April 30, 2020 3:58 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Health officials say COVID-19 has killed hundreds more Pennsylvania nursing home residents than was previously known. The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Wednesday reported 479 new COVID-19 deaths, with 339 of them at nursing and personal care homes. That raises the state’s overall death toll to more than 2,100. Nursing homes now account for 65% of all deaths attributed to the virus in Pennsylvania. Nursing homes cite shortages of personal protective equipment and say they haven’t been able to do enough diagnostic testing to be able to quickly identify and isolate patients and staff who have the virus.
April 30, 2020 3:56 am
McKEESPORT, Pa. — (WPXI) – Pennsylvania American Water is proposing a water and sewer rate increase that could go into effect as early as 2021. The company filed a request with the Pennsylvania Utility Commission Wednesday, saying the additional money is needed to cover infrastructure improvements. The request covers its entire customer base, which includes millions of people in a number of different counties – including Allegheny. If approved, the monthly sewer bill for residential customers could increase by about $20 next year. The monthly water bill for residential customers using 3,458 gallons per month could see an $8 increase the first year. Business owners would also see an increase. Customers have until the end of June to object the rate increase request through the Public Utility Commission. Pennsylvania American Water said it is also requesting enhancements to the customer assistance program to help families who are struggling financially.
April 30, 2020 3:51 am
The California Area School District plans to operate with nearly 23% less teachers next year, according to the California Area Education Association. At last night’s virtual meeting, the board voted 5-3 to furlough staff members – a total of 14 teachers according to the association. The move comes as the district struggles to balance next year’s budget – which faces an over 1-million-dollar deficit. The district cited unknowns related to COVID-19 and the absence of in-lieu-of-taxes payments from Cal U as the major shortfalls. However, the board voted to remove a referendum on the June ballot that would have raised taxes over the allowable limit to generate additional funds. It is unclear at this time how the district will manage its shortfall. In other business, the district voted to hire Dr. Laura Jacob (Assistant to the Superintendent at Connellsville) as their new superintendent to replace retiring Michael Sears effective July 1st.
April 30, 2020 2:51 am
UNDATED (AP) – U.S. government officials say an experimental drug has proved effective against the new coronavirus in a major study. Gilead Sciences’s Remdesivir is the first treