NEW YORK (AP) — Coronavirus deaths are rising in nearly two-thirds of American states as a winter surge pushes the overall toll toward 400,000 amid warnings that a new, highly contagious variant is taking hold. As Americans observed a national holiday Monday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo pleaded with federal authorities to block travelers from countries where new variants are spreading. He cited new versions detected in Britain, South Africa and Brazil. A vast effort is underway to get Americans vaccinated, but the campaign is off to an uneven start. According to the latest federal data, about 31 million doses of vaccine have been distributed, but fewer than 11 million people have received at least one dose.
Photo: FILE – In this Nov. 25, 2020, file photo, travelers wait to check-in for their flights ahead of Thanksgiving at LaGuardia Airport, in the Queens borough of New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)
