North America

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A major U.S. airline trade group on Saturday said it backed the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checking the temperatures of passengers and customer-facing employees during the coronavirus pandemic.

NEW YORK, May 9 (Xinhua) -- The number of COVID-19 cases in the United States reached 1,300,079 as of 3:32 p.m. (1932 GMT) Saturday, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.

Meanwhile, the death toll from the disease in the country hit 78,320.

New York remains the hardest-hit state, with 333,122 cases and 26,563 deaths, followed by New Jersey with 137,397 cases and 9,116 deaths. Other states with over 50,000 cases include Massachusetts, Illinois, California, and Pennsylvania, according to the CSSE.

NEW YORK, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Global confirmed COVID-19 cases topped 4 million on Saturday, reaching 4,004,224 as of 4:32 p.m. (2032 GMT), according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

According to the CSSE, a total of 277,860 people worldwide have died of the disease.

The United States suffered the most from the pandemic, with 1,305,199 cases and a death toll of 78,469. Countries with over 150,000 cases included Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom, Russia, France and Germany, according to the CSSE data.

UNITED NATIONS, May 9 (Xinhua) -- The United States is responsible for an impasse in the Security Council over the adoption of a resolution on COVID-19, a Chinese diplomat said on Saturday.

Security Council members had agreed on the text of a draft resolution thanks to the great efforts by France and Tunisia, the co-penholders. China supports the text. The United States also expressed its support.

NEW YORK (AP) — The record unemployment rate reported on Friday captured the pain of a nation where tens of millions of jobs suddenly vanished, devastating the economy and forcing President Donald Trump to overcome historic headwinds to win a second term.

Just a few short months ago, 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, leading to an unemployment rate of 14.7%, the highest since the Great Depression.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Frustrated by scarce supplies and a chaotic marketplace amid the coronavirus outbreak, some U.S. governors are seeking to bolster their home-state production of vital medical and protective equipment to ensure a reliable long-term source for state stockpiles.

The efforts come as states have been competing against each other, the federal government, hospitals, emergency responders and even other countries to get items such as N95 masks, gloves, medical gowns and hand sanitizer — often paying higher-than-usual prices because of the high demand.

(AP) --- U.S. regulators have approved a new type of coronavirus test that administration officials have promoted as a key to opening up the country.

The Food and Drug Administration on Saturday announced emergency authorization for antigen tests developed by Quidel Corp. of San Diego. The test can rapidly detect fragments of virus proteins in samples collected from swabs swiped inside the nasal cavity, the FDA said in a statement.

The antigen test is the third type of test to be authorized by the FDA.

BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) — Many people saw more than the last moments of Ahmaud Arbery’s life when a video emerged this week of white men armed with guns confronting the black man, a struggle with punches thrown, three shots fired and Arbery collapsing dead.

NEW YORK (AP) — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who has won bipartisan praise for rallying supplies for his ravaged hospitals and helping slow the coronavirus, is coming under increasing criticism for not bringing that same level of commitment to a problem that has so far stymied him: nursing homes.

In part-lecture, part-cheerleading briefings that have made him a Democratic counter to President Donald Trump, Cuomo has often seemed dismissive and resigned to defeat when asked about his state leading the nation in nursing home deaths.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Three members of the White House coronavirus task force, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, placed themselves in quarantine after contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19, another stark reminder that not even one of the nation’s most secure buildings is immune from the virus.