coronavirus

US stocks rallied Wednesday as the apparent success of an experimental coronavirus treatment boosted Wall Street’s hopes for an end to the crisis. The Dow Jones industrial average surged as much as 547.64 points, or 2.2 percent, to 24,649.19, after Gilead Sciences said it was aware of “promising data” from a government-backed study of remdesivir, …

Carl Icahn’s car-rental company, Hertz, is gearing up for a possible bankruptcy as the coronavirus pandemic slams the brakes on its business. The car rental company failed to make an important monthly lease payment tied to its 500,000 vehicles this month, it revealed Wednesday morning. “While the company has taken aggressive action to eliminate costs, …

Pharmaceutical giant Gilead Sciences Inc. on Wednesday announced that an early trial of its experimental anti-viral drug remdesivir indicates that the medication could be effective in treating coronavirus patients early in the infection’s onset. According to the study, 62 percent of coronavirus patients treated with the drug early on were discharged from the hospital, while …

Arizona police are now conducting a homicide investigation into a woman who claimed she gave her husband fish tank cleaner after President Trump claimed the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine was an effective treatment for coronavirus. Wanda Lenius told NBC News last month that she and her husband Gary consumed fish tank cleaner because it contained a …

The White House has ordered intelligence agencies to investigate whether China and the World Health Organization covered up the coronavirus outbreak in its initial stages, NBC reported on Wednesday. The Trump administration has sent a “tasking” order to the National Security Agency and Defense Intelligence Agency, directing the bodies to compile data on the outbreak …

The Chinese foreign ministry on Tuesday accused U.S. politicians of telling “barefaced lies” regarding China’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, after President Trump suggested that the U.S. might seek damages from China because of the outbreak. “American politicians have repeatedly ignored the truth and have been telling barefaced lies,” foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said …

Octavia Spencer is doing her part to help fight the coronavirus pandemic. The 47-year-old Academy Award-winning actress donated Miku breathing monitors to both Baptist Health and the Montefiore Health System locations in Alabama, where she is from, and New York, the epicenter of the virus. “I, like many of you, have felt helpless in knowing …

Shares of Zoom dropped as much as 7 percent Wednesday after Google announced that it will soon make its Meet video-conferencing service for businesses free for all users. Google’s move is a direct shot at Zoom, which has seen its user base soar 20-fold to more than 200 million during the coronavirus pandemic. Meet, which …

Disney wants fans to be their guest again during the coronavirus quarantine. After the success of the “Disney Family Singalong” on April 16, which drew more than 10 million viewers, ABC announced Wednesday a Mother’s Day followup special, “The Disney Family Singalong: Volume II.” Ryan Seacrest will host the show starting at 7 p.m. ET …

Hilarie Burton is ditching the hair dye during quarantine for a symbolic reason. In an emotional Instagram post on Tuesday, the former “One Tree Hill” star, 37, shared a close-up look at her natural gray hair. “The ‘silver lining’ is literally growing out of my skull,” she began her caption. “For all of our frontline …