AG William Barr to prosecutors: Look for unconstitutional coronavirus rules
WASHINGTON — Attorney General William Barr on Monday ordered federal prosecutors across the U.S. to identify coronavirus-related restrictions from state and local governments “that could be violating the constitutional rights and civil liberties of individual citizens.” The memo to U.S. attorneys directs the head of the Justice Department’s civil rights...
West Virginia governor shifts testing standard, unveils reopening
CHARLESTON — West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice introduced an aggressive plan Monday to reopen the state’s economy while loosening coronavirus testing benchmarks without explanation. The Republican is moving to lift restrictions if the state’s positive test rate stays below 3% for three days, a reversal of a previous goal to...
Supreme Court rules insurers can collect $12 billion under Obamacare
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled Monday that when Congress makes a promise to pay, the government must indeed pay up, even if a later Congress changes its mind. That’s the essence of what could be a $12 billion win for health insurers who joined the Obamacare program in its...
Administrator of North Carolina protest group claims she tested positive for covid-19
A leader of the ReOpen NC group revealed in a Facebook post she tested positive for covid-19, despite not attending any of the faction’s rallies, WFAE reported. Audrey Whitlock, who administers the group’s Facebook page, told the radio station her quarantine ended Sunday. “I remained in isolation/self quarantine at my...
Pa. Commonwealth Court to hold 1st video stream hearing Tuesday
In an effort to carry on with court proceedings during the covid-19 crisis, Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court announced Monday it will hold its first video stream hearing. The hearing will take place 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday with Judge Kevin Brobson presiding over the case of MFW Wine Co., A6 Wine Company...
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine: Many businesses to reopen in May, with limitsVideo
COLUMBUS — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on Monday announced a gradual two-week roll-out to reopen the state, at the end of which manufacturing, distribution and construction companies, offices, and retail businesses can open their doors as long as they follow strict health and social distancing practices. Nonessential surgeries and other...
Pentagon releases 3 Navy videos showing UFOsVideo
The Department of Defense has been watching, and recording, the skies. The Pentagon released three videos Monday that depict unexplained “unidentified aerial phenomena” which were recorded by pilots between 2004 and 2015. In each of the reconnaissance videos, a flying aircraft maneuvers strangely before emitting a bright light and flying...
Health officials ready new guidelines as restrictions easeVideo
WASHINGTON — Businesses should close break rooms. Restaurants should consider disposable menus and plates. Schools should have students eat lunch in their classrooms. These are some of the recommendations offered in new federal plans designed to help restaurants, schools, churches and businesses safely reopen as states look to gradually lift...
False belief poison cures for coronavirus kills over 700 in Iran
TEHRAN — The false belief that toxic methanol cures the coronavirus has seen over 700 people killed in Iran, an official said Monday. That represents a higher death toll than so far released by the Iranian Health Ministry. An adviser to the ministry, Hossein Hassanian, said that the difference in...
Milwaukee police find 5 dead in house; suspect in custody
Police found five people shot to death Monday inside a Milwaukee home and arrested the man who dialed 911 to report the slayings, the city’s police chief said. The police department received a call around 10:30 a.m. from a man who said his family was dead, Chief Alfonso Morales said...
Murrysville family prints mask extenders for area medical personnelVideo
Typically, the 3D printer in Jason Cyprowski’s Murrysville home is more of an entertaining curiosity. “My daughters made cookie cutters, and my son’s made some little toys with it,” Cyprowski said. These days, however, it’s getting a much more rigorous workout creating mask extenders for area medical personnel. “After learning...
Police: Stepdad saw Pa. couple in bed, so they plotted his death
CASCADE, Pa. — A Pennsylvania man and his teenage girlfriend plotted to have her stepfather killed after he caught them in bed together, but the plan was foiled when the hit man they tried to hire went to police, authorities said. The charges against Dillian Mikel Weaver, 19, of Williamsport...
