U.S. hospital intensive care units in many parts of the country are straining to handle record numbers of COVID-19 patients. These hospital units take care of the sickest of the sick. Some are running out of space and supplies, while scrambling to pay the soaring rates of temporary traveling nurses. Hundreds of ICUs are struggling at the same time, with many clustered in the South and West. An Associated Press analysis shows that since November, the share of U.S. hospitals nearing the breaking point has doubled. More than 40% of Americans live in areas running out of ICU beds. Experts say sustained surges can jeopardize the quality of care in ICUs.
Judge OKs Weinstein bankruptcy plan with $17M for victims
DOVER, Del. (AP) — A Delaware judge has approved a revised Weinstein Co. bankruptcy plan that provides about $35 million for creditors, with roughly half that amount going to women who’ve accused disgraced film mogul Harvey Weinstein of sexual misconduct. The judge approved the plan following a hearing Monday and overruled objections by attorneys representing four women. The settlement amount is $11.5 million less than under a previous bankruptcy plan. That plan was scrapped after a federal judge in New York refused to approve a proposed $19 million settlement between Weinstein and some of his accusers.
Protesters in Lebanon clash with police over virus lockdown
BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanese security forces have opened fire in violent clashes with dozens of protesters who took to the street in the country’s north for a third consecutive day. The protesters in the city of Tripoli are denouncing deteriorating living conditions amid a strict lockdown aimed at curbing a dramatic rise in coronavirus cases and COVID-19 fatalities in the small, crisis-hit country. Police say they were responding to hand grenades thrown by the protesters at security forces, injuring nine policemen. Dozens of protesters were injured in the confrontations. The violence marks a sharp escalation in the confrontations that began Monday. Tripoli is the second largest in Lebanon and the most impoverished.