Associated Press stories, Page 2178
Pennsylvania saw 400K jobless claims, labor leader saysVideo
HARRISBURG — More than 400,000 Pennsylvanians filed for unemployment compensation benefits last week amid a tidal wave of coronavirus-related business shutdowns, eclipsing the high-point during the recession a decade ago, the state’s top organized labor leader said Wednesday. Rick Bloomingdale, president of the Pennsylvania chapter of the AFL-CIO, said Gov....
Ohio lawmakers push address state’s response to coronavirus impactVideo
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Mandatory state testing for schools would be ditched this year and the deadline for filing state income taxes would be extended until July 15 under legislation being crafted Wednesday by lawmakers to address the impact of the coronavirus. The coronavirus bill would also tackle confusion caused by...
Stocks rise on U.S. stimulus deal, rally fades before New York openVideo
NEW YORK — Stocks are limping along in tentative morning trading on Wall Street Wednesday, as a historic, worldwide rally downshifts dramatically after just a day. The S&P 500 was drifting between gains and losses in the first few minutes of trading, a day after packing a year’s worth of...
In pandemic, rumors of martial law fly despite reassurances
NEW YORK — Millions of Americans have been ordered to stay home. Businesses and schools are shuttered. And National Guard units have been activated in more than half the states. Yet despite what you may have read in a text message or on social media, there are currently no plans...
Of America and sacrifice: Is the country ready to step up?
WASHINGTON — For most Americans alive today, the idea of shared national sacrifice is a collective abstraction, a memory handed down from a grandparent or passed on through a book or movie. Not since World War II, when people carried ration books with stamps that allowed them to purchase meat,...
Somalia suicide bomber detonates in tea shop, killing 2
MOGADISHU, Somalia — A Somali police officer says a suicide bomber has walked into a tea shop in Somalia’s capital and detonated, killing at least two people. Capt. Mohamed Hussein says the bomber, posing as a pedestrian, entered the shop and detonated his vest among the crowd. Wednesday’s blast in...
South Africa’s virus cases jump; Mali, Guinea-Bissau get 1stVideo
JOHANNESBURG — South Africa’s coronavirus cases jumped again to 709, the health minister said Wednesday, as the country with the most cases in Africa prepared to go into lockdown first thing Friday. Health Minister Zweli Mkhize on state television pointed out “intense local spread” in Free State province among attendees...
China lifting last controls in province at outbreak’s centerVideo
BEIJING — Trains carrying factory employees back to work after two months in locked-down cities rolled out of Hubei province, the center of China’s virus outbreak, as the government on Wednesday began lifting the last of the controls that confined tens of millions of people to their homes. Roadblocks on...
Turkish prosecutors file indictment over Khashoggi killingVideo
ANKARA, Turkey — Turkish prosecutors have formally charged two former aides of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and 18 other Saudi nationals over the 2018 killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, officials said Wednesday. A statement from the Istanbul chief prosecutor’s office said it has completed its investigation...
Britain’s Prince Charles tests positive for new coronavirusVideo
LONDON — Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne, has tested positive for the new coronavirus, his office said Wednesday. The 71-year-old is showing mild symptoms of covid-19 and is self-isolating at a royal estate in Scotland, his Clarence House office said. It says his wife Camilla, 72, has...
Afghan officials say 25 killed in Kabul attack on Sikhs
KABUL, Afghanistan — A lone Islamic State gunman rampaged through a Sikh house of worship in the heart of the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Wednesday, killing 25 worshippers and wounding eight, Afghanistan’s Interior Ministry said. The gunman held many of the worshippers hostage for several hours as Afghan special forces,...
Deal reached on historic $2 trillion virus rescue billVideo
WASHINGTON — The White House and Senate leaders of both parties announced agreement early Wednesday on an unprecedented $2 trillion emergency bill to rush sweeping aid to businesses, workers and a health care system slammed by the coronavirus pandemic. The urgently needed pandemic response measure is the largest economic rescue...
