coronavirus

Japan on Thursday approved Gilead Sciences Inc’s remdesivir as a treatment for COVID-19, making it the country’s first officially authorized drug to tackle the coronavirus disease. Japan reached the decision just three days after the U.S. drugmaker filed for fast-track approval for the treatment. “There has so far been no coronavirus medicine available here so …

Texas governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, announced on Thursday that he would eliminate jail sentences for violators of lockdown orders. “Throwing Texans in jail whose [businesses] shut down through no fault of their own is wrong,” Abbot wrote on Twitter. “I am eliminating jail for violating an order, retroactive to April 2, superseding local orders. …

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) announced the creation of a “China Task Force” to examine  “a wide range of China-related issues,” including the Chinese Communist Party’s role in allowing coronavirus to become a global pandemic. Speaking to reporters in a press conference on Thursday, McCarthy accused Democrats of backing away from “something that …

Motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson on Thursday named Jochen Zeitz as chief executive officer. Zeitz has served as acting president and CEO of the company since February 2020. Word of the appointment cheered Wall Street, sending shares up 8.2 percent early afternoon, at $21.17. It was a much-welcomed piece of good news. In April, Harley-Davidson laid off …

Jillian Hervey is keeping things natural during the coronavirus pandemic. “I have been giving everything a rest [during] quarantine. I was questioning should I go blond again, but now I’m just rocking out natural hair and using whatever things I have already in my closet or in my kit,” the Lion Babe singer, 30, told …

Nintendo on Thursday reported fourth-quarter profit that soared 200 percent as cooped-up gamers have turned to its popular Switch console to pass the time. The Japanese video game giant said that the recently released “Animal Crossing: New Horizons” moved a staggering 13.4 million units in its first six weeks, becoming the Nintendo Switch’s fastest selling …

The Department of Labor revealed Thursday that an additional 3.2 million Americans filed new jobless claims last week, bringing the total number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits to over 33 million since mid-March. The data aligned with predictions from economists, who expected 3 million new claims for the week ending May 2, and suggested numbers …

Dish Network logged its worst-ever quarterly loss of subscribers amid the coronavirus crisis, shedding 413,000 total pay-TV customers in the first quarter of the year. The satellite TV giant closed the first quarter with 11.3 million pay-TV subscribers, down ‭6 percent over last year. That included a sequential decline of about 132,000 satellite subs to …

Neiman Marcus filed for bankruptcy Thursday, blaming the coronavirus for spoiling its turnaround and forcing it into a restructuring. The Dallas-based luxury chain became the second major retailer to declare bankruptcy this week, following J.Crew’s Monday Chapter 11 filing, as the pandemic kneecaps the industry. Neiman said it reached a restructuring deal with most of …

The Republican-led state legislature filed suit against Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer on Wednesday over her extension of Michigan’s state of emergency, saying she overstepped her authority. Whitmer extended the state of emergency to last through May 28, a move the Republican leaders in the House and Senate say would require legislative approval. “She has chosen …