USA

WASHINGTON, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. economy contracted 3.5 percent in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the largest annual decline of U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) since 1946, according to data released by the U.S. Commerce Department on Thursday.

The data also showed that the U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of 4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2020 amid a surge in COVID-19 cases, much slower than 33.4 percent in the previous quarter.

UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday called for immediate attention to three global emergencies after listing a long string of threats and challenges the world is facing.

"Among the challenges we face, there are three global emergencies that demand immediate attention," the UN chief told the press conference held at the UN headquarters in New York.

The secretary-general said that the first global emergency that needs immediate attention is the "distribution of vaccines for COVID-19."

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell but remained at a historically high 847,000 last week, a sign that layoffs keep coming as the coronavirus pandemic continues to rage.

Last week’s claims dropped by 67,000, from 914,000 the week before, the Labor Department said Thursday. Before the virus hit the United States hard last March, weekly applications for jobless aid had never topped 700,000.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Speaker Nancy Pelosi intensified pressure Thursday on House Republican leaders for their handling of a controversial GOP freshman, denouncing them for placing a lawmaker who Pelosi says has “mocked the killing of little children” on the chamber’s education committee.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers face threats of violence from an “enemy” within Congress, and more money is needed to protect them, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday, a startling acknowledgment of escalating internal tensions over safety since this month’s Capitol attack by supporters of former President Donald Trump.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration confirmed Thursday that thousands more nursing home residents died of COVID-19 than the state’s official tallies had previously acknowledged, dealing a potential blow to his image as a pandemic hero.

The surprise development, after months of the state refusing to divulge its true numbers, showed that at least 12,743 long-term care residents died of the virus as of Jan. 19, far greater than the official tally of 8,505 on that day, cementing New York’s toll as one of the highest in the nation.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Thursday ordered government health insurance markets to reopen for a special sign-up window, offering uninsured Americans a haven as the spread of COVID-19 remains dangerously high and vaccines aren’t yet widely available.

(AP) --- Novavax Inc. said Thursday that its COVID-19 vaccine appears 89% effective based on early findings from a British study and that it also seems to work — though not as well — against new mutated versions of the virus circulating in that country and South Africa.

The announcement comes amid worry about whether a variety of vaccines being rolled out around the world will be strong enough to protect against worrisome new variants – and as the world desperately needs new types of shots to boost scarce supplies.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats in Congress and the White House rejected a Republican pitch to split President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 rescue plan into smaller chunks on Thursday, with lawmakers appearing primed to muscle the sweeping economic and virus aid forward without GOP help.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A new variant of the coronavirus emerged Thursday in the United States, posing yet another public health challenge in a country already losing more than 3,000 people to COVID-19 every day.

The mutated version of the virus, first identified in South Africa, was found in two cases in South Carolina. Public health officials said it’s almost certain that there are more infections that have not been identified yet. They are also concerned that this version spreads more easily and that vaccines could be less effective against it.