April 2020

AP: Publicly traded firms get $300M in small-business loans

(AP) - Companies with thousands of employees, past penalties from government investigations and risks of financial failure even before the coronavirus walloped the economy were among those receiving millions of dollars from a relief fund that Congress created to help small businesses through the crisis, an Associated Press investigation found.

Conspiracy theorists burn 5G towers claiming virus link

LONDON (AP) — The CCTV footage from a Dutch business park shows a man in a black cap pouring the contents of a white container at the base of a cellular radio tower. Flames burst out as the man jogs back to his Toyota to flee into the evening.

Queen Elizabeth II marks 94th birthday without fanfare

LONDON (AP) — Britain is marking Queen Elizabeth II’s 94th birthday with silence Tuesday, as the nation in lockdown amid the COVID-19 pandemic forgoes the usual gun salutes and ringing of bells.

Cities predict budget shortfalls due to virus, tornado

LAFAYETTE (AP) — Two Louisiana cities are predicting significant financial losses this year, mostly due to the coronavirus pandemic.

As mail voting pushed, some fear loss of in-person option

ATLANTA (AP) — Scrambling to address voting concerns during a pandemic, election officials across the country are eliminating polling places or scaling back opportunities for people to cast ballots in person — a move raising concerns among voting rights groups and some Democrats who say some voters could be disenfranchised.

US lockdowns coincide with rise in poisonings from cleaners

NEW YORK (AP) — One toddler became dizzy, fell and hit her head after drinking from a large bottle of hand sanitizer. A woman had a scary coughing and wheezing fit while soaking her produce in a sink containing bleach, vinegar and hot water.

Reports of accidental poisonings from cleaners and disinfectants are up this year, and researchers believe it’s related to the coronavirus epidemic.

Gov’t relief loans to restaurant chains draw complaints

(AP) - Some big restaurant chains have obtained loans from the government under a small-business relief program, leading business groups to call for changes to the program before Congress provides it with new funding.

The Paycheck Protection Program exhausted its $350 billion in funding last week and many small businesses were unable to obtain loans they desperately need to stay afloat. Congress and the White House say they’re close to an agreement on that would give the program about $300 billion in fresh funds.

Oil price goes negative as demand collapses; stocks dip

NEW YORK (AP) — Oil futures plunged below zero on Monday, the latest never-before-seen number to come out of the economic coma caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Stocks and Treasury yields also dropped on Wall Street, with the S&P 500 down 1.8 percent, but the market’s most dramatic action by far was in oil, where the cost to have a barrel of U.S. crude delivered in May plummeted to negative $37.63. It was at roughly $60 at the start of the year.

Panel: Texas can ban medical abortions to fight coronavirus

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Texas can now ban medication abortions as part of the state’s effort to fight the spread of the new coronavirus, a federal appeals court panel ruled Monday.

The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans last week temporarily blocked the state’s prohibition on medication abortions while it gave more consideration to the issue.

The same panel, in a 2-1 decision, said Monday the state was within its rights to ban that — and other abortion procedures — as it sought to slow the use of masks, gowns and other protective medical gear.

Marijuana industry tested in virus crisis

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The unofficial holiday celebrating all things cannabis arrives Monday as the nation’s emerging legal marijuana market braces for an economic blow from the coronavirus crisis, with many consumers reducing spending or going underground for deals.

It was supposed to be a long weekend of festivals and music culminating on April 20, or 4/20, the code for marijuana’s high holiday. Instead, it has been reduced to an online replica because of stay-at-home orders to curb the pandemic.