Presidential betting gets axed quickly in West Virginia
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — For just a moment, West Virginia was the only state in the country to allow betting on the presidential election. The short-lived play by bookmaker giant FanDuel, which was approved by the state lottery board, was announced and then quickly nixed Tuesday night in a bizarre sequence...
Lawmakers overturn religious worship size limits in KansasVideo
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Gov. Laura Kelly’s executive order restricting the size of religious gatherings amid the coronavirus outbreak has been overturned after the state’s top prosecutor said it likely violates the state constitution. The Legislative Coordinating Council voted 5-2 Wednesday to undo the order that limited in-person religious services...
Prominent Florida convention center becoming a hospitalVideo
MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — Two months ago, the Miami Beach Convention Center hosted tens of thousands of cheering and laughing Super Bowl guests visiting the NFL’s traveling museum and interactive displays. Now it is filled around-the-clock with members of the Army Corps of Engineers performing the grim task of setting...
Police: Body of Kathleen Kennedy Townsend’s grandson found
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Authorities recovered the body of a grandson of former Maryland Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend on Wednesday, two days after the body of the boy’s mother was found in the water after a canoeing accident. The body of 8-year-old Gideon McKean was found in roughly 25 feet...
Stocks up 3.4% on Wall Street as hopes build for coronavirus peak
NEW YORK — Stocks shot 3.4% higher on Wall Street on Wednesday as investors chose to focus on the optimistic side of data about the coronavirus outbreak’s trajectory. It’s the latest about-face in this brutally volatile stretch for the U.S. stock market, which has flip-flopped between gains and losses for...
Outcry over racial data grows as coronavirus slams black AmericansVideo
As the coronavirus tightens its grip across the country, it is cutting a particularly devastating swath through an already vulnerable population — black Americans. Democratic lawmakers and community leaders in cities hard-hit by the pandemic have been sounding the alarm over what they see as a disturbing trend of the...
Countries start thinking about easing up on coronavirus restrictions
NEW YORK — Even as coronavirus deaths mount across Europe and New York, the U.S. and other countries are starting to contemplate an exit strategy and thinking about a staggered and carefully calibrated easing of the restrictions designed to curb the scourge. “To end the confinement, we’re not going to...
Some doctors moving away from ventilators for coronavirus patients
NEW YORK — As health officials around the world push to get more ventilators to treat coronavirus patients, some doctors are moving away from using the breathing machines when they can. The reason: Some hospitals have reported unusually high death rates for coronavirus patients on ventilators, and some doctors worry...
New Jersey delays primary to July because of virus outbreak
TRENTON, N.J. — New Jersey pushed back its primary to July 7 from June 2 because of the coronavrus outbreak under an executive order Gov. Phil Murphy signed on Wednesday. Preparing for a June primary at the potential head of the covid-19 emergency could hurt election officials’ ability to prepare,...
Student develops program to let you know when food delivery slots open up
File this under “Things We Didn’t Know We Would Need,” but here we are. A Georgetown University student has created a computer program that alerts users when Amazon Fresh or Whole Foods have delivery time slots available, CNBC reported. It ‘s a response to how difficult it has become to...
Watchdog: Syrian air force responsible for chemical attacks
THE HAGUE — The global chemical weapons watchdog issued a report Wednesday blaming the Syrian air force for a series of chemical attacks using sarin and chlorine in late March 2017 on the central town of Latamneh. The report marks the first time the Investigation and Identification Team, set up...
Louisiana responds to coronavirus with rare bipartisanship
NEW ORLEANS — A simple gift from a bitter political rival — a medical mask emblazoned with Louisiana’s state seal — has helped Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards pound home a bipartisan plea for people to stay at home and avoid spreading the new coronavirus. The token from Republican Attorney...
U.K.’s Boris Johnson remains in ICU with coronavirus, condition improving
LONDON — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson remains in intensive care with the coronavirus but is improving and sitting up in bed, a senior government minister said Wednesday, as the U.K. recorded its biggest spike in covid-19 deaths to date. Johnson, the first world leader diagnosed with the disease, has...
