Not all area school districts are sharing in the state’s education spending spree because they are already fully funded according to the state’s Foundation Aid formula. School spending is proposed to increase by $2.1 billion, a 7.1% increase, in the 2022-23 budget proposed by Gov. Kathy ...

Active COVID-19 cases dropped dramatically in Chautauqua County last week. However, the number of new cases being confirmed locally still remains high. The county Health Department on Wednesday reported 1,743 new cases for the week ending Jan. 15; for the week ending Jan. 8, the county ...

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden acknowledged Wednesday that the pandemic has left Americans exhausted and demoralized but insisted at a news conference marking his first year in office that he has “outperformed” expectations in dealing with it. Facing sagging poll numbers and a ...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose to the highest level in three months as the fast-spreading omicron variant continued to disrupt the job market. Jobless claims rose for the third straight week — by 55,000 to 286,000, highest since ...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration will begin making 400 million N95 masks available for free to Americans starting next week, now that federal officials are emphasizing their better protection against the omicron variant of COVID-19 over cloth face coverings. The White House ...

NEW YORK (AP) — Is it better to wear an N95 or cloth mask right now? Health experts suggest stepping up protection against the highly contagious omicron variant with stronger masks such as N95s or KN95s. It's especially important now with health care systems under strain, and with people ...