Pa. grocery store dumps $35,000 worth of food after woman coughs on it
A grocery store in Hanover Township in Luzerne County said it dumped $35,000 worth of produce, meat, bread and other groceries after a woman coughed on the products. Gerrity’s Supermarket posted on Facebook Wednesday that the woman, “who the police know to be a chronic problem in the community, came...
Gov. Wolf extending stay-at-home order to 2 more counties
Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration reported more coronavirus-related deaths in Pennsylvania on Wednesday and ordered residents of Lehigh and Northampton counties to stay home, with few exceptions, as more of the state is put under the directive in an effort to slow the virus’ spread. Wolf’s office said the order will...
World leaders to meet virtually to coordinate virus responseVideo
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Leaders of the world’s most powerful economies will convene virtually on Thursday to try and coordinate a response to the fast-spreading coronavirus, which has shuttered businesses and forced well over a quarter of the world’s population into home isolation. The meeting for the Group of...
Iraqi military says 2 rockets hit Baghdad’s Green ZoneVideo
BAGHDAD — Iraq’s military on Thursday said at least two rockets hit inside Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone, the seat of Iraq’s government and home to the American Embassy, in the first attack following a brief lull in violence from earlier this month. Iraqi officials also said the United States...
Highlights of Congress’ $2.2 trillion virus relief packageVideo
WASHINGTON — What’s exactly in the massive $2.2 trillion package to rush aid to businesses, workers and a health care system slammed by the coronavirus pandemic? The package, written by Trump administration officials and Democratic and Republican Senate leaders, was released late Wednesday night and unanimously approved by the Senate....
Senate passes coronavirus rescue package on unanimous voteVideo
WASHINGTON — The Senate late Wednesday passed an unparalleled $2.2 trillion economic rescue package steering aid to businesses, workers and health care systems engulfed by the coronavirus pandemic. The unanimous vote came despite misgivings on both sides about whether it goes too far or not far enough and capped days...
New Zealand mosque gunman pleads guilty to murder, terrorism
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — The man who committed the worst atrocity in New Zealand’s modern history when he slaughtered 51 worshippers at two Christchurch mosques unexpectedly pleaded guilty to all charges Thursday. The attacks targeting people praying at the mosques a year ago shocked the nation and prompted new laws...
G-7 foreign ministers spar over coronavirus amid pandemic
WASHINGTON — Foreign ministers from the Group of 7 leading industrialized democracies sparred Wednesday over whether to call out China as the source of the coronavirus pandemic. Meeting by video conference because of the outbreak, the ministers agreed on the need for joint efforts to halt the spread of the...
Gov. Tate Reeves: Mississippi not ‘dictator’ on limits during virusVideo
JACKSON — Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said Wednesday that he is rejecting “dictator models like China” to strictly control people’s movements to curb the spread of the new coronavirus. “We’re following our experts and I’ve spent many sleepless nights praying for wisdom in this unprecedented time,” Republican Reeves said on...
Virginia governor urges Jerry Falwell Jr. to rethink welcoming Liberty studentsVideo
RICHMOND — In light of the coronavirus pandemic, Virginia’s governor asked Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. on Wednesday to reconsider his decision to welcome students back to the Lynchburg campus this week after their spring break. Speaking at a news conference in Richmond, Gov. Ralph Northam criticized Liberty, which...
Western PA Diaper Bank seeking donations to help with distribution
Typically, one in three American families experiences what the Western PA Diaper Bank calls “diaper need.” As a result, the bank distributed 24,000 diapers last week to low- and moderate-income families in an effort to support those impacted by the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. “The unexpected demand is...
Increased testing shows ballooning virus cases in LouisianaVideo
BATON ROUGE — Louisiana scrambled to ready makeshift hospitals and track down ventilators as the steady uptick of coronavirus cases continued Wednesday in a state that had already been one of the most infected per capita. Nearly 1,800 people in the state were confirmed to have the covid-19 disease caused...
