AP News in Brief at 9:04 p.m. EDT

Virus deaths slow in places, British PM's condition worsens

NEW YORK (AP) — The steep rise in coronavirus deaths appeared to be leveling off Monday in hard-hit New York, echoing a trend underway in Italy and Spain, while the crisis escalated alarmingly in Britain, where Prime Minister Boris Johnson was moved to intensive care after his condition deteriorated.

Johnson, 55, was conscious and did not immediately need to be put on a ventilator, his office said. The prime minister is the world's first known head of government to fall ill with the virus.

U.S. President Donald Trump said he asked “leading companies” to contact officials in London about therapies that could help Johnson, calling them complex treatments that have been recently developed by the unnamed companies.

“We have contacted all of Boris’ doctors, and we’ll see what’s going to take place, but they are ready to go,” Trump told reporters.

Trump said U.S. mitigation efforts are showing signs of slowing the spread of the virus. The government is distributing millions of N95 respirators, masks, face shields, gowns and gloves, the president said, without specifying where the equipment is going.

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What you need to know today about the virus outbreak

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was moved to the intensive care unit of a London hospital after his coronavirus symptoms worsened Monday. In New York, there are faint glimmers of hope as deaths from the new coronavirus appear to be leveling off.

New York City remains the epicenter of the pandemic in the U.S., and New Orleans and Detroit still face worrying days ahead. Infectious disease specialist Dr. Anthony Fauci expressed careful optimism that new cases may be starting to slow down.

Here are some of AP’s top stories Monday on the world’s coronavirus pandemic. Follow APNews.com/VirusOutbreak for updates through the day and APNews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak for stories explaining some of its complexities.

WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY:

— President Donald Trump said at an afternoon news briefing that he’d called New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo earlier Monday to let him know that the Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort can now be used for COVID-19 patients from New York and New Jersey.

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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson moved to intensive care

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was moved to the intensive care unit of a London hospital after his coronavirus symptoms dramatically worsened Monday, just a day after he was admitted for what were said to be routine tests.

Johnson was admitted to St. Thomas’ Hospital late Sunday, 10 days after he was diagnosed with COVID-19, the first major world leader to be confirmed to have the virus.

The 55-year-old Conservative was conscious and did not require ventilation, but he was moved into intensive care in case he needs it later, his office said in a statement.

Britain has no official post of deputy prime minister, but Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has been designated to take over should Johnson become incapacitated.

A grave-looking Raab said Johnson was “in safe hands” at the hospital, which is treating many virus patients.

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Wall Street leaps 7%, markets rally worldwide on virus hopes

NEW YORK (AP) — Investors grabbed hold of a few glimmers of hope Monday that the coronavirus pandemic could be slowing and sent stocks surging in a worldwide rally, capped by a 7% leap for the U.S. market.

The number of new coronavirus cases is dropping in the European hotspots of Italy and Spain. The center of the U.S. outbreak, New York, also reported its number of daily deaths has been effectively flat for two days. Even though the U.S. is still bracing for a surge of deaths due to COVID-19 and New York’s governor said restrictions should stay in place to slow its spread, the encouraging signs were enough to launch the S&P 500 to its best day in nearly two weeks.

“We’re running on raw optimism, maybe that’s the best way to put it,” said Randy Frederick, vice president of trading and derivatives at Schwab Center for Financial Research.

The S&P 500's gains accelerated throughout the day, and markets in Europe and Asia rose nearly as much. In another sign that investors are feeling a bit less pessimistic about the economy’s path, they sold bonds. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose for the first time in four days.

Investors have been waiting anxiously for signs that the rate of new infections may hit its peak, which would give some clarity about how long the upcoming recession will last and how deep it will be. Without that, markets have been guessing about how long businesses will remain shut down, companies will lay off workers and flights remain canceled due to measures meant to slow the speed of the outbreak.

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Australian court dismisses cardinal's sex abuse convictions

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia's highest court has dismissed the convictions of the most senior Catholic found guilty of child sex abuse.

High Court Chief Justice Susan Kiefel announced the decision of the seven judges on Tuesday in the appeal of Cardinal George Pell. The decision means he will be released from Barwon Prison outside Melbourne after serving 13 months of a six-year sentence.

Pope Francis' former finance minister was convicted by a Victoria state jury in 2018 of sexually abusing two 13-year-old choirboys in a back room of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Melbourne in December 1996 while he was archbishop of Australia’s second-largest city.

Pell was also convicted of indecently assaulting one of the boys by painfully squeezing his genitals after a Mass in early 1997.

Pell had been ordered to serve three years and eight months behind bars before he became eligible for parole.

