May 23, 2020 3:39 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. — With western Pennsylvania’s full transition to the ‘yellow’ area, restrictions on certain summer camp and “public bathing spaces” are being addressed. “We understand the need to secure child care options as parents and caregivers return to work across the state,” Gov. Wolf said Friday. That’s why any summer program that provides child care, enrichment and recreational activities for kids are now allowed to operate in counties that are in either the ‘yellow’ or ‘green’ phase. They do, however, need to develop a written health and safety plan. The activities can be either indoor or outdoors, but it’s encouraged to maintain social distancing and keep the same group of people together on a daily basis to avoid cross-contamination. Children and youth are not required to wear a face covering, just encouraged, while adults are required. Public playgrounds used by child care providers and summer programs in ‘yellow’ or ‘green’ counties are also part of Governor Wolf’s phased reopening plan. Outdoor community pools and other public bathing spaces are also now permitted to operate in counties that are in either the ‘yellow’ or ‘green’ phase.
May 22, 2020 3:32 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump says he has deemed churches and other houses of worship “essential” and is calling on governors to allow them to reopen this weekend despite the threat of the coronavirus. He says: “Today I’m identifying houses of worship – churches, synagogues and mosques – as essential places that provide essential services.” Trump made the announcement during a hastily arranged press conference Friday at the White House, where he didn’t take questions. He says if governors don’t abide by his request, he will “override” them, though it’s unclear what authority he has to do so.
May 22, 2020 7:41 am
KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) – An aviation official says a passenger plane belonging to state-run Pakistani International Airlines has crashed near the southern port city of Karachi. There were no immediate reports on the number of casualties. The aircraft arriving from the eastern city of Lahore was carrying 99 passengers and eight crew members, the official said. Witnesses said the Airbus A320 appeared to attempt to try and land two or three times before crashing in a residential area near Jinnah International Airport. Local television reports showed smoke coming from the direction of the airport.
May 22, 2020 4:59 am
A Charleroi man died following a one-vehicle crash in the borough Thursday night. The Washington County Coroner’s Office says 69 year old Charles Matava was pronounced dead in the emergency room at Mon Valley Hospital just before 10:30 pm. A cause and manner of death are pending. Matava was the driver of a vehicle which lost control and struck a building in the 700 block of Washington Avenue in Charleroi around 9 pm. Charleroi Regional Police continue to investigate.
May 22, 2020 4:12 am
YPSILANTI TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) – Pandemic politics have shadowed President Donald Trump’s trip to Michigan. On Thursday, he toured a Ford Motor plant that had been repurposed to manufacture ventilators for the COVID-19 epidemic. But Trump and officials from the electoral battleground state were clashing in the meantime over federal aid, mail-in ballots and face masks. As usual, he refused to wear a protective mask, though Ford requires them and its officials wore them for the tour. The visit to Ypsilanti, outside Detroit, came a day after Trump criticized top state leaders and threatened to withhold federal funding over the state’s mail-in balloting effort. The White House didn’t invite Michigan’s Democratic governor.
May 22, 2020 4:10 am
MILWAUKEE (AP) – Harley-Davidson Inc. is resuming production at its U.S. manufacturing plants after suspending production for about two months. The Milwaukee-based motorcycle company shut down production in March after an employee at its factory in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, tested positive for the coronavirus. Harley-Davidson also saw motorcycle sales drop in the economic fallout from COVID-19. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports the Wisconsin factory where the worker tested positive for the coronavirus is expected to return to full staffing after Memorial Day weekend. The engine and drivetrain facility employs about 1,000 people. Harley-Davidson says it has begun a planned phased approach to resuming production in its facilities.
May 22, 2020 4:09 am
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) – A massive flood is raising fears of setbacks in a hazardous waste cleanup along a central Michigan river. Floodwaters overwhelmed two dams this week, chasing 11,000 people from their homes in or near Midland. The Tittabawassee River flows past Dow Chemical Co.’s headquarters plant, which for years produced dioxins. The highly toxic compounds were dumped into the river, where they became embedded in sediments and floodplains. Dow has been cleaning up the area since 2007 and has made considerable progress. The company says its projects survived a flood three years ago. But some scientists and activists fear this week’s flood could sweep the toxins downstream.
May 22, 2020 4:06 am
The FBI says a shooting at a Texas naval air station that wounded a sailor and left the gunman dead is being investigated as “terrorism-related.” Officials familiar with the investigation identified the suspect as Adam Alsahli of Corpus Christi. Officials say the shooting began about 6:15 a.m. Thursday when a gunman tried to speed through a gate at Naval Air Station-Corpus Christi in a vehicle and opened fire on security workers. A female sailor was struck but rolled and hit a switch that raised a barrier to stop the vehicle. The gunman was then killed in an exchange of gunfire.
May 22, 2020 4:05 am
India has reported 6,088 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours for its biggest single-day spike, increasing the country’s total number of infections to 118,447. The death toll due to the pandemic rose to 3,583 on Friday. More than 48,000 people have recovered, according to health ministry data. Maharashtra remains the worst-affected state in India with more than 41,000 cases after it added over 2,000 new infections for the fourth straight day. The number of fatalities in the state rose to 1,454, highest in the country. India has the 11th-most cases in the world. The nationwide surge comes ahead of the “calibrated” re-opening of domestic flights beginning Monday.
May 22, 2020 4:03 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser says the numbers are pointing to the start of a gradual reopening process in Washington, D.C,. at the end of the month. Bowser has penciled in Friday, May 29, as a potential start date for phase 1 of the District of Columbia’s proposed three-phase reopening plan. That is after weeks of insisting the Washington, D.C., area is not ready to end its pandemic-induced lockdown. The first phase includes restaurants allowing outdoor patio seating, non-essential businesses offering curbside pickup and hair salons and barbers operating by appointment at limited capacity.
