Stories by Associated Press

A new type of coronavirus test offers a cheaper, quicker way to screen for infections, moving the U.S. toward the kind of mass screening that experts say is essential to returning millions of Americans to school and work.

It’s not meant to be a trick question, but many filling out their 2020 U.S. census form struggle to answer: How many people were staying at your home on April 1?

As the pandemic persists in keeping families indoors or a safe social distance apart, online searches have increased for creative ways to still make moms feel special. 

Tens of millions of Americans live in multigenerational homes where one of the main strategies for avoiding infection — following social distancing protocols — can be near impossible. The problem reverberates deepest in communities of color.

The federal government is sending supplies of the first drug that appears to help speed the recovery of some COVID-19 patients to six states, where it will be distributed by health departments.

Just a few short months ago, President Donald Trump planned to campaign for reelection on the back of a robust economy. That’s a distant memory after more than 20 million jobs were lost in April.

The U.S. unemployment rate hit 14.7% in April, a level last seen during the Great Depression, as 20.5 million jobs vanished in the worst monthly loss on record — stark evidence of how the coronavirus has brought the economy to its knees.

The coronavirus pandemic put conventional campaigning on hold just as campaigns were ramping up, forcing candidates to scrap plans, rewrite budgets and find new ways to connect with voters and show they are the right person to lead in a crisis no one anticipated.

Nearly 3.2 million laid-off workers applied for unemployment benefits last week as the business shutdowns caused by the viral outbreak deepened the worst U.S. economic catastrophe in decades.

The federal government has fined Sinclair Broadcasting Corp. $48 million, largely because of actions the TV broadcaster took in its failed attempt to acquire smaller rival Tribune Media.

Public transit systems nationwide are grappling with a new reality — drastically plummeting ridership and revenue caused by a stealthy virus that’s also sickening and killing transit workers.

The death of Greg Zanis, announced by his daughter, Susie Zanis, and confirmed by the mayor of the community where Zanis lived, was expected after a recent announcement that he had been diagnosed with bladder cancer and did not have long to live.

Pushing to reopen the economy, President Donald Trump insists that states can gradually lift lockdowns and still protect people from the coronavirus pandemic, even as he’s also suggesting U.S. deaths could reach 100,000. 

The world’s largest hornet, a 2-inch killer dubbed the “Murder Hornet” with an appetite for honey bees, has been found in Washington state, where entomologists were making plans to wipe it out.

Italy started stirring Monday, with millions of people allowed to return to work as Europe's longest coronavirus lockdown started to ease, while the U.S. took halting steps to lift some restrictions even as tens of thousands of new cases were reported every day.

The lawsuits say students should pay lower rates for the portion of the term that was offered online, arguing that the quality of instruction is far below the classroom experience. Colleges, though, reject the idea that refunds are in order. 

The Migration Policy Institute found that 20% of the U.S. workers in vulnerable industries facing layoffs are immigrants, even though they only make up 17% of the civilian workforce. 

With coronavirus restrictions dragging on, interest in bird-watching has soared as bored Americans notice a fascinating world just outside their windows. 

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, a mask adorning one of the iconic lion statues near the Michigan Avenue entrance to the Art Institute disappeared about 24 hours after it was applied.

Farmers, growers and operators of open-air markets are heading into one of their busiest times of year while facing the added challenge of the coronavirus.

The FDA said in a statement that Gilead Science’s intravenous drug would be specifically indicated for hospitalized patients with “severe disease,” such as those experiencing breathing problems requiring supplemental oxygen or ventilators.

The race is more methodical marathon that mad dash to the finish — though the victor can win at the line by a turtleneck rather than a nose — and is just one more offbeat sport that has had a moment during the coronavirus pandemic.

The nation’s top infectious disease expert said Thursday that new cases of the coronavirus are a certainty as states begin to roll back restrictions. 

The layoffs amount to 1 in 6 American workers and encompass more people than the entire population of Texas, or more people than live in the New York and Chicago metropolitan areas combined.

Sixty-eight percent of Americans say they highly trust the information that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is providing about the virus, 66% trust their doctor or health care provider, and 52% said the same about their state or local government, according to a recent poll.

A biotech company says its experimental drug has proved effective against the new coronavirus in a major U.S. government study that put it to a strict test.