California offers $ 600 state stimulus checks; New Orleans tightens restrictions on gatherings



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In the headlines:

► California Governor Gavin Newsom on Wednesday proposed to extend a moratorium on evictions and $ 600 stimulus checks for millions of low-income residents, including undocumented immigrants who file taxes with the State, as part of a budget proposal. “Californians who have been affected by this pandemic will receive help to support their families and keep a roof over their heads,” Newsom said in a statement. The Golden State has reported more than 2.4 million confirmed cases and 27,400 deaths, according to state data.

► New Orleans tightens current coronavirus restrictions on public gatherings as coronavirus infections rise. Indoor special events will be limited to 75 people and outdoor events to 150. Businesses are limited to 25% of their capacity. The new restrictions will take effect Friday at 6 a.m.

► CVS and Walgreens said they plan to complete delivery of the first round of COVID-19 vaccine doses to nursing homes on schedule by January 25. like California and Florida.

► Mexico reported 13,345 new coronavirus infections on Wednesday, a record for the daily increase in cases. As Mexico sees an increase in cases, a growing number of Americans are flocking to Mexico City, the country’s current epicenter of the pandemic, to “escape” the strict coronavirus restrictions in the United States, New York reported. Times.

► Tommy John, the former great baseball player, is hospitalized with COVID-19 near his home in Indio, California. John is not currently taking oxygen, he said, but was given oxygen when he had pneumonia. He refuted reports that he was a denial of COVID-19, saying, “I’m not a denial. I got it, baby.”

► Puerto Rico Governor Pedro Pierluisi has said he will lift the lockdown on Sunday, shorten the curfew in place since the start of the pandemic and reopen beaches, marinas and swimming pools. The new curfew will run from 11:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. and will be in effect for 30 days starting Thursday.

📈 Today’s numbers: The United States has more than 21.2 million confirmed cases of coronavirus and 361,000 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Global totals: over 87.1 million cases and 1.88 million deaths.

Florida doctor dies after receiving COVID vaccine under investigation

A doctor in Florida has died several weeks after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine, although it is not yet clear whether his death on Monday was linked to the injection he received on December 18. Dr Gregory Michael, 56, an OB-GYN at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, has died of a hemorrhagic stroke apparently resulting from a lack of platelets.

Miami medical examiners are investigating his death, according to CNN. In a Facebook post, his wife, Heidi Neckelmann, said he sought emergency care three days after the shooting because he had spots on his skin that indicated internal bleeding.

Pfizer, which along with its partner BioNTech made the vaccine the man received, said in a statement it was aware of the death. “We are actively investigating this case, but at this time we do not believe there is a direct link to the vaccine,” the statement said.

– Karen Weintraub

IRS: some stimulus payments won’t arrive before tax time

The anger that has built up among some taxpayers who want to know when they will receive their second stimulus payment led the Internal Revenue Service to issue more guidance on Tuesday night. The bottom line: Some taxpayers won’t see their second round of stimulus payments anytime soon, and they might have to wait to fix the issue when they file their 2020 tax return.

The IRS took a beating this year with managing the rollout of stimulus payments. After a long guessing game, President Donald Trump on December 27 promulgated the second stimulus package to fight the COVID-19 crisis.

The IRS started sending checks on December 30, and the money arrived in some bank accounts from January 4. But many taxpayers started complaining online and wondering why they hadn’t received their money. Here are some answers for frustrated taxpayers, according to the IRS.

– Susan Tompor, Detroit Free Press

Carnival Cruise Line cancels U.S. cruises until May

Princess Cruises has announced that it will cancel all cruises from U.S. ports until May 14 – more than a year after the industry shutdown in mid-March last year. The Princess itself has been affected by the pandemic from the start: two of its ships, the Diamond Princess and the Grand Princess, were among the first ships to quarantine passengers due to coronavirus infections.

Previously, Princess Cruises had canceled all routes until March 31. The additional cancellations come as the cruise line works on restart plans that will meet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s “Framework for Conditional Sailing” announced in October.

This additional suspension also applies to European cruises scheduled before May 15, Negin Kamali, spokesperson for Princess Cruises, told USA TODAY.

– Morgan Hines

Contribute: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: COVID Update: Stimulus Controls in California; CVS, Walgreens vaccines

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