May 19, 2020 4:15 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Pier 1, the seller of wicker chairs and scented candles, said it will go out of business and permanently close all 540 of its stores. The Fort Worth, Texas-based company said Tuesday that it was unable to find a buyer for its business after filing for bankruptcy protection earlier this year. It will start going-out-of-business sales as soon as it can reopen stores that have been temporarily shut due to the coronavirus pandemic. Pier 1 has struggled to compete with online retailers like Wayfair and Amazon, which sell sofas and coffee tables at a lower price and are delivered to doorsteps quickly.
May 19, 2020 4:15 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The White House is scrambling to defend President Donald Trump’s decision to take a malaria drug he’s been touting as a treatment for the coronavirus. He’s making himself an example for use of the drug, and that’s drawing criticism from some health experts as well as Democratic leaders. Trump says he’s been taking hydroxychloroquine and a zinc supplement daily for a week and a half. However, the government says the drug should only be administered for COVID-19 in a hospital or research setting due to potentially fatal side effects. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tells CNN she would rather Trump not be taking something that hasn’t been approved by scientists, citing his age and calling the president “morbidly obese.”
May 19, 2020 4:09 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania’s once-delayed spring primary in about two weeks will feature legislative and congressional races, a first run for some new paper-record voting systems and the first use of newly legalized mail-in ballots. Voter registration was ending Monday for the June 2 primary. The latest figures show Pennsylvanians embracing a new vote-by-mail system. More than 1 million Pennsylvania voters have requested mail-in ballots, including 700,000 Democrats and 310,000 Republicans. Those who vote in person will see the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in the form of social distancing guidelines and fewer polling places. State election officials are urging people to check online to see whether their precincts have been moved or consolidated.
May 19, 2020 4:08 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – With the Memorial Day holiday weekend approaching, Gov. Tom Wolf is questioning the wisdom of beach-going, even as governors in other states reopen their beaches despite worries that the coronavirus outbreak could surge again. Beaches up and down the East Coast will be open this weekend, albeit with social-distance guidance coming from state and local officials. Wolf, however, took a dim view Monday of beach-going while the virus is spreading. He said he wouldn’t go to the beach and that he’s not sure why the governors of Maryland and New Jersey opened their beaches. Governors in New York and Delaware are also reopening beaches.
May 19, 2020 4:02 am
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The Armstrong County Coroner posted on Facebook claiming the total number of deaths in the county had been inflated by the Department of Health. According to the post, the state had been reporting six COVID-19 deaths when the coroner said the number should have been two. Brian Myers posted; “Where and how they came up with this number is unknown to me. The correct number for Armstrong County is two,” the post said. “As to their motives behind inflating the numbers, I haven’t a clue. However, I am positive that other counties are in the same position.” The Department of Health has not responded.
May 18, 2020 4:26 pm
UNDATED (AP) – Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel tells reporters “we will not be holding a virtual convention.” The statement came Monday during a conference call with reporters and appears to be a line in the sand about the Republican National Convention scheduled for late August in Charlotte, North Carolina. Democrats had to move their convention from July to August amid the coronavirus outbreak. There’s still uncertainty about whether Democrats will gather in person. McDaniel cautioned on the call that it’s too soon to know exactly what a Republican convention will look like. But she appears to expect at least some in-person aspect.
May 18, 2020 9:25 am
California University of Pennsylvania will be looking for a new President. Geraldine Jones has announced that she will retire early next year. The 69 year old Jones was served as President at the university for the past eight years. She plans to officially retire January 29, 2021. Jones says she looks forward to “spending time with my beautiful family and having the opportunity to travel with my best friend and husband, Jeff”. Since 2012, Jones has led development of the university’s Strategic Plan and instituted a system of shared governance that brought faculty, staff and students into the decision-making process. Jones also secured the largest philanthropic gift in university history, $4.2 million to fund the Karen and Tom Rutledge Institute for Early Childhood Education. The university’s Council of Trustees will now form a Presidential Search Committee and a consulting firm will be selected to assist in the search for the next president.
May 18, 2020 5:35 am
HARRISBURG — In its latest response to the economic toll of the coronavirus crisis, Pennsylvania launched a program Sunday intended to provide 13 additional weeks of compensation to people who have exhausted their traditional unemployment benefits, the state’s Department of Labor & Industry announced in a press release. Citizens who collect unemployment are typically eligible for 26 weeks of benefits. Pennsylvania’s Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) program essentially extends that time frame for those who qualify and remain out of work, according to the release. The amount a person receives in PEUC weekly benefits will be the same as what that individual took home during regular unemployment, a figure based on recent earnings. Pennsylvanians are eligible for the 13 weeks of PEUC compensation if they exhausted regular state or federal unemployment benefits after July 6, 2019, are able to work and are actively seeking work as possible during the pandemic. Pennsylvania has received more than 1.8 million unemployment claims since March 15. The Department of Labor & Industry has paid out more than $7.9 billion in unemployment benefits during that time frame, it said in Sunday’s release.
May 18, 2020 4:12 am
TORONTO (AP) – A Canadian aerobatic jet has crashed into a British Columbia neighborhood during a flyover intended to boost morale during the pandemic, killing one crew member, seriously injuring another and setting a house on fire. The crash left debris scattered across the neighborhood near the airport in the city of Kamloops. The Snowbirds are Canada’s equivalent of the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds or U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was “deeply saddened” by the death of Capt. Jennifer Casey, who served as a spokesperson for the Snowbirds, and the injuring of Capt. Richard MacDougall, the pilot of the aircraft.
May 18, 2020 4:11 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Police and fire investigators have launched a criminal probe into the cause of an explosion at a hash oil manufacturer in Los Angeles that injured a dozen firefighters. They are trying to determine what might have sparked the blast that shot a ball of flames out of the downtown building Saturday and sent crews running for their lives. Eight firefighters remained hospitalized Sunday: two were in critical condition, but all are expected to survive. A fire captain described the business where the explosion occurred as a maker of “butane honey oil.” Butane is an odorless gas that is used to extractáthe chemical THC from cannabis to create a highly potent oil.
