Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a sweeping elections bill into law that he and other Republicans said would place guardrails against fraud, even though there were no signs of voter irregularities in the November presidential election. Thursday's signing is being denounced by Democrats and voter rights advocates. Groups including the NAACP and Common Cause said they would immediately sue in federal court alleging that the new law makes it more difficult for people who are Black, Latino or disabled to vote. The Republican governor also plans to announce he's running for reelection in the nation's largest election battleground state.  

2 Women of Color Business Owners launching A New Housing and Social Economic Initiative in the Midwest during the Pandemic

The newly named 2021 National Teacher of the Year says a silver lining to the coronavirus pandemic is that educators are embracing a flexible approach that meets students where they are. The pandemic revealed how learning difficulties, distractions and challenging home dynamics can make it tough to adhere to a rigid curriculum. Juliana Urtubey is a Las Vegas special education teacher and was recognized with the award Thursday. She's the first Nevada teacher to win. She formed a garden at her previous school. The selection committee cited the way it connected with the community and helped her students grow as a factor in naming her Teacher of the Year.

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., May 6, 2021 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — National Coronavirus Hotline (NCH), a treatment center for Coronavirus and common health issues, built and managed by Pandemics Projects Inc. is proud to announce that it is expanding to rural and underserved counties in California.

This year, most small-business owners need to file their taxes by May 17. Practicing good financial hygiene throughout the year makes tax season easier, but there are other steps business owners can take to make tax preparation more seamless. Basic tax prep tips include preparing your financial records, tracking all applicable deadlines and filing the proper forms. This year, business owners also need to factor in loans borrowed via the Paycheck Protection Program. Forgiven PPP loans do not count as taxable income, and business expenses paid with a PPP loan are deductible, even if the loan is forgiven. That’s true for federal income taxes, but some states deviate from those rules.

New website design improves user experience and expands financial wellness resources

Votercades will be followed by outdoor and virtual activism villages to bring attention to the urgent need to protect voting rights

ALPHARETTA, Ga., May 6, 2021 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Rochester Regional Health needed to enhance security at key health system facilities throughout Western New York. Securitronics, a security company specializing in the provision of intelligent, technologically empowered security systems wa…

RED BANK, N.J., May 6, 2021 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Altair Global, the largest independent, full-service, global mobility services company, and Move For Hunger, a national hunger relief non-profit organization, announced today their renewed partnership that will provide much-needed assistanc…

ATHENS, Ga., May 6, 2021 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — FormFree ® today announced Christy Moss, head of sales and marketing at FormFree, has been named a Mortgage Star by Mortgage Women Magazine for her trailblazing 30-year career in the mortgage industry.

RALEIGH, N.C., May 6, 2021 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Sokal Digital, an automotive digital agency, announced today that it has been selected as a certified digital advertising provider in the INFINITI Marketing Program (IMP).

CITY OF INDUSTRY, Calif., May 6, 2021 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — In 1990, Ken Rakusin took the position of president at Gordon Brush Manufacturing Company, but he was not sure what he was getting himself into. The company was based out of a dark and rundown 15,000 square foot facility.

It's not yet known if COVID-19 vaccines can affect your period, but researchers are starting to study the issue. Vaccines are designed to activate your immune system, and some experts wonder if that could temporarily disrupt menstrual cycles. So far, reports of irregular bleeding have been anecdotal. And drawing links to the vaccines is difficult since changes could be the result of factors including stress, diet and exercise. Dr. Jen Gunter, a gynecologist, says a link is possible, since the immune system is involved in menstruation. Even if there is a link, experts say that would be no reason to avoid getting vaccinated. 

Memories from earlier in the COVID-19 crisis are popping back up in people's social media feeds as throwback reminders, reposts and anniversary stories crack open the digital time capsule of the pandemic before it’s even over. That can bring up lots of emotions and complicate the coping. But experts say it also provides opportunities to realize connection and frame how people move forward. To navigate that content in a healthy way, psychologists recommend that people pay attention to what kind of social media posts and stories they’re viewing, how it makes them feel, and whether they’re getting something useful from it.

