World virus roundup: Death toll in Spain nears 11,000; Merkel returns to workVideo
Here’s the latest on the coronavirus pandemic from around the world. From Spain Spain is closing Friday a black week with its death toll for the new coronavirus nearing 11,000, more than half of those during the past seven days, and more infections than any other country in Europe. The...
Employee at Murrysville Giant Eagle tests positive for covid-19
An employee at the Giant Eagle in Murrysville has tested positive for covid-19, store officials reported Thursday night. The regional chain has sought to keep customers informed by keeping a list of stores where employees have tested positive for the virus, and when that employee was last in the store....
Trump administration ended pandemic early-warning program to detect coronavirusesVideo
Two months before the novel coronavirus probably began spreading in Wuhan, China, the Trump administration ended a $200 million pandemic early-warning program aimed at training scientists in China and other countries to detect and respond to such a threat. The project, launched by the U.S. Agency for International Development in...
Juniper Village at Forest Hills senior community to begin proactive coronavirus testing
Juniper Communities, a senior housing company with sites in Forest Hills, Meadville, State College and eastern Pennsylvania, will begin taking a proactive approach to the coronavirus pandemic by testing residents and staff. “Senior living communities are the first line of defense for 3 million citizens most at risk for complications...
Georgia infections at 5,300 as Gov. Brian Kemp readies stay-home orderVideo
ATLANTA — Coronavirus infections in Georgia climbed past 5,300 and officials blamed the virus for record-shattering unemployment claims Thursday as Gov. Brian Kemp prepared to order residents statewide to shelter at home in hopes of slowing transmission. The sobering new figures on the pandemic’s toll in Georgia came just a...
Navy captain who pleaded for help in coronavirus outbreak on carrier relieved of commandVideo
The Navy on Thursday has relieved the captain of the coronavirus-stricken USS Roosevelt shortly after his plea for help for his sailors went public. Capt. Brett Crozier, who commands the aircraft carrier with a crew of about 5,000, will be relieved of his command but keep his rank and remain...
West Virginia doctor charged with groping VA patient
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A doctor at a Veterans Affairs hospital in West Virginia has been charged with groping and injuring a patient. Dr. Jonathan Yates was charged in a criminal complaint unsealed Thursday with one count of deprivation of rights under color of law — language used to describe crimes...
U.S. to recommend widespread wearing of masksVideo
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is formalizing new guidance to recommend that many, if not almost all, Americans wear face coverings when leaving home, in an effort to slow the spread of the new coronavirus. The recommendations were still being finalized Thursday. They would apply at least to those who...
Ill-fated cruise ships given approval to dock in FloridaVideo
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Passengers aboard two cruise ships that have had coronavirus cases and deaths have been given the green light to disembark at a Florida port, an official said Thursday. An agreement was reached between local, state and federal officials and Carnival Corp., which owns the Zaandam and...
Confirmed coronavirus cases hit 1 million worldwideVideo
NEW YORK - The number of coronavirus infections worldwide has hit 1 million, with more than 50,000 deaths, according to the tally kept by Johns Hopkins University. The figures were another bleak milestone in the epidemic that has forced the lockdown of entire countries and brought economies to a shuddering...
Memo: Some in U.S. may not get stimulus checks until AugustVideo
WASHINGTON — The federal government expects to begin making payments to millions of Americans under the new stimulus law in mid-April, but some people without direct deposit information may not get checks until mid-August or later, according to a memo obtained Thursday by The Associated Press. The document from the...
Coronavirus resets political calendar
Fears of coronavirus are resetting the political calendar in Pennsylvania and across the nation as the 2020 presidential election nears. Officials with the Democratic National Committee announced Thursday the party’s presidential nominating convention, previously scheduled for July 13 in Milwaukee, is rescheduled for Aug. 17. That announcement came as the...
U.S. border construction projects spur rural coronavirus fears
BILLINGS, Mont. — Major construction projects moving forward along the U.S. borders with Canada and Mexico are raising fears that the coronavirus could race through temporary camps and workers could spread it to nearby rural communities that would not be able to handle an outbreak. Despite a clampdown on people’s...
Fauci says he feels safe despite threats, is focusing on job
WASHINGTON — Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease official, said Thursday he feels safe despite reports he’s received online threats and has had uncomfortable personal encounters with admirers that prompted the Trump administration to assign him a security detail. Fauci, a key member of the White House coronavirus...
Democratic convention moving from July to August
The Democratic National Committee is delaying its presidential nominating convention until the week of Aug. 17 after prospective nominee Joe Biden said he didn’t think it would be possible to hold a normal convention in mid-July because of the coronavirus pandemic. Convention CEO Joe Solmonese confirmed the decision in a...
Russia’s Putin orders non-working month to curb coronavirusVideo
MOSCOW — President Vladimir Putin on Thursday ordered most Russians to stay off work until the end of the month as part of a partial economic shutdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Speaking in a televised address to the nation on Thursday, Putin said he was extending the...
PennDOT further extends expirations on licenses, vehicle requirements
Pennsylvanians have until the end of May to renew driver’s licenses, vehicle registrations and inspections that were scheduled to expire between March 16 and April 30. The new May 31 deadline applies to the following, according to PennDOT: • Driver’s licenses, photo identification cards and learner’s permits expiring from March...
Nissan recalls over 250K vehicles to replace Takata air bags
DETROIT — Nissan is recalling more than a quarter-million SUVs, trucks and vans worldwide to replace potentially dangerous Takata air bag inflators. The vehicles have air bags with volatile ammonium nitrate that can explode with too much force and hurl shrapnel. But they have a moisture-absorbing chemical that was supposed...
Record 6.6 million Americans apply for unemployment in 1 weekVideo
WASHINGTON — More than 6.6 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week — doubling a record high set just one week earlier — a sign that layoffs are accelerating in the midst of the coronavirus. The stunning report Thursday from the Labor Department showed that job cuts are mounting...
West Virginia governor’s coal companies to pay $5M in fines
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Billionaire West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice’s coal companies have agreed to pay more than $5 million for thousands of mine safety violations, federal prosecutors said Wednesday. The civil case brought by prosecutors in Virginia last year on behalf of the U.S. Department of Labor and the Mine...
Trump resists national shutdown, leaving it up to states
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is resisting calls to issue a national stay-at-home order to stem the spread of the new coronavirus despite his administration’s projections that tens of thousands of Americans are likely to be killed by the disease. One by one, though, states are increasingly pushing shutdown orders...
Residents snitch on businesses, neighbors amid shutdowns
OAK PARK, Illinois — One Tulsa bar owner said more than a dozen motorcyclists showed up unannounced, but he served them a round of shots anyway to celebrate a birthday. Another live-streamed a drag queen show on Facebook while up to 20 people drank inside the locked bar, ignoring police...
Israel’s health minister has virus, top officials to isolateVideo
JERUSALEM — The new coronavirus is forcing more top Israeli officials into isolation after the country’s health minister, who has had frequent contact with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, tested positive, the Health Ministry said Thursday. The Middle East has over 81,000 confirmed cases of the virus, most of those in...
Pandemic closes Grand Canyon National Park
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — The Grand Canyon closed indefinitely to visitors Wednesday, joining other national parks seeking to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Staff at the Grand Canyon had been shutting down visitors services piecemeal as the federal government initially rebuffed its request to shutter completely. On Tuesday, visitors had...
U.S. military in Caribbean targets drugs, Maduro regime
The U.S. is expanding its military presence in the Caribbean to fight drug cartels wanting to take advantage of the coronavirus crisis and to deny funds going to the Nicolás Maduro regime in Venezuela, the Trump administration announced late Wednesday. “Today the U.S. is launching an enhanced counternarcotics operation in...
