NPR News

Ben Paviour of VPM, Jeff Tiberii of WUNC, Bente Birkeland of CPR and Ryland Barton of WFPL contributed to this report.

If you've checked your mail lately, you may have noticed there's just not much of it.

The U.S. Postal Service could be another casualty of the coronavirus pandemic.

"A lot of businesses have ceased to do advertising through the mail," says Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., "and as a result, mail volume has collapsed."

He says the decline could be as much as 60% by the end of the year, which he says would be "catastrophic" for the agency.

A springtime stroll, baking bread, or binging shows can be a tonic for a life lived in lockdown. But some workers doing their jobs remotely are carrying on by partying on, virtually.

Normally at this time of year, DJ Haddad and his co-workers run raucous rounds of college basketball competitions. "We're really missing March Madness — it's kind of a big thing on our team," says Haddad, CEO of Haddad & Partners, an advertising company in Fairfield, Conn., with nearly 70 employees around the world.

The coronavirus has dealt a body blow to U.S. workers. So far, it's women who are paying much of the price.

The Labor Department says more than 700,000 jobs were eliminated in the first wave of pandemic layoffs last month. Nearly 60% of those jobs were held by women.

There comes a time in every campaign when a candidate needs to make a tough decision.

Ending a bid for president is one of the hardest things any candidate can do.

They put themselves out there; they open themselves – and their families – up to relentless criticism and, nowadays, social media abuse.

That's got to be even harder for someone like Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who against all odds built a movement and, at 78, likely won't run for president again.

The coronavirus pandemic has caused a global scramble for essential medical supplies like masks, gloves, gowns and ventilators. In the panic, governments have imposed or considered new barriers to trade, trying to protect their own access to scarce supplies.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson spent a second night in intensive care at a hospital in London, where he is being treated for COVID-19 after testing positive for the novel coronavirus last month.

Meanwhile on Tuesday, the United Kingdom recorded its highest single-day death toll to date from the disease — 786.

U.K. Cabinet Minister Michael Gove also said Tuesday that he would begin self-isolating after a family member experienced COVID-19 symptoms.

New York City officials will begin to count suspected COVID-19 deaths in addition to cases confirmed by a laboratory following a WNYC/Gothamist report revealing a staggering increase in the number of people dying at home but not included in the official tally because they hadn't been tested for the novel coronavirus.

In a statement, Stephanie Buhle, a spokeswoman for the New York City's Health Department confirmed the change in protocol.

John Prine, a wry and perceptive writer whose songs often resembled vivid short stories, died Tuesday in Nashville from complications related to COVID-19. His death was confirmed by his publicist, on behalf of his family. He was 73 years old.