May 2, 2020 4:13 am
NEW YORK (AP) – A New York City nursing home says nearly 100 of its residents have died from confirmed or suspected cases of the novel coronavirus. The Isabella Geriatric Center in Manhattan is among the hardest hit nursing homes in the state, with 46 confirmed fatalities and an additional 52 deaths of people suspected to have the virus. The nursing home said it had to order a refrigerator truck because funeral homes have been taking days to pick up the deceased. The nursing home said it struggled to secure testing during the early part of the pandemic. Mayor Bill de Blasio called the death toll “horrifying.”
May 2, 2020 4:13 am
ALTURAS, Calif. (AP) – The lights are back on at restaurants, bars and other businesses in California’s Modoc County after nearly six weeks. The county of 9,000 in the far northeast of the state became the first to reopen Friday, in defiance of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s stay-home order. They’re relying on guidance from local officials, like the sheriff, and say they’re following mandates to stay at least 6 feet apart. Amber McCandles was at the Brass Rail restaurant. She says Sheriff Tex Dowdy would never allow residents back out if it wasn’t safe. Newsom has declined to address the reopening, saying that the anxiety in rural areas “is not lost on me.”
May 2, 2020 4:11 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – A spokesman for a key House panel says the White House has blocked Dr. Anthony Fauci from testifying next week at a hearing on the coronavirus outbreak. House Appropriations Committee spokesman Evan Hollander says the panel sought Fauci as a witness for a subcommittee hearing on the government’s response to the pandemic, but was denied. The White House says Fauci is busy dealing with the pandemic and will appear before Congress later. A spokesperson for the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee says Fauci is set to appear before that panel the week after next.
May 2, 2020 4:11 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Oprah Winfrey says she wants people to digest coronavirus news wisely during the a 24-hour livestream event. The media mogul along with 200 star-studded participants including President Bill Clinton and Julia Roberts took part in the Call to Unite event on Friday evening. The event was initiated to help inspire people to endure and overcome the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic. In one video, Josh Groban sang a song and played his keyboard piano. Charlamagne Tha God gave inspiring words for people dealing with mental illness while inside their homes, and “Hawaii Five-o” actor Daniel Dae Kim said he donated his plasma after recovering from the virus. Clinton and President George W. Bush also offered encouraging words.
May 2, 2020 4:09 am
DETROIT (AP) – Farmers, growers and operators of open-air markets are heading into a busy time of the year as many states still are under stay-at-home orders for residents and non-essential businesses to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Shoppers venturing out this year are just as likely to come across tables of hand sanitizer and face mask-wearing produce peddlers as they are to see bushels of corn, quarts of blueberries or flats of petunias. Many markets have moved to drive-thru shopping, reduced days or hours, and fencing to control crowds. At Detroit’s Eastern Market, fencing is being considered and grids will be painted on floors as a reminder to social distance.
May 2, 2020 4:08 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Democrats are standing behind presidential nominee Joe Biden, but the sexual assault allegations against him are putting them on the defensive. And that’s causing discomfort among the former vice president’s supporters who insisted during Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court confirmation hearings that female accusers should be believed. Biden was among those backing Christine Blasey Ford. But now, Biden is in the #MeToo hot seat. His former Senate aide Tara Reade is accusing him of having sexually assaulted her in the basement of a Capitol Hill office building in the spring of 1993. He denies that. But Republicans are accusing Democrats of a double standard.
May 2, 2020 4:07 am
LANSING, Mich. (AP) – Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says Michigan’s stay-at-home order remains in effect despite Republicans’ refusal to extend her underlying coronavirus emergency declaration, as she amended it to allow construction, real estate and outdoor work to resume next week. The Democratic governor, who may be sued by the GOP-led Legislature, addressed reporters Friday hours after President Donald Trump said she should “make a deal” with conservatives who protested her restrictions at the Capitol. She denounced the protest as “disturbing,” noting there were swastikas, Confederate flags, nooses and some people with assault weapons. She says she’ll gradually reopen the economy using science and data.
May 2, 2020 4:06 am
BEIJING (AP) – Russia has reported its highest one-day jump in new coronavirus infections as some other countries and U.S. states where numbers of cases are stabilizing allowed businesses and public activities to reopen. China, where the pandemic began in December, reported one new infection, extending a decline in confirmed cases. The country has allowed factories and some other businesses to resume work, along with some tourist spots for this weekend’s May Day holiday. South Korea reported six new cases, none in the hard-hit city of Daegu. In the United States, more than a dozen states including Texas allowed restaurants and some other businesses to reopen. The first drug shown to help fight the disease received emergency approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
May 2, 2020 4:03 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – A court ruling Friday says the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board must let special orders be shipped directly to retailers instead of sending them to state stores for pickup. The Commonwealth Court says the PLCB can’t ignore a 2016 state law that permits the direct shipping of wines and spirits not sold in state stores. Retailers and restaurants have instead had to get their orders at state stores that have been closed or operating on a limited basis during the COVID-19 pandemic. Judge Kevin Brobson says the agency must comply in a reasonable timeframe.
May 2, 2020 4:02 am
FINLEYVILLE, Pa. (WPXI) — A local dog grooming business is back open across two counties in western Pennsylvania despite the continued stay-at-home orders in our region. Candelore’s Barking Beauties reopened its doors Wednesday in Finleyville even though Gov. Tom Wolf hasn’t specified if this is an essential business. Owner Norm Candelore said he made the decision to reopen his doors after he got requests from over 750 people. Candelore told said among the three locations in Finleyville, White Oak and Elizabeth, his business serves 16,000 customers. When Wolf initially ordered mandatory shutdowns of all non-life sustaining businesses on March 19, Candelore said he complied. However, week after week of the business reopening being pushed back – combined with customers begging for help with nail clippings and removing painful dog matting – Candelore decided he’d had enough and opened his Finleyville location only. Safety measures such as wearing masks, limiting the lobby to one customer and curbside pickup are a few of the adjustments made. Candelore said he plans to reopen the other two locations in Allegheny County on May 8.
