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.
April 22, 2020 4:21 am
China again reports no new deaths from the coronavirus, but the country has registered 30 new cases – 23 of them brought from abroad. Of the domestic cases, all seven were reported in Heilongjiang province near the Russian border where a field hospital has been set up to deal with a new flare-up related to people coming home from abroad. China has reported a total of 4,632 deaths among 82,788 cases, the bulk of them in Wuhan where officials recently raised the death toll by 50% after a review of records.
April 22, 2020 4:20 am
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – Tyson Foods is suspending operations indefinitely at a large Iowa pork processing plant that was blamed for fueling a coronavirus outbreak in the community. The company warned today that its closing of the plant in Waterloo would be a blow to hog farmers and potentially disrupt the nation’s pork supply. Tyson kept the plant open in recent days over the objections of the mayor and other local officials. The plant employs 2,800 workers and can process about 19,500 hogs per day, almost 4% of the nation’s pork processing capacity. Several other meatpacking plants have temporarily closed due to coronavirus outbreaks.
April 22, 2020 4:18 am
(AP) – Coyotes, pumas and goats are wandering around cities, while air across the world is becoming less polluted. Scientists are noticing changes to Earth’s environment as millions of people stay home because of the new coronavirus. The planet is becoming wilder and cleaner. Air pollution is down 30% in the northeastern U.S. and 49% in Rome. Sea turtles are nesting better without human interference. Scientists think of this as a grand but unintended experiment that shows how much of a footprint humanity has on the planet.
April 22, 2020 4:17 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Congress is sprinting to approve a $483 billion coronavirus aid package. The deal backed by the White House would replenish a small-business payroll fund and pump more money into hospitals and testing programs. President Donald Trump is urging swift passage this week. The bill is Washington’s fourth in response to the crisis, but it’s not expected to be the last. Lawmakers are taking unprecedented steps to confront the virus and prop up communities nationwide during the health crisis. The Senate approved the package Tuesday. The House is asking lawmakers to return for a Thursday vote.
