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Boeing kills its $4.2 billion purchase of Embraer as coronavirus roils the aviation industry


Boeing terminated its proposed $4.2 billion deal to acquire the commercial jet business of Brazil's Embraer. The smaller company responded with a scathing declaration that Boeing "has manufactured false claims as a pretext to seek to avoid its commitments."




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Boeing tells workers terms of voluntary layoffs, says air travel recovery will take years


CEO Dave Calhoun tells shareholders that when the market for jets does revive, "our customers' needs will be different." Boeing also told U.S. employees Monday what it is offering in the first wave of voluntary job cuts.




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Airbus burns through $8.7 billion, warns of ‘gravest’ crisis


Airbus is battling to adapt to collapsing demand as the pandemic wipes out new aircraft sales and threatens existing orders as airlines run short of money.




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Alaska Airlines to require passengers to wear masks


Alaska Airlines joins several other major airlines launching mask requirements for passengers.




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GE to slash 13,000 jobs in aviation amid air travel plunge


For GE, the stress on a key business threatens a broader turnaround effort as CEO Larry Culp attempts to pull the company from one of the deepest slumps in its history.




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Cash crunch from coronavirus crisis will force Alaska Air to shrink


The company's cash burn rate peaked at $400 million for the month of March. Management hopes to reduce the cash burn rate to zero by year end and will make whatever cuts are necessary to do so.




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Roy Horn of Siegfried & Roy dies from coronavirus at 75

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Roy Horn of Siegfried & Roy, the duo whose extraordinary magic tricks astonished millions until Horn was critically injured in 2003 by one of the act’s famed white tigers, has died. He was 75. Horn died of complications from the coronavirus on Friday in a Las Vegas hospital, according to a […]




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Two White House coronavirus cases raise question of if anyone is really safe


WASHINGTON — In his eagerness to reopen the country, President Donald Trump faces the challenge of convincing Americans that it would be safe to go back to the workplace. But the past few days have demonstrated that even his own workplace may not be safe from the coronavirus. Vice President Mike Pence’s press secretary tested […]




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Not giving it up cold turkey: Bird hunters just winging it


FALMOUTH, Maine (AP) — The coronavirus pandemic has canceled dozens of spring traditions, from college basketball’s Final Four to Easter Sunday services, but there’s one rite that’s going on largely unfettered — turkey hunting. Every state except Alaska, which is the only state with no turkeys, hosts a spring turkey hunt each year. The birds, […]




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Lawns are the new wedding venue in the age of coronavirus


NEW YORK (AP) — Love in the age of coronavirus sometimes requires a lawn. Couples with dashed wedding plans due to lockdown restrictions have been tying the knot on those tidy green spreads instead, including at least one loaner. Danielle Cartaxo and Ryan Cignarella were supposed to get married in West Orange, New Jersey, on […]




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Small tribes seal borders, push testing to keep out virus


PICURIS PUEBLO, N.M. (AP) — On a dusty plaza in a Native American village that dates back nearly a millennium, a steady trickle of vehicles inched through a pop-up coronavirus testing site. From the bed of a pickup truck and backseats of cars, wide-eyed children stared from behind hand-sewn masks and then sobbed as testing […]




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Free to check in, but not to leave: Patients seeking mental-health treatment in Washington have been held against their will


In hundreds of cases, patients seeking mental-health treatment in Washington state have been held against their will or threatened with involuntary commitment.




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Why are birds and seals starving in a Bering Sea full of fish?


The animal die-offs offer the world a stark example of the perils of rising ocean temperatures, which already are upending parts of the Bering Sea ecosystem as climate change — driven by greenhouse-gas pollution — unfolds in Alaska at a breakneck pace.




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Facts about novel coronavirus and how to prevent COVID-19


Cut through the misinformation with this visual guide to the new coronavirus, how it spreads, how COVID-19 affects the body, and how to protect yourself and others.




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Trump ban on fetal tissue research blocks coronavirus treatment effort


A senior scientist at a government biomedical research laboratory has been thwarted in his efforts to conduct experiments on possible treatments for the new coronavirus because of the Trump administration’s restrictions on research with human fetal tissue. The scientist, Kim Hasenkrug, an immunologist at the National Institutes of Health’s Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Montana, has […]




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Lives Remembered: Meet some of the people Washington state has lost to the coronavirus pandemic


We often hear about the impact of the pandemic in terms of numbers: This many cases, that many deaths. But each data point represents a human life whose loss is felt by countless other people. If we are to truly understand the toll this virus is taking, their stories need to be front and center.




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Inslee: Retail stores can do curbside pickup, 5 counties on faster track to reopen amid coronavirus


Phase two is expected to begin for most areas on June 1, provided public-health data still looks favorable.