Netflix’s ‘Self Made’ tells of 1st female millionaireVideo
Madam C.J. Walker may be one of America’s most successful “pull yourself up by your own bootstrap” stories, but many have never heard of her. However, that’s changing, thanks to the recent release of a Netflix limited series starring Octavia Spencer. “Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J....
Zimbabwe public doctors strike over lack of virus protectionVideo
HARARE, Zimbabwe — Zimbabwe’s public hospital doctors went on strike Wednesday over what they called a lack of adequate protective gear as the coronavirus begins to spread in a country whose health system has almost collapsed. The Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors Association president, Tawanda Zvakada, said doctors were at “high risk”...
Michigan Gov. Whitmer: Detroit-area hospital system ‘almost at capacity’Video
LANSING, Mich. — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer warned Tuesday that a Detroit-area hospital system was “almost at capacity” treating people with the coronavirus, as the state’s stay-at-home order kicked in to reduce the spread. The governor, speaking about her measure with WDET-FM, pointed to Beaumont Health, which has eight hospitals in...
2 in Pennsylvania, New Jersey accused of coughing on people, citing coronavirus
TRENTON, N.J. — Authorities in New Jersey and Pennsylvania say individuals in both states have been charged with coughing on people in stores and saying they were infected with the coronavirus. The New Jersey attorney general’s office said Tuesday that 50-year-old George Falcone of Freehold is accused of having coughed...
Tom Brady looking forward, not behind with BuccaneersVideo
TAMPA, Fla. — Tom Brady said one day he’ll have time to reflect on a historic 20-year stint with the New England Patriots. Right now, the six-time Super Bowl champion and newest member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is focused on his next challenge. It’s a big one. “I don’t...
NHL extending isolation period for players and staffVideo
The NHL is extending its recommendation for players and staff to self-isolate and stay away from team facilities during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Deputy commissioner Bill Daly on Tuesday confirmed the NHL asked players and staff extend their self-quarantine 10 days beyond the original March 27 timeline to April 6...
Chargers unveil updated lightning bolt and logotypeVideo
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Chargers updated their logo and unveiled new logotype ahead of their move into their new home. The franchise is keeping the lightning bolt as its primary logo, but it has become sleeker and streamlined. There is not as much of a curve to the...
Jim Litke: The ‘no-win’ Olympics gets another chanceVideo
Money talks, which is the short answer for why it took this long for the swells at the International Olympic Committee to listen to reason. For weeks, IOC leaders framed their refusal to shut down Tokyo 2020 as a noble cause instead of a cash grab. But that’s because they...
Los Angeles County reports virus death of person under 18
LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles County on Tuesday reported what may be the first U.S. death of a person under 18 from coronavirus. Health officials said the youth lived in the Mojave Desert city of Lancaster north of Los Angeles but didn’t provide other details. “This is a devastating reminder...
Olympians face uncertainty with Tokyo delay because of coronavirusVideo
Would-be Olympians and their coaches have gone from days and weeks of mulling one sort of uncertainty raised by the coronavirus pandemic — are the Tokyo Games going to be held as scheduled? — to a whole other set of questions now that an indefinite postponement is official. To begin...
Pennsylvania House votes to delay primary election for 5 weeks
The House voted preliminarily on Tuesday to delay Pennsylvania’s primary election on April 28 for five weeks, until June 2. The House is expected to send the bill to the Senate with another vote on Wednesday. The Republican-sponsored amendment would also let counties consolidate polling places, in part because some...
USA Basketball’s next move hinges on new Olympic scheduleVideo
USA Basketball is hoping the rescheduled Tokyo Olympics will be held around the same time next year as they would have been this year. Otherwise, an already-complicated situation could get even tougher for coaches and players. USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo said Tuesday he has “hit the pause button”...
Moscow tells some victims to treat coronavirus at home
MOSCOW — Authorities in Moscow have changed course and are now saying coronavirus patients with relatively light symptoms should receive treatment at home. Previously, Russian health care officials had hospitalized all those who tested positive for the coronavirus along with those suspected of having it. Russia has reported 495 cases...
