Author: Katherine Rodriguez

A spokesperson for the mayor’s office told NBC 4 New York that police should disperse crowds like that, and anyone who refuses to disperse should be issued a summons.

The video from Brooklyn emerged the same day the NYPD shut down a Jewish Orthodox school in Bedford-Stuyvesant that was operating against city and state orders. More than 100 children were inside Monday when the police arrived to shut down the school, officials said.

There are more than 191,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus in New York City, with 16,059 confirmed deaths as of Tuesday, according to data from the NYC Department of Health.

“Should the Florida Keys experience an increase in cases and under the advisement of the Florida Department of Health, restrictions may be heightened, and amenities may again be closed,” county spokesperson Kristen Livengood said.

The decision to reopen was made because of the Keys’ low coronavirus infection rate compared to neighboring Miami-Dade and Broward counties.

Livengood said the only new cases in the past week came from an upper Keys nursing home.

The Keys have been closed to nonresidents or people who do not own property in the area since March 22. Airports in Key West and Marathon currently remain open, but passengers are screened upon arrival and advised to self-quarantine for 14 days.

On March 27, checkpoints onto roads into the Keys were added to keep tourists and nonresidents out.

Officials announced the June 1 reopening plan Sunday night, when Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis said gyms could reopen, and restaurants could operate their dine-in services at 50 percent capacity.

The fraud ring could end up stealing “hundreds of millions of dollars” from individual state unemployment departments overwhelmed by Americans looking for a lifeline as economies ground to a halt.

“We are actively running down every lead we are getting,” Roy Dotson, a special agent who specializes in financial fraud at the Secret Service, said in an interview with investigators obtained by the Times.

The attack was first reported to authorities in Washington state, where people who did not file for unemployment benefits started receiving benefits they did not ask for.

“This is a gut punch,” Suzi LeVine, the commissioner of the Washington State Employment Security Department, told the Times.

I’ll probably never forget what happened today.
I was insulted. I was berated. I was practically chased by people who refused to wear masks in the middle of a pandemic.
All the while, I was there to tell THEIR story. Here’s the finished product. pic.twitter.com/HV2Hrcs7gi

— Kevin Vesey (@KevinVesey) May 14, 2020

According to the video taken at the event, several protesters called Vesey “fake news, with one protester shouting, “You are the enemy of the people!”

Most people were not wearing masks or were properly practicing social distancing at the event.

And just like that, I’ve been tweeted by the President https://t.co/LnDLRwrAZx

— Kevin Vesey (@KevinVesey) May 16, 2020

When Vesey found out the president retweeted him, he simply said, “And just like that, I’ve been tweeted by the president.”

“He was so easy to talk to, it felt like we knew each other forever,” Melanson added.

They planned to meet up on the last day of the festival, October 1. During Jason Aldean’s closing performance, shots rang out, and the pair found themselves “on the ground with gunshots that seemed to be coming from every direction,” Melanson wrote on the couple’s joint Instagram.

“I felt a sense of responsibility for Chantal,” Monfort, 24, told People. “She was with me and not her friends. I felt like not only did I have to get myself out, but also her. Keeping her calm and getting her out kept me calm, and didn’t allow me to panic.”

They wound up in a taxi with a wounded spectator and spent the rest of the night in the hospital. In the morning, the couple said their goodbyes, with Monfort returning to Southern California and Melanson going back to Canada.

The two stayed in touch over the next few months, and love blossomed as they processed the tragedy of what happened together.

The couple got engaged in March 2019 when Melanson visited California. They later married at a San Diego courthouse and planned a traditional celebration in Las Vegas that was supposed to be held on May 8 for family and friends.

Still, it had to be postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“I felt safe with him — I didn’t want to leave his side,” Melanson told People about her husband and their shared experience with tragedy. “In many ways, he did save my life.”

“We’re able to allow restaurants and retail businesses to operate at a greater capacity and large attractions to open in a safe and thoughtful way,” Republican Gov. Bill Lee said in a statement Friday.

A spokesperson for Dollywood told WBIR Friday that the theme park was working on its reopening plan as the state loosens its restrictions on large venues.

The state’s decision is made of several factors, including White House criteria they must meet in terms of coronavirus illnesses and hospitalizations. Tennessee has reported downward trajectories in both of those categories.

Davidson County, where the city of Nashville is located, logged 3,795 coronavirus cases and 42 deaths.

Meanwhile, counties are planning on limiting the number of polling locations due to the coronavirus.

The state legalized mail-in-ballots last fall, and they will be implemented for the first time this year. If voters wish to request a mail-in-ballot, they must do so by May 26, NBC 10 Philadelphia reported.

