‘It’s going to backfire’: Fauci warns against reopening too quickly
As the rate of new infections and deaths from the coronavirus slowed in parts of the country Monday, some local governments began to ease stay-at-home restrictions, while others pleaded with residents to stay put amid scattered protests in support of reopenings. In Georgia, Gov. Brian Kemp outlined an aggressive reopening...
Massachusetts becomes coronavirus hot spot as cases surge
Massachusetts has become a hot spot of coronavirus infections, drawing the concern of federal officials and promises of aid from hard-hit New York as the state’s death toll prepares to double in less than a week. Deaths from covid-19 are expected to surpass 2,000 this week in Massachusetts, where officials...
Covid-19 kills 5-year-old child of Detroit firefighter, officerVideo
DETROIT — A husband and wife who have jointly devoted decades to fighting crime and saving lives in Detroit lost their 5-year-old daughter to covid-19 — Michigan’s youngest victim in the coronavirus pandemic. Skylar Herbert died Sunday from complications because of the virus. Even in Detroit, where more than 600...
South Korean shipment to up Maryland coronavirus tests by 500KVideo
ANNAPOLIS — Maryland has dramatically boosted its testing capacity for the new coronavirus with a shipment of 500,000 tests from a South Korean company, the state’s governor announced Monday, noting his Korean-born wife played a major role in championing the $9 million purchase. As states have scoured the world for...
Gov. Brian Kemp: Some shuttered Georgia businesses can reopen FridayVideo
ATLANTA — Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Monday rolled out aggressive plans to reopen the state’s economy, saying many businesses shuttered to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus may reopen their doors as early as Friday. Kemp announced that gyms, hair salons, bowling alleys and tattoo parlors are among businesses...
Feds to track, share information on nursing home outbreaksVideo
NEW YORK — Calling nursing homes ground zero of the coronavirus crisis, federal officials said Monday they plan to start tracking and publicly sharing information on infections and deaths in such facilities to help spot trends and early signs the virus is spreading in communities. The move comes as critics,...
Pa. State Police cancel all youth summer programs
Pennsylvania State Police said Monday all of its upcoming youth camps throughout the spring and summer are cancelled statewide as a result of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. “Camp Cadet, the Commissioner’s Honor Camp, and Sunny Day Camp have deep roots in our department and are a source of pride for...
Ohio inmates constitute nearly quarter of coronavirus cases
COLUMBUS — Ohio inmates make up nearly one in four of the state’s coronavirus cases following a spike in identified infections as universal testing takes place inside three state prisons. Figures released Sunday show 1,828 positive tests at Marion Correctional Facility in north-central Ohio, out of about 2,500 total inmates,...
3 killed by suspected tornado, lightning as storms hit SouthVideo
HEADLAND, Ala. — Suspected tornadoes killed at least two people as severe weather blasted the Deep South and a house fire believed to have been caused by lightning claimed a third person, officials said Monday. Jerry Oliver Williams, 61, of Henry County died when the storm struck a rural area...
Protesters rally in Harrisburg to demand Gov. Wolf reopen economyVideo
HARRISBURG — Protesters gathered Monday outside the state Capitol to demand that Gov. Tom Wolf reopen Pennsylvania’s economy even as new social-distancing mandates designed to counter the new virus took effect at stores and other commercial buildings. Flag-waving protesters — some with masks, some without — massed in front of...
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...