U.S. lockdowns coincide with rise in poisonings from cleanersVideo
NEW YORK — One toddler became dizzy, fell and hit her head after drinking from a large bottle of hand sanitizer. A woman had a scary coughing and wheezing fit while soaking her produce in a sink containing bleach, vinegar and hot water. Reports of accidental poisonings from cleaners and...
Study: Electric ferry isn’t feasible alternative to new Chesapeake Bay bridge
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Maryland transportation officials say an all-electric ferry is not a feasible alternative to a new bridge for connecting shores of the Chesapeake Bay. The Capital Gazette reported Monday that an all-electric ferry would cost too much and that there isn’t one big enough to do the job....
Franklin Regional nurse wins state association’s Excellence in School Nursing Award
As Franklin Regional Middle School nurse Beth Frydrych was about to be recognized with a statewide award, she found herself forced to reinvent her role as the coronavirus pandemic made its way into Western Pennsylvania. “It’s all new, and who knows what will come up?” asked Frydrych of Murrysville, who...
Supreme Court: Criminal juries must be unanimous to convictVideo
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled Monday that juries in state criminal trials must be unanimous to convict a defendant, settling a quirk of constitutional law that had allowed divided votes to result in convictions in Louisiana and Oregon. The justices’ vote overturned the conviction of Evangelisto Ramos. He is...
Losing face: The rise of the mask, and what’s lost behind it
On Saturday afternoons, the Strip District neighborhood of Pittsburgh becomes a jam-packed hub of old-fashioned shopping. People stride along Penn Avenue, hopping from greengrocer to butcher to fishmonger to Italian market, smiling and gesturing and jabbering as they go. Not this weekend. As strange, spaced-out lines formed outside favorite establishments,...
West Virginia house fire leaves 4 deadVideo
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Huntington firefighters found the bodies of three young children and a man Monday morning while responding to a house fire in which ammunition exploded. The children were found inside the house and the 30-year-old man was found dead outside, city spokesman Bryan Chambers said. The children are...
Fiery fatal crash ends pursuit; officer hurt in rescue bid
WILLOUGHBY HILLS, Ohio — A police pursuit along Ohio highways ended in a fiery crash that killed the fleeing driver’s passenger, who was pulled from the burning vehicle by an officer who was injured during the rescue attempt, authorities said. The Saturday night pursuit began when the Willoughby Hills officer...
Kennywood picked as country’s Favorite Traditional Park, coasters land No. 1 spots
Kennywood Park has scored big in a new amusement park industry survey. Kennywood claimed the title as Favorite Traditional Park in the 33rd annual NAPHA Amusement Park and Attractions Survey. Knoebels Amusement Resort in Elysburg, Pa., came in second. According to organization, the two parks have been the tops in...
Iran opens up as economic woes overtake virus infection fearsVideo
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran on Monday began opening intercity highways and major shopping centers to stimulate its sanctions-choked economy, gambling that it has brought under control its coronavirus outbreak — one of the worst in the world — even as some fear it could lead to a second wave of...
Reports suggest many have had coronavirus with no symptoms
A flood of new research suggests that far more people have had the coronavirus without any symptoms, fueling hope that it will turn out to be much less lethal than originally feared. While that’s clearly good news, it also means it’s impossible to know who around you may be contagious....
As mail voting pushed, some fear loss of in-person option
ATLANTA — Scrambling to address voting concerns during a pandemic, election officials across the country are eliminating polling places or scaling back opportunities for people to cast ballots in person — a move raising concerns among voting rights groups and some Democrats who say some voters could be disenfranchised. In...
Afghan officials: Taliban attacks on checkpoints kill 29Video
KABUL, Afghanistan — A wave of Taliban attacks on checkpoints across Afghanistan has killed 29 members of the security forces, officials said Monday. In northern Takhar province, 19 security personnel were killed in a battle Sunday night in the district of Khwaja Ghor, according to Jawad Hajri, spokesman for the...
Miami police disperse crowd by David Guetta’s relief concert
MIAMI — Police said they dispersed crowds violating social distancing guidelines during David Guetta’s coronavirus relief concert in Miami. There were no arrests made when police broke up groups on the sidewalks far below the two-hour rooftop concert played by the DJ on Saturday, The Miami Herald reported. Florida has...
Harry and Meghan say they won’t cooperate with U.K. tabloidsVideo
LONDON — The Duke and Duchess of Sussex say they will no longer cooperate with several British tabloid newspapers because of what they call “distorted, false or invasive” stories. Meghan and Prince Harry have written to the editors of The Sun, the Daily Mail, the Daily Express and the Daily...
Trump says he’ll act to increase swab productionVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says he will use the Defense Production Act to increase manufacturing of swabs used to test for the coronavirus. Many governors have for weeks urged the White House to further evoke federal powers to increase private industry’s production of medical supplies as health officials work...
Trump administration, Democrats near deal for more coronavirus aid to small businessesVideo
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration and congressional Democrats expressed optimism Sunday that more than $450 billion in loans and aid to Americans most affected by the coronavirus outbreak will be enacted this week, providing a measure of financial help as the U.S. death toll passes 40,000. The bulk of the...
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine calls for federal help with testing materialsVideo
COLUMBUS — The governor of Ohio called on the federal government to help provide crucial materials that would allow a dramatic increase in testing for coronavirus in his state — and later reported a “very positive” response from the agency concerned. Gov. Mike DeWine said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the...
Israelis accuse Netanyahu of endangering democracyVideo
TEL AVIV, Israel — More than 2,000 Israelis took to the streets of Tel Aviv on Sunday, demonstrating against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s attempts to form an “emergency” government with his chief rival and accusing him of using the coronavirus crisis to escape prosecution on corruption charges. Demonstrators wore face...
Governors say Trump continues to be wrong on coronavirus testing
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...
Global health crisis pits economic against health concernsVideo
WASHINGTON — The global health crisis is taking a nasty political turn with tensions worsening between governments locked down to keep the coronavirus at bay and people yearning to restart stalled economies and forestall fears of a depression. Protesters worrying about their livelihoods and bucking infringements on their freedom took...
Official: Police kill gunman who hijacked Dallas-area bus
ROWLETT, Texas — A man opened fire on a Dallas-area public bus on Sunday, hijacking it with two people aboard and leading officers on a chase that ended in a shootout in which the man was killed and three officers were wounded, according to police officials. A man got on...
16 killed in Canada shooting rampage, deadliest in 30 yearsVideo
ENFIELD, Nova Scotia — A gunman disguised as a police officer shot people in their homes and set fires in a rampage across the Canadian province of Nova Scotia that killed 16 people, the deadliest such attack in the country’s history. Officials said Sunday the suspected shooter was also dead....
Treasury Secretary Mnuchin takes credit for putting Trump’s name on stimulus checksVideo
Since it was announced that President Trump’s name was being added to millions of paper economic stimulus checks, many have wondered how that decision came to be. In a shocking twist, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said it was all his idea. In an interview, Mnuchin said that since it would...
Erdogan, Trump agree on ‘close cooperation’ in virus crisis
ISTANBUL — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President Trump have spoken on the phone, discussing the coronavirus pandemic, bilateral relations and regional developments. According to an account of the phone call shared by the Turkish presidency’s office Sunday, the leaders agreed to continue their “close cooperation” against the threats...
France to unveil end-of-lockdown plan within 2 weeks
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...