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LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Don’t lick your fingers!
That’s what Kentucky Fried Chicken signaled to customers as the company suspended its “It’s Finger Lickin’ Good” tagline after 64 years, deeming it “the most inappropriate slogan for 2020” amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The suspension will affect the slogan’s use in global advertising “for a little while,” the company said in a statement.
“We find ourselves in a unique situation — having an iconic slogan that doesn’t quite fit in the current environment,” said Catherine Tan-Gillespie, the company’s global chief marketing officer.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s coronavirus safety measures calls for people to avoid touching their eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands to reduce exposure to the virus.
For now, the company, which is a subsidiary of Louisville, Kentucky-based Yum! Brands, is telling fans not to worry.
“The slogan will be back,” the statement said. “Just when the time is right.”
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HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE VIRUS OUTBREAK
— Brazil president’s son tests positive for virus, fourth in family
— FDA Commissioner Hahn: Sorry for overstating plasma benefits
— New virus cases decline in United States and experts credit masks
— Virtual learning sites are sprouting up to help working parents.
— With many schools still closed by the coronavirus pandemic, public and private alternatives are sprouting up across the nation to watch over children as they study.
— A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds 45% of Americans say they are setting aside more money than usual during the coronavirus pandemic.
— The World Health Organization is cautioning that using blood plasma from COVID-19 survivors to treat other patients is still considered an experimental therapy.
— Follow AP’s pandemic coverage at http://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Gov. Tom Wolf says he doesn’t have the legal authority to extend Pennsylvania’s moratorium on evictions and foreclosures beyond Aug. 31.
That means renters will no longer be shielded from losing their homes for failing to pay rent during the pandemic. In a letter to both legislative chambers, released Tuesday, Wolf says the state’s Emergency Services Code prevents him from acting.
The Democrat called on state lawmakers in the Republican-controlled General Assembly to pass legislation to extend the statewide moratorium, which has been in place for more than five months.
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SALEM, Ore. — Oregon is joining the list of states applying for the federal government’s new assistance for unemployed workers.
State officials say, if approved, people would receive $300 per week, for an estimated three to five weeks. Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, more than 500,000 people in Oregon have filed for unemployment.
Last week, Oregon launched a $35 million relief check program created to issue a one-time payment of $500 to 70,000 Oregonians still waiting for unemployment benefits. Just three days later, the program ended after all the checks had been distributed.
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DANBURY, Conn. — State and local officials are urging residents of Danbury to get tested for coronavirus and answer calls by contact tracers because of an increase in cases.
Mayor Mark Boughton, a Republican, says state and local officials are relying on contract tracing and stepped-up testing at nursing homes and throughout the community to stop further spread.
The city has also taken other steps, such as asking churches to hold remote rather than in-person religious services and delaying plans for in-person learning at the public schools until at least Oct. 1.
The city, which borders New York, has been seeing a rolling average of 22 new daily cases per 100,000 people. That represents a roughly 6-7% infection rate, officials say. Statewide, the infection rate is about 1%.
Boughton says there is less than two weeks to slow the spread, otherwise it’s a “runaway freight train.”
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BRASILIA, Brazil — The eldest son of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro says he’s tested positive for coronavirus and is in isolation with no symptoms.
Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro is the fourth member of President Jair Bolsonaro’s direct family infected by the coronavirus. The president, first lady Michelle Bolsonaro and Jair Renan Bolsonaro, another son, have tested positive for the coronavirus.
The Brazilian president has downplayed the severity of the virus, arguing against restrictions on economic activity he claims will prove far more damaging than the disease. His approach to the pandemic runs counter to most recommendations by health experts.
Flávio Bolsonaro says he’s being treated with azithromycin and chloroquine, an anti-malarial drug touted both by Brazil’s president and by U.S. President Donald Trump, despite clinical trials that found it ineffective or even dangerous.
Several members of Bolsonaro’s staff have tested positive, among them eight Cabinet members.
Brazil has 3.6 million confirmed cases and more than 115,000 deaths, second in the world only to the United States.
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MADISON, WIS. — Wisconsin’s statewide mask mandate should end because Gov. Tony Evers doesn’t have the legal authority to order it, three western Wisconsin residents represented by a conservative law firm argue in a lawsuit filed Tuesday.
It’s the first legal challenge to the mask order Evers issued to help slow the spread of the coronavirus after cases began to spike again in mid-June. Evers issued the order on July 30, it took effect Aug. 1, and is set to run until Sept. 28. The order requires everyone age 5 and older to wear a mask while indoors, except at home. Violators could be fined $200.
Evers’ spokeswoman Britt Cudaback accused Republicans and their allies of trying to prevent the governor from keeping people healthy and safe.
The state reported 168 new cases per 100,000 people during the past two weeks, ranking 26th in the country. Wisconsin has nearly 71,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 1,081 deaths.
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FAIRFIELD, Conn. — Fairfield University is retesting students and staff for the coronavirus after school officials discovered some previous test results might have been erroneous or sent to the wrong patients.
Fairfield officials say they’ll stop using that lab and are advising anyone who has already taken a saliva test for the school to disregard their results.
The school says its brought in 35 rapid testing machines from Abbot Laboratory and will be retesting school community members on site with swab tests results in 15 minutes. The school says the machines can process up to 800 tests a day.
Students and staff are given the option of getting their own tests from another provider.