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Congress, White House reach high for next virus bill

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional leaders are jolting ahead with another coronavirus rescue package as President Donald Trump indicated Monday that Americans will need more aid during the stark pandemic and economic shutdown.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said another $1 trillion is needed, beyond the just-passed $2.2 trillion effort. She wants another round of direct payments to Americans and more money for companies to keep making payroll. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said in recent days that health care should top the list, signaling his intent to get to work on a new bill.

“We’re going to take good care of our people,” Trump said Monday at his daily White House briefing. "It was not their fault.”

It's a rare sign of emerging consensus as Washington responds to the public health emergency and severe economic fallout that is ransacking communities nationwide, a crisis on par with a war effort or the Great Depression.

The contours of the package are still being debated and any votes in Congress remain a logistical conundrum. The House and Senate adjourned for most of the month, as part of strict stay-at-home orders from public health officials to prevent the spread of the highly contagious virus.

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Wisconsin moves forward with election despite virus concerns

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Voters in Wisconsin will face a choice Tuesday of participating in a presidential primary election or heeding warnings from public health officials to stay away from large crowds during the coronavirus pandemic.

Hours after Democratic Gov. Tony Evers issued an order postponing the election for two months, the conservative-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court on Monday sided with Republicans who said he didn't have the authority to reschedule the race on his own. Conservative justices on the U.S. Supreme Court quickly followed with a ruling blocking Democratic efforts to extend absentee voting.

The decisions leave Wisconsin as the only state with an election scheduled in April that is proceeding as planned. As other states prepare to vote in May or June, Wisconsin will be closely watched for signs that fears of the coronavirus may depress turnout or cause other problems at the polls.

Evers said he had no other options after the state court ruled against him.

“There’s not a Plan B. There’s not a Plan C,” Evers said earlier Monday. After the court rulings, Evers said voters will now have to “wake up and have to choose between exercising their right to vote and staying healthy and safe. ”

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Navy leader calls fired carrier captain 'naive' or 'stupid'

WASHINGTON (AP) — In an extraordinary broadside punctuated with profanity, the Navy’s top leader accused the fired commander of the cornavirus-stricken USS Theodore Roosevelt of being “too naive or too stupid” to be in charge of an aircraft carrier. He delivered the criticism to sailors who had cheered the departing skipper last week.

Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly harshly criticized Capt. Brett E. Crozier — and by implication those among the crew who had vocally supported him — in a lengthy and passionate speech aboard the ship, which is pier-side at Guam. Crew members are being taken off the ship to be tested for the coronavirus. At least 173 sailors aboard the ship have tested positive, as of Monday, and about 2,000 of the 4,865 crew members had been taken off. The Navy has offered no estimate of when the ship might return to duty.

While skewering Crozier, Modly also admonished the crew. He suggested that by cheering Crozier when he departed the carrier last week, they were overlooking their most basic duty to defend U.S. interests.

“So think about that when you cheer the man off the ship who exposed you to that,” he said. “I understand you love the guy. It's good that you love him. But you're not required to love him.”

President Donald Trump on Monday said he may get involved, agreeing that Modly's criticism of Crozier was “a rough statement.” He said Crozier made a mistake when he sent a memo to several people laying out his concerns about the crew and the virus. The memo was leaked to the media.

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'Modern Family' cast shares memories as series finale nears

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The group crying began after the final scene of the last episode of ABC’s “Modern Family” was taped — with the notable exception of Ed O’Neill, who plays patriarch Jay Pritchett.

“I said, ‘No tears?’” recalled his co-star, Jesse Tyler Ferguson. “He said, you know what? Things hit me in a really weird way. I’ll be getting a facial in two weeks and, all of a sudden, I’ll burst into tears.’ And the only thing I took from that is, Ed gets facials?”

After 11 seasons, the “Modern Family” actors who’ve come to know each other well — maybe minus spa treatments — compare saying goodbye to leaving high school. They marvel at the friction-free years they worked together and make plans to stay in touch, relying for now on digital group chats during the pandemic-imposed isolation.

In recent interviews, the cast and creators Steve Levitan and Christopher Lloyd shared favorite series moments, souvenirs they claimed, and what’s next for them. The hourlong finale airs at 9 p.m. EDT Wednesday, preceded at 8 p.m. by the retrospective special, “A Modern Farewell.”

GREAT JOB, GREAT MEMORIES

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Sportsbooks are dark and odds are long in Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Nobody would have given odds on this.

Inside the glittering casinos that line the Las Vegas Strip, the slot machines were turned off and the sportsbooks were dark. On what would have been the biggest Monday of the year for bookies, not a dollar changed hands.

No big national championship game bets, no wagers on Tiger Woods to win the Masters. No sports means no action, even for the most hardcore gamblers.

About the only thing degenerate sports bettors could do was go online and find a Russian table tennis match to put their money on.

“Russian pingpong has stolen the show,” said Nick Bogdanovich of the William Hill betting chain. “You can’t even find it streaming anywhere to watch, but people are betting on it.”