Latest Pandemics News

Meet the 14-year-old who won the Scripps National Spelling Bee with 'psammophile'
OXON HILL, Md. (AP) — Fifteen months ago, Dev Shah spent a miserable five hours spelling outdoors in chilly, windy, damp conditions at a supersize regional competition in Orlando, Florida, only to fall short of his dream of returning to the Scripps National Spelling Bee. ...

Why are people in Britain talking about Boris Johnson’s WhatsApp messages?
LONDON (AP) — Critics accuse the British administration of running “government by WhatsApp” because of the popularity of the messaging app with politicians and officials. So it feels inevitable that a tussle over WhatsApp messages is at the heart of Britain’s official inquiry...

'Ted Lasso' finale proved its whole point — that those who are stuck can overcome (SPOILERS)
NEW YORK (AP) — Roy Kent cries. Nate Shelley apologizes. Rebecca Welton lets her anger go. Trent Crimm finishes his book. Keeley Jones embraces her strength. And the kind-to-a-fault but often lost Ted Lasso finally — after three seasons, but arguably after nearly a lifetime — figures out...

DeSantis kicks off presidential campaign in Iowa, vows to 'fight back' against Trump
CLIVE, Iowa (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis stepped into Iowa on Tuesday for the first time as a Republican presidential candidate and stepped up to Donald Trump, vowing to “fight back” against the former president as the GOP’s 2024 campaign enters a new phase. Until now,...

With vocabulary more important than ever, National Spelling Bee requires different prep
OXON HILL, Md. (AP) — Navneeth Murali would strongly prefer for the Scripps National Spelling Bee to get rid of the onstage, multiple-choice vocabulary questions that were introduced to the competition two years ago. “It's sort of hit or miss, the onstage vocab format, and it's...

Teen workers are in high demand for summer and commanding better pay
BOSTON (AP) — Teens have long been vital to filling out the summertime staffs of restaurants, ice cream stands, amusement parks and camps. Now, thanks to one of the tightest labor markets in decades, they have even more sway, with an array of jobs to choose from at ever higher...

Flight cancellations, strikes raise fears of new summer travel chaos in Europe
LONDON (AP) — British Airways canceled dozens of flights Friday, blaming computer problems for disrupting plans for thousands of passengers at the start of a busy holiday weekend — a rocky kickoff to the summer travel season in Europe. The technical glitches and strikes by...

Quarterly results from Best Buy, Ralph Lauren and Dollar Tree show divergence in consumer spending
NEW YORK (AP) — As inflation on necessities like groceries remains stubbornly high, the well-heeled consumer appears to still be spending, while lower-income shoppers continues to cut back their purchases, according to the latest batch of earnings reports. Ralph Lauren Corp., which...

More Americans apply for jobless benefits but labor market remains tight
U.S. applications for jobless claims rose slightly last week but remain at healthy levels with companies reticent to let go of employees in a tight labor market. The number of Americans filing for jobless claims for the week ending May 20 rose by 4,000 to 229,000 from 225,000 the...

Expect big crowds for the summer travel season -- and big prices, too
The unofficial start of the summer travel season is here, with airlines hoping to avoid the chaos of last year and travelers scrounging for ways to save a few bucks on pricey airfares and hotel rooms. Some travelers say they will settle for fewer trips than they hoped to take, or...
