NYC foresees $7.4B tax loss due to coronavirus, seeks federal help
NEW YORK — New York City expects to take a $7.4 billion budget hit over the next 15 months because of the coronavirus, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Thursday as he detailed planned cuts and appealed to President Donald Trump and Congress for an infusion of cash for cities and...
Facebook to warn users who ‘liked’ coronavirus hoaxesVideo
Have you liked or commented on a Facebook post about the covid-19 pandemic? Facebook is about to begin letting you know if you’ve spread bad information. The company will soon be letting users know if they liked, reacted to, or commented on posts with harmful misinformation about the virus that...
U.S. home construction collapsed 22.3% in MarchVideo
WASHINGTON — U.S. home-building activity collapsed in March as the coronavirus spread, with housing starts tumbling 22.3% from a month ago. The Commerce Department said Thursday that ground breakings occurred last month at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.2 million units, down from a 1.56 million pace in February....
Government closing in on small business lending limitVideo
NEW YORK — The government is closing in on the $349 billion lending limit on its Paycheck Protection Program that is sending relief money to the nation’s small businesses. The Small Business Administration says that it has approved more than 1.6 million loans worth more than $339 billion. The program...
Ohio woman battling covid-19 is sedated, unaware she gave birthVideo
CELINA, Ohio — A Celina woman diagnosed with covid-19 does not know she gave birth to a baby boy last week. On Tuesday night, Megan Sites remained sedated and on a ventilator. As the coronavirus spread, Shaun Jeffries and his wife Kacie worried about their parents and grandparents, not people...
Gov. Wolf projects $5 billion deficit for Pennsylvania, backs call for more federal aid
Gov. Tom Wolf has written to President Donald Trump to back calls from other leading governors for another $500 billion in federal aid for states fighting the spread of the coronavirus, warning that his office is projecting a budget deficit of up to $5 billion. The letter, dated Wednesday, was...
Maryland police remind people to wear clothes in publicVideo
Listen, your neighbors don’t want to see your unmentionables. File this under: This shouldn’t need to be said. But police in a Maryland town have found it necessary to remind citizens to not go out nude in public. The Taneytown Police Department shared their message on Facebook. “Please remember to...
Police: Fight on bus in Philadelphia ends with man shooting 3 teens
PHILADELPHIA — A fight aboard a bus traveling in Philadelphia early Thursday ended with a man shooting three teenage boys in their legs, authorities said. The 24-year-old shooter was sitting in the back of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority bus when he was approached around 1 a.m. by two 16-year-olds...
Japan PM issues state of emergency for nationVideo
TOKYO — Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced a state of emergency for all of Japan. Abe says the measure takes effect Friday and lasts until May 6, the end of Japan’s “golden week” holidays. He says the nationwide state of emergency is aimed at stopping cross-border movement of people...
U.K. set to extend lockdown amid signs outbreak nearing peakVideo
LONDON — The U.K. government was poised Thursday to extend a nationwide lockdown for several more weeks, as health officials said Britain’s coronavirus outbreak — one of Europe’s worst — is nearing its peak. Authorities were expected to announce an extension of restrictions on movement and business activity after a...
Trump threatens to bypass Senate rules on nomineesVideo
WASHINGTON — Citing the coronavirus, Donald Trump is threatening unprecedented action — adjourning both houses of Congress — to entice the Senate to approve more of his nominees. In recent years, Congress has refused to fully adjourn during most breaks precisely to prevent the president from making recess appointments. Little...
Zoo in Germany claims it might have to slaughter animals to feed others because of pandemic
At one zoo in Germany, the coronavirus pandemic has produced a dog-eat-dog environment. Sort of. The Neumünster Zoo is requesting donations and warning it might have to slaughter some of its animals to feed others in the park to keep them alive. The zoo’s director, Verena Kaspari, said killing some...
Gov. Cuomo orders face masks in New York public areas
NEW YORK — New Yorkers who can’t keep at least 6 feet away from others in public must wear masks or other face-coverings amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to an edict issued Wednesday by Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The mandate came hours after Mayor Bill de Blasio instructed shoppers to cover...
Judge cancels permit for Keystone XL pipeline
BILLINGS, Mont. — A U.S. judge canceled a key permit Wednesday for the Keystone XL oil pipeline that’s expected to stretch from Canada to Nebraska, another setback for the disputed project that got under way less than two weeks ago following years of delays. Judge Brian Morris said the Army...
Thousands protest Michigan governor’s social distance orderVideo
LANSING — Thousands of flag-waving, honking protesters drove past the Michigan Capitol on Wednesday to show their displeasure with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s orders to keep people at home and businesses locked during the coronavirus outbreak. As snow fell, others got out of their vehicles and raised signs, one of which...
GOP bill would relax Pennsylvania business shutdown
HARRISBURG — The GOP-controlled Legislature sent Gov. Tom Wolf a bill Wednesday that would force him to allow some businesses to reopen during the pandemic, but its fate was unclear. The Senate approved the legislation on a party-line vote, sending it to Wolf’s desk for his signature. Wolf hasn’t explicitly...
Tech companies step up fight against bad coronavirus informationVideo
CHICAGO — Potentially dangerous coronavirus misinformation has spread from continent to continent like the pandemic itself, forcing the world’s largest tech companies to take unprecedented action to protect public health. Facebook, Google and others have begun using algorithms, new rules and factual warnings to knock down harmful coronavirus conspiracy theories,...
Attorney General, banks offer loan relief during coronavirus pandemic
The office of Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro partnered with several banks to help Pennsylvanians who face financial hardships as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Banks participating in the PA Care Package initiative will offer a 90-day grace period for mortgages, auto loans and other consumer loans. They will...
Coronavirus pandemic continues to impact financial health of colleges, universities
Less than a month into a shutdown that forced colleges and universities across the country to transition to online classes, covid-19 is exposing new fractures in higher education. When students were forced to leave campus months before the end of the spring semester, residential campuses had to come up with...
Feds under pressure to publicly track nursing home outbreaksVideo
NEW YORK — Federal officials are coming under increasing pressure to start publicly tracking coronavirus infections and deaths in nursing homes amid criticism they have not been transparent enough in responding to an explosion of outbreaks that has already claimed thousands of lives. Public health experts say the lack of...
Pennsylvania rolls out data on nursing home coronavirus cases
Pennsylvania is now sharing data on cases of coronavirus at long-term care facilities and personal care homes in each county. Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine made the announcement during a virtual news conference Wednesday. The information can be found on the health department’s coronavirus page. Levine said the Department...
Apple rolls out cheaper iPhone as pandemic curbs spending
NEW YORK — Apple is releasing a new iPhone that will be vastly cheaper than the models it rolled out last fall at a time when the economy was booming and the pandemic had yet to force people to rethink their spending. The second-generation iPhone SE introduced Wednesday will sell...
China didn’t warn public of likely pandemic for 6 key days
In the six days after top Chinese officials secretly determined they likely were facing a pandemic from a new coronavirus, the city of Wuhan at the epicenter of the disease hosted a mass banquet for tens of thousands of people; millions began traveling through for Lunar New Year celebrations. President...
Warren becomes latest ex-presidential rival to back Biden
WASHINGTON — Elizabeth Warren endorsed Joe Biden on Wednesday, the latest of the former vice president’s onetime White House rivals to back him as the Democratic Party moves to project unity against President Donald Trump going into the November election. “Joe Biden has spent nearly his entire life in public...
A virus that hits all faiths tests religion’s tie to science
NEW YORK — Tanzania’s president claimed the coronavirus “cannot sit in the body of Christ.” Israel’s health minister dismissed a potential curfew by saying that “the Messiah will come and save us.” A global Muslim missionary movement held mass gatherings — and took blame for spreading the disease. While most...