Recent data has not shown a compelling public health justification for mail-in-ballots.

Wisconsin is one of the only U.S. states that held its primary election with in-person voting after the nation’s coronavirus lockdowns began.

The election drew 413,000 participants, and only a few dozen out of that group were confirmed to have contracted the virus by either voting or serving as a poll worker. None of those cases was fatal, and the data on the current infection rate equals a rate below two-hundredths of one percent.

Macomber and her assistant made 40 masks out of cotton and other embellished fabrics in a week for $30 apiece — and her masks sold out in 30 minutes.

“We were thinking of doing a lip appliqué, where it would flap open and close, but you’d have to touch your face. I was like, ‘Well that won’t work because you have to touch your mask,’” Macomber told Fast Company. “That’s when I was like, ‘Dude, we just drill a little flap, an extra layer, and you angle the straw to get in. So the hole is never completely open.’”

Macomber claims the masks will help those who spend time in public spaces, but guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) state otherwise.

The CDC advises Americans to wear masks that cover the mouth and nose completely.

Macomber is not the only one to disregard the advice of the CDC regarding facial coverings. One Kentucky woman was caught on camera wearing a mask with a hole cut in it because she claimed it made it “easier to breathe.”

Cruise Planners told TMZ those cruise-bookers were “not a bit concerned about traveling at this time” because many said they were in good health and were looking forward to some fun after being in quarantine for several months.

Carnival and its competitor, Viking, suspended their operations back in March to slow the spread of coronavirus, as ships quickly became hotspots for the virus to breed.

The State Department and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) then issued warnings to Americans not to travel by cruise ship during the coronavirus outbreak.

Carnival released a statement saying that although they are optimistic they will return to ports by August 1, the cruise line offered no guarantees.

“We are taking a measured approach, focusing on the potential for sailing from a select number of homeports where we have more significant operations that are easily accessible by car for the majority of our guests,” Carnival Cruise Line said in a press statement last week.

“We continue to work with various government agencies, including the CDC, as we introduce new onboard protocols, but there is no assurance of a return on August 1,” the statement continued.

This brought in an association of barber shops and salons, which said it would try to sue to attempt to force the California Democrat to let them reopen sooner.

“I have dealt at a very close proximity with cashiers, with Walmart associates, with Costco and Sam’s Club associates, with a Home Depot guy who helped me cut some wood. None of them had gloves; only some of them had masks,” Fred Jones, public policy director and legal counsel for the Professional Beauty Federation of California, told KCRA.

“There’s not going to be a salon in California, when we reopen, that doesn’t have both. We are trained in this,” he said.

Some salons have already opened despite Newsom’s order. In Northern California, a line went out the door of a Yuba City salon on Wednesday. Some of the customers wore masks while others did not. Newsom said at least 33 salons operating illegally have been shut down across the state.

California entered its first phase of stage two of reopening on Friday, which allows curbside pickup at retail stores and the reopening of parks for hiking and trails.

The companies said doctors, nurses, physician assistants, facility workers, and food service teams would be among those who qualify for the trips.

“We are extremely grateful to Hyatt and American Airlines for this generous gift to our health care workers, who have been at the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Israel Rocha, vice president of NYC Health + Hospitals and CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst, said.

“Our doctors, nurses, and other staff on the front lines of this unprecedented health care crisis really appreciate the outpouring of support,” he continued.

The New York City metropolitan area has emerged as one of the epicenters of the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S. As of Sunday, the New York City Health Department reported more than 177,000 cases and 14,505 confirmed deaths reported by New York state.

New York state as a whole has reported more than 21,000 deaths and more than 333,000 confirmed cases.

But one quick-thinking worker was able to maneuver his arm down Jett’s throat to pull the ball out and then give the animal mouth-to-mouth while one of his coworkers egged him on, Perkins said.

His actions worked, and Jett started breathing again. Perkins was able to continue to drive to the veterinarian’s office, where the staff was expecting them so that he could be examined. Jett was quickly released.

Though Perkins did not get the construction worker’s name, social media eventually connected the two.

Perkins’s daughter and the construction worker, Cavaja Holt, both posted on Facebook about the incident asking friends and followers for help in getting back in touch with each other.

“Today is the first time I’ve ever stuck my hand down a strange dogs [sic] throat for any reason but I got the ball out,” Holt wrote. “Not only that but is the first time I’ve ever gave any living animal mouth-to-mouth.”

Perkins hailed Holt as a “hero” and thanked him for saving her dog’s life. She told the News Leader that Jett is feeling better now.

“He’s doing great,” she said. “But he is never, ever, ever, ever going to get a ball again.”

