Congressional Budget Office puts coronavirus relief bill cost at $1.8 trillion
WASHINGTON — The massive coronavirus relief bill passed virtually unanimously by Congress last month is estimated at costing taxpayers $1.8 trillion — slightly less than the $2.2 trillion informally projected at the time by the White House. That’s according to the Congressional Budget Office, which says the difference is due...
Pennsylvania’s ‘masks in public’ order manifests in a variety of ways in Western Pa.
Alyson Holt’s house in Murrysville is starting to fill up with 3D printers. Her husband, Gary, already had two and recently ordered a third. These days, they are humming steadily, creating moldable face masks using polyactic acid plastic, the most common material for 3D printing. The Holts are using a...
Trump gives governors 3-phase plan to reopen economy
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump gave governors a road map Thursday for recovering from the economic pain of the coronavirus pandemic, laying out “a phased and deliberate approach” to restoring normal activity in places that have strong testing and are seeing a decrease in covid-19 cases. “We’re starting our life...
‘Amazing’ find: Bald eagles, eaglets found nesting in arms of Arizona cactus
PHOENIX — For the first time in decades, bald eagles have been found nesting in an Arizona saguaro cactus. The Arizona Game and Fish Department revealed Wednesday that biologists discovered a pair of eagles and their eaglets in the arms of a large saguaro during a recent eagle survey. Kenneth...
FDA grants emergency authorization for 2 new antibody tests for coronavirus
The U.S. Food and Drug administration granted emergency approval for another two coronavirus blood tests, both developed to determine who has already recovered from the fast-spreading illness. The antibody tests are not necessarily diagnostic but rather detect certain proteins in the immune system by way of a blood sample. The...
Workers returning to Pa. liquor stores to boost online sales
To help process online orders, workers will be back on the job at many state-owned wine and liquor stores, the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board said Thursday. The stores will not be open to the public. Gov. Tom Wolf’s office gave the OK to reopen more than 100 of the state...
Tip leads to discovery of 18 bodies in nursing home overwhelmed by deaths
An extraordinary number of deaths over the weekend overwhelmed a nursing home in northern New Jersey where police responding to an anonymous tip found more than a dozen bodies, according to news reports and an email from an owner of the home. Five bodies were found Sunday and 13 more...
Pandemic provokes spike in demand for food pantries in U.S.
FRANKLIN, Tenn. — Brooklyn Dotson needed food. Her first unemployment check had yet to arrive after she was let go by the warehouse where she used to work. So the 25-year-old Nashville woman scrounged up some gas money and drove 30 miles to the GraceWorks Ministries food pantry in Franklin....
Mexico to restrict mobility to areas less affected by coronavirus
MEXICO CITY — Mexico will begin to restrict movement between places most affected by the covid-19 virus — mostly large cities — and places with few infections, the president said Thursday. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador asked authorities Thursday in towns so far unaffected by the pandemic to “help us...
Nurses suspended for refusing covid-19 care without N95 maskVideo
Nurse Mike Gulick was meticulous about not bringing the coronavirus home to his wife and their 2-year-old daughter. He’d stop at a hotel after work just to take a shower. He’d wash his clothes in Lysol disinfectant. They did a tremendous amount of handwashing. But at Providence Saint John’s Health...
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...
