May 22, 2020 4:12 am
YPSILANTI TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) – Pandemic politics have shadowed President Donald Trump’s trip to Michigan. On Thursday, he toured a Ford Motor plant that had been repurposed to manufacture ventilators for the COVID-19 epidemic. But Trump and officials from the electoral battleground state were clashing in the meantime over federal aid, mail-in ballots and face masks. As usual, he refused to wear a protective mask, though Ford requires them and its officials wore them for the tour. The visit to Ypsilanti, outside Detroit, came a day after Trump criticized top state leaders and threatened to withhold federal funding over the state’s mail-in balloting effort. The White House didn’t invite Michigan’s Democratic governor.
May 22, 2020 4:10 am
MILWAUKEE (AP) – Harley-Davidson Inc. is resuming production at its U.S. manufacturing plants after suspending production for about two months. The Milwaukee-based motorcycle company shut down production in March after an employee at its factory in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, tested positive for the coronavirus. Harley-Davidson also saw motorcycle sales drop in the economic fallout from COVID-19. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports the Wisconsin factory where the worker tested positive for the coronavirus is expected to return to full staffing after Memorial Day weekend. The engine and drivetrain facility employs about 1,000 people. Harley-Davidson says it has begun a planned phased approach to resuming production in its facilities.
May 22, 2020 4:09 am
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) – A massive flood is raising fears of setbacks in a hazardous waste cleanup along a central Michigan river. Floodwaters overwhelmed two dams this week, chasing 11,000 people from their homes in or near Midland. The Tittabawassee River flows past Dow Chemical Co.’s headquarters plant, which for years produced dioxins. The highly toxic compounds were dumped into the river, where they became embedded in sediments and floodplains. Dow has been cleaning up the area since 2007 and has made considerable progress. The company says its projects survived a flood three years ago. But some scientists and activists fear this week’s flood could sweep the toxins downstream.
May 22, 2020 4:06 am
The FBI says a shooting at a Texas naval air station that wounded a sailor and left the gunman dead is being investigated as “terrorism-related.” Officials familiar with the investigation identified the suspect as Adam Alsahli of Corpus Christi. Officials say the shooting began about 6:15 a.m. Thursday when a gunman tried to speed through a gate at Naval Air Station-Corpus Christi in a vehicle and opened fire on security workers. A female sailor was struck but rolled and hit a switch that raised a barrier to stop the vehicle. The gunman was then killed in an exchange of gunfire.
May 22, 2020 4:05 am
India has reported 6,088 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours for its biggest single-day spike, increasing the country’s total number of infections to 118,447. The death toll due to the pandemic rose to 3,583 on Friday. More than 48,000 people have recovered, according to health ministry data. Maharashtra remains the worst-affected state in India with more than 41,000 cases after it added over 2,000 new infections for the fourth straight day. The number of fatalities in the state rose to 1,454, highest in the country. India has the 11th-most cases in the world. The nationwide surge comes ahead of the “calibrated” re-opening of domestic flights beginning Monday.
May 22, 2020 4:03 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser says the numbers are pointing to the start of a gradual reopening process in Washington, D.C,. at the end of the month. Bowser has penciled in Friday, May 29, as a potential start date for phase 1 of the District of Columbia’s proposed three-phase reopening plan. That is after weeks of insisting the Washington, D.C., area is not ready to end its pandemic-induced lockdown. The first phase includes restaurants allowing outdoor patio seating, non-essential businesses offering curbside pickup and hair salons and barbers operating by appointment at limited capacity.
May 22, 2020 4:02 am
NEW YORK (AP) – More than 4,300 recovering coronavirus patients were sent to New York’s already vulnerable nursing homes under a controversial state directive that was ultimately scrapped amid criticisms it was possibly accelerating the outbreaks. That’s according to an Associated Press tally conducted after the state declined to release its own survey. Whatever the full number, the March 25 order requiring nursing homes to take recovering COVID-19 patients from hospitals has become a thorny political issue for Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who abruptly reversed the policy May 10. New York leads the nation in nursing home deaths with about 5,700.
May 22, 2020 4:01 am
PITTSBURGH, Pa. (WPXI) – Fitness centers are not allowed to open until their county is in the green phase, and the governor has given stern warnings about what could happen if a business owner defies that order. Our news partners at Channel 11 say they have found at least two gyms in the region that have opened. “We have painted every square inch. We have cleaned everything. We moved every piece of equipment six foot apart or more,” said Linda Webb, owner of Webb’s World of Fitness in Penn Hills. “We spaced our cardio equipment six feet apart. We bought cases and cases of disinfectant exactly for COVID-19, on top of all the other germs, and have that throughout our facility.” Webb has owned her business for nearly 32 years. She made the decision to reopen despite stern warnings from the governor and the state health department. She told Channel 11 it was necessary to open now or risk closing for good. In Pleasant Hills, Life Force Fitness also opened on Thursday. The owner said he is open because exercise is so important to personal health. He noted that police officers are among his first clients back. Locally, we were told a complaint would have to be filed with the Allegheny County Health Department or Pleasant Hills Police Department. The Pennsylvania Department of Health sent us the following statement: “Gyms are businesses that are not licensed in Pennsylvania. In the event of a gym not complying with the Secretary and Governor’s orders, a letter will be sent regarding non-compliance. If it is discovered that there are significant public health concerns, the Departments of Health can impose a fine on the business.”
May 21, 2020 9:46 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – More than 2.4 million people applied for U.S. unemployment benefits last week in the latest wave of layoffs from the viral outbreak that triggered widespread business shutdowns two months ago and sent the economy into a deep recession. Roughly 38.6 million people have now filed for jobless aid since the coronavirus forced millions of businesses to close their doors and shrink their workforces, the Labor Department said Thursday. Another 2.2 million people sought aid under a new federal program for self-employed, contractor and gig workers, who are now eligible for jobless aid for the first time.
May 21, 2020 9:17 am
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (AP) – A naval air station in Texas is on lockdown after an active shooter was reported near one of the facility’s gates. Naval Air Station-Corpus Christi says the shooter was “neutralized” and all gates remain closed. There were no immediate reports of what happened to the shooter or other injuries. The station had a similar lockdown last December. In another incident at the base last year, a man pleaded guilty to destruction of U.S. government property and possession of a stolen firearm for ramming his truck into a barricade at the Corpus Christi station.