Turkey: Over 400 detained for pandemic social media postingsVideo
ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey has detained 402 people in the past 42 days for allegedly sharing “false and provocative” social media postings concerning the coronavirus outbreak, officials said Monday. An Interior Ministry statement said officials have inspected more than 6,000 social media accounts and the 402 suspects were among a...
NYC clinics set to start ‘self-swab’ coronavirus testsVideo
New York City-run health clinics will soon take a new tack on coronavirus testing, using a procedure that lets people collect samples themselves at a health care worker’s direction, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Monday. He said the “self-swab” tests would allow for more and easier testing and make it...
Supreme Court rules insurers can collect $12B under health care law
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled Monday that insurance companies can collect $12 billion from the federal government to cover their losses in the early years of the health care law championed by President Barack Obama. Insurers are entitled to the money under a provision of the “Obamacare” health law...
Supreme Court tosses N.Y. case that could have expanded gun rightsVideo
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court sidestepped a major decision on gun rights Monday in a dispute over New York City’s former ban on transporting guns. The justices threw out a challenge from gun rights groups. It ruled that the city’s move to ease restrictions on taking licensed, locked and unloaded...
Welcome mat at Florida home demands ‘warrant’ — and deputies got one
PALM COAST, Fla. — A welcome mat at the front door of a Florida home read “come back with a warrant” — and that’s just what deputies did before finding drugs and drug paraphernalia inside. The Daytona Beach News-Journal reports the home in Palm Coast was part of an investigation...
IRS adds details to online stimulus money toolVideo
For nearly two weeks now, taxpayers have been able to use a tool on the IRS website to find out the status of their coronavirus stimulus money. Now, the Get My Payment tool has been expanded to include more information about your payment from the government’s $2.2 trillion economic relief...
AP-NORC poll: Rising support for mail voting amid pandemicVideo
WASHINGTON — Americans’ support for mail-in voting has jumped amid concerns about the safety of polling places during the coronavirus pandemic, but a wide partisan divide suggests President Donald Trump’s public campaign against vote by mail may be resonating with his Republican backers. A new poll from the Associated Press-NORC...
Notre Dame Cathedral worksite refitted for virus safetyVideo
PARIS — Workers are refitting the construction site at fire-damaged Notre Dame Cathedral to protect staff from the virus and allow cleanup efforts at the Paris landmark to resume. More than a year after the blaze, workers still haven’t finished stabilizing the medieval cathedral, much less rebuilding it. And the...
Muted and vacant, Las Vegas struggles to survive shutdownVideo
LAS VEGAS — Slot machines are powered down, casinos boarded up and barricaded. Sidewalks are largely deserted and electronic marquees that once flashed neon calls for nightclubs, magic shows and topless revues instead beam somber messages of safety. The famous fountains of the Bellagio casino, where water choreographed to lights...
Italy plans to reopen country after weeks of lockdownVideo
ROME — Italy is set to ease a number of coronavirus-related restrictions from May 4 onward, allowing citizens to do more outdoor sports and exercise near their homes, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said Sunday. Conte made the announcement in Rome while presenting the government’s plan for the gradual reopening of...
Pentagon focusing on most vital personnel for virus testingVideo
WASHINGTON — With limited supplies of coronavirus tests available, the Pentagon is focusing first on testing those performing duties deemed most vital to national security. Atop the list are the men and women who operate the nation’s nuclear forces, some counterterrorism forces, and the crew of a soon-to-deploy aircraft carrier....
Local California official resigns after throwing cat in online meeting
VALLEJO, Calif. — A planning commissioner of Vallejo, Calif., has resigned after throwing his pet cat and apparently drinking a beer during a Zoom meeting between city officials that was made public, according to a newspaper report. During the April 20 teleconference of the city’s Planning Commission, Chris Platzer announced,...
Police: 1 officer dies, 2nd wounded in Louisiana shootingVideo
BATON ROUGE, La. — A shooting in Louisiana’s capital city left one police officer dead and his wounded colleague fighting for his life Sunday, authorities said, adding a suspect was later taken into custody after an hourslong standoff in which shots were exchanged with a SWAT team. Baton Rouge Police...
