LOS ANGELES -- Dee Lescault got the bad news from her landlord. Her Costa Mesa hair salon had reopened on June 1 after being dark for months because of the COVID-19 pandemic, dealing a painful economic blow to the 66-year-old stylist. And now, Coronavirus Shutdown 2.0.

"Is it asking too much to wear a mask?" Lescault tweeted in a rush of anger....Read more

The U.K. accused Russian state intelligence of hacking international pharmaceutical and academic research in a bid to win the race to secure a vaccine against COVID-19.The U.K.'s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) said vaccine and therapeutic sectors in multiple countries have been targeted, declining to list the names and number of ...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO -- The next two weeks are shaping up to be critical for California as officials wait to see if the sweeping restrictions imposed in late June and July show any signs of slowing the rapid spread of coronavirus in communities across the state.

This week was marked by a series of grim milestones as California shattered a one-day ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- With coronavirus cases in Florida surging, the Republican National Committee announced Thursday morning that it would limit attendance at the Jacksonville convention next month.

President Trump will accept the GOP nomination on Aug. 27 in front of a smaller crowd than the 15,000 that VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena can hold, a ...Read more

As coronavirus cases climb many U.S. states, some Pacific Island nations have safely ridden out the storm.

The Marshall Islands is still COVID-19-free.

"We saw the threat and took action early," said Jack Niedenthal, secretary of Health for the mid-Pacific island nation, describing the island nation's March 3 travel ban, which prevented ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- With an eye on the November elections, top Democrats are ramping up criticism of President Donald Trump's deregulatory environmental agenda, including his move Wednesday to weaken a bedrock environmental law from the 1970s.

At a UPS warehouse in Atlanta, the president trumpeted changes to the National Environmental Policy Act, ...Read more

Applications for U.S. unemployment benefits posted the smallest weekly decline since March after coronavirus cases surged and reopenings paused or reversed across the South and West.

Initial jobless claims in regular state programs totaled 1.3 million in the week ended July 11, down 10,000 from the prior period, Labor Department figures showed ...Read more

As Twitter Inc. grapples with the worst security breach in its 14-year history, it must now uncover whether its employees were victims of sophisticated phishing schemes or if they deliberately allowed hackers to access high-profile accounts.

On Wednesday, some of the world's most prominent names, including former president Barack Obama and ...Read more

More than four months into the coronavirus pandemic, how close are the U.S. and the world to a safe and effective vaccine? Scientists say they see steady progress and are expressing cautious optimism that a vaccine could be ready by spring.

As of early July, roughly 160 vaccine projects were underway worldwide, according to the World Health ...Read more

Along the Texas coast outside Corpus Christi, Nueces County Judge Barbara Canales surveyed the sandy Gulf of Mexico beaches packed with swimmers and sunbathers, just the way they are every summer. Then she went back to her office to order another morgue truck.

Officials across Texas are rushing to mobilize overflow mortuary space as communities...Read more

WASHINGTON -- The Democratic National Committee is using large-scale data on voters -- including a collection of millions of cellphone numbers -- and applying data science techniques to refine how the party reaches out and digitally knocks on voters' doors this fall.

The DNC announced last week that it had updated its national digital voter ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump, falling further behind Joe Biden in polls as he struggles to contain the growing coronavirus pandemic and recession, shook up his campaign staff Wednesday night, replacing his campaign manager, Brad Parscale, with another longtime aide.

Trump made the announcement on Facebook, promoting deputy campaign ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- Federal authorities Wednesday charged two men with helping to abduct a Southern California car dealer who was held for $2 million ransom, beaten, killed and buried in the Mojave Desert.

Anthony Valladares, 28, and Alexis Ivan Romero Velez, 24, were arrested Tuesday and charged in federal court with kidnapping. An attorney for ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump, falling further behind Joe Biden in polls as he struggles to contain the growing coronavirus pandemic and recession, shook up his campaign staff Wednesday night, replacing his campaign manager, Brad Parscale, with another longtime aide.

Trump made the announcement on Facebook, promoting deputy campaign ...Read more

A security incident involving some of the most prominent business and political leaders on Twitter duped people into sending at least $120,000 worth of Bitcoin to an anonymous online wallet, and more than half of that total has already been spirited to other accounts, according to a Bitcoin-tracing company.

The person or people behind the scam ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- Vice President Mike Pence suggested Wednesday the Republican National Committee is considering changes to its nominating convention and will prioritize the health of convention attendees as cases of COVID-19 continue to rise in Florida.

"With regard to the convention, I can tell you it is a work in progress. The president's ...Read more

ATLANTA -- Gov. Brian Kemp on Wednesday extended Georgia's coronavirus restrictions while explicitly banning cities and counties from adopting rules requiring masks or other face coverings, a measure that could bolster the state's case in a possible legal battle.

Kemp's executive order -- which was set to expire Wednesday evening -- still ...Read more