April 5, 2020 7:53 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump is suggesting that he fired the inspector general for the intelligence community in retaliation for impeachment, saying the official was wrong to provide an anonymous whistleblower complaint to Congress as the law requires. In remarks to reporters on Saturday, Trump called Michael Atkinson a “disgrace” and accused him of passing along to Congress a “fake report.” Atkinson had determined the complaint was urgent and credible and therefore was required by law to disclose it to Congress. His ouster, announced late Friday, came under immediate fire from Democrats and a handful of Republicans.
April 5, 2020 7:52 am
VATICAN CITY (AP) – Pope Francis is celebrating Palm Sunday Mass without the public, since the traditional ceremony in St. Peter’s Square was scrapped because of the coronavirus pandemic. Normally, tens of thousands of Romans, tourists and pilgrims, clutching olive tree branches or palm fronds, would have flocked to an outdoor Mass. Instead, Francis on Sunday was leading the ceremony inside St. Peter’s Basilica, which seemed even more cavernous than usual because it was so empty. Aides, a few invited prelates and nuns and altar servers were present. Appearing pensive, Francis blessed the braided palms held by others, then held one himself.
April 5, 2020 7:49 am
NEW YORK (AP) – The U.S. is warning of many more coronavirus deaths in the days ahead, as the global pandemic mutes traditional observances from family grave-cleaning ceremonies in China to Palm Sunday for Christians. Italy and Spain, the two hardest-hit European nations, expressed hope that the crisis is peaking in their countries, while a chaotic scramble for desperately needed medical equipment and protective gear engulfed the United States. The number of confirmed infections topped 1.2 million globally, including more than 300,000 in the U.S., and the death toll neared 65,000. President Donald Trump warned of many deaths to come in the United States.
April 5, 2020 7:43 am
ALLEGHENY CO., Pa. (WPXI) — A wrong-way car crash on Interstate 376 caused part of the Parkway West to shut down Friday night. According to investigators, the two-vehicle accident happened around 10 p.m. on I-376 westbound between Exit 57 (Moon Township) and Exit 56 (McClaren Road/Aten Road). PennDOT said all westbound lanes between the Moon Business Loop and the McClaren Road interchanges were closed as crews worked to clear the area. Traffic was being diverted at Exit 57 until the scene cleared around 11:15 p.m. Investigators said Findlay Township police were trying to conduct a traffic stop when the driver took off, going the wrong way down the Parkway West. The driver smashed into a police SUV. The driver, 43-year-old Michael Morelli, was taken to Allegheny General Hospital for treatment of his injuries. The officer, Neil Cridge, was taken to UPMC Mercy hospital for treatment. Police said charges are pending against Morelli.
April 5, 2020 7:41 am
MORGANTOWN (WPXI) — The sale of alcohol in one West Virginia county is being limited significantly, officials announced Saturday. Health officials said you now must have an official W.Va. ID to purchase liquor in Monongalia County, which lies on the Pa. state border. After state liquor stores were shut down in Pennsylvania, many people drove across state lines to purchase liquor. However, that will no longer be the case in at least one W.Va. county. Surrounding counties in the state have not issued a similar ban at this point.
April 5, 2020 4:22 am
Pennsylvania’s governor says residents should wear face coverings in public to help slow the spread of the coronavirus. Gov. Tom Wolf urged Pennsylvanians to make their own cloth masks and put them on when they go to the grocery store, pharmacy and other places where people congregate. He spoke a few hours before the federal government issued its own recommendation for Americans to wear face coverings. The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported more than 1,400 additional people have tested positive for the virus, bringing the total number to over 8,420. There were 12 new deaths for a statewide toll of 102.
April 5, 2020 3:22 am
The Pennsylvania Department of Health announced 1,493 additional positive cases of the coronavirus on Saturday, bringing the total to 11,510 across the state. The statewide death total is now at 150. The Department of Health says that 66,261 people have tested negative so far.
Allegheny County: 605 (4 deaths)
Westmoreland County: 147
Butler County: 87 (2 deaths)
Beaver County: 84 (2 deaths)
Washington County: 50
Fayette County: 27 (1 death)
Lawrence County: 23 (2 deaths)
Mercer County: 18
Indiana County: 13
Greene County: 12
Armstrong County: 12
Clarion County: 5
Venango County: 3
Forest: 3
April 4, 2020 4:31 am
President Donald Trump says his administration will try to stop “profiteers” from exporting medical protective gear, shortly after picking a fight with manufacturing giant 3M, a major producer and exporter of face masks used to protect health care workers from the coronavirus. 3M argued that blocking exports will raise “significant humanitarian implications” abroad and lead other countries to retaliate by withholding much-needed medical supplies from the U.S. Nearly all of 3M’s exports of high-grade N95 masks go to Canada and Latin America. Canadian officials led by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau took the company’s side. They lobbied Trump administration officials not to cut off part of their supply.
April 4, 2020 4:29 am
A section of state route 906 is now reopened in the Mon Valley. The section of the road near the Rostraver – Monessen line in Westmoreland County was closed earlier this week due to a mudslide that blocked portions of the road. PennDOT says the road was reopened to traffic on Friday afternoon.
April 4, 2020 4:16 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Joe Biden is set to announce a committee to oversee his vice presidential selection process and is already thinking about whom he’d choose to join his Cabinet. Biden made the disclosure Friday during a virtual fundraiser. He holds a significant lead in delegates over primary rival Bernie Sanders but hasn’t officially clinched the Democratic presidential nomination. He said he’s spoken to Sanders to let him know he’d be working on the vice presidential vetting process. Biden said he doesn’t want Sanders to think he’s “being presumptuous” by choosing a running mate. But he added that the vice presidential vetting process “takes time,” so he has to begin this month.
