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Long lines are back at US food banks as inflation hits high

PHOENIX (AP) — Long lines are back at food banks around the U.S. as working Americans overwhelmed by inflation turn to handouts to help feed their families. With gas prices soaring along with grocery costs, many people are seeking charitable food for the first time, and more are arriving on foot. Inflation in the U.S. is at a 40-year high and gas prices have been surging since April 2020, with the average cost nationwide briefly hitting $5 a gallon in June. Rapidly rising rents and an end to federal COVID-19 relief have also taken a financial toll. The food banks, which had ...

Experts rue simple steps not taken before latest COVID surge

With new omicron variants again driving COVID-19 hospital admissions and deaths higher in recent weeks, states and cities are rethinking their responses and the White House is stepping up efforts to alert the public. Some experts said the warnings are too little, too late. The highly transmissible BA.5 variant now accounts for 65% of cases with its cousin BA.4 contributing another 16%. The variants have shown a remarkable ability to get around the protection offered by infection and vaccination. "It's well past the time when the warning could have been put out there," said Dr. Eric ...

Senate Majority Leader Schumer tests positive for COVID-19

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has tested positive for COVID-19 and reports experiencing very mild symptoms, his spokesman said Sunday night. Schumer, 71, is fully vaccinated and has received two booster shots, spokesman Justin Goodman said in a statement. The New York Democrat will follow federal health guidelines and quarantine this week while working remotely, Goodman said. "Anyone who knows Leader Schumer knows that even if he's not physically in the Capitol, through virtual meetings and his trademark flip phone he will continue with his robust schedule ...

New coronavirus mutant raises concerns in India and beyond

The quickly changing coronavirus has spawned yet another super contagious omicron mutant that's worrying scientists as it gains ground in India and pops up in numerous other countries, including the United States. Scientists say the variant – called BA.2.75 – may be able to spread rapidly and get around immunity from vaccines and previous infection. It's unclear whether it could cause more serious disease than other omicron variants, including the globally prominent BA.5. "It's still really early on for us to draw too many conclusions," said Matthew Binnicker, director of ...

Feds deny N.D. governor’s request to restore border crossing hours

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The U.S. Customs and Border Protection won't restore hours of operation to pre-pandemic levels at some ports of entry in North Dakota, despite pressure from Gov. Doug Burgum. In a letter to the agency and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security sent Friday, Burgum said the reduced hours at several North Dakota port crossings along the U.S.-Canadian border "causes significant hardship on the movement of citizens, goods and tourists between our two nations." In a statement to The Associated Press Friday, the federal agencies said longer opening hours cannot be ...

Chinese bank depositors face police in angry protest

BEIJING (AP) — A large crowd of angry Chinese bank depositors faced off with police Sunday, some roughed up as they were taken away, in a case that has drawn attention because of earlier attempts to use a COVID-19 tracking app to prevent them from mobilizing. Hundreds of people held up banners and chanted slogans on the wide steps of the entrance to a branch of China's central bank in the city of Zhengzhou in Henan province, about 620 kilometers (380 miles) southwest of Beijing. Video taken by a protester shows plainclothes security teams being pelted with water bottles and other ...