Coronavirus world glance: Nearly 5,000 new infections in a day in Spain
MADRID — Spain has recorded almost 5,000 new coronavirus infections in 24 hours as it climbed into third place in the global ranking of infections behind China and Italy. Health authorities said Saturday that virus infections have reached 24,926, up from 19,980 the day before. Total deaths were 1,326, up...
Trump’s ‘coup de grâce’? Coronavirus tests a divided America
LARGO, Fla. — As restaurants across the country stacked chairs on tables and shut their doors to try to contain the deadly coronavirus, what would be the final visitors streamed into the Conservative Grounds coffee shop in Largo, Fla. Fox News played on the televisions. Patrons posed for photos in...
Virus outbreak poses massive challenges for US charities
NEW YORK — With its global scope and its staying power, the coronavirus outbreak poses unprecedented challenges for charities and nonprofit groups that rely on donations. The American Red Cross faces a severe blood shortage due to the cancellation of nearly 2,700 blood drives. The Girl Scouts’ annual cookie sale...
Endangered gray wolf population on the rise in southwest US
THE EDGE OF THE GILA WILDERNESS, N.M. — A voice interrupted the crackle of the radio at basecamp: “Starting pursuit.” The rest of the team on the ground was anxious to hear those words after the low-flying helicopter crew had been working all morning to get close to one of...
AP Photos: Public places stand abandoned in time of virus
These are places meant for people. New York’s Grand Central Terminal — a common metaphor for “busy” in much of the English-speaking world — dotted with only scattered commuters. The Grand Place in Brussels at twilight, its cobblestones so devoid of foot traffic that the streetlight reflections sprawl for yards...
Worry and anxiety while planning for birth of baby during coronavirus outbreak
The world can change a lot in nine months. Last fall, everything seemed normal. Summer was drawing to a close. Work was good. My family took a short trip to Lake Erie. Football season was starting. Relatives visited. And my wife and I found out there was an addition to...
US tourists stranded abroad don’t know when they’ll return
Linda Scruggs and Mike Rustici trained for months to hike the winding trails leading to Machu Picchu’s complex of Inca ruins. So they were thrilled when their flight landed last Friday in the Peruvian capital. They managed to do part of their trek but now they are trapped in a...
Possibly ill passengers from cruise ship land in Atlanta; some travelers allowed to head home
ATLANTA — At least 300 cruise ship passengers who had been stranded at sea due to the coronavirus were flown to Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on Friday. But it wasn’t known late Friday whether any of those passengers would be quarantined or allowed to travel home. Several people aboard the...
Hospitals stockpile malaria drug Trump says could treat covid-19
NEW YORK — Hospitals have been rushing to stockpile a decades-old antimalarial drug touted by President Donald Trump and others as a treatment for the new coronavirus. Hydroxychloroquine is being snapped up by medical systems at more than twice the typical pace as U.S. hospitals seek to build large inventories...
Environmental groups urge Americans to eat more fish while hunkering down against virus
Environmental groups have long fought for animal rights, rallied against pollution and pushed back on overfishing, but a new message this week urged the nation to eat more seafood as it hunkers down during the coronavirus pandemic. Specifically, many are asking you to please buy American-caught seafood. “Over the past...
Gov. Wolf delays shutdown order; authorities unclear about enforcement
Western Pennsylvania authorities are seeking clarification on how they are supposed to enforce a mandate from Gov. Tom Wolf ordering myriad businesses across the state to shut down. The order affects all businesses deemed non-life-sustaining, and enforcement begins Monday at 8 a.m. It was supposed to start at 12:01 a.m....
Borrowers get a 2-month grace period on interest rates for federal student debt
Millions of borrowers with federal student loan debt will get a brief break on interest rates for the next 60 days. U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos Friday afternoon announced the terms of the student debt relief President Trump promised last week. For the next two months, all borrowers with...
