TribLive stories, Page 1760

WASHINGTON — Even as President Trump on Sunday continued to tout the nation’s capacity for adequate coronavirus testing, several governors took to the airwaves to vehemently challenge his assessment and to complain that the federal government has been laggardly in helping provide support for health systems and local economies. “I...

In recent years, there has been a lot of talk about expanding broadband connectivity. As more and more government offices and services went online, the divide between accessible and inaccessible became undeniable. Data plans and internet services aren’t cheap, cutting out the poor. Rural areas and some low-income neighborhoods don’t...

France will unveil within two weeks a plan to progressively lift restrictions on travel and business that aimed to curb the coronavirus epidemic, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said Sunday. After May 11, when the lockdown starts to get lifted, “our lives won’t be exactly the same as before,” Philippe warned...

We have all seen the images of crowded hospitals overrun with patients infected with covid-19. As a result of covid-19 regulations, another significant health care dilemma is developing, as medical practices witness a significant decline in patient visits during this pandemic. Government-mandated cutbacks on elective procedures and routine check-ups have...

You offered a “laurel” to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency for returning $82,373 to an Allegheny County man that was unjustifiably confiscated from his daughter six months prior (“Laurels & lances: Seizing, teaching, tasting and hoarding,” March 12, TribLIVE). The Bible instructs on matters of theft with the basic guideline...

I don’t understand the rationale for Gov. Tom Wolf’s decision to cancel the rest of the school year. The IMHE model from the University of Washington projected a peak of 773 ICU beds needed on April 13 (1,043 are available) for Pennsylvania, with only 371 needed on May 1. The...

Our country, our world, is dealing with a medical situation that has never happened before in modern history. Decisions are being made, problems are being dealt with, and lives are being saved. These decisions are being made by President Donald J. Trump and his expert team of advisers. So why...

Since Gov. Tom Wolf has made the decision to close all schools for the remaining school year and with school taxes coming due, we taxpayers should be contacting the governor and our school districts asking for a reduction in our school taxes. Understanding that the teachers are still working and...

It is a shame how our president downplayed the coronavirus pandemic. First it was “one person coming in from China, and we have it under control”; 15 people will get the virus and within a week it will be down to zero. Then it was, “Wouldn’t it be great to...

Anger, fear, self-doubt — “fight, flight, freeze” — are normal human reactions to threat. But, when trauma is long-lasting, these instincts undermine and can harm us. In crisis, it is helping, being present and taking responsible action that will see us through. May we focus on the solutions to things...

After Gov. Tom Wolf exercised emergency powers to effectively suspend the practice of law in Pennsylvania, the president of the Pennsylvania Bar Association issued an official statement. One might have expected a PBA declaration to reflect on how the rule of law can be preserved and the rights of citizens...

The Alzheimer’s Association just released 2020 figures. More than 5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s. The disease is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States. It kills more than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined. Between 2000 and 2018, deaths from heart disease have decreased 7.8%, while...

Our doctors, nurses and hospital workers are doing an outstanding job with the covid-19 crisis. They are the best example of the good things Americans do in a crisis. I can’t say I’m proud of the job our president has done. Impulsive decisions are dangerous. Alternative facts and blaming others...

Donald Trump now has the U.S. Postal Service in his sights. The GOP has for years been out to privatize the Postal Service. The GOP Congress saddled the service with decades of debt when for some reason a decade or so ago they required the service to fund their pension...

In segments on MSNBC and CNN, anchors stated that President Trump is not a doctor and so he shouldn’t be pushing hydroxychloroquine as a helpful pill in combating covid-19. They demonize him and say it’s outrageous for him to promote this pill. I wonder if these anchors happen to contract...

Pennsylvania is drowning. Does Gov. Tom Wolf care? He shut our economy completely down in the blink of an eye. Now our businesses are going under, people are going without income and unemployment is a huge mess. The economy may open back up on May 1 but Wolf now wants...

China is responsible for the coronavirus and its distribution. The epicenter of the viral outbreak that began in Wuhan was near one of China’s bioresearch labs. Chinese officials lied about this while the coronavirus spread all over the world. We should treat China as our enemy, not our friend, like...

We have two candidates running for leadership of our country. How do we decide which one will be the better leader, and which platform of promises to choose? The Rev. William J.H. Boetcker, a Presbyterian clergyman who lectured on industrial relations at the turn of the 20th century, came up...

I believe that all conservatives and Republicans in the United States should return their relief checks to the federal government so that they do not become “unproductive and shiftless welfare recipients” and “blood-suckers” who are accepting “government handouts” and “something for nothing,” “parasites” who are “overly dependent” on being “subsidized”...

The Associated Press “outcry” over coronavirus racial data was journalistic malpractice of the worst kind (“Outcry over racial data grows as coronavirus slams black Americans,” April 8, TribLIVE). While the entire world struggles to overcome endless challenges and devastating heartbreak, AP sowed racial division in a 1,200-word screed including charts...

Your Letters section carries a lot of pro/con claims regarding the Trump administration’s response to the covid-19 pandemic. Here is a summary of what I see as the differences between Trump’s and the Democrats’ actions. The first case of covid-19 was announced Dec. 31. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi toyed with...