An anonymous donor from Madison County, IA sent $150 gift cards to every household in the 1,400 person town of Earlham, in order to help the local economy amid the coronavirus outbreak. On March 26, Mayor Jeff Lillie received a phone call from a man calling on behalf of an anonymous donor looking to help boost the town’s economy. The …

Allstate Insurance is stepping up and putting money back into its customers’ pockets during this COVID-19 pandemic. It is using its slogan, “You’re in Good Hands,” literally. The insurance company announced its Shelter-in-Place Payback where it will return more than $600 million in auto insurance premiums to customers for April and May. The idea is that more people are “at …

Japan poised to declare state of emergency over COVID-19. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declared a state of emergency on Tuesday for Tokyo, Osaka and five other prefectures to curb the spread of the new coronavirus after an alarming growth in cases in urban areas. The declaration, effective through May 6, will enable prefectural governors to take stronger preventive steps, ranging …

Wedding cells: South Africa bridal couple arrested for breaching lockdown. Police in South Africa have arrested a bride and groom, a priest, and 40 guests who defied the rules of the country’s strict coronavirus lockdown to hold a wedding in KwaZulu Natal province. South African broadcaster eNCA aired a video footage showing the bride-to-be in the back of a police …

Dozens of health workers were tortured and arrested in Quetta, Pakistan while they were protesting for the provision of personal protective equipment outside the office of the Chief Minister of Balochistan Province in Pakistan. The Young Doctors’ Association of Balochistan, along with the Nurses’ Association and the Hospital Workers’ Association, had been demanding the provision of protective equipment for many …

The total number of deaths due to COVID-19 in the United States topped 10,000 as of 1:20 p.m. local time Monday (1720 GMT), according to the data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University. A total of 10,335 people have died of the disease among 347,003 confirmed cases in the country, the CSSE …

SPAIN is holding drive-through funerals for coronavirus victims as the number of deaths rises above 13,000. La Almudena cemetery in Madrid, the largest in the country, saw funerals held every 15 minutes for those that have died from COVID-19. Hearses were seen driving up to the doors of the chapel before a quick blessing followed by burial or cremation. Although …

A Chinese destroyer lased a U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft that was operating over international waters about 380 miles west of Guam, the U.S. Pacific Fleet said in a statement. The laser could not be seen by a human eye but was captured by sensors on the airplane, which is a variant of the Boeing 737 that has …

Kenneth Manzanares pleads guilty to killing his wife on cruise to Alaska. A Utah man has pleaded guilty to killing his wife on a cruise to Alaska in July 2017. Kenneth Ray Manzanares, 42, of Santa Clara, pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree murder, the U.S. Attorney in Alaska announced Friday. Kenneth Manzanares, Kristy Manzanares and members of her …

Principal, Kobe Bryant ‘karma’ post spurs threats. A high school principal who suggested Kobe Bryant deserved to die by posting it was “karma” after the NBA legend’s fatal helicopter crash has resigned. “Not gonna lie. Seems to me that karma caught up with a rapist today,” Liza Sejkora, now-former principal of Camas High School in Camas, Washington, posted on Facebook …

Angela Merkel fires official after the extreme right fiasco. German Chancellor Angela Merkel salvaged her fragile ruling coalition Saturday with the resignation of two officials, including one junior minister, who had aligned themselves with the far-right in a regional election. The surprise election of Thomas Kemmerich as state premier in Thuringia with the help of MPs from the far-right AfD …