The coronavirus outbreak continued to worsen in California this week, with 9,500 infections recorded on Tuesday — the most new cases reported in a single day since the pandemic began — and triple-digit fatalities that sent the statewide death toll past 6,500.California cases are on pace to double every 24.8 days, a number that is…

4.12pm EDT 16:12 Martin Pengelly here, minding the shop for a bit until my west coast colleagues come on stream at 5pm ET. Donald Trump and Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador have been speaking to reporters in the Rose Garden, where the pool report reveals the press corps was “spaced out and sweating profusely”.…

Harvard University and MIT pushed back on Wednesday against a new rule that would require international students to take classes in-person this fall in order to stay in the country.The guidelines issued Monday by Immigration and Customs Enforcement said "students attending schools operating entirely online may not take a full online course load and remain in the United…

The Supreme Court on Wednesday voted 7-2 to uphold Trump administration rules to allow employers with sincere moral or religious objections to deny employees access to free contraceptive coverage. The rules broadened a carve-out to the contraceptive coverage mandate included in the Affordable Care Act, the health-care overhaul commonly known as Obamacare. According to government estimates, the…

Image copyright Reuters Image caption The border between New South Wales and Victoria has been closed since Tuesday Australia's second-largest city has begun a second lockdown in response to a spike in new coronavirus infections.Five million Melbourne residents will be barred from leaving home for six weeks, except for essential reasons.Police say they are setting…