March 30, 2020 4:02 am
PHOENIX (AP) – A Phoenix police commander was killed and two other officers were injured Sunday night in a shooting on the city’s north side during a domestic violence call, police said. Cmdr. Greg Carnicle was killed in the incident in the 23800 block of North 40th Drive, near Pinnacle Peak Road, the department announced on Twitter. The conditions of the other officers are not known. But the department said they are expected to recover. The shooting took place at 7:10 p.m., KNXV-TV reported. The TV station reports that a suspect is barricaded in a home near the site of the shooting.
March 29, 2020 7:48 am
NEW YORK (AP) – President Donald Trump considered and then rejected ordering a quarantine for residents of the state and neighboring New Jersey and Connecticut amid the coronavirus outbreak. However, he later announced in a tweet late Saturday that a travel advisory was the way to go. It urges residents of the states to avoid all but essential travel for two weeks. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said earlier in the day that roping off states would amount to “a federal declaration of war.” Meanwhile, Cuomo postponed his state’s presidential primary from April to June, and nurses made anguished pleas for more protective equipment and rebuffed officials’ claims that supplies are adequate.
March 29, 2020 7:45 am
BERLIN (AP) – Chancellor Angela Merkel has run Germany for more than 14 years and has over a decade’s experience of managing crises. She reassured her compatriots in the 2008 financial crisis that their savings were safe and led a hard-nosed but domestically popular response to the eurozone debt crisis. In 2015, she took responsibility for welcoming an influx of migrants from war-torn Syria – a stance that caused divisions among Germans. Now, in the twilight of her time in power, Merkel is rising to the occasion as she faces her biggest crisis yet – the coronavirus pandemic. Merkel is using her traditional political strengths to help reassure the German people and positioning her country to cope with the crisis.
March 29, 2020 7:43 am
STOCKHOLM (AP) – The coronavirus is not keeping people in Sweden at home even while citizens in many parts of the world are sheltering in place. Swedes still sit at outdoor cafes in the center of Stockholm. Teenagers still chat in groups in the parks of the capital. Some still greet each other with hugs and handshakes. Swedish authorities have advised people to practice social distancing and asked those over age 70 to self-isolate. But restaurants, preschools and primary schools are still open. Some scientists have criticized the country’s Public Health Agency’s approach as irresponsible. But the country’s chief epidemiologist has defended Sweden’s strategy as more sustainable than “drastic” measures like the nationwide lockdowns elsewhere.
March 29, 2020 7:42 am
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) – As the coronavirus rages through Europe, and major American cities like New York and Los Angeles, more than a third of counties across the U.S. still have not reported a positive test result for infection across what are predominantly rural areas. A data analysis by The Associated Press shows that 1,297 counties have no confirmed cases of COVID-19 out of 3,142 counties nationwide. Counties with zero positive tests for COVID-19 tend to have older, rural populations with lower incomes where rural health networks might be overwhelmed. The demographics hold major implications as the administration of President Trump develops guidelines to rate counties by risk of virus spread, empowering local officials to revise social distancing orders
March 29, 2020 7:40 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – A gun rights group is cheering the Trump administration’s designation of the firearms industry, including retailers, as part of the nation’s critical infrastructure during the coronavirus emergency.. The designation by the federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is advisory and does not override determinations by individual jurisdictions. The group Gun Owners of America says in a statement that it is encouraged that the Trump administration is not ignoring what it calls “the ability to protect yourself.” Gun rights groups have filed suit after the Los Angeles County sheriff closed gun stores in the wake of California Gov. Gavin Newsom letting counties decide for themselves whether firearms dealers are nonessential businesses subject to closure.
March 29, 2020 7:34 am
BEIJING (AP) – Health authorities have urged millions of residents of the New York City region to avoid non-essential travel due to surging coronavirus infections. Deaths in the United States and Europe rose and countries including Russia and Vietnam tightened travel and business restrictions. The number of confirmed American deaths passed 2,000, more than double the level two days earlier. The travel advisory applies to New York City, the hardest-hit U.S. municipality, and the states of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Worldwide infections surpassed 660,000 mark, with more than 30,000 deaths as new cases, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.
March 29, 2020 7:33 am
JONESBORO, Ark. (AP) – Officials in Arkansas say a tornado ripped through the northeast part of the state and hurt six people in the college town of Jonesboro. Local media coverage showed buildings missing walls and with roofs ripped away Saturday. Jonesboro E-911 Director Jeff Presley says the six people hurt were hospitalized with minor injuries and that first responders were searching the area. Forecasters with the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma, had warned that a severe weather outbreak was possible for much of the central U.S.
March 29, 2020 7:26 am
WEST MIFFLIN, Pa. (WPXI) — A portion of Route 837 in West Mifflin is closed until further notice due to a landslide. Route 837 has closed in both directions between the Boswell Oil Company in Dravosburg and the McKeesport-Duquesne Bridge, county officials said. This comes after heavy storms and strong winds rolled through Western Pa. Saturday evening. The roadway will be closed until further notice.
March 29, 2020 7:24 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Severe weather in parts of western Pennsylvania prompted flood warnings and severe thunderstorm warnings – and for a time a tornado warning. The National Weather Service issued flash flood warnings Saturday afternoon for parts of Beaver, Allegheny, Westmoreland, Lawrence, Butler, and Armstrong counties. Weather officials warned of “wind gusts to 60 mph and quarter-size hail” with damage to trees and power lines expected to result in some power outages. A tornado warning issued for parts of Jefferson, Washington, Beaver and Allegheny counties expired as the threat diminished, but weather officials warned residents to expect large hail and damaging winds.
