GOP bill would relax Pennsylvania business shutdown
HARRISBURG — The GOP-controlled Legislature sent Gov. Tom Wolf a bill Wednesday that would force him to allow some businesses to reopen during the pandemic, but its fate was unclear. The Senate approved the legislation on a party-line vote, sending it to Wolf’s desk for his signature. Wolf hasn’t explicitly...
Tech companies step up fight against bad coronavirus informationVideo
CHICAGO — Potentially dangerous coronavirus misinformation has spread from continent to continent like the pandemic itself, forcing the world’s largest tech companies to take unprecedented action to protect public health. Facebook, Google and others have begun using algorithms, new rules and factual warnings to knock down harmful coronavirus conspiracy theories,...
Attorney General, banks offer loan relief during coronavirus pandemic
The office of Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro partnered with several banks to help Pennsylvanians who face financial hardships as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Banks participating in the PA Care Package initiative will offer a 90-day grace period for mortgages, auto loans and other consumer loans. They will...
Coronavirus pandemic continues to impact financial health of colleges, universities
Less than a month into a shutdown that forced colleges and universities across the country to transition to online classes, covid-19 is exposing new fractures in higher education. When students were forced to leave campus months before the end of the spring semester, residential campuses had to come up with...
Feds under pressure to publicly track nursing home outbreaksVideo
NEW YORK — Federal officials are coming under increasing pressure to start publicly tracking coronavirus infections and deaths in nursing homes amid criticism they have not been transparent enough in responding to an explosion of outbreaks that has already claimed thousands of lives. Public health experts say the lack of...
Pennsylvania rolls out data on nursing home coronavirus cases
Pennsylvania is now sharing data on cases of coronavirus at long-term care facilities and personal care homes in each county. Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine made the announcement during a virtual news conference Wednesday. The information can be found on the health department’s coronavirus page. Levine said the Department...
Apple rolls out cheaper iPhone as pandemic curbs spending
NEW YORK — Apple is releasing a new iPhone that will be vastly cheaper than the models it rolled out last fall at a time when the economy was booming and the pandemic had yet to force people to rethink their spending. The second-generation iPhone SE introduced Wednesday will sell...
China didn’t warn public of likely pandemic for 6 key days
In the six days after top Chinese officials secretly determined they likely were facing a pandemic from a new coronavirus, the city of Wuhan at the epicenter of the disease hosted a mass banquet for tens of thousands of people; millions began traveling through for Lunar New Year celebrations. President...
Warren becomes latest ex-presidential rival to back Biden
WASHINGTON — Elizabeth Warren endorsed Joe Biden on Wednesday, the latest of the former vice president’s onetime White House rivals to back him as the Democratic Party moves to project unity against President Donald Trump going into the November election. “Joe Biden has spent nearly his entire life in public...
A virus that hits all faiths tests religion’s tie to science
NEW YORK — Tanzania’s president claimed the coronavirus “cannot sit in the body of Christ.” Israel’s health minister dismissed a potential curfew by saying that “the Messiah will come and save us.” A global Muslim missionary movement held mass gatherings — and took blame for spreading the disease. While most...
Vatican removes financial watchdog head as scandal continues
ROME — The Vatican on Wednesday replaced the director of its financial watchdog agency, completing a coup that began in October with controversial police raids on the watchdog offices and an investigation into a London real estate deal. The Vatican secretary of state named a Bank of Italy official, Giuseppe...
Trump’s halting of funds to WHO sparks worldwide rebuke
GENEVA — Nations and health experts worldwide reacted with alarm Wednesday after President Donald Trump announced a halt to the sizable funding the United States sends to the World Health Organization. They warned that the move could jeopardize global efforts to stop the coronavirus pandemic. At a briefing in Washington,...
In nod to governors, Trump walks back total authority claim
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said he’s open to some states “reopening” before federal social distancing guidelines expire at the end of month, as he appeared to back off his claim of absolute authority to decide when the time was right to act. Hours after suggesting that the bipartisan concerns...