Illinois and New York join California in ordering lockdowns
Illinois and New York state joined California on Friday in ordering all residents to stay in their homes unless they have vital reasons to go out, restricting the movement of more than 70 million Americans in the most sweeping measures taken yet in the U.S. to contain the coronavirus. The...
Woman gives birth in toilet paper aisle of Walmart as customers cheerVideo
There may be little to celebrate in the toilet paper aisle of most stores these days but one woman created her own joy amid the empty shelves. The manager of a Walmart in Springfield, Mo., said a customer on Wednesday gave birth in the store in just 45 minutes. “We...
Internet service sagging amid coronavirus quarantine? Here’s what to do.
With so much of the U.S. workforce — and their families — cooped up at home to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus, it’s not a huge surprise that home internet is showing the strain. If you’ve had a business videoconference stutter while your teenagers play Call of Duty...
Remains of missing Colorado boy found in Florida
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Human remains found in Florida are believed to be those of a Colorado boy reported missing in January by his stepmother, who was later arrested and charged with killing him, authorities said Friday. The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office said the remains of 11-year-old Gannon Stauch...
Pittsburgh Langley staff member tests positive for coronavirus
A Pittsburgh Langley staff member has tested positive for the coronavirus, the Pittsburgh Public Schools announced Friday. The district announced early Wednesday that a staffer at Langley was being tested for covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. The district closed Langley’s grab-and-go lunches that day after learning of the...
Pa. ‘looking at every option’ to add hospital capacity as coronavirus cases grow
Health officials fear younger Pennsylvanians are ignoring state orders meant to slow the rise of coronavirus cases and could create a strain on the state’s hospitals and health care systems. “We are seriously concerned that individuals in the 20 to 44 age range are not heeding the message to stay...
Italy sees biggest day-to-day rise in coronavirus deaths
ROME — Italy has recorded its highest day-to-day-rise in the number of deaths of people infected with the new coronavirus. Civil Protection Chief Angelo Borrelli said Friday the country recorded 627 more deaths in the 24 hours since Italy surpassed China on Thursday as the nation with the most COVID-19-related...
All Pennsylvania standardized testing canceled amid coronavirus pandemic
All Pennsylvania System of State Assessment (PSSA), Pennsylvania Alternate System of Assessment (PASA) and Keystone exams have been canceled for the 2019-2020 school year amid the covid-19 pandemic, the state Department of Education announced Friday. “Our school communities are operating within unprecedented conditions,” said Secretary of Education Pedro Rivera. “Schools...
California locks down 40 million as Europe’s health system buckles
California’s 40 million people were all but confined to their homes Friday in the nation’s biggest lockdown yet, as America’s governors watched with growing alarm as southern Europe buckled under the strain of the coronavirus outbreak. Gasping patients filled the wards of hospitals in Spain and Italy, and the global...
U.S. and Mexico to curb border travel to control coronavirus
SAN DIEGO — Mexico and the U.S. announced plans Friday to sharply limit travel over their busy shared border as part of efforts to control the spread of the coronavirus. President Donald Trump and Mexican Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard said the two governments agreed to prohibit recreational and tourist travel,...
Trump moves on invoking powers to spur virus supplies
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has invoked the Defense Production Act to get needed medical supplies on the front lines of the coronavirus outbreak, mobilizing the federal government to marshal the private sector to combat the pandemic. Trump had said earlier in the week he would tap the act as...
Philips Respironics hiring at Murrysville, Upper Burrell plants to meet demand for ventilators
Philips Respironics, a medical manufacturer that produces ventilators and related breathing equipment, is increasing production and hiring assemblers at its Murrysville and Upper Burrell plants to meet demand spurred by the spreading coronavirus. The company is recruiting for more than 50 positions for assemblers on all shifts at the two...
Income tax filing deadline moved from April 15 to July 15
WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says the Trump administration has decided to push the income tax filing date to July 15 from April 15. Mnuchin announced the decision in a tweet Friday saying that at President Donald Trump’s direction “we are moving Tax Day from April 15 to July...
