April 23, 2020 4:14 am
DETROIT (AP) – Hundreds of workers at Ford, General Motors, Toyota and other companies have offered to work in a wartime-like effort to stem shortages of protective medical gear and equipment. Even though most of their factories are shut down to slow the spread of coronavirus, they have stepped up to help fill a critical shortage. Many would get most of their pay even if they stayed at home.
April 23, 2020 4:13 am
BOSTON (AP) – The Department of Veterans Affairs is struggling with shortages of workers at its health care facilities as it cares for veterans infected with the novel coronavirus. The agency responsible for the health care of 9 million veterans is also facing shortages of the equipment necessary to protect employees from contracting the virus. That’s according to VA staff and internal documents obtained by The Associated Press. The documents show about 1,900 VA health care workers have become sick with the coronavirus, and 20 have died. Another 3,600 health care workers are quarantined and unable to work because they have been exposed.
April 23, 2020 4:12 am
The Trump administration says most international students and any students who entered the United States illegally will be barred from receiving emergency education grants. Congress approved the grants as part of a $2.2 trillion coronavirus rescue package. New guidelines issued by the Education Department on Tuesday say that only students who qualify for other federal financial aid can receive the money. College leaders and student advocates have blasted the change, saying Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is imposing new limits that were not included in the rescue package. But Education Department officials say the guidance is in line with other federal rules and the bill that created the grants.
April 23, 2020 4:10 am
ATLANTA (AP) – President Donald Trump says he told Georgia’s governor that he “disagreed strongly” with his decision to reopen some nonessential businesses that had been shuttered to contain the coronavirus. Speaking at a White House briefing Wednesday evening, Trump said he told Gov. Brian Kemp that he had misgivings over the governor’s plan, but would not stand in his way. Trump says the Republican governor is doing “what he thinks is right.” Kemp’s decision has been questioned because the state has yet to show continuing progress with tracking and testing for the virus.
April 23, 2020 4:04 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Residents of northcentral and northwestern Pennsylvania are projected to be the first in the state to be released from Gov. Tom Wolf’s stay-at-home order, and many retail stores in those areas should be able to reopen by May 8. That’s according to a statewide reopening plan released Wednesday. Wolf wants to begin easing some pandemic restrictions in areas of Pennsylvania that have been lightly impacted by the new coronavirus. His reopening plan says that a region must average fewer than 50 new positive cases of the virus per 100,000 residents to begin to move out from under his statewide lockdown.
April 23, 2020 2:57 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration is boosting its efforts to get voters to cast their primary election ballots by mail and says it would help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The administration said Wednesday it has sent 4.2 million postcards to primary voters and is mounting a public awareness campaign on radio, television, social media, streaming services, mobile apps and email. More than 462,000 voters have applied for a mail-in ballot, and over 139,000 have applied for an absentee ballot so far. Some county officials fear the virus will make it difficult to find polling places and get poll workers to staff them.
April 22, 2020 5:26 pm
EAST PITTSBURGH (AP) – Authorities in western Pennsylvania say a feral cat found in the Pittsburgh area has tested positive for rabies. The Allegheny County health department says the cat was recently brought to the department’s laboratory after if was picked up in the borough of East Pittsburgh. Authorities say four animals have tested positive for rabies in the county so far this year: a bat, a cat, a groundhog and a raccoon. Last year, 25 animals were confirmed to have rabies in the county: a dozen raccoons, nine bats, two cats, a fox and a groundhog.
April 22, 2020 9:55 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump says he’s ordered the Navy to “shoot down and destroy” any Iranian gunboats found to be harassing U.S. ships. Trump made the announcement in a tweet but provided no details. The Pentagon is referring questions to the White House, which has no immediate comment. Nor does the Pentagon. The president’s tweet comes after Iran’s Revolutionary Guard announced the launch of Iran’s first military satellite. Some experts believe the technology can be used to help Iran develop intercontinental ballistic missiles. Last week, a U.S. Navy video showed small Iranian boats coming close to American warships in the northern Persian Gulf near Kuwait, with U.S. Army Apache helicopters.
April 22, 2020 8:37 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The government says the financial condition of the government’s two biggest benefit programs remains shaky. It indicates that Medicare is expected to become insolvent in just six years while Social Security will be unable to pay full benefits starting in 2035. And that’s before factoring what officials acknowledge will be a substantial hit to both programs from the coronavirus pandemic, which has shut down large parts of the U.S. economy and put millions of people out of work. The depletion dates, which remained unchanged from last year’s estimates, were revealed Wednesday with release of the annual trustees reports of both programs.
April 22, 2020 4:23 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump has announced what he describes as a “temporary suspension of immigration into the United States.” But the executive order would bar only those seeking permanent residency, not temporary workers. Trump said Tuesday he would be placing a 60-day pause on the issuance of green cards in an effort to limit competition for jobs in a U.S. economy wrecked by the coronavirus. But he said there would be “certain exemptions,” which staff members were still crafting Tuesday. It’s a return to a divisive issue at a time of national crisis.
