March 21, 2020 9:39 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Mike Bloomberg is transferring $18 million from his presidential campaign to the Democratic National Committee in what is the largest such transfer ever. Bloomberg’s move will help the DNC make up for some of its steep fundraising disadvantage to its Republican counterpart. Bloomberg is one of the world’s wealthiest men with a net worth estimated to exceed $60 billion. He promised throughout his campaign that he’d help Democrats try to defeat President Donald Trump regardless of how his own White House bid fared. The Bloomberg campaign will also transfer its offices in six pivotal states to the Democratic parties in those states, to help accelerate their hiring and organizing.
March 21, 2020 4:19 am
UNDATED (AP) – Actor-singer Kenny Rogers, who embodied “The Gambler” persona and whose musical career spanned jazz, folk, country and pop has died at 81. A representative says Rogers died at home in Georgia on Friday night. The Houston-born balladeer with a husky voice had hits like “Lucille,” “Lady” and “Islands in the Stream” with Dolly Parton. He sold tens of millions of records and was the star of TV movies, making him a superstar in the late ’70s and ’80s. With his silver beard and folksy charm, the Grammy winner excelled as a musical stylist for more than six decades.
March 21, 2020 4:12 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – An angry President Donald Trump is defending his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and lashing out at reporters he deems overly critical of the response. At Friday’s White House briefing, he also added to the confusion over whether he is using the Defense Production Act to order U.S. businesses to manufacture and send vital medical supplies to hospitals preparing to be overwhelmed by a wave of coronavirus cases. Trump also broke publicly with the government’s top infectious-disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, over the possible effectiveness of new drugs being explored to treat the virus. Trump voiced much optimism. Fauci made clear it’s too soon to be optimistic about an imminent treatment.
March 21, 2020 4:10 am
(AP)-This country is hurting when it comes to medical supplies. The Associated Press has found that the critical shortage of testing swabs, protective masks, surgical gowns and hand sanitizer can be tied to a sudden drop in imports of medical supplies. Disruptions in the supply chain half a world away and a lack of timely ordering are now leading to deadly delays in replenishing a rapidly dwindling stockpile. The materials are critical to containing the highly contagious coronavirus as emergency rooms and clinics brace for a surge. The United States counts on receiving the vast majority of its medical supplies from China, where the coronavirus has infected more than 80,000 people.
March 21, 2020 3:55 am
GREENFIELD, Pa. (AP) – A fast-moving fire roared through a western Pennsylvania duplex, leaving a woman dead and two other people hospitalized. The fire at the two-story home in Greenfield was reported early Friday. Firefighters found heavy flames coming from the upper part of the home. and battled the blaze for about 90 minutes before it was brought under control. A woman found unresponsive in the home was pronounced dead at the scene, but her name was not released. Another woman and a man were able to escape the fire, but were being treated at hospitals for undisclosed injuries that were considered serious. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
March 21, 2020 3:52 am
HARRISBURG,PA – Coal mining operations will be allowed to continue under an update announced by Gov. Tom Wolf Friday, state Rep. Pam Snyder, D-Greene/Fayette/Washington, announced. Snyder said following Thursday’s order from Wolf that mandated the closure of non-life sustaining companies, which initially included coal mining operations, she has been in constant contact with representatives from the governor’s office, members of the United Mine Workers of America and coal mining company officials.“It’s imperative that our coal operations continue – they are a vital part of keeping our energy grid running as it should, especially during this current pandemic situation,” Snyder said. “I applaud Governor Wolf and members of his team who have been willing to work with us to keep these and other vital energy-producing businesses fully operational. To shut down operations, even temporarily, would be devastating on so many levels, and I am thankful that a shutdown isn’t happening.”Snyder added any business that wants to apply for a waiver from the closure order can do so by using the following email address: RA-dcexemption@pa.gov. Businesses that have questions as to whether they need to close can contact the state Department of Community and Economic Development by email at RA-dcedcs@pa.gov.
March 20, 2020 4:44 pm
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Business groups and Republican lawmakers are greeting a broad shutdown order from Pennsylvania’s governor with questions, objections and outrage. Meanwhile, two lawsuits challenging it were filed Friday. With enforcement expected to soon begin, Gov. Tom Wolf defended the order Friday by saying that Pennsylvania needs to prevent its hospitals from becoming overwhelmed with people stricken by the virus. Late Thursday, Wolf directed all “non-life-sustaining” businesses to close their physical locations. Pennsylvania has reported one death and more than 260 people sickened from the coronavirus so far.
March 20, 2020 4:37 pm
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has confirmed the state’s first death from the coronavirus. DeWine identified the man who died Wednesday as a 76-year-old attorney from the Toledo area who had recently traveled to California. DeWine says the state has now entered a new stage in the crisis. Ohio now has nearly 170 cases with nearly 40 hospitalizations. The state human services agency said it received 139,468 unemployment insurance benefit applications online this week, compared to 4,815 last week.áThe federal government approved Ohio’s application for access to low-interest loans of up to $2 million for businesses and nonprofits affected by the coronavirus’ economic impact.
March 20, 2020 4:26 pm
Just over two weeks after the former owner of Levin Furniture stores announced a plan to buy back the stores and save them from bankruptcy, the deal is off. Our news partners at WPXI say they have learned that employees of Levin Furniture stores in the Pittsburgh-area received an email Friday saying the deal was no longer happening. That deal, which was announced on March 5, involved Robert Levin acquiring Levin Furniture and Wolf Furniture locations in Pennsylvania and Ohio through a court restructuring of parent company Art Van Furniture. Robert Levin celebrated the agreement with workers. Art Van Company was shutting down and starting liquidation sales at its stores in Michigan, Illinois, Missouri and Ohio. Levin Furniture was founded in 1920 in Mount Pleasant by Robert Levin’s grandparents.
March 20, 2020 3:33 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump is tapping stepped-up powers to marshal the private sector in the coronavirus pandemic. Earlier this week he said he’d invoke the rarely used Defense Production Act as needed to get vital medical supplies on the front lines of the outbreak. Now he says he’s put that “in gear.” He also announced an effective closure of the U.S. border with Mexico, prohibiting most travel except for trade. That brings it in line with the restriction on the Canadian border earlier this week. The government is suspending interest on federally owned student loans as well.