EU unveils virus exit plan, hoping to avoid more chaosVideo
BRUSSELS — The European Union moved Wednesday to head off a chaotic and potentially disastrous easing of restrictions that are limiting the spread of the coronavirus, warning its 27 nations to move very cautiously as they return to normal life and base their actions on scientific advice. With Austria, the...
Deputies: Florida doctors who took down Trump flag arrested
GULF BREEZE, Fla. — Deputies in Florida said two doctors stole a campaign flag supporting President Donald Trump from their neighbor’s property. Geoffrey Michael Fraiche, 41, and Laura Ann Webb-Fraiche, 38, allegedly took the flag on April 7 while their two children were with them, news outlets reported. A Santa...
Party could cost Australian police recruits jobsVideo
CANBERRA, Australia — Several Australian police recruits face losing their jobs for holding a party in breach of social distancing rules. Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw told reporters on Wednesday that “a number of officers” had been served with notices to explain why they should not be fired over...
Report: Trump’s name to appear on coronavirus stimulus checks; action to cause delayVideo
President Trump’s name is expected to appear on the coronavirus stimulus relief checks sent from the Internal Revenue Service, the Washington Post reported late Tuesday. The addition is said to delay the delivery of the paper checks by several days, according to the report. It will be the only time...
37 immigrant children at Chicago-area shelters have covid-19
CHICAGO — Dozens of immigrant children in U.S. custody and living in three Chicago-area shelters have tested positive for covid-19, officials said Tuesday. The Chicago-based Heartland Alliance operates shelters where children in the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement’s custody wait to be released to a...
Kentucky lawmakers override veto of voter ID measure
FRANKFORT, Ky. — Republican lawmakers in Kentucky swept aside the Democratic governor’s veto of a bill to require the state’s residents to show a government-issued photo ID to vote. Votes to override Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto easily cleared the GOP-led Senate and House as lawmakers reconvened Tuesday for a wrap-up...
New Jersey beach trash finds: Full pickle jar, turkey baster, cremation bag
SANDY HOOK, N.J. — As New Jersey’s beaches go, so goes the state of the environment. Items plucked from the sand during spring and fall cleanups each year help illustrate trends going on in the state and the nation, and last year was a particularly good example. Empty cartridges used...
Trump directs halt to payments to WHO during virus pandemicVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he was cutting off U.S. payments to the World Health Organization during the coronavirus pandemic, accusing the organization of failing to do enough to stop the virus from spreading when it first surfaced in China. Trump, who had telegraphed his intentions last...
Pro wrestling ‘essential’ under Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ orderVideo
ORLANDO — Body slams and pile drives can go on in the Sunshine State. With Florida under a lockdown because of the coronavirus pandemic, there’s one business deemed essential by Florida’s governor that is raising some eyebrows: pro wrestling. Florida’s top emergency official last week amended Gov. Ron DeSantis’ stay-at-home...
Navy removes 116 from hospital ship after virus infects 7
LOS ANGELES — The Navy has removed 116 medical staff members from its hospital ship docked off Los Angeles after seven of them tested positive for covid-19, an official said Tuesday. The personnel from the USNS Mercy were taken to a nearby base and remain under quarantine. None so far...
South Dakota nears 1,000 covid-19 cases; no stay-at-home orderVideo
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Gov. Kristi Noem reiterated Tuesday that she won’t be ordering South Dakota residents to stay home amid the coronavirus pandemic, as another 121 confirmed cases were reported in the state. The vast majority of South Dakota’s 988 total cases — 768 — are in Minnehaha County,...
Idaho AG to probe spouse death in tangled missing kids case
BOISE, Idaho — The Idaho attorney general has agreed to investigate the mother of two missing children and her new husband in connection with the death of his first wife. The mystery of the children’s disappearance and the deaths of three people close to the couple, including their spouses, has...