Classes are set to start on Sept. 1. The school says anyone who receives a positive test result will be asked to return home if possible. Anyone who lives further than 300 miles from the school or can’t go home will be quarantined on campus.
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MILAN — The number of confirmed positives for coronavirus remained below 1,000 for the second straight day, even as the number of swab tests increased significantly.
Italy registered 878 new infections on Tuesday, according to health ministry data, down from 953 on Monday. The number of tests performed in the last 24 hours hit 72,341, up from around 46,000 a day earlier.
Officials recently closed down discos, which have been a large source of contagion, including 60 cases linked to a disco in Porto Cervo, Sardinia, owned by former Formula One manager Flavio Briatore. Britatore was hospitalized in Milan for the virus on Tuesday.
The death toll in Italy rose by four, bringing the confirmed toll to 35,445.
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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Tuscaloosa is closing bars for the next two weeks after what University of Alabama officials call an unacceptable rise in coronavirus cases on campus.
The University of Alabama has recorded 531 cases of coronavirus on campus since the fall semester began last week, according to the school on Tuesday.
Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox announced Monday the closures along with the end of bar service at restaurants during a news conference with campus officials.
School officials say there’s been a rapid rise in cases, particularly among fraternities and sororities. The university on Friday announced a moratorium on student gatherings both on and off campus.
Maddox says an unchecked spread of the virus threatens to overwhelm the health care system and sink the local economy if students are sent home for the semester for remote learning.
University of Alabama President Stuart Bell says the rise in cases is unacceptable. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey praised the mayor and university officials for acting swiftly.
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NASHVILLE, Tenn, — Tennessee is facing a lawsuit over Republican Gov. Bill Lee’s decision to let counties issue certain orders to curb the COVID-19 pandemic, with a focus on their authority to require people to wear masks.
The group Citizens for Limited Government and Constitutional Integrity, also known as Tennessee Stands, and two individuals filed the lawsuit Monday in Davidson County Chancery Court. Lee is the defendant in his role as governor.
The lawsuit claims a state law dealing with the governor’s powers during an emergency violates sections of the Tennessee Constitution, including provisions about the separation of powers.
A recent opinion by the state attorney general cites the law in describing the governor’s ability to delegate duties during an emergency.
Meanwhile, four University of Tennessee at Knoxville students are facing disciplinary proceedings for not abiding by safety restrictions.
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BOGOTA, Colombia — The machine called the Heron looks like many other ventilators used to treat COVID-19 patients. There’s a screen atop a metallic box that displays the amount of oxygen being pumped into a person’s lungs and a plastic tube that delivers it to the patient.
But this device costs about $4,000 — a fifth of the price of ventilators imported from China — and it’s made in Colombia, where some hospitals have been overwhelmed by coronavirus patients.
Engineers hope the recently begun emergency deployment of the ventilators could save hundreds of lives and make Colombia a pioneer in low-cost equipment for COVID-19 patients.
Columbia has more than 551,000 confirmed cases, eighth highest in the world. It’s totalled more than 17,000 confirmed deaths.
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WASHINGTON –- Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn on Tuesday apologized for overstating the life-saving benefits of treating COVID-19 patients with convalescent plasma.
Scientists and medical experts have been pushing back against the claims about the treatment since President Donald Trump’s announcement on Sunday that the FDA had decided to issue emergency authorization for convalescent plasma, taken from patients who have recovered from the coronavirus and rich in antibodies.
Trump hailed the decision as a historic breakthrough even though the value of the treatment has not been established. Hahn had echoed Trump in saying that 35 more people out of 100 would survive the coronavirus if they were treated with the plasma. That claim vastly overstated preliminary findings of Mayo Clinic observation.
Convalescent plasma is a century-old approach to treating the flu, measles and other viruses. But the evidence so far has not been conclusive about whether the plasma works for coronavirus, when to administer it and what dose is needed. It also would require a randomized study of some people given the plasma and some not.
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KINGSTON, Jamaica — Jamaica’s Minister of Health says legendary sprinter Usain Bolt has tested positive for the coronavirus.
Minister Christopher Tufton says Bolt was aware of the results and his recent contacts were being traced.
“It is now public knowledge that Mr. Bolt has tested positive. He has been formally notified, I’m told by the authorities,″ Tufton said.
Bolt said on social media Monday that he was awaiting the result of a coronavirus test and was quarantining himself as a precaution.
The 34-year-old retired sprinter, who won Olympic gold in the 100 and 200 meters at the last three games, posted a video on social media. He says there was a surprise birthday party for him and he’s showing no symptoms.
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COLUMBIA, Mo. — An associate professor at the University of Missouri says he was “relieved of teaching duties” after an online class exchange in which he said to a student from Wuhan, China, “Well, let me get my mask on.”
Joel Poor sent a notification to students Monday saying, “Today I was relieved of teaching duties, I apologize for any disruption this might cause you.”
But university spokesman Christian Basi said Tuesday that Poor was not fired and remains an employee. Basi did not elaborate and wouldn’t confirm that Poor was relieved of teaching duties, citing it as a personnel matter.
The Columbia Missourian reported that Poor was leading an online marketing class. In a video posted on Twitter, he asks if any students are from outside the U.S. A student answered he is from China.
Poor apologized in an email and said the reference was meant as a joke. But many students replied to the tweet saying they found the comment racist and xenophobic.
Basi said the comment was reported to the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX.
(This item has been corrected to show teacher Joel Poor wasn’t fired.)
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