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House Democrats ask 5 companies to return coronavirus aid


WASHINGTON (AP) — A Democratic-led subcommittee overseeing federal coronavirus aid is demanding that five companies return loans the panel says should have gone to smaller businesses. The subcommittee led by Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., sent letters Friday to the companies as its first official action. The House voted last month to create the panel over […]




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Some people miss travel so much they’re ordering airplane food delivered to their homes


In addition to selling some of their excess, airlines have put donation programs in place.




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TSA employees at Sea-Tac, other airports must now wear masks to slow spread of coronavirus


Five TSA employees nationwide have died of COVID-19, and 516 employees have tested positive, including seven at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.




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Fraudsters are faking Washington unemployment claims amid coronavirus joblessness surge


As Washington grapples with a tsunami of legitimate unemployment claims — more than 100,000 last week — the state also is seeing a rise in attempts by fraudsters to siphon off a portion of the benefits.




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Reopenings bring new cases in S. Korea, virus fears in Italy


ROME (AP) — South Korea’s capital closed down more than 2,100 bars and other nightspots Saturday because of a new cluster of coronavirus infections, Germany scrambled to contain fresh outbreaks at slaughterhouses, and Italian authorities worried that people were getting too friendly at cocktail hour during the country’s first weekend of eased restrictions. The new […]




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Pike Place Market’s Hmong flower farmers adapt during the coronavirus pandemic


“My parents have been through worse,” one farmer said. “We'll get through this.”




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Small businesses band together to sue insurers over coronavirus damage


In many cases, the response from insurers has been: We don't cover viruses.




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Maldives sees rapid spike in coronavirus patients


MALE, Maldives (AP) — The Maldives, an Indian Ocean archipelago nation with one of the world’s most congested capitals, has seen a rapid rise in coronavirus cases over the past few weeks. Health officials predict that more than 77,000 people — or a fourth of those currently living in the country — could become infected, […]




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Coronavirus daily news updates, May 9: What to know today about COVID-19 in the Seattle area, Washington state and the nation


While this year’s Mother’s Day weekend promises warm weather, Seattle officials are restricting hours in city parks out of fears that large crowds hoping to enjoy the sun could further spread the novel coronavirus. A recent report shows the COVID-19 transmission rate in Western Washington may be steadily increasing, suggesting that the number of virus cases […]




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US approves new coronavirus antigen test with fast results


U.S. regulators have approved a new type of coronavirus test that administration officials have promoted as a key to opening up the country. The Food and Drug Administration on Saturday announced emergency authorization for antigen tests developed by Quidel Corp. of San Diego. The test can rapidly detect fragments of virus proteins in samples collected […]




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Amazon prepares first earnings report from coronavirus era, as pandemic accelerates retail trends in its favor


The company’s first-quarter earnings report will provide a view of how the pandemic has accelerated trends already working in its favor, and the extent to which coronavirus restrictions on businesses and consumers have boosted Amazon’s sales.




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Seattle City Council hears details on plan to borrow money for coronavirus relief from big business tax


The tax on companies with annual payrolls over $7 million would apply to gig-economy companies, such as Uber. But franchises, such as McDonald's, could avoid the 1.3% payroll tax.




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Amazon has a Europe problem: Unions and regulators are circling


In Germany, unions are pushing Amazon.com to prevent warehouse workers from congregating like bunches of “grapes” before their shifts. In Italy, where a COVID-19 outbreak hit Amazon’s main logistics depot, unions staged an 11-day strike that ended after the company granted employees an additional five-minute break to practice better personal hygiene. And in what amounts […]




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‘The hardest time we’ve ever faced’: Amazon revenue surges, but coronavirus costs may wipe out operating profit


The company's first-quarter sales rose 26% year over year to $75.5 billion. But expenses related to Amazon’s pandemic response weighed on the bottom line in the three-month period ended March 31.




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Amazon, Instacart workers launch May Day strike to protest treatment during the coronavirus pandemic


The onset of the coronavirus and the subsequent classification of many of these workers as "essential" have heightened some existing tensions. Workers have accused companies of being slow to provide protective gear and implement precautions, something that may put them in danger.




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May Day protests take on different look this year due to coronavirus


What used to be an annual May Day march for workers’ and immigration rights has taken on a different look this year due to coronavirus stay-at-home restrictions. This year, the march from Judkins Park to downtown Seattle has been canceled. Instead, march sponsors El Comité and the May 1st Action Coalition have scheduled a vehicle […]




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Whole Foods to provide face masks for shoppers to prevent spread of coronavirus in stores


Amazon-owned Whole Foods will provide grocery shoppers with free single-use masks at all its stores beginning this week, in keeping with the chain's "request" that all shoppers wear masks.




