Trudeau says Canada won’t retaliate for US export ban on masks
TORONTO — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Saturday that Canada won’t bring retaliatory or punitive measures against the United States after the Trump administration announced it would prevent the export of N95 protective masks. President Trump said he would block shipments of the masks from the United States to ensure...
Trump says ‘toughest’ weeks ahead as coronavirus spreads
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Saturday that the United States was heading into what could be its “toughest” weeks as coronavirus cases swell nationwide. He warned states not to inflate their needs for critical medical equipment. “There will be a lot of death, unfortunately. There will be death,” Trump...
Mormons start crowd-less conference due to pandemic
SALT LAKE CITY — Leaders from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sat 6 feet apart inside an empty room as the faith carried out its signature conference by adhering to social distancing guidelines that offered a stark reminder of how the global coronavirus pandemic is impacting religious...
Trump says second coronavirus panel with economic focus ‘good idea’
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said the notion of creating a second White House coronavirus task force to examine how best to reopen the country’s economy was a “good idea.” Trump tweeted an endorsement Saturday of a plan offered by Dana Perino, former press secretary to President George W. Bush....
Coral Princess cruise ship, with 2 dead people aboard, docks at Port Miami
MIAMI — Two people have died aboard the Coral Princess cruise ship, which docked in Port Miami on Saturday morning. The captain announced the updates to passengers Saturday morning, said Shannon Kilbane, a passenger from California. Princess Cruises, a subsidiary of Miami-based Carnival Corp., confirmed in a statement the ship...
Coronavirus scofflaws arrested, criminally charged as California cracks down
LOS ANGELES — As California officials try desperately to keep people inside to slow the spread of the coronavirus, authorities are beginning to crack down on scofflaws. The crackdown has escalated in recent days, with nonessential businesses that refuse to shut down as well as people who defy orders to...
Where will the bodies go? Morgues plan as virus grows
PHILADELPHIA — There are the new dead. And then there are the bodies waiting in overcrowded mortuaries to be buried as cities struggle to meet demand and families wrestle with rules on social distancing that make the usual funeral rituals impossible. Med Alliance Group, a medical distributor in Illinois, is...
A gentler Gotham? NYers anxiously wait out coronavirus
NEW YORK — To a casting director, he might have seemed the perfect impatient New Yorker — broad, bald and with a booming voice, tattoos on his neck and hands visible under his construction jacket. Justin Hunter stood in line outside the Park Slope Food Coop, one of several dozen...
Hunt for medical supplies creates marketplace of desperation
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Shady middlemen, phantom shipments, prices soaring by the hour, goods flown in on a private plane. What sounds like an organized-crime thriller is now the new reality for governors desperately trying to find the medical equipment their states need in the throes of a pandemic. With the...
New coronavirus limits bring new religious freedom tension
NEW YORK — Despite state and local limits on public gatherings, some houses of worship have persisted in holding in-person services — a matter of religious freedom, they say, as the nation approached its fourth Sunday battling the coronavirus pandemic. The most high-profile clash over in-person worship — and crowd...
Gov. Cuomo: China sending 1,000 ventilators to New York
NEW YORK — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Saturday that China is facilitating the shipment of 1,000 ventilators to his state, as he continues to shop for more of the lifesaving devices ahead of a growing number of coronavirus patients who will need them. The number of people infected...
Couple in India names newborn twins Corona and Covid
A couple in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh have named their newborn twins Corona and Covid. The twins — a boy and a girl — were born March 27 during the ongoing 21-day long nationwide lockdown that began on March 24. “The delivery happened after facing several difficulties and therefore,...
Competition for supplies sharpening as pandemic worsens
NEW YORK — Scarce supplies of medical equipment are leading to growing competition within the U.S. and among nations, in what one French politician called a “worldwide treasure hunt.” The governor of New York state, the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak, vowed to seize unused ventilators from private hospitals and...
AP Week in Pictures, Global
March 28 - April 3, 2020 This photo gallery highlights some of the most compelling images made or published by The Associated Press from around the world. The gallery was curated by AP photo editor Patrick Sison in New York. Follow AP visual journalism: Instagram: AP Images on Twitter:...
‘Recovery’ search for Kennedy Townsend’s daughter, grandson
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Authorities were conducting a “recovery” search for the daughter and a grandson of former Maryland Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, after a canoe they were paddling in the Chesapeake Bay didn’t return to shore, the family said Friday. The missing relatives were identified as Maeve Kennedy Townsend...
Kentucky governor vetoes voter ID bill
FRANKFORT, Ky. — Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear on Friday vetoed a bill pushed by Republican lawmakers to require Kentucky residents to show a government-issued photo ID in order to vote. In his veto message, the governor said the measure would create an obstacle to voting, resulting in fewer people casting...
Cuomo orders shift in ventilators to overwhelmed hospitals
NEW YORK — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he would order the redistribution of critically needed ventilators. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio called for a national enlistment program for doctors and nurses. And the coronavirus outbreak picked up speed with more deaths and more hospitalizations. The latest...
Face coverings recommended, but Trump says he won’t wear one
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced new federal guidelines Friday recommending that Americans wear face coverings when in public to help fight the spread of the new coronavirus. The president immediately said he had no intention of following the advice himself, saying, “I’m choosing not to do it.” The new...
US long-term mortgage rates drop; 30-year at 3.33%
WASHINGTON — U.S. long-term mortgage rates fell this week for the second straight week as anxiety has spiraled over devastation to the economy from the coronavirus pandemic. Home-loan rates have been hitting all-time lows. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the average rate on the benchmark 30-year loan dipped...
Western Pa. clergy send signs of hope to their communitiesVideo
As churches refrain from holding gatherings during this time of coronavirus precautions, we asked clergy for messages they would like to send to their parishioners. Revs. Gary and Lisa Lyon of Cross Roads Community Presbyterian Church in Leechburg; Jennifer Marsalese, director of children’s ministry at Cornerstone Ministries Murrysville; and JD...
Florida finally takes cruise passengers, some on stretchers
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Passengers from an ill-fated cruise were carefully freed from their cabins and allowed to touch dry land Friday for the first time in weeks, following the removal of 14 critically ill people who were wheeled off to Florida hospitals bracing for an onslaught of coronavirus patients....
Marvel remakes release calendar; ‘Mulan’ moves to late July
NEW YORK — The Walt Disney Co. on Friday overhauled its release schedule by moving the dates of half a dozen Marvel movies, announcing a new one for the live-action adaption of “Mulan” and pushing one movie, “Artemis Fowl,” to Disney Plus, in response to the coronavirus pandemic. “Black Widow,”...
Search underway for Kathleen Kennedy Townsend’s daughter, grandson
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Authorities were searching Friday for the daughter and a grandson of former Maryland Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend after a canoe they were paddling in the Chesapeake Bay didn’t return to shore. Gov. Larry Hogan identified the missing relatives as Maeve Kennedy Townsend McKean, 40, and McKean’s...
In pivot, Pelosi sees next relief bill with bipartisan goals
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Friday that the next coronavirus aid bill should build on the bipartisan relief bills that Congress has passed so far rather than include broader Democratic agenda items such as infrastructure and rural broadband access. That’s a noteworthy pivot for the California Democrat, who...
Stocks fall on Wall Street, heading for another weekly loss
NEW YORK — Stocks are falling in afternoon trading Friday, putting Wall Street on track for its third losing week in the last four. The losses came after the government said U.S. employers cut 701,000 more jobs than they added last month, the first drop in nearly a decade. Many...