Pennsylvania says short-term rental owners ignoring shutdownVideo
Short-term rental property owners in Pennsylvania continue to advertise lodging in defiance of Gov. Tom Wolf’s coronavirus shutdown order, administration officials said Wednesday. Wolf banned short-term residential rentals last week after state lawmakers in the Pocono Mountains complained that property owners had been trying to entice travelers from virus hotspots...
Bernie Sanders drops 2020 presidential bid, clearing path for Joe Biden
WASHINGTON — Sen. Bernie Sanders, who saw his once strong lead in the Democratic primary evaporate as the party’s establishment lined swiftly up behind rival Joe Biden, ended his presidential bid on Wednesday, an acknowledgment that the former vice president is too far ahead for him to have any reasonable...
Hawaii mayor to arrested Florida man: ‘Covidiot’
HONOLULU — A mayor in Hawaii is calling Florida man accused of trying to flout Hawaii’s traveler quarantine a “covidiot.” Kauai Mayor Derek Kawakami isn’t taking credit for coining the word borne from the COVID-19 pandemic, but said he “may be the first elected official to bust it out in...
CDC considers loosening guidelines for some exposed to virus
WASHINGTON — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is considering changing its guidelines for self-isolation to make it easier for those who have been exposed to someone with the coronavirus to return to work if they are without symptoms. The public health agency, in conjunction with the White House...
Pennsylvania prison industries converted to produce personal protective equipment
Add Pennsylvania’s sprawling state prison system to the list of manufacturers now producing personal protective equipment to ward off infection during the coronavirus pandemic. Inmates working 12-hour shifts at garment factories within the prison system made more than 185,000 masks since March 17, Corrections Secretary John Wetzel said. All Department...
NYC mayor Bill de Blasio says deaths at home should be added to coronavirus toll
NEW YORK — New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio acknowledged Wednesday that the city’s official coronavirus statistics have missed hundreds of people who died at home without ever being tested for the virus, and said the city would start including such victims in its covid-19 tally. “The blunt truth...
3 Sundays approved for Pennsylvania deer, bear hunting
Three Sundays this fall were approved for hunting by the Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners. Archery deer hunting will be allowed on Nov. 15, bear hunters can take to the woods on Nov. 22 and deer hunters using firearms can be out Nov. 29, according to information released by the...
Gov. Wolf: Fly state flags at half-staff to honor covid-19 victims
Gov. Tom Wolf on Tuesday ordered all state flags on Pennsylvania public buildings and grounds flown at half-staff to honor the victims of the coronavirus pandemic. “Too many Pennsylvanians have lost their lives to covid-19, and, unfortunately, many more will die,” Wolf said as the state saw the largest single-day...
Wisconsin voters wait for hours, others stay home amid virusVideo
MADISON — Despite federal health recommendations, thousands of Wisconsin voters waited hours in long lines outside overcrowded polling stations on Tuesday so they could participate in a presidential primary election that tested the limits of electoral politics in the midst of a pandemic. Thousands more stayed home, unwilling to risk...
Pa. prosecutors urge lawmakers to help decide on freeing inmates
HARRISBURG — As officials consider releasing some inmates to lessen the impact of covid-19 on Pennsylvania prisons, county prosecutors are telling lawmakers that passing legislation to address that would avoid leaving those decisions to the governor alone. The Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association considers “a temporary, legislative solution” to be reasonable,...
Shark kills Australian wildlife worker on Great Barrier Reef
BRISBANE, Australia — A shark fatally mauled a young Australian wildlife worker on the Great Barrier Reef, officials said Tuesday. Queensland state Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the 23-year-old victim worked for the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service. “Once again a family out there is grieving for a young man who...
Trump ousts inspector general set to oversee relief spendingVideo
President Donald Trump has removed the head of a team of U.S. auditors that will oversee the $2 trillion in federal coronavirus relief spending, his latest move against inspectors general who are supposed to serve as independent watchdogs. Trump ousted Glenn Fine from his position as acting Defense Department inspector...