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Amazon vice president, a distinguished engineer, resigns to protest firing of employee activists


Tim Bray described the firings as “evidence of a vein of toxicity running through the company culture. I choose neither to serve nor drink that poison.”




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Amazon wins business from reluctant brands after coronavirus closes stores


Before the pandemic, many brands and wholesalers kept Amazon at arm's length. Now, consultants that help brands navigate Amazon's marketplace say the company is attracting a broad range of vendors that sold at physical stores.




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Amazon engineering elites engage in rare public debate over company’s coronavirus safety response, worker treatment


The public back-and-forth about a controversial, high-profile topic is unusual for a company that has lately enforced policies limiting what employees can say publicly without authorization, and for the seniority of those involved.




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Proposal to tax big businesses will be shelved by Seattle City Council during coronavirus emergency


The decision by Council President M. Lorena González and Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda will stall the big-business tax championed by Councilmembers Kshama Sawant and Tammy Morales, which already faced opposition from Mayor Jenny Durkan.




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2% of Puget Sound households received grocery delivery last year, before coronavirus changed shopping


The most popular online grocery category was packaged foods such as breakfast cereal and pasta; followed by toiletries, personal care products and diapers; household cleaners and paper products; and frozen food.




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With recycling’s dirty truths exposed, Washington works toward a cleaner, more sustainable system


IN 2017, ABOUT three-quarters of the stuff Seattleites dumped in their blue recycling bins — from grocery store ads and crumpled cracker boxes to shampoo bottles and yogurt tubs — was shipped to China. These days, virtually none of it is. The majority of the material is being recycled much closer to home — at […]




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Whether you forge a new trail or follow these tips, a hike can help heal our collective spirit 


LESSON NO. 1 in skipping rocks: the hunt. Searching for the proper stone can be tedious, but it’s the most crucial step. The right rock must be flat; it must be smooth; and it must be just the right size — not too heavy but not too small. You’ll know you’ve found it when you pick […]



  • Pacific NW Magazine

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Whether she’s tending her garden, her yoga clients or her own family, Suzette Birrell nurtures growth and generosity


SUZETTE BIRRELL IS a mother and a grandmother. Also, for the past 17 years as a pre- and postnatal yoga instructor, she’s helped new moms navigate a precious, profound and sometimes-chaotic period of life. Birrell is also an ardent gardener. She believes it’s all connected. “Gardening and nurturing is the same thing,” she says. “Tending […]



  • Pacific NW Magazine

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‘We find a way’: Seattle drag artists contend with the pandemic that threatens their livelihoods and their lifeline


Like countless others in the arts and beyond, drag performers have been hit hard by venue closures and stay-home orders. But the drag community has always found ways to endure, connect and celebrate — during and after the coronavirus pandemic, that much will remain true.




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Car Seat Headrest’s reinvention: How a comedy EDM project redirected the Seattle indie rock stars’ new album


Seattle indie rock stars Car Seat Headrest get a sonic makeover with its electro-charged new album “Making a Door Less Open,” dropping May 1.




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Dave Matthews Band will skip its annual Labor Day weekend Gorge run due to coronavirus pandemic


Dave Matthews Band announced it's rescheduling its entire summer concert slate — including the annual Labor Day weekend bash the band's hosted at the Gorge Amphitheatre for years — due to COVID-19.




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Ravenna twins treat neighbors to front-yard jazz sessions during coronavirus shutdown


The Sharma brothers, who became interested in music in the fourth grade, have played in bands at Eckstein Middle School and Roosevelt High. So it felt quite natural for them to step out of their house April 9 for their first front-porch performance.




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When coronavirus dealt Seattle record stores their latest blow, Easy Street Records got creative


The COVID-19 pandemic is the latest challenge for Seattle’s independent record stores like Easy Street, but these titans of vinyl continue to rise to the occasion.




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Brandi Carlile reschedules Echoes Through the Canyon show at the Gorge due to coronavirus pandemic


Brandi Carlile has rescheduled her June 6 Echoes Through the Canyon show at the Gorge Amphitheatre to Aug. 14, 2021.




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What’s bringing you joy amid the coronavirus crisis? Washingtonians share what’s getting them through the pandemic.


From an unexpected friendship across species, to a cluster of clay llamas, to finding a way to remotely produce a song featuring multiple collaborators, people across Washington state have found ways to stay connected to their artistic communities, their jobs and their routines — or to find beauty in the changes themselves. 




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Seattle parks will remain open this weekend with same coronavirus guidelines, plus rain


Seattle banned the use of playgrounds, athletic fields and sports courts weeks ago, taping off playground structures and swings.