March 20, 2020 3:59 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Members of President Donald Trump’s economic team will convene on Capitol Hill to launch negotiations with Senate Republicans and Democrats racing to draft a $1 trillion-plus economic rescue package amid the coronavirus outbreak. It’s the biggest effort yet to shore up households and the U.S. economy as the pandemic and its nationwide shutdown hurtles the country toward a likely recession. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has unveiled a sweeping economic rescue plan to pump $1,200 checks directly to taxpayers, $300 billion for small businesses to keep idled workers on payroll and $208 billion in loans to industries. The negotiations are certain to encounter difficulties ahead, as some Republicans object and Democrats say it doesn’t go far enough.
March 20, 2020 3:57 am
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – California’s governor has issued stay-at-home orders for 40 million people in the most sweeping move of any state yet to curb the spread of the coronavirus. With half the state already under local stay-home requirements, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday issued a statewide order, warning that unless the rise in cases of COVID-19 slows, it might overwhelm the state’s medical system. Newsom says people will be able to shop for food and seek medical care but should practice social distancing. In a letter to President Donald Trump, Newsom said the virus eventually could infect more than half the state’s population.
March 20, 2020 3:55 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania’s prisons are working to set up video conferences between inmates and family members now that visits have been suspended in an effort to keep the coronavirus out of the institutions. Corrections Secretary John Wetzel said the service should be available soon to family members in their homes. It had been available previously between prisons, if, say, a family member went to a prison to connect with a relative incarcerated somewhere farther away in a Pennsylvania state prison. But now, families will be able to sign up for 45-minute time slots and use devices in their homes to video chat.
March 20, 2020 2:51 am
The number of corona virus cases continues to climb here in Pennsylvania. As of Thursday, there were 185 cases, and on Friday, the Pennsylvania Department of Health confirmed 268 positive cases. State health officials say they anticipate the number to continue to go up as more people get tested for the illness. State health Sec. Rachel Levine warned during her daily briefing that community spread of the virus was occurring and she urged people to stay home to prevent the illness from spreading. Washington County remained at three cases while Westmoreland County doubled to four positive results. Allegheny County recorded an additional nine cases on Friday, bringing their total to twenty-seven confirmed cases of the Coronavirus.
March 20, 2020 2:14 am
Governor Tom Wolf on Thursday ordered all non-life-sustaining businesses in Pennsylvania to close their physical locations as of 8 p.m. today, March 19, to slow the spread of COVID-19. Enforcement actions against businesses that do not close physical locations will begin at 12:01 a.m. Saturday, March 21st. “To protect the health and safety of all Pennsylvanians, we need to take more aggressive mitigation actions,” said Wolf. “This virus is an invisible danger that could be present everywhere. We need to act with the strength we use against any other severe threat. And, we need to act now before the illness spreads more widely.” In extenuating circumstances, special exemptions will be granted to businesses that are supplying or servicing health care providers. “
Business List from Gov. Wolf’s Office
March 19, 2020 9:38 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits surged last week by 70,000, indicating that the impact of the coronavirus was starting to be felt in rising layoffs in the job market. The Labor Department reported Thursday that applications for benefits, a good proxy for layoffs, rose by 70,000 to a seasonally adjusted 281,000 last week.
March 19, 2020 4:01 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump is turning to a 1950 law to boost private production of supplies needed to confront the coronavirus pandemic. Trump says he’ll invoke the Defense Production Act. That law was signed by President Harry S. Truman during the Korean War. It gives the president broad authority to mobilize the resources and production of private companies to meet the needs of the national defense. That could be especially important for the U.S. government as it braces for a surge in coronavirus cases and shortfalls in medical supplies. The law has been invoked multiple times by presidents of both political parties during emergencies, including blackouts, war and hurricanes.
March 19, 2020 4:00 am
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) – State TV in Iran is reporting that the country’s top leader will pardon 10,000 more prisoners in an apparent effort to combat the coronavirus. As part of steps taken to try to curb the spread of the new virus that has killed more than 1,100 people in Iran, the country has already released 85,000 prisoners on temporary leave. State TV quoted a judiciary spokesman saying that the prisoners – among them an unknown number of inmates whose cases are political and related to activism or speech – would be granted amnesty under a decree by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on the occasion of the Iranian new year, called Nowruz.
March 19, 2020 3:59 am
BANGKOK (AP) – Shares in Asia have slid further, with Japan’s benchmark failing to hold onto early gains after the latest selloff on Wall Street. South Korea’s Kospi sank 7% on Thursday as automakers considered closing factories to help slow the spread of the coronavirus that has infected more than 200,000 people worldwide. Fears of a prolonged recession have been taking hold, leading investors to shift to cash in hopes of better days to come.
March 19, 2020 3:58 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Federal officials are focusing on the Trump administration’s $1 trillion plan to stabilize a national economy reeling from the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. The pandemic endangering the health of untold millions of Americans is also threatening financial ruin for individuals and businesses. The plan’s centerpiece is $500 billion to start issuing direct payments to Americans by early next month. The plan would also funnel cash to businesses to help keep workers on payroll. On Wednesday, Congress approved a $100 billion-plus bill to boost testing for the virus and guarantee paid sick leave for millions of workers hit by it. Trump quickly signed the bill into law.
