April 29, 2020 4:06 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – With the U.S. economy gripped by its worst crisis since the 1930s, Federal Reserve policymakers are expected to offer sweeping assurances Wednesday that they will act as needed to help prevent the damage from growing even worse. Yet the Fed is unlikely to unveil any new emergency programs. Fed officials have already taken a range of extraordinary actions that have propelled them into new corners of the economy and elevated their bond-buying to new heights. Chairman Jerome Powell will hold his usual news conference – this time virtually, rather than on site – after the Fed issues its latest policy statement.
April 29, 2020 4:05 am
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – Republican state leaders in Oklahoma and Utah are facing scrutiny over the spending of millions of dollars combined to purchase malaria drugs promoted by President Trump to treat COVID-19 patients that many other states obtained for free and that doctors warned shouldn’t be used without more testing. Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt defended the state’s $2 million purchase Tuesday, saying the drug was showing some promise. Top officials in both states chalked up the decisions to “the fog of war.” Utah Gov. Gary Herbert at first defended the state’s $800,000 purchase but has since ordered an investigation of the contract and halted a plan to spend $8 million to buy more.
April 29, 2020 4:03 am
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice says his coronavirus reopening plan is based on two things: science and math. But for a second consecutive day Tuesday, the Republican governor failed to show his work on the reason behind loosening testing benchmarks as the state barrels toward lifting its virus restrictions. The Justice administration plan to reopen hinges on having the state’s positive testing rate below 3% for three days, reversing a previous goal to have cases decline for two straight weeks. Virus czar Clay Marsh has endorsed Justice’s plan, saying the state has enough downward trends to move forward despite previous statements pushing for a two-week threshold along with the White House.
April 29, 2020 4:00 am
CINCINNATI (AP) – A Democratic U.S. House incumbent faces a spirited challenge in central Ohio and two Democrats are competing to take on a potentially vulnerable Republican congressman in the Cincinnati area as Ohio’s extended primary voting came to an end. A late surge of votes arriving by mail or cast by people allowed to vote in-person left the outcomes of those races in doubt late Tuesday as large counties tabulated them. Ohio voting has been mostly by mail since state officials called off in-person voting for March 17.
April 29, 2020 3:58 am
(WPXI) – Pennsylvania restaurants, struggling because of the coronavirus pandemic, would be able to serve to-go cocktails under a new bill. The legislation, passed by the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Tuesday, would allow restaurants and stores with r-licenses who have lost 25% or more of their business during the COVID-19 outbreak, to sell the to-go cocktails. According to the bill, the drinks must be in a container with a lid and cannot exceed 64 ounces. Customers have to keep the drinks in their trunk or another place in their car without the driver and passengers. The bill moves onto the Senate for a vote.
April 29, 2020 2:27 am
Washington County officials say there are businesses in that area that are ready to safely re-open, but they are following Gov. Tom Wolf’s orders — which seem to be ever-changing. “It has been a challenge to try to know which course of actions to take in Washington County next because the info continues to change,” said Diana Irey Vaughan, chairman of the board of Commissioners. On Tuesday, Wolf backed off the regional concept to re-open parts of the state. “We had put out a map in terms of our health care regions, but the governor has said that we are not going to be beholden to any specific map or any specific scheme,” said Dr. Rachel Levine, Pa. secretary of health. Wolf said he will consider reopening individual counties. Washington County is hoping to be a part of that plan. There are 109 COVID-19 cases and two deaths here. Wolf said he will be as objective as possible in evaluating the data and consider areas where hospitals have not been overwhelmed. There are some counties in Southwestern Pennsylvania with extremely low COVID-19 numbers and no deaths.
April 28, 2020 1:14 pm
ATLANTA (AP) – A representative for Ashley Ross of the reality TV show “Little Women: Atlanta” says she’s died in a Georgia car crash. Publicist Liz Dixson says Ross – also known as “Ms. Minnie” – died of her injuries Monday at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta. Dixson says the wreck happened late Sunday night on a road south of Atlanta. City of South Fulton police did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday. Dixson says the family asks for privacy as they grieve. The Lifetime series follows the lives of women with dwarfism who try to make it big in Atlanta’s hip-hop and rap music scene.
April 28, 2020 8:37 am
ROCHESTER, Minn. (AP) – Vice President Mike Pence chose not to wear a face mask while touring the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. It’s an apparent violation of the world-renowned medical center’s policy requiring them. Video feeds show he didn’t wear a mask when he met with a Mayo employee who has recovered from COVID-19. He was also maskless when he visited a coronavirus testing lab. And Pence was the only participant not to wear a mask during a roundtable discussion. Food and Drug Administration chief Stephen Hahn was among those wearing masks. Pence’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. (Photo: CNN)
April 28, 2020 4:53 am
UNDATED (AP) – Hillary Clinton has endorsed Joe Biden’s presidential candidacy. Her backing on Tuesday continues Democrats’ unification efforts ahead of a fall campaign against President Donald Trump. Clinton announced her support in a virtual town hall with Biden on Tuesday. As the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee, Clinton made history by becoming the first woman to lead a major party’s ticket. Clinton and Biden both ran for the Democratic nomination in 2008 but lost to Barack Obama, who ended up tapping Biden as his vice president and Clinton as his secretary of state.
April 28, 2020 4:16 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The White House has released new guidelines aimed at answering criticism that America’s coronavirus testing has been too slow, and President Donald Trump is trying to pivot toward a focus on “reopening” the nation. The new testing targets would ensure states had enough COVID-19 tests available to sample at least 2.6% of their populations each month – a figure already met by a majority of states. Areas that have been harder hit by the virus would be able to test at double that rate, or higher. Still, there are doubts from public health experts that the White House’s new testing targets are sufficient.