The troubling news came within days of President Donald Trump’s personal valet testing positive in what was considered the first known case of a White House staffer contracting the deadly virus.

Now President Trump, Pence, staffers, and reporters are getting tested daily to prevent the spread of the virus even as the White House continues to support reopening measures across the country.

Pence’s flight to Iowa to promote the restarting of the economy was delayed due to the news of Miller’s illness. Six staffers had to deplane and quarantine because they were recently in contact with her.

Those protecting Trump have also tested positive for the coronavirus. Breitbart News reported Saturday that 11 U.S. Secret Service officers have come down with the deadly virus.

The skate park had been chained off at first, but Gable said people had been climbing over the chains and cutting the locks to get in.

“We have been forced to do this because people are just not listening. They are determined so we have to take extra measures,” he told WPXI.

Gable said it is an extension of the city’s decision to close parks and playgrounds back in March and April and made the decision to shut down the parks and playgrounds following California’s lead.

The city of San Clemente, California, did just that, dumping 37 tons of sand on a local skate park to block residents from using it during the coronavirus outbreak.

Politico reported that the purchases will target meat, dairy, vegetables, and seafood — all markets that have plummeted since restaurants and food service businesses have closed.

The USDA said that it would spend money on fruits, vegetables, dairy, meat, and seafood products from farmers and ranchers as part of the initiative, including $120 million in dairy products, $50 million in potatoes, and $30 million in chicken.

“America’s farmers and ranchers have experienced a dislocated supply chain caused by the coronavirus. USDA is in the unique position to purchase these foods and deliver them to the hungry Americans who need it most,” said U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue in a press release.

The USDA will begin deliveries to the organizations under its Food and Nutrition Service nutrition assistance programs, including food banks, starting in July.

The bear then barged right through the back door inside the cabin while the ladies rushed to a bedroom for safety. The video showed the bear inside the cabin’s back door pawing on the walls.

There also happened to be three more bears lounging around on the porch outside, according to the video.

“It was just almost surreal, it was just a fight-or-flight, like I just have to remove us from this situation and make sure that we’re at least in a safe place,” Eberhart said.

The police were eventually called in, removing the bear from the cabin and shooing the other three bears lounging on the porch. But the bears did not leave the house empty-handed.

“They got 5 pounds of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and a pound of M&M’s and two pounds of Sour Patch Kids and two bags of potato chips… two beers and two Diet Cokes and about 20 Zyrtecs,” Eberhart said.

Wildlife officials warn to keep your distance if you encounter a bear and call authorities because bears can travel very quickly.

“As parents, we’re very proud that our daughter Megan has taken the initiative to give back to our community caregivers,” said her father, Keith, who also works for Baptist Health.

“She has always been highly motivated to act when she sees a need and, in this case, her actions will hopefully show the medical staff who are battling the pandemic that they are being thought of and recognized for what they are doing,” he continued.

Delande is unsure at this point how far her delivery service will go, but has considered expanding her cause via social media.

Delande is following the lead of many others, including our first lady, who are willing to support our frontline workers.

Melania Trump recently gave 150 boxed lunches to the patients and staff at the Children’s Inn at the National Institutes of Health, and a California man cooked and distributed hundreds of meals to nurses working at a nearby hospital even though his restaurant was in poor financial shape.

Cities that could see snow include Binghamton, Syracuse, Rochester, and Albany in New York; Burlington, Vermont; and Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Temperatures would become more characteristic of March than of May, and regions of the western U.S. would be going through a heat wave while the eastern U.S. would be going through a cold snap.

Forty-five million people in the upper Midwest and the Appalachians are under a freeze watch, which is likely to expand.

The cold air is likely to expand into the Deep South, and by Saturday morning, 75 million people will wake up to temperatures that are colder than it was on Christmas Day in 2019. Only a quarter of the country was covered in snow around that time.

Cities that could see record-low temperatures over the weekend include New York City and Buffalo, New York; Baltimore; Detroit; Pittsburgh; Nashville, and Memphis, Tennessee; Charlotte, North Carolina; Shreveport, Louisiana; Little Rock, Arkansas; and Montgomery, Alabama.

For some perspective, the last time New York City had temperatures down in the 30s in May was in 1978.

The New York Democrat has said in the past that cuts to the workforce would be used only as a last resort.

President Donald Trump told the New York Post in an exclusive interview Monday that Democrat-run states like New York that are cash-strapped should not expect to be bailed out because it would be unfair to Republican states.

De Blasio has had to change his expectations on other things related to the coronavirus as well.

De Blasio recently announced that New York City’s public schools would be revising its grading system for most of its students for the duration of the pandemic.