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Christopher Vondracek

cvondracek@washingtontimes.com

Christopher Vondracek was a reporter on The Washington Times' National desk.

Articles by Christopher Vondracek

Father Bryce Evans hears confession at the drive-up confession site of St. Maron's Maronite Catholic Church in northeast Minneapolis Monday, March 39, 2020 as efforts continue to slow down the coronavirus in the state. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

Driving-up confessions among social distancing inventive measures

Inventive methods of confession -- formally called the Sacrament of Reconciliation in the Roman Catholic Church -- are popping up across the country amid the coronavirus pandemic, which temporarily has halted traditional worship and religious services across the country.

April 2, 2020
In this May 8, 2011, photo, hikers climb down the Angels Landing trail in Zion National Park, in Utah. Zion National Park announced Monday, March 23, 2020, it is closing its campgrounds and part of a popular trail called Angel's Landing that is often crowded with people due to coronavirus. The top part of the hike that is being closed is bordered by steep drops and ascends some 1,500 feet (457 meters) above the southern Utah park's red-rock cliffs, offering sweeping views. (Jud Burkett/The Spectrum via AP) **FILE**

Ex-Rangers to Interior secretary: Close national parks

A group of National Park staff, current and former, has called on Interior Secretary David Bernhardt to close the National Parks system to help flatten -- or shift -- the curve of those infected by the novel coronavirus by preventing citizens from congregating in protected wilderness areas.

March 31, 2020
In this Nov. 19, 2002 file photo, students walk through the Harvard Law School area on the campus of Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. (AP Photo/Chitose Suzuki, File)  **FILE**

Law schools’ pass/fail decision doesn’t ace all tests

Law school grades play an outsized role in graduates landing clerkships and entry-level professions, meaning that third-year students now eyeing graduation, the state bar exam and future employment face greater uncertainty than ever before.

March 30, 2020
Holy Trinity Church in Morrisville, Pa. is open to prayer on Sunday, March 22, 2020, but do to the coronavirus no masses were held. (Kim Weimer/Bucks County Courier Times via AP) **FILE**

New attention brought to obscure St. Corona

Of all the notable figures the coronavirus pandemic has thrust into the spotlight -- Anthony Fauci, Deborah Birx, Tom Hanks -- none is more unexpected than a little-known Catholic saint, a martyr of the 2nd century who seemingly shares the name of the deadly virus.

March 27, 2020
In this, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2020, Kourtney Lesperance, 23, of Miami, who just finished her undergraduate studies at University of Colorado Boulder, harvests kale on an organic farm in Opa-locka, Fla.  (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Farm country braces for ‘aversion behavior by workers’

Social distancing has had little to no direct effect on agricultural production, farmers say, but the health of pickers, packers, planters and even mechanics who repair trucks on the front lines of the farming economy is an immediate concern.

March 26, 2020