Jackie Winchester

The coronavirus pandemic, which has claimed more than 20,000 lives nationwide, has put every state under a federal disaster declaration — a first in the history of the United States. President Donald Trump approved a disaster declaration Saturday for Wyoming, the final state to get one, along with the US Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, the District […]

John Prine, the ingenious singer-songwriter who explored the heartbreaks, indignities and absurdities of everyday life in “Angel from Montgomery,” “Sam Stone,” “Hello in There” and scores of other indelible tunes, died Tuesday at the age of 73. His family announced his death from complications from the coronavirus; he died at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in […]

A Port Charlotte man was arrested Tuesday for allegedly threatening a mass killing. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement said George Andrew Dwyer, 33, made the threats on YouTube. A search warrant executed at Dwyer’s Lawler Street home turned up a Kel-Tec SUB-2000 rifle and 126 rounds of ammunition, according to FDLE. Dwyer is charged […]

Pope Francis celebrated Palm Sunday Mass without the public because of the coronavirus pandemic, which he said should focus people’s attention on what’s most important, despite heavy hearts — using one’s life to serve others. Looking pensive and sounding subdued, Francis led the first of several solemn Holy Week ceremonies that will shut out rank-and-file […]

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease official, said Thursday he feels safe despite reports he’s received online threats and has had uncomfortable personal encounters with admirers that prompted the Trump administration to assign him a security detail. Fauci, a key member of the White House coronavirus task force who appears almost daily on […]

Background checks for new gun purchases in Florida during March – when the coronavirus pandemic worsened dramatically – surged to set records, according to the latest figures the FBI released Wednesday. The March number of more than 192,000 checks reflecting gun purchases in Florida is higher than any month in more than two decades. Nationally, […]

Nissan is recalling more than a quarter-million SUVs, trucks and vans worldwide to replace potentially dangerous Takata airbag inflators. The vehicles have airbags with volatile ammonium nitrate that can explode with too much force and hurl shrapnel. But they have a moisture-absorbing chemical that was supposed to make them safe. U.S. safety regulators are to […]

The nation’s top infectious disease expert stressed Thursday the US can still defy alarming projections of coronavirus deaths with aggressive measures — even as scientists warn the White House that simple exhaling may be enough to spread the virus. Models had shown that the US death toll could be at least 100,000 with aggressive social […]