NEW YORK (AP) — The idea sounds almost un-American. Read more

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. unemployment fell to 11.1% in June as the economy added a solid 4.8 million jobs, the government reported Thursday. But the job-market recovery may already be faltering because of a new round of closings and layoffs triggered by a resurgence of the coronavirus. Read more

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Several college students in an Alabama city organized “COVID-19” parties as a contest to see who would get the virus first, an official said. Read more

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — President Donald Trump will begin his Independence Day weekend on Friday with a patriotic display of fireworks at Mount Rushmore before a crowd of thousands, but even in a part of the country where many remain supportive of the president, the event has drawn controversy and protests. Read more

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Four U.S. states — Arizona, California, Florida and Texas — reported a combined 25,000 new confirmed coronavirus cases Thursday as the infection curve rose in 40 of the 50 states heading into the July Fourth holiday weekend. Read more

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he supports a fresh round of government payments to individuals to help them weather the coronavirus pandemic but “it has to be done properly.” Read more

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House on Wednesday easily passed a temporary extension of a subsidy program for small businesses slammed by the coronavirus, speeding the measure to President Donald Trump. Read more

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s July Fourth celebration on the National Mall will feature one of the largest fireworks displays ever and as many as 300,000 face masks will be given away to those who want them — but despite health concerns from D.C.’s mayor, no one apparently will be required to wear them. Read more

WASHINGTON (AP) — After long resisting wearing a mask in public, President Donald Trump said Wednesday he thinks it makes him look like the Lone Ranger — and he likes it. Read more

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration was slow to comprehend the scale of COVID-19’s impact on nursing homes and a disjointed federal response has only compounded the devastating toll, according to a report from Senate Democrats. Read more

WASHINGTON (AP) — The reopening of Tucson’s historic Hotel Congress lasted less than a month. Read more

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. home prices gains accelerated in April even as sales have stumbled, a sign the coronavirus outbreak has had little impact on real estate values. Read more

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats drove a temporary extension of a popular subsidy program for small businesses through the GOP-controlled Senate late Tuesday, an unexpected development that came as spikes in coronavirus cases in many states are causing renewed shutdowns of bars and other businesses. Read more

The U.S. public health system has been starved for decades and lacks the resources necessary to confront the worst health crisis in a century. Read more

Local and state public health departments in the United States work to ensure that people have healthy water to drink, their restaurants don’t serve contaminated food and outbreaks of infectious diseases don’t spread. Those departments now find themselves at the forefront of fighting the coronavirus pandemic. Read more