Anthony Fauci nominated for an ‘Oscar’ of civil service
WASHINGTON — Anthony Fauci, the doctor at the forefront of leading America through the coronavirus pandemic, was named Sunday as one of the finalists for the “Oscars” of the government workforce, an annual award ceremony recognizing the achievements of top public servants. Fauci is one of 27 finalists for the...
Official: Trump had 2 intel briefings on coronavirus in late January
WASHINGTON — The intelligence community briefed President Trump twice in the eight days before he imposed travel restrictions on China in an attempt to stop the spread of the coronavirus, said a senior White House official familiar with the briefings. In a Jan. 23 briefing, Trump was told the virus...
NRA cutting staff and salaries amid coronavirus pandemic
The National Rifle Association has laid off dozens of employees, canceled its national convention and scuttled fundraising, membership and shooting events that normally would be key to rallying its base in an election year. The coronavirus pandemic has upended the gun-rights organization during what should be heady times for the...
Ohio worker killed after becoming trapped in gravel hopper
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — A worker at an industrial site in Ohio died after becoming trapped in a gravel hopper, authorities said. The man, who was in his 60s, was working at Enon Sand and Gravel in Bethel Township, Clark County, the Springfield News-Sun reports. Township fire chief Jacob King said...
Antsy businesses, residents prep for Florida reopeningVideo
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Business owners across much of Florida were busy Sunday preparing to reopen under new restrictions. Restaurants spaced out tables six-feet apart and salon owners begged to be considered in Monday’s cautious, phase-one reopening. In downtown St. Petersburg, Ryan Pines shuffled chairs and hoisted bottles of disinfectant...
California stay-at-home order faces revolts at beaches, rural communitiesVideo
LOS ANGELES — Pressure to reopen parts of California continued to build over the weekend, with more rural counties vowing to ease stay-at-home restrictions and protesters marching against the closure of Orange County beaches, a move intended to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Polls show most Californians support stay-at-home...
Report: China hid coronavirus’ severity to hoard suppliesVideo
WASHINGTON — U.S. officials believe China covered up the extent of the coronavirus outbreak — and how contagious the disease is — to stock up on medical supplies needed to respond to it, intelligence documents show. Chinese leaders “intentionally concealed the severity” of the pandemic from the world in early...
Trump criticizes George W. Bush over call for unity amid coronavirus
George W. Bush’s evocative three-minute coronavirus video went out of its way to avoid controversy. The former president didn’t mention President Trump or any political leaders during his “Call for Unity” message. Instead, Bush praised the American spirit and vowed the nation will beat the pandemic. Trump’s reaction? Bush should...
For fourth straight day, Texas surpasses 1,000 new coronavirus casesVideo
AUSTIN — The number of new confirmed coronavirus cases in Texas surpassed 1,000 for the fourth consecutive day on Sunday and the number of deaths increased by at least 20. State health officials reported 31,548 confirmed cases, and increase from 30,522 reported Saturday, and 867 deaths due to covid-19, the...
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine: Face covering order ‘went too far,’ was reversedVideo
COLUMBUS — An order for people to wear face coverings while in stores was reversed last week because it “went too far,” Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said Sunday. DeWine reversed the order Tuesday, saying many Ohioans saw it as “one government mandate too far” and saying face coverings were strongly...
Pa. among 6 states joining N.Y. to buy vital coronavirus gear in bulk
NEW YORK — New York is banding together with six nearby states, including Pennsylvania, to purchase equipment and supplies that sometimes have been hard to come by during the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Sunday. Meanwhile, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is praising residents for mostly adhering...
FDA gives emergency OK to coronavirus antibody test with 100% accuracy claim
The Food and Drug Administration gave emergency approval to a coronavirus antibody test that has 100% accuracy, according to its Swiss manufacturer. According to drugmaker Roche, the antibody test has an incredible success rate when determining whether or not someone has been infected with coronavirus. The test was 100% accurate...
Pompeo: ‘Enormous evidence’ links virus to Wuhan lab, though it’s unlikely manmade
WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said “enormous evidence” shows the novel coronavirus outbreak began in a laboratory in Wuhan, China, and Beijing has refused to give international scientists access to learn what happened. “I can tell you that there is a significant amount of evidence that this...
