May 27, 2020 12:33 pm
ORLANDO (AP) – The Orange County Reopening Task Force has approved the plans for both SeaWorld and Walt Disney World. Next the plans go to Mayor Jerry Demings and then Gov. Ron DeSantis. Disney guests, along with employees, will be required to wear facemasks, have their temperatures checked and will see a reduction of capacity at the theme parks with signs encouraging the practice of social distancing. Walt Disney World will reopen in two waves. Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom will reopen on July 11. EPCOT and Hollywood Studios will open on July 15. SeaWorld Orlando is looking to reopen on June 11.
May 27, 2020 9:52 am
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) – The launch of a SpaceX rocket ship with two NASA astronauts on a history-making flight into orbit has been called off with 16 minutes to go in the countdown because of the danger of lightning. Liftoff is rescheduled for Saturday. The spacecraft was set to blast off Wednesday afternoon for the International Space Station, ushering in a new era in commercial spaceflight and putting NASA back in the business of launching astronauts from U.S. for the first time in nearly a decade. Ever since the space shuttle was retired in 2011, NASA has relied on Russian rockets to carry astronauts to and from the space station.
May 27, 2020 9:50 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump is threatening social media companies with new regulation or even closure after Twitter added fact checks to two of his tweets. Claiming tech giants “silence conservative voices,” Trump tweeted Wednesday that, “We will strongly regulate, or close them down, before we can ever allow this to happen.” The president can’t unilaterally regulate or close social media companies, as that would require action by Congress or the Federal Communications Commission. Trump and his campaign are lashing out after Twitter on Tuesday added a warning phrase to two Trump tweets that called mail-in ballots “fraudulent” and predicted that “mail boxes will be robbed.”
May 27, 2020 4:49 am
(AP) – Boeing is cutting more than 12,000 jobs through layoffs and buyouts, with several thousand more jobs expected to be cut over the next few months as the aircraft deals with a downturn in travel caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The company said Wednesday it will lay off 6,770 U.S. workers this week, and another 5,520 employees are taking buyouts. Boeing had already said it would cut 10% of a workforce that numbered about 160,000. The layoffs are expected to be concentrated in the Seattle area, home to Boeing’s big commercial-airplanes business. The Chicago-based company says its defense business is stable and will help blunt the impact of falling demand for passenger jets.
May 27, 2020 4:44 am
Peters Township Council was updated by Township Manager Paul Lauer on what could be expected when Governor Tom Wolf allows Washington County to enter the Green Phase of his economic reopening plan. Lauer updated council on revenues coming into the township. He indicated that earned income revenues are down but that could be because of the delayed filing date for income taxes approved earlier this year by the IRS. Deed transfer taxes were down as well. Lauer feels that Wolf’s shut down of the real estate industry had a great deal to do with those revenues falling. Lauer said he hopes to have a better understanding of revenues in the next month or so. Fire Chief Mike McLaughlin updated council on what is occurring with his department as Peters Township approached green. He is tracking day care centers and advising businesses regarding their legal occupancy once the green phase is achieved. Businesses will only be allowed to have 50% of their current approved occupancy of customers inside their establishments. McLaughlin complimented business owners in their efforts to comply with regulations going forward.
May 27, 2020 4:13 am
HARRISBURG, Pa — A new children’s health condition linked to COVID-19 has now popped up in Pennsylvania, health officials said. The illness is called Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children, or MIS-C, by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The condition’s symptoms include a persistent fever that is often relatively high temperature, rash, change in skin color, swollen lymph nodes, red eyes and abdominal pain. Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said Tuesday at a news conference that the Department of Health was aware of 17 reports of the disease in the state. Nine of those have been confirmed, two were determined to not be cases of MIS-C and the remaining six are still being investigated. New York City reported the first cases in the country in April. They now have more than 100 cases and three children have died. Researchers said early treatment leads to a full recovery in most cases.zvj
May 27, 2020 4:07 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The White House says President Donald Trump followed the law when he fired multiple inspectors general in the last two months, but the administration is offering no new details about why they were let go. A White House letter issued Tuesday in response to concerns from Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley does little to explain the decision-making behind Trump’s recent upheaval of the inspector general community, and Grassley made clear that he was dissatisfied by the response. It is unlikely to quell outrage from Democrats and good-government groups who fear the president is moving to dismantle a post-Watergate network of watchdogs meant to root out corruption, fraud and other problems.
May 27, 2020 4:06 am
LAS VEGAS (AP) – Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak announced Tuesday night that he would allow casinos to reopen June 4, welcoming tourists to return to the glitzy gambling mecca of Las Vegas. The Democratic governor told reporters that Nevada will welcome visitors from across the country to come to Las Vegas and have a good time. Sisolak shuttered the casinos 10 weeks ago as part of a broad shutdown to stop the spread of the coronavirus. The casinos typically draw millions of tourists to Las Vegas and power the state’s economy. The governor said he would also allow in-person religious services of up to 50 people starting Friday.
May 27, 2020 4:04 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Joe Biden says President Donald Trump is a “fool” who is “stoking deaths” for suggesting that wearing a mask in public to combat the spread of the coronavirus is anything other than a sign of leadership. The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee on Tuesday also knocked Trump for “this macho stuff” in shunning masks. Biden’s comments came a day after he wore a black face mask at a park near their Delaware home to lay a wreath at a veterans’ memorial for Memorial Day. Trump later retweeted a post that appeared to make fun of Biden in his mask. The president does not wear a face mask in public.
May 27, 2020 4:03 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Congress is shifting its attention to a more modest overhaul of small business coronavirus aid, although it remains deadlocked on a larger relief bill. The House this week is expected to pass legislation that would give small employers more time to take advantage of federal subsidies for payroll and other costs. The Senate is considering a similar proposal. Lawmakers are trying to help restaurants, stores and other small businesses as they struggle during the pandemic. Many businesses that are reopening are seeing sharply reduced revenue, increasing the urgency in Washington to act.