Facebook's oversight board, which on Wednesday upheld the company’s ban of former President Donald Trump, also had some harsh words for its corporate sponsor: Facebook. But critics aren't convinced this decision is a triumph of accountability, and say its actions may actually distract from more fundamental issues that Facebook seems less interested in talking about. Among those concerns are Facebook’s massive power, its shadowy algorithms that can amplify hate and misinformation and its desire to avoid regulation. Facebook said the board provides scrutiny and accountability for the company and that it is no substitute for regulation.

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesia is prohibiting travel during the popular homecoming period to celebrate Eid al-Fitr.

First lady Jill Biden plans to visit military spouses at a Colorado military base in her last stop during a swing through the U.S. West. She is set to speak at Fort Carson military base near Colorado Springs ahead of Military Spouse Appreciation Day on Friday. The White House has announced a revival of the Joining Forces initiative. The Obama-era plan prioritizes employment opportunities for military spouses, education for children of enlisted parents and veterans, and military families’ health and well-being. She previously worked on the initiative when Joe Biden was vice president.

Caitlyn Jenner's Republican campaign for California governor has elicited angry reaction from some members of the LGBTQ community. But she says “I move on” when it comes to her critics. Her comment came during a one-on-one interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity, which marked some of the first words in public since announcing her candidacy about two weeks ago. Jenner also endorses the border wall that was a signature project for former President Donald Trump. The 71-year-old Jenner is a reality TV personality and Olympic hero who came out as a transgender woman in 2015.

India’s large diaspora is tapping its wealth, growing political clout and expertise to help India combat a catastrophic coronavirus surge that has led to desperate pleas for oxygen and left people to die outside overwhelmed hospitals. Two humanitarian groups in the U.S. led by people of Indian descent raised more than $25 million in recent days to help India’s teetering health care system. In Britain, volunteers at three Hindu temples raised more than $830,000 last weekend by racking up miles on stationary bikes. The magnitude of the response reflects the deep pockets of many people in the overseas Indian community as well as their deep ties to India.  

President Joe Biden has met his goal of having most elementary and middle schools open for full, in-person learning in his first 100 days. The Education Department has released survey data finding that 54% of public schools below high school offered full-time classroom learning in March. But even with that milestone, most students continued to learn at least partly away from school. The survey found that almost 4 in 10 students continued to take all classes remotely, and 2 in 10 were split between classroom and remote learning. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona applauded the progress but also raised concerns about racial disparities.

U.S. soldiers were fighting in Korea when President Harry Truman signed a congressional resolution calling for an annual National Day of Prayer. The purpose of the inaugural event in 1952 was for people to gather in houses of worship to pray for world peace. Since 1988 the event has taken place the first Thursday in May. It is diligently observed by some churches and ignored by others. The 70th edition this week comes after a year of pandemic, political polarization and turmoil related to racial injustice. Several faith leaders say they plan to pray for unity and an easing of political and social divisions. 

Today in History

A crash report on a tour bus that flipped on its way to the Grand Canyon, killing one passenger, doesn't draw any conclusions about the cause. But records released by the Mohave County Sheriff's Office point to speed as a factor. Four dozen people from across the country were on the bus operated by Las Vegas-based Comedy on Deck Tours when it veered into a dirt embankment and flipped on its side in January. The bus was headed to Grand Canyon West outside the national park. Authorities say they're awaiting toxicology tests on the driver and an autopsy report on an Indiana woman who died before wrapping up the investigation.

The U.S. Department of Justice says it is concerned about ballot security and voter intimidation arising from the Republican-controlled Arizona Senate’s unprecedented private recount of the 2020 presidential election results in Maricopa County. The head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in a letter to GOP Senate President Karen Fann that the Senate’s farming out of 2.1 million ballots to a contractor may run afoul of federal law requiring ballots to remain in the control of elections officials. And the letter said the Senate's plans to directly contact voters may violate federal laws banning voter intimidation. Fann did not immediately comment.  

The lone survivor of a shooting rampage at a Southern California business complex is out of the hospital. Blanca Tamayo wore a helmet to cover her damaged skull as she was released Wednesday from UCI Medical Center. She wore a T-shirt bearing a photo of her 9-year-old son, Matthew Farias, who died in her arms during the March 31 attack in Orange. The shooting also killed her 28-year-old daughter, a work colleague and the business owner, who once dated Tamayo and was the father of another son. Aminadab Gaxiola Gonzalez is charged with murder but police haven't released a motive for the attack. 

