March 23, 2020 4:13 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Coronavirus has arrived in the United States Senate. Rand Paul of Kentucky says he has tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus. The Kentucky Republican is the first member of the Senate to report testing positive. Paul said Sunday that he is feeling fine, but his test results raised fears about the spread of the virus in the Capitol. Paul’s office did not say when he was tested. was on Capitol Hill this past week, including at a luncheon Friday among GOP senators. His announcement led Utah’s two GOP senators – Mike Lee and Mitt Romney – to place themselves into quarantine, stepping away from negotiations as the Senate worked on a $1.4 trillion economic rescue package,
March 23, 2020 4:10 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The latest economic rescue package being negotiated in Washington is now nearly $2 trillion. But the Senate has yet to agree on the parameters of the package, voting against advancing the measure to a full vote. Talks wrapped up late at night on Capitol Hill with the goal a new vote on Monday. Democrats say the draft package is insufficient in the face of economic havoc from the coronavirus, arguing that it is tilted toward corporations and does too little to help workers and health care providers. President Donald Trump weighed in earlier in the day, saying “it’s not very complicated” and that workers must be helped and companies saved.
March 23, 2020 4:09 am
WELLINGTON, New Zealand. (AP) – Office workers are hauling computers and plants to their cars and shoppers are stripping shelves bare of coffee, flour and toilet paper before New Zealand starts a four-week lockdown. People must stay home and all non-essential businesses and activities cease when the lockdown begins late Wednesday night. The decision came as health officials announced another 36 confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the total to 102. Most were tied to travel overseas, but crucially, two of the cases could not be traced and officials believe they are evidence of a local outbreak.
March 23, 2020 4:03 am
State Police are investigating after a woman was struck and killed by a tractor Sunday in Buffalo Township. It happened around 3 p.m. along Jolly School Road. The Washington County Coroners Office says 60 year old Elizabeth McCord was pronounced dead at Washington Hospital about an hour later. A cause and manner of death are pending. No other information is currently being released.
March 23, 2020 4:00 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania lawmakers are drafting legislation to delay the state’s April 28 primary election. The state House’s State Government Committee chairman says forthcoming legislation would delay Pennsylvania’s primary to June 2nd. The legislation could make it to Gov. Tom Wolf’s desk this week.
March 23, 2020 2:51 am
Governor Tom Wolf Says enforcement of his order to close physical locations of all non-life-sustaining businesses began Monday morning at 8 am. Wolf has directed the following state agencies and local officials to enforce the closure orders “to the full extent of the law:” Pennsylvania State Police, Liquor Control Board, Departments of Health and Agriculture and local officials, who were directed to use their resources to enforce closure orders within their jurisdictions. The original list of business categories has undergone changes based on appeals, waiver requests and guidance from state agencies. Updated Business Category List (3/20/20)
March 22, 2020 8:22 am
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — President Donald Trump sent a personal letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, seeking to maintain good relations and offering cooperation in fighting the viral pandemic, Kim’s sister said Sunday. The latest correspondence came as Kim observed the firing of tactical guided weapons over the weekend, drawing criticism from South Korea, as the nuclear talks remain deadlocked. In a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency, Kim’s sister and senior ruling party official, Kim Yo Jong, praised Trump for sending the letter at a time when “big difficulties and challenges lie ahead in the way of developing ties” between the countries. In the letter, she said Trump explained his plan to “propel the relations between the two countries … and expressed his intent to render cooperation in the anti-epidemic work” in an apparent reference to the global coronavirus outbreak. She said her brother expressed his gratitude for Trump’s letter.
March 22, 2020 8:18 am
A worldwide group representing Olympic hopefuls is calling on the IOC to postpone the Tokyo Olympics until the coronavirus pandemic is under control. “As the world unites to limit the spread of Covid-19 virus, the IOC … must do the same,” Global Athlete said in a news release Sunday. This show of solidarity among Olympic hopefuls adds to the dozens of individual athletes who have come out against the IOC’s current stance, which is to start the games as scheduled on July 24. The IOC is in consultation with the World Health Organization and has stuck to the position that it’s too early for drastic decisions. “It’s bizarre the IOC hasn’t shown any real leadership,” said Caradh O’Donovan, a Global Athlete founder from Ireland whose karate training has been put on hold due to restrictions in her country. “They’re acting as though it’s business as usual and it just seems very strange.” O’Donovan said the unevenness around the globe regarding training, doping control and qualifying standards are among her key concerns — thoughts echoed by a number of athletes on social media and in interviews with The Associated Press over the past few days.
March 22, 2020 8:16 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Top-level negotiations between Congress and the White House are pushing toward resolution on a ballooning $1 trillion-plus economic rescue package, as President Donald Trump urged a deal to steady a nation shuttered by the coronavirus pandemic. With a population on edge and financial markets teetering, all sides indicated late Saturday that a deal is within reach. At issue is how best to keep paychecks flowing for millions of workers abruptly sidelined by the crisis. Talks also narrowed on a so-called Marshall Plan for hospitals as well as industry loans to airlines and others all but grounded by the virus outbreak and national shutdown. The post-World War II Marshall Plan helped to rebuild Western Europe. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced late Saturday all sides were “very close” to a bipartisan resolution. McConnell instructed committee chairmen to assemble draft legislation. Officials put the price tag at nearly $1.4 trillion and said that with other measures from the Federal Reserve it could pump $2 trillion into the U.S. economy.
March 22, 2020 8:12 am
SOAVE, Italy (AP) — Italy, Iran and the United States reported soaring new death tolls as the coronavirus pandemic marched relentlessly across the globe Sunday, prompting a scramble in hard-hit regions to set up more hospital beds and replenish the dwindling medical supplies needed to keep health workers safe. Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte went on TV near midnight, announcing that he was tightening the country’s lockdown and shutting down all production facilities except those providing essential goods and services. He cautioned citizens to be calm and patient, insisting there was “no alternative” than to impose further restrictions. Scientists have argued that avoiding even one infection means scores more are prevented down the line. In the U.S., where several states have ordered residents to stay indoors, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the government is “literally scouring the globe looking for medical supplies.” Health care workers from Oklahoma City to Minneapolis sought donations of protective equipment. Staff at a Detroit hospital began creating homemade face masks for workers. Negotiators from Congress and the White House resumed top-level talks on a ballooning $1 trillion-plus economic rescue package, urged by President Donald Trump to strike a deal to steady a nation upended by the coronavirus pandemic. Trump appeared confident about the nation’s ability to defeat the pandemic soon even as health leaders acknowledged that the U.S. was nowhere near the peak of the pandemic.
