May is National Lyme Disease Awareness MonthVideo
With the prospect of quarantine measures slowly being lifted across the state in the coming weeks, many Pennsylvanians are relishing the prospect of getting outside and enjoying warming spring weather. Unfortunately, not only will they have the specter of the coronavirus hanging in the air, they’ll also have tick nymphs...
New York schools staying closed through spring, Gov. Andrew Cuomo says
ALBANY, N.Y. — New York’s schools and colleges will remain shut through the end of the academic year because of the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Friday. The order, which applies to 4.2 million students statewide, continues a shutdown that had been set to expire May 15. The Democratic...
California county defies governor’s coronavirus shutdown order
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A rural California county allowed nonessential businesses to reopen and diners to eat in restaurants on Friday, becoming the first to defy Gov. Gavin Newsom’s statewide orders barring such moves during the coronavirus pandemic. Modoc County is “moving forward with our reopening plan,” Modoc County Deputy Director...
Judge orders release of migrants in Florida as coronavirus measure
MIAMI — A federal judge ordered authorities to release hundreds of immigrants from three Florida detention centers to prevent a wider spread of the coronavirus and protect detainees with underlying conditions. U.S. District Court Judge Marcia Cooke issued an order late Thursday for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement to begin...
Canada bans assault-style weapons after mass shootingVideo
TORONTO — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday that Canada is banning the use and trade of assault-style weapons immediately. Trudeau cited numerous mass shootings in the country, including the killing of 22 people in Nova Scotia on April 18 and 19. He announced the ban of over 1,500 models...
For now, Southwest Pa. must wait as Gov. Wolf eases coronavirus restrictions in 24 northern counties
Counties in Southwestern Pennsylvania are not among those that will see coronavirus-related restrictions eased next week, Gov. Tom Wolf said Friday, and there is little indication as to when more counties can begin the reopening process. Two dozen counties in the Northwest and North-Central parts of the state will move...
American Lung Association switches anti-tobacco ‘Day at the Capitol’ to virtual rally
Given the coronavirus pandemic, the American Lung Association and the Pennsylvania Alliance to Control Tobacco are shifting their annual “Day at the Capitol” rally to a virtual town hall meeting on May 5. “Lung health has never been more important in Pennsylvania,” said Deborah Brown, American Lung Association Chief Mission...
Extension granted for Pa. driver’s licenses expiring this month
An extension was granted for Pennsylvanians whose driver’s licenses, photo identification cards and learner’s permits are expiring this month. Expiration dates from March 16 through May 31 are extended to June 30, PennDOT announced Friday. Driver’s license centers statewide have been closed since March 16 amid the coronavirus pandemic. May...
New White House press secretary McEnany to hold 1st briefing
WASHiNGTON — President Donald Trump’s new spokeswoman, Kayleigh McEnany, is to face reporters for the first time in the White House Briefing Room on Friday, something her predecessor never did during a nine-month stint as press secretary. During past administrations, a White House press secretary holding a formal briefing would...
Biden denies former staffer’s sexual assault allegationVideo
WASHINGTON — Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden on Friday categorically denied allegations from a former Senate staffer that he sexually assaulted her in the early 1990s, saying “this never happened.” Biden’s first public remarks on the allegation by former staffer Tara Reade come at a critical moment for the presumptive...
Kim Jong Un appears in public amid health rumors
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made his first public appearance in 20 days as he celebrated the completion of a fertilizer factory near Pyongyang, state media said Saturday, ending an absence that had triggered global rumors that he was seriously ill. The North’s official Korean...
‘Unconscionable’ body overflow at Brooklyn funeral home prompts probeVideo
NEW YORK — It started with reports of a strange stench in Brooklyn. Police who investigated found another example of how the cornavirus has overwhelmed the city: A funeral home had resorted to storing dozens of bodies on ice in rented trucks. Now state officials say the funeral home could...
