Schools face big virus test as students return to classroom

Reopening schools is easy. Keeping them open will be the hard part.

German doctors gain access to Navalny in Russia, ally says

MOSCOW (AP) —

Navalny associate: German doctors gain access in Russia

MOSCOW (AP) — A close associate of Russian opposition leader Alexi Navalny, who is comatose in a Siberian hospital, said Friday that German doctors now have access to Navalny as friends and relatives push for him to be moved to a Berlin clinic.

German doctors: Russian dissident in coma fit to fly abroad

MOSCOW (AP) — German doctors who examined a Russian opposition leader suspected of having been poisoned said Friday that he is fit to be flown abroad for medical treatment, according to a charity representative. But physicians at the hospital in Siberia where Alexei Navalny lies in a coma have refused to authorize the transfer.

Monday Sports in Brief

NFL

Monday Sports in Brief

NFL

Fury at the shaken Capitol over the attack, security, virus

WASHINGTON (AP) — This time the fury enveloping the U.S. Capitol comes not from an insurgent mob but from within.

Brazil’s Bolsonaro makes life-or-death coronavirus gamble

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Even as coronavirus cases mount in Latin America’s largest nation, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has staked out the most deliberately dismissive position of any major world leader, calling the pandemic a momentary, minor problem and saying strong measures to contain it are unnecessary.

Brazil’s Bolsonaro makes life-or-death coronavirus gamble

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Even as coronavirus cases mount in Latin America’s largest nation, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has staked out the most deliberately dismissive position of any major world leader, calling the pandemic a momentary, minor problem and saying strong measures to contain it are unnecessary.

'We are collapsing': Virus pummels medics in Spain and Italy

MADRID (AP) — By the time Patricia Núñez’s cough started, she was already familiar with the dreaded dry hacking sound tormenting patients who had for weeks been filling the Madrid emergency ward where she works.

Cheap drug is first shown to improve COVID-19 survival

Researchers in England say they have the first evidence that a drug can improve COVID-19 survival: A cheap, widely available steroid reduced deaths by up to one third in severely ill hospitalized patients.

Trump traveling 'to be with those' in hurricane-hit states

LAKE CHARLES, La. (AP) — Fresh off the Republican National Convention, President Donald Trump flew to Louisiana on Saturday to survey the damage after Hurricane Laura, a trip that allows him to use the trappings of his office to try to project empathy and leadership. He is also to make a stop in Texas before returning to Washington.

Nashville bombing investigation prompts FBI to search home

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Federal agents converged Saturday on the home of a possible person of interest in the explosion that rocked downtown Nashville as investigators scoured hundreds of tips and leads in the blast that damaged dozens of buildings on Christmas morning.

The Latest: Suspect in Nashville bombing died in explosion

NASHVILLE (AP) — The Latest on the Christmas Day bombing in downtown Nashville:

Edwards signs new lawsuits limits sought by business lobby

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Gov. John Bel Edwards has signed the business lobby's main priority of the last election cycle into law, changes to Louisiana's civil litigation rules aimed at lessening the money people can win against insurance companies and businesses in car accident lawsuits.

The Latest: Gaza official: 2k housing units destroyed in war

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — A Palestinian official says an initial assessment shows at least 2,000 housing units were destroyed in the fighting between Israel and Palestinian militant groups in Gaza.

Insurance and wildfires

Mitigating risks and ensuring proper coverage

MOSES LAKE — A lot of things can damage a home, but according to insurance agent Steve Crapson, fire is different. “You can save a lot of stuff from water, but you can’t save stuff from fire,” Crapson said. “Once it's burnt. It's gone forever. Those memories, those are the part of the cost that you can't recoup ever. Pictures, sentimental quilts, those kinds of things. They never can be redone.” Crapson, an exclusive agent for Allstate Insurance, said it’s better for homeowners, especially those living in the countryside, at the edge of towns, and in high-risk areas far from a rapid fire department response, to approach fire risk more with prevention rather than recovery in mind. In 2021, wildfires consumed more than 1.9 million acres in Washington, Oregon and Idaho, according to a press release from the Northwest Insurance Council. Even with 2022’s cooler and wetter spring, this year’s fire season is already upon us...

No hugs or handshakes: Pandemic complicates storm relief

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — For people who lost homes to the deadly tornadoes that rampaged across the South, there are no comforting hugs from volunteers or handshakes from politicians. For homeless families, there are no Red Cross shelters, only hotel rooms.

No hugs or handshakes: Pandemic complicates storm relief

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — For people who lost homes to the deadly tornadoes that rampaged across the South, there are no comforting hugs from volunteers or handshakes from politicians. For homeless families, there are no Red Cross shelters, only hotel rooms.

Republican lawmakers add mistake in signature business bill

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — After a last-minute scramble to pass the business lobby's top priority for the regular session, Republican legislators quickly realized they mangled the language of the bill aimed at limiting damage claims against insurance companies in car wreck lawsuits.