Google says that it expects about 20% of its workforce to still work remotely after the pandemic. In addition, some 60% will work a hybrid schedule that includes about three days in the office and two days wherever the employees work best. The announcement Wednesday relaxes a stricter stance the company had taken earlier. For up to 20 days per year, Google employees will also be able to work from any location other than their main office. This has been increased from a previous allotment of 10 days. Most of Google’s 135,000 employees can continue to work from home through September of this year. 

SpaceX has finally launched and successfully landed its futuristic Starship. The full-scale, stainless steel, bullet-shaped rocketship blasted off from the southeastern tip of Texas on Wednesday in the company's latest test flight. It soared more than 6 miles, before flipping and descending horizontally. It then went vertical again just in time for touchdown. A fire at the base of the rocket quickly was extinguished, and the rocket remained standing. It was the fifth high-altitude test flight of the rocketship that SpaceX's Elon Musk plans to use to land astronauts on the moon and send people to Mars.    

Cruise lines can soon begin trial voyages in U.S. waters. They'll have to carry some volunteer passengers, who will have to wear face masks and observe social distancing while on board. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gave ship operators final technical guidelines Wednesday for the trial runs. Volunteer passengers must be at least 18. And they must be either fully vaccinated or free of medical conditions that would put them at high risk for severe COVID-19. At least 75% of them must be tested for the coronavirus at the end of the trip. 

Texas would allow people to carry handguns without a license, and the background check and training that go with it, under a measure approved by the state Senate on Wednesday. Texas already has some of the loosest gun laws in the country and has more than 1.6 million handgun license holders. State lawmakers have gradually reduced classroom and training instruction needed to get one over the last decade. The bill pushed by the Legislature's Republican majority would eliminate the handgun license requirement despite objections from law enforcement.  

Federal prosecutors say Ghislaine Maxwell is not under suicide watch, but it's still necessary to flash light into her cell every 15 minutes as she sleeps while she awaits a sex trafficking trial. They told a judge Wednesday that heightened security for Maxwell requires the measure. Maxwell's lawyers say the light flashing is a response to ex-boyfriend Jeffrey Epstein's August 2019 Manhattan jail suicide as he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges. Maxwell has been held without bail since July on charges alleging she recruited teenage girls from 1994 to 2004 for Epstein to sexually abuse. She has pleaded not guilty.

Florida authorities have closed a criminal investigation into fund-raising efforts by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to pay off the outstanding fines of thousands of the state’s felons seeking to reclaim their voting rights. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement said Wednesday it found no violations of election law. Bloomberg last year earmarked $100 million in Florida to help defeat then-President Donald Trump. Investigators say the billionaire, former Democratic presidential candidate also raised more than $16 million to pay off the legal debts of felons so they could vote. Florida's top law enforcement agency says it launched a preliminary investigation last year, but found nothing to warrant continuing.

Authorities have arrested a 67-year-old registered sex offender from Nebraska in the 1983 slaying of an Iranian exchange student. Bud Leroy Christensen is being held in the Douglas County Jail in Omaha awaiting transfer to the Pottawattamie County jail in Council Bluffs, Iowa, on a first-degree murder charge. He is a suspect in the death of Firozeh Dehghanpour, whose body was found on Aug. 14, 1983, under a bridge north of Council Bluffs. Dehghanpour was a student at the University of Nebraska at Omaha at the time. An autopsy determined she bled to death from several stab wounds. 

The hilltop cottage belonging to a lesbian couple who were the first same-sex partners to legally marry in San Francisco has become a city landmark. The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to give the home of the late lesbian activists Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin landmark status. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the home in the Noe Valley neighborhood is expected to become the first lesbian landmark in the U.S. West. Martin and Lyon bought the simple one-bedroom house as a couple in 1955. It became the headquarters of the political and social organization for lesbians that they founded.

The South Carolina House has voted to add the firing squad to the state's execution methods amid a lack of lethal-injection drugs. The chamber’s 66-43 vote Wednesday is one of the last steps needed to finalize the bill. The measure is meant to jump-start executions in a state that used to have one of the busiest death chambers in the country. The last execution was carried out 10 years ago. The bill requires death row inmates to choose between the firing squad and the electric chair if lethal- injection drugs aren't available.