White House adviser: Crowding by shutdown protesters ‘devastatingly worrisome’
WASHINGTON — The sight of anti-shutdown protesters crowded together in public, often unmasked, is “devastatingly worrisome,” the White House coronavirus task coordinator, Dr. Deborah Birx, said Sunday. But Birx, whose boss, President Trump, has called the protesters “very good people,” did not take issue with the demonstrators’ message that states...
Billy Gardell recreates scene from ’Raiders of the Lost Ark’Video
Billy Gardell, Pittsburgh actor and comic, donned his swashbuckling hat and leather bag to recreate a scene from “Raiders of the Lost Ark” in a kitchen. CBS shared the 1-minute, 32-second clip Saturday to promote its airing of the 1981 action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg which starred Harrison Ford...
Report: Pandemic being used to curb press freedom
BERLIN — An international media rights group said Sunday the coronavirus pandemic is being used by governments around the world to increase restrictions on press freedoms. In a report issued to coincide with World Press Freedom Day 2020, the International Press Institute concluded that in both democratic and autocratic states,...
Pennsylvania reports 26 more covid-19 deaths as total cases top 49K
Pennsylvania health officials on Sunday reported 962 new cases of covid-19 and 26 more deaths, bringing the statewide death total to 2,444. As of Sunday, 49,267 Pennsylvanians had tested positive for covid-19, and 191,374 residents had tested negative, state officials said. All 67 counties in the state have cases of...
Biden wins Kansas primary conducted with all-mail balloting
TOPEKA, Kan. — Joe Biden has overwhelmingly won a Democratic presidential primary in Kansas that the state party conducted exclusively by mail because of the coronavirus pandemic. The former vice president had been expected to prevail in Saturday’s vote and capture a majority of the state’s delegates to the Democrats’...
Sidelined by pandemic, Trump campaign turns to digital shows
WASHINGTON — The streaming video began and, within minutes, the president’s eldest son was musing that Osama bin Laden had endorsed Joe Biden. Subtle, it was not. Welcome to the Trump campaign, digital edition. Seven nights a week, President Donald Trump’s reelection team is airing live programming online to replace...
In a time of covid-19, ‘Obamacare’ still part of the action
WASHINGTON — Covid-19 could have stamped a person “uninsurable” if not for the Affordable Care Act. The ban on insurers using preexisting conditions to deny coverage is a key part of the Obama-era law that the Trump administration still seeks to overturn. Without the law, people who recovered from covid-19...
S. Korea says troops exchange fire along N. Korean border
SEOUL, South Korea — North and South Korean troops exchanged fire along their tense border on Sunday, the South’s military said, the first such incident since the rivals took unprecedented steps to lower frontline animosities in late 2018. Violent confrontations have occasionally occurred along the border, the world’s most heavily...
Maryland seeks probe of company that failed to deliver masks
BALTIMORE, Md. — Maryland officials are seeking an investigation into a politically connected company that contracted to provide the state with $12.5 million worth of personal protective equipment that never arrived. The Wall Street Journal reported that the state signed a deal on April 1 with Blue Flame Medical LLC...
Man arrested trying to quarantine on private Disney island
ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida deputies arrested a man who had been living out his quarantine on a shuttered Disney World island, telling authorities it felt like a “tropical paradise.” Orange County Sheriff’s deputies found Richard McGuire on Disney’s Discovery Island on Thursday. He said he’d been there since Monday or...
Tara Reade: ‘I didn’t use sexual harassment’ in Biden complaint
WASHINGTON — Tara Reade, the former Senate staffer who alleges Joe Biden sexually assaulted her 27 years ago, says she filed a limited report with a congressional personnel office that did not explicitly accuse him of sexual assault or harassment. “I remember talking about him wanting me to serve drinks...
Gov. Andrew Cuomo lashes out at protests as New York sees 299 more deaths
NEW YORK — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo insisted Saturday that he won’t tolerate rallies that put public health at risk as the coronavirus crisis claimed another 299 people overnight. Asked about a Long Island rally that attracted scores of protesters, Cuomo said everyone has the right to express their...
