March 18, 2020 4:50 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Senate has overwhelming passed a second coronavirus response bill, and is sending it to President Donald Trump to enact with his signature. The vote was a lopsided 90-8 despite misgivings among many Republicans over a temporary new employer mandate to provide sick leave to workers who contract COVID-19. The measure is also aimed at making diagnostic tests for the virus free. Trump announced he’ll invoke emergency powers to marshal critical medical supplies against a pandemic threatening to overwhelm hospitals and other treatment centers. Trump took a series of extraordinary steps to steady a shaken country. Congress is considering his broad economic rescue package.
March 18, 2020 8:44 am
One person was transported to the hospital following a trailer fire late Tuesday night in South Franklin Township. Washington County 9-1-1 says the blaze broke out just before 11 p.m. along Gayle Avenue near the Washington County Airport. One report says the trailer was fully engulfed when firefighters arrived. There is no word on the identity or condition of the individual who was injured. The investigation continues into the cause of the fire.
March 18, 2020 8:41 am
NEW YORK (AP) – The New York Stock Exchange will temporarily close its iconic trading floor in lower Manhattan and move to all-electronic trading beginning Monday as a precautionary step amid the coronavirus outbreak. The exchange will operate on a regular schedule, said Stacey Cunningham, the NYSE’s president. Several thousand brokers and others used to crowd the trading floor of the NYSE as recently as the 1990s. But in the years since, the rise of electronic trading grew to dominate the action on Wall Street. These days, there are about 500 floor traders at the NYSE.
March 18, 2020 4:14 am
Municipal government is taking on a new look as the coronavirus continues to make its way through the United States. North Strabane Township has streamlined its Supervisors Meeting schedule by eliminating their agenda meeting in March and April and holding a legislative meeting only. Residents were able to call in and participate in the meeting and a live email service was employed for public participation as well. At Tuesday night’s meeting, only one resident was in the audience for the meeting. Township Manager Andrew Walz explained that this change is temporary and in accordance with the decree by Governor Tom Wolf to exercise limited exposure to one another during this viral pandemic. The Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors notified all municipalities that local government is an essential function and that municipalities should maintain all of their services. In actual township business, bids for summer road materials were opened. Bids will be awarded once reviewed by the township engineer and director of public works. Supervisors also authorized an exploratory into the possibility of creating a traffic impact fee ordinance for the township. Traffic impact fees are charged to developers to offset costs caused by the new development in the area. There are restrictions on how the fees may be used, the exploratory will gather information as to whether an impact fee will be of financial benefit to the township.
March 18, 2020 4:09 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Joe Biden’s sweeping victories in Florida, Illinois and Arizona are building his delegate lead over rival Bernie Sanders in the Democratic presidential race. And that is increasing the pressure on Sanders to admit defeat and leave the race. The former vice president’s third big night in as many weeks came amid tremendous uncertainty as the Democratic contest collides with efforts to slow the spread of a virus that has shut down large swaths of American life. Biden’s quest for his party’s nomination now seems well within reach. His trio of wins doubled his delegate haul over Sanders, giving the former vice president a nearly insurmountable lead.
March 18, 2020 4:08 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Treasury Department wants to start issuing direct payments to Americans by early next month as the centerpiece of a $1 trillion plan to stabilize the economy amid the coronavirus epidemic. In a memorandum issued Wednesday, Treasury is calling for two $250 billion cash infusions to individuals: A first set of checks issued starting April 6, with a second wave in mid-May. The amounts would depend on income and family size.áThe Treasury plan, which requires approval by Congress, also recommends $50 billion to stabilize the airlines, $150 billion to issue loan guarantees to other struggling sectors, and $300 billion to for small businesses.
March 18, 2020 4:07 am
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – President Donald Trump on Wednesday moved to invoke a federal law that allows the government to marshal the private sector to deal with the coronavirus epidemic, as the economic damage mounted with word that Detroit’s Big Three automakers agreed to shut down all their factories to protect workers. On a day of head-spinning developments, stocks tumbled again on Wall Street. More borders slammed shut across Europe and North America, with the U.S. and Canada agreeing to close their shared boundary to all but essential travel. And the Trump administration pressed Congress to swiftly pass a potentially $1 trillion rescue package to prop up the economy and speed relief checks to Americans in a matter of weeks.
March 18, 2020 2:34 am
Canonsburg has declared a state of emergency. Mayor Dave Rhome says that in light of current events created by the outbreak of the Coronavirus and the information being released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, officials felt it was necessary to declare a state of emergency in the community. Rhome says the emergency declaration will allow their emergency management coordinator to facilitate all the necessary activities needed to prepare for an emergency response should it be needed.
March 18, 2020 2:33 am
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) – Apollo 15 astronaut Al Worden, who circled the moon alone while his two crewmates drove around in the first lunar rover, has died at age 88. Worden’s family announced Wednesday that he died in his sleep in Houston. Worden flew to the moon in 1971 along with David Scott and Jim Irwin. As command module pilot, Worden remained in lunar orbit while Scott and Irwin descended to the surface with the Apollo program’s first moon buggy. That was his only spaceflight. He was in NASA’s fifth astronaut class, chosen in 1966. Scott is one of four moonwalkers still alive. Irwin died in 1991.
March 18, 2020 2:26 am
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) – A moderate earthquake near Salt Lake City shut down a major air traffic hub and frightened millions of people already on edge from the coronavirus pandemic. There were no reports of injuries. The 5.7-magnitude earthquake just after 7 a.m. Wednesday also cut electricity for tens of thousands of people. The U.S. Geological Survey says the epicenter was southwest of the city and likely felt by about 2.8 million people as far away as Wyoming and Nevada.. Officials say there is no airport runway damage. The quake damaged a spire and statue at the top of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ iconic Salt Lake Temple.
