U.S. Birthrate Hits Record Low
The United States hit a record low birthrate amid broader concerns over the economy, U.S. health authorities revealed Wednesday.
Economy
U.S. Retail Sales Plunge To Record Low
U.S. stocks sank Friday after figures showed retail sales in the country plunged by a record 16.4 percent last month, the worst decline in decades.
North Carolina Churches Sue Governor Over Ban On Indoor Worship
Christian leaders have sued the governor of the U.S. State of North Carolina for banning extensive indoor church services to limit the new coronavirus outbreak. Their lawsuit asked a court to throw out Governor Roy Cooper’s restrictions on person-to-person services in North Carolina during the COVID-19 pandemic.
40% of low-income Americans lost their jobs due to the pandemic
Nearly 40% of lower-income Americans lost work as the coronavirus pandemic began its assault on the U.S. economy, according to the Federal Reserve.
Democrats’ $3 trillion bailout bill is DOA, Republicans say
A new Democratic bill proposed by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., without input from Republicans or the Trump administration is “dead on arrival,” top Republican leaders say.
IMF Director Sees Pandemic Fallout Being Worse Than Predicted
A senior official with the International Monetary Fund says the world economic outlook may be even worse than the grim forecast announced by the organization last month.
Illinois Churches Hold Services Against Governor’s Coronavirus Order
A number of churches in Illinois held in-person services on Sunday, against Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s COVID-19 orders limiting worship services to 10 people, Fox News reported. Several churches have filed suit claiming the Governor’s coronavirus orders are unconstitutional.
Russia Mourns Coronavirus Patients Killed In Fire
Russia is mourning the death of at least five coronavirus patients who died early Tuesday when a fire broke out in a hospital in St. Petersburg. The tragedy in Russia’s second-largest city, followed two other deadly blazes at care facilities in Russia as it struggles to contain the coronavirus pandemic. These incidents overshadowed plans by Russian President Vladimir Putin to re-open the economy after an extended lockdown.
Study finds 42% of pandemic layoffs will become permanent job losses
Many of the coronavirus pandemic layoffs will become permanent job losses, according to a new study with alarming implications for the future of the economy.
Italian Aid Worker Returns Home After 18 Months In Captivity
A young Italian woman arrived in Italy after 18 long months as a hostage in eastern Africa, where she had been an aid worker. Silvia Romano, 24, returned from Somalia late Sunday to a homeland still suffering from the coronavirus pandemic that authorities claim killed more than 30,000 Italians and devastated the economy.
Britain’s Johnson Warns Anxious Nation Most Lockdown Measures Remain
Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned Sunday that most coronavirus lockdown measures would remain until at least June 1, and he announced a “conditional plan” for reopening British society.
White House: US Jobless Rate Could Hit 25% Amid COVID-19
The official U.S. unemployment rate linked to the coronavirus pandemic is already at 14.7%, but top White House officials said Sunday they expect it could reach 25% before the world’s biggest economy begins to improve.
Nearly 3.2 million new jobless claims across U.S. drives tally during outbreak to 33.5 million
Even as a handful of states have made tentative steps back to normalcy in recent days, new jobless claims continue to flood in across all 50 states, driving the number of unemployment claims to 33.5 million over the past seven weeks.
‘Mind boggling’ 122 million jobs lost in India, says think tank
The world’s biggest lockdown forced 122 million people out of jobs in India last month, according to estimates from a leading private sector think tank.
AG Barr directs U.S. Attorneys to protect constitutional rights, follows Texas guidance issued one week earlier
U.S. Attorney General William Barr has directed every U.S. Attorney “to be on the lookout for state and local directives that could be violating the constitutional rights and civil liberties of individual citizens.”
Britain’s Johnson Says Pandemic ‘Past Peak’ After Surviving COVID-19
In his first appearance since surviving COVID-19, Britain’s prime minister expressed hope that his nation is defeating the coronavirus disease pandemic and could “now see the sunlight.” Boris Johnson suggested that figures showed Britain was “past the peak” of its worst health crisis since the 1918 influenza outbreak.
More than 3.8 million new unemployment claims filed; 6 week total exceeds 30 million
The six-week surge in new unemployment claims continued last week as businesses deemed nonessential by state and local governments reduce staffing in response to COVID-19.
Trump, business leaders discuss plans to slowly reopen U.S. economy
President Donald Trump invited some of the top leaders in business and industry to the White House Wednesday for a discussion on how to safely begin reopening parts of the economy that have been devastated by stay-home orders in response to COVID-19.
US Marriage Rate Hits Record Low
The US marriage rate is at its lowest since the federal government began collecting data in 1867, the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) reported on Wednesday. Lead author of the report Sally Curtin told the Wall Street Journal: “Millennials are in peak marriage years, their 20s and 30s, and it’s still dropping. This is historic.”
Experts Warn Over 100 Million People May Fall Into Extreme Poverty Because of COVID-19
Urban experts have warned that over 100 million people in cities worldwide may suffer extreme poverty as a result of losing their jobs and income to the COVID-19 pandemic, Reuters reports. In addressing the issue, the World Bank and other experts have called for investment in slum areas around the world and for mapping strategies to identify vulnerable communities.