John Means threw the major leagues’ third no-hitter this season and came within a wild pitch on a third strike of a perfect game, pitching the Baltimore Orioles over the Seattle Mariners 6-0. Means struck out 12 and walked none. Seattle’s runner was Sam Haggerty after he struck out swinging on a curveball in the dirt on a 1-2 count with one outs in the third inning that bounced away from catcher Pedro Severino. Haggerty was thrown out attempting to steal second. Means threw 79 strikes among 113 pitches, including first-pitch strikes to 26 of 27 batters.

A lawsuit filed by a Chicago astronomer who alleged the Wisconsin-based maker of American Girl dolls stole her likeness and name to create an astronaut doll has been dismissed after the two sides resolved the case. The federal trademark lawsuit filed last year by Lucianne Walkowicz asked American Girl and its parent company, Mattel, to stop selling the Luciana Vega doll. A stipulation filed Tuesday in federal court states that the suit has been addressed to the satisfaction of both sides and without any financial considerations. The Wisconsin State Journal reports that the document contains no details of the settlement. Walkowicz spent much of her career with NASA and has lectured extensively on Mars exploration.

The Justice Department’s massive prosecution of those who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 has not been without its problems, including a potential instance of mistaken identity. The home of an Alaska woman was raided by agents who did not arrest her, and she says she was wrongly identified. She said the agents told her they were looking for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's laptop. As Republicans are increasingly seeking to minimize the insurrection and play down the horror of that day, any missteps by federal prosecutors could be used in that effort to discredit what actually happened. 

A college baseball player from South Dakota whose prosthetic arm was stolen plans to give away money donated by people who want to buy him a replacement. Augustana’s Parker Hanson, a right-handed pitcher, was born without a left hand, but found a way to adapt at a young age so he play his favorite game all the way up through the college level. His prosthetic arm and the attachments were in a backpack that was stolen from his unlocked pickup outside his home. NCAA rules prohibit him from accepting donations for a replacement until the end of his season. At that time, Hanson says whatever money he doesn't need he will donate back into the community or charities that help people with disabilities.

A Mississippi coroner says a single gunshot killed an infant who was with his father during a shootout with police. The father died in a barrage of gunfire Monday after Mississippi officers chased 30-year-old Eric Derell Smith. Authorities say Smith was suspected of killing the baby's mother and another person in Louisiana. An autopsy was performed on the baby, 3-month-old La’Mello Parker. The coroner of Harrison County, Mississippi — Brian Switzer — released results Wednesday. He said Biloxi police will compare the bullet to the weapons that were fired. Smith was wanted in the killing of his ex-girlfriend and her nephew in Baker, Louisiana.

More than 45,000 people have applied for one of a dozen spots to help thin a herd of bison at Grand Canyon National Park. The odds aren't as good as drawing a tag to hunt the massive animals on land adjacent to the park, but they're far better than getting struck by lightning or winning the Powerball. The National Park Service opened a rare opportunity for skilled shooters to kill bison at the park's North Rim. Park officials say the massive animals have been trampling resources and spoiling the water. The opportunity drew applicants from around the country. Volunteers who are selected will be notified in mid-May.

The husband of a southern Colorado woman who has been missing for nearly a year has been arrested on multiple charges, including first-degree murder. Online court records show Barry Morphew was arrested Wednesday but don't list details of the allegations, including the victim. The arrest came ahead of an afternoon news conference in which authorities said they would provide a “major announcement” in the investigation into Suzanne Morphew’s disappearance. She was reported missing on Mother's Day last year by a neighbor who said she did not return from a bike ride. Investigators discovered an item possibly belonging to the woman less than a week after the disappearance.

The Oregon Senate has passed a bill that would mandate safe storage of guns and ban them from the state Capitol. Republican lawmakers strenuously objected, saying they and others will be deprived of the ability to defend themselves. The bill is named after two people who were slain in a shooting at a Portland-area shopping mall in 2012, passed the House last week and goes to Gov. Kate Brown for signing. It aims to prevent accidental shootings by children, suicides and mass shootings. Opponents said a delay in accessing a firearm for self-defense could cost lives.

A federal judge has ruled that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention exceeded its authority when it imposed a federal eviction moratorium. The Justice Department announced it would appeal the ruling Wednesday from the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., so there likely won't be any immediate impact. In March, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention extended the pandemic-related protection through the end of June. The ban provides protection for renters out of concern that having families lose their homes and move into shelters or share crowded conditions with relatives or friends during the pandemic would further spread the highly contagious virus.

An Alabama state trooper arrested last week on charges he raped an 11-year-old girl had been kicked out of the FBI amid a string of sexual misconduct allegations but was hired anyway with the apparent help of a forged bureau letter that scrubbed his record clean. The FBI tells the Associated Press the letter that omitted any mention of Christopher Bauer's suspension from the FBI’s New Orleans office is “not legitimate.” Alabama state police insisted they conducted a “full” background check before hiring Bauer but didn't respond to several questions about his hiring. Bauer remained jailed Wednesday in Montgomery. 

The GOP-dominated Texas state House grave preliminary approval to a measure that would ban abortions after as early six weeks — which is before many women know they are pregnant — and allow private citizens to enforce the rule through civil lawsuits. The move Wednesday would have Texas join about a dozen other Republican-led states to pass so-called “heartbeat bills” which have been mostly blocked by federal courts. Critics say the Texas bill would let abortion opponents use lawsuits to harass doctors, patients, nurses, domestic violence counselors or even friends and family of a woman who got an abortion.

Caitlyn Jenner is continuing the slow rollout of her campaign for California governor with a one-on-one interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity. The Republican who calls herself a “compassionate disrupter” kicked off her run nearly two weeks ago. But her appearance on Hannity's stage is her first in-person campaign event, nearly two weeks after announcing her candidacy on Twitter. The 71-year-old Jenner is a reality TV personality and Olympic hero who came out as a transgender woman in 2015. Hannity’s show Wednesday evening is likely to prove a welcoming stage for Jenner. It was a favored venue for former President Donald Trump.

Legal experts say the revelation that a juror who helped convict Derek Chauvin had participated in a march in Washington, D.C., months before the trial is unlikely to affect that guilty verdict. But that’s not always the case. Though rare, there have been cases in which convictions have been tossed out or reexamined after new information about a juror is discovered. Brandon Mitchell is one of 12 jurors who convicted Chauvin in the murder of George Floyd. He says the march he attended last summer in Washington was not about Floyd and was to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr's “I have a Dream” speech. 

A Detroit pizzeria owner upset over people getting $150 tickets for unwittingly parking in a handicap zone got a bucket of blue paint and marked the street himself. Tony Sacco is co-owner of Mootz Pizzeria and Bar. There is a single sign along the curb indicating that parking is reserved for drivers with a handicap tag. But Sacco says it’s confusing because parking enforcers consider the space reserved for as many as four vehicles. For Sacco, the last straw was a $150 ticket given to a woman who was buying ice cream for her kids. A city engineer visited the site Wednesday and said more signs would be installed on Library Street but the blue paint won't last.

Lavinia “Lavi” Mounga had no idea a baby was coming when she went into labor on a flight from her home in Utah to Honolulu last week. Mounga said she didn’t know she was pregnant, and then the baby “came out of nowhere” while flying to Hawaii. The baby boy, Raymond Mounga, arrived early at just 29 weeks while mom was traveling to Oahu for vacation with her family. A Hawaii Pacific Health family medicine physician and three neonatal intensive care unit nurses from North Kansas City Hospital were on the plane and helped the new mother and baby. The child will have to stay in the hospital in Hawaii until he is full term, about another 10 weeks.

A federal judge has ordered a right-wing think tank led by white nationalist Richard Spencer to pay $2.4 million to a man injured in the 2017 rally protesting the removal of a confederate war monument Bill Burke, of Athens, Ohio, says he suffered severe injuries during the Virginia rally. Burke says he was struck by a car driven by James Alex Fields Jr., in a crash that killed a counterprotester. Federal Judge Michael Watson on Tuesday ordered the National Policy Institute to pay Burke to cover his medical costs and financial losses. Messages were left with the institute.