Central Wellness Outreach Center: Pennsylvania testing yields 12 more covid-19 cases
Test results from the Central Outreach Wellness Center, released Wednesday afternoon, show 36 cases of covid-19 spread across five Western Pennsylvania counties at sites where it is testing for the coronavirus. That’s up a dozen from Tuesday. Figures are only for the places that Central Outreach is testing. The majority...
Family: U.S. believes ex-FBI agent Robert Levinson has died in Iranian custody
WASHINGTON — The U.S. government has concluded that retired FBI agent Robert Levinson, who vanished more than a decade ago, has died while in the custody of Iran, his family said Wednesday. The family said in a statement posted on Twitter that it had no information about how or when...
Feds call temporary halt to collection on defaults on federal student debt
Borrowers in default on federal student loans are getting a 60-day reprieve on collections and wage garnishments. U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos on Wednesday announced that the move that will affect about 830,000 borrowers nationwide will last “at least 60 days from March 13, 2020,” as the U.S. battles...
Signs of the time: Business marquees, windows offer message of hope, unity during coronavirus pandemic
Call them signs of the time. A wide range of businesses are closed under Gov. Tom Wolf’s order in reaction to the coronavirus pandemic. Many are advertising something different these days on their marquees and windows: messages of hope and unity. TribLIVE photographers captured images from across the region. Some...
Pennsylvania lawmakers vote to delay primary until June 2 over coronavirus
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania lawmakers voted Wednesday to delay the state’s primary election by five weeks to June 2, potentially past the spike of the state’s spreading coronavirus cases. The measure passed both chambers of the Republican-controlled state Legislature on Wednesday and Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, said he will sign...
Morgantown nursing home is West Virginia’s ‘ground zero’ for coronavirus
More than a dozen residents in a Morgantown, W.Va., nursing home have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, and 76 tests are still pending, officials said Wednesday. Sixteen residents and four employees at Sundale, which houses 98 residents, have the virus, according to Dr. Carl Shrader, medical director of the...
Pa. buying ventilators, N95 masks as hospitalizations due to coronavirus grow
Of the more than 1,000 coronavirus patients across Pennsylvania, 38 have been admitted to an intensive care unit, state health officials said Wednesday. Hospitals statewide have a collective 3,400 ICU beds, according to Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine, and about 40% of them are available. Covid-19 cases reached 1,127...
Pennsylvania Education secretary says graduating seniors on time a priority
Ensuring high school seniors graduate on time is among his top priorities as Pennsylvania grapples with the prospect of an extended school shutdown due to covid-19 fears, Secretary of Education Pedro Rivera said Wednesday. “We’ve put a full team on it to look at state and federal laws to work...
$50 million state aid package, future recovery help, ready for Gov. Wolf’s signature
Both the state House and Senate passed a $50 million recovery package Wednesday intended to help families and businesses deal with the growing economic fallout from the coronavirus threat. According to press releases sent by several Republican senators, Senate agreed Wednesday the package after the House had done so earlier....
Canada imposes mandatory self-isolation for those returning
TORONTO — Canada announced Wednesday it is imposing mandatory self-isolation for those returning to Canada under the Quarantine Act. Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said it will begin at midnight Wednesday and the requirement will be for 14 days. “It will be a legal obligation for people entering Canada from...
Citing coronavirus, Putin delays vote that would extend his rule
MOSCOW — Citing the coronavirus, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday postponed a nationwide vote on proposed constitutional amendments that include a change potentially allowing him to stay in office until 2036. Putin didn’t set a new date for the plebiscite originally scheduled for April 22, saying that it would...
Primary purgatory with no 12th Democratic debate on horizon
ATLANTA — There is no 12th Democratic presidential debate on the horizon now that the nominating process is in a holding pattern because of the coronavirus pandemic. One of the Democratic National Committee’s lead debate organizers, Xochitl Hinojosa, said the party has not set a date or secured a television...
Aetna waives patient payments for coronavirus hospital stays
One of the nation’s biggest health insures is waiving patient payments for hospital stays tied to the coronavirus. CVS Health’s insurer Aetna said Wednesday that many of its customers will not have to make co-payments or other forms of cost sharing if they wind up admitted to a hospital in...
