from state and local officials to stay home for the Thanksgiving holiday in the face of the surging coronavirus pandemic, triggering fresh warnings from health officials with the release of vaccines still weeks away.U.S. President-elect Joe Biden joined in the calls for safety, urging people to forgo big family gatherings, wear protective masks and maintain social distancing.“I know we can and we will beat this virus,” Biden said in a speech delivered in a near-empty Wilmington, Delaware, theater to a handful of staffers and reporters wearing masks...WW…

By , WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Donald Trump tested negative for the coronavirus, his doctor said on Saturday, as the U.S. president extended a travel ban to Britain and Ireland to try to slow the spread of a pandemic that has shut down much of the daily routine of American life.After White House officials took the unprecedented step of checking the temperatures of journalists entering the briefing room, Trump told reporters he took a test for the virus on Friday night. On Saturday evening, his physician, Sean Conley, said the results were negative.The U.S. president met with a...…By , WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Donald Trump tested negative for the coronavirus, his doctor said on Saturday, as the U.S. president extended a travel ban to Britain and Ireland to try to slow the spread of a pandemic that has shut down much of the daily routine of American life.After White House officials took the unprecedented step of checking the temperatures of journalists entering the briefing room, Trump told reporters he took a test for the virus on Friday night. On Saturday evening, his physician, Sean Conley, said the results were negative.The U.S. president met with a...WW…

The Sweeten children, Kaden, Jackson and Emily, are seen at their home in Layton, Utah, U.S., November 8, 2020. Picture taken November 8, 2020. Tristen Sweeten/Handout via REUTERS Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comApril 16 (Reuters) - Tristen Sweeten, a 34-year-old nurse in Utah, hopes her three children will receive Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine through its pediatric clinical trial. The sooner the better, she said, for their safety and the greater goal of ending the pandemic.Angie Ankoma, a 45-year-old Black mother of four who works in philanthropy in Rhode Island, believes...…The Sweeten children, Kaden, Jackson and Emily, are seen at their home in Layton, Utah, U.S., November 8, 2020. Picture taken November 8, 2020. Tristen Sweeten/Handout via REUTERS Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comApril 16 (Reuters) - Tristen Sweeten, a 34-year-old nurse in Utah, hopes her three children will receive Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine through its pediatric clinical trial. The sooner the better, she said, for their safety and the greater goal of ending the pandemic.Angie Ankoma, a 45-year-old Black mother of four who works in philanthropy in Rhode Island, believes...WW…

By , NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. death toll from COVID-19 surpassed a grim new milestone of 250,000 lives lost on Wednesday, as New York City’s public school system, the nation’s largest, called a halt to in-classroom instruction, citing a jump in coronavirus infection rates.The decision to shutter schools and revert exclusively to at-home learning, starting on Thursday, came as state and local officials nationwide imposed restrictions on social and economic life to tamp down a surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations heading into winter.But eight months after New York City emerged as...…By , NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. death toll from COVID-19 surpassed a grim new milestone of 250,000 lives lost on Wednesday, as New York City’s public school system, the nation’s largest, called a halt to in-classroom instruction, citing a jump in coronavirus infection rates.The decision to shutter schools and revert exclusively to at-home learning, starting on Thursday, came as state and local officials nationwide imposed restrictions on social and economic life to tamp down a surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations heading into winter.But eight months after New York City emerged as...WW…

By , , LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - When lifelong Democrat Mayra Gomez told her 21-year-old son five months ago that she was voting for Donald Trump in Tuesday’s presidential election, he cut her out of his life.“He specifically told me, ‘You are no longer my mother, because you are voting for Trump’,” Gomez, 41, a personal care worker in Milwaukee, told Reuters. Their last conversation was so bitter that she is not sure they can reconcile, even if Trump loses his re-election bid.“The damage is done. In people’s minds, Trump is a monster. It’s sad. There are people not talking to me anymore, and...…By , , LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - When lifelong Democrat Mayra Gomez told her 21-year-old son five months ago that she was voting for Donald Trump in Tuesday’s presidential election, he cut her out of his life.“He specifically told me, ‘You are no longer my mother, because you are voting for Trump’,” Gomez, 41, a personal care worker in Milwaukee, told Reuters. Their last conversation was so bitter that she is not sure they can reconcile, even if Trump loses his re-election bid.“The damage is done. In people’s minds, Trump is a monster. It’s sad. There are people not talking to me anymore, and...WW…