State appoints ‘temporary manager’ for covid-stricken Beaver nursing home
State officials have entered into an agreement to appoint a temporary manager at the Beaver County long-term care facility where more than 50 people have died from covid-19. The Long Hill Co., based in Shelton, Conn., became the temporary manager for the Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center in mid-April, according...
Alabama high school student names NASA’s first Mars helicopterVideo
NORTHPORT, Ala. — An Alabama high school student named NASA’s first Mars helicopter that will be deployed to the red planet later this summer. Ingenuity, the name submitted by Vaneeza Rupani, was selected for the 4-pound solar-powered helicopter, NASA said in a statement on Wednesday. The name coined by the...
This time, Mike Pence wears mask as he tours Indiana plantVideo
WASHINGTON — This time, he wore a mask. Vice President Mike Pence donned a face covering Thursday as he toured a General Motors/Ventec ventilator production facility in Indiana after coming under fire for failing to wear one earlier this week in violation of Mayo Clinic policy. The facility in Kokomo...
California governor orders Orange County beaches to close
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Gov. Gavin Newsom closed beaches in Orange County on Thursday, overriding some local officials who had rejected his pleas to limit access as the coronavirus continues to spread throughout the state. A memo to the state’s police chiefs on Wednesday indicated Newsom was preparing to close...
Police: South Carolina woman drove car with her 5-year-old child on hood
Rock Hill, S.C. — A woman who allegedly recorded a video of herself driving a car while her 5-year-old child was sitting on the hood of the vehicle was arrested in South Carolina. Thrista Miquisha Johnson turned herself in Tuesday when Rock Hill police learned about the video and issued...
Protesters, some armed, enter Michigan Capitol as House blocks extension of coronavirus emergency measuresVideo
Throngs of protesters, several of them armed, marched Thursday inside the Michigan Capitol as the House voted to block the state’s coronavirus emergency measures and authorized a lawsuit challenging Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s actions to fight the pandemic. The governor wanted lawmakers to extend her emergency declaration by 28 days....
U.S. Steel expects to lay off 2,700 workers
One of the biggest U.S. steelmakers is signaling how the coronavirus pandemic is set to inflict pain on blue-collar America. U.S. Steel Corp. expects to lay off about 2,700 employees as the virus forces the company to idle most of its blast furnaces. Even before lockdowns hit the economy, producers...
‘Is my dad alive?’: Outrage as deaths mount at veterans homeVideo
Desperate for information as coronavirus deaths mounted at the Massachusetts veterans home where her father lived, Susan Kenney drove there with her question written in big letters on her car window: “Is my dad alive?” He was. But not for long. Kenney’s father and 69 others who served their country...
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin says he tested positive for coronavirus
MOSCOW — Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin says he has tested positive for coronavirus and has told President Vladimir Putin he will self-isolate. First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov will temporarily perform Mishustin’s duties. Mishustin, 54 was named prime minister in January. Also, the mayor of Moscow says he doesn’t...
West Virginia lifting stay-home order under eased benchmark
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice on Thursday said he is lifting the statewide stay-home order next week as part of his plan to ease coronavirus restrictions. The Republican said a new rule will go into effect Monday encouraging people to stay home but not requiring them to...
Army defends decision to have West Point graduation
WASHINGTON — The Army’s top leaders on Thursday defended their decision to bring 1,000 cadets back to the Military Academy at West Point for graduation, where President Donald Trump is slated to speak, saying that despite the coronovirus risk students would have had to return anyway to prepare for their...
Police: Shooting at Cuban Embassy is ‘suspected hate crime’
WASHINGTON — A man armed with an assault rifle was arrested after opening fire outside the Cuban Embassy in Washington early Thursday, his bullets tearing holes into the walls and pillars near the front entrance in what authorities suspect was a hate crime. The gunfire broke out around 2 a.m....
Few new restrictions as Georgia’s shelter-at-home order ends
ATLANTA — Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp will allow his statewide shelter-in-place order to expire at midnight Thursday but is extending his emergency powers to June 12 and telling the elderly and medically fragile to stay at home until then. The first-term Republican governor had already carved sizable loopholes in his...