By , , LOS ANGELES, Nov 2 (Reuters) - When lifelong Democrat Mayra Gomez told her 21-year-old son five months ago that she was voting for Donald Trump in Tuesday’s presidential election, he cut her out of his life.“He specifically told me, ‘You are no longer my mother, because you are voting for Trump’,” Gomez, 41, a personal care worker in Milwaukee, told Reuters. Their last conversation was so bitter that she is not sure they can reconcile, even if Trump loses his re-election bid.“The damage is done. In people’s minds, Trump is a monster. It’s sad. There are people not talking to me...…By , , LOS ANGELES, Nov 2 (Reuters) - When lifelong Democrat Mayra Gomez told her 21-year-old son five months ago that she was voting for Donald Trump in Tuesday’s presidential election, he cut her out of his life.“He specifically told me, ‘You are no longer my mother, because you are voting for Trump’,” Gomez, 41, a personal care worker in Milwaukee, told Reuters. Their last conversation was so bitter that she is not sure they can reconcile, even if Trump loses his re-election bid.“The damage is done. In people’s minds, Trump is a monster. It’s sad. There are people not talking to me...WW…

By NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Sunday that healthcare workers and high-risk populations, including some long-term care residents, would get priority in his state to receive a COVID-19 vaccine when one is approved and available.According to the five-phase preliminary plan for New York’s vaccine administration program, some details of which Cuomo announced at a news briefing, healthcare workers in patient-care settings, long-term care facility workers and some long-term care residents would be among the first to receive a vaccine.In the second phase of vaccine...…By NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Sunday that healthcare workers and high-risk populations, including some long-term care residents, would get priority in his state to receive a COVID-19 vaccine when one is approved and available.According to the five-phase preliminary plan for New York’s vaccine administration program, some details of which Cuomo announced at a news briefing, healthcare workers in patient-care settings, long-term care facility workers and some long-term care residents would be among the first to receive a vaccine.In the second phase of vaccine...WW…

By (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has deployed more than 100 federal agents to Portland, Oregon, on a mission named “Operation Diligent Valor” to patrol government buildings as anti-racism protests flared this month, court documents show.Slideshow The documents, filed on Tuesday, helped shed light on what had been a secretive operation that involved days of violent clashes between unidentified federal law enforcement officers and anti-racist protesters outside a federal courthouse.The operation has involved the Department of Homeland Security’s Rapid Deployment Force....…By (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has deployed more than 100 federal agents to Portland, Oregon, on a mission named “Operation Diligent Valor” to patrol government buildings as anti-racism protests flared this month, court documents show.Slideshow The documents, filed on Tuesday, helped shed light on what had been a secretive operation that involved days of violent clashes between unidentified federal law enforcement officers and anti-racist protesters outside a federal courthouse.The operation has involved the Department of Homeland Security’s Rapid Deployment Force....WW…

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) - Anne Messman, a veteran emergency room physician in Detroit, knew something was wrong when she developed insomnia and became unusually irritated with people she loved.She began experiencing persistent sleepless nights in late March, around the time seven COVID-19 patients died in a single nine-hour shift. But she did not think her insomnia was due to the dramatic one-day death toll. As an ER doctor, death was no stranger to her.Perhaps, it was that the victims’ families had to be informed by phone because relatives are barred from hospitals fighting the...…By , NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Anne Messman, a veteran emergency room physician in Detroit, knew something was wrong when she developed insomnia and became unusually irritated with people she loved.She began experiencing persistent sleepless nights in late March, around the time seven COVID-19 patients died in a single nine-hour shift. But she did not think her insomnia was due to the dramatic one-day death toll. As an ER doctor, death was no stranger to her.Perhaps, it was that the victims’ families had to be informed by phone because relatives are barred from hospitals fighting the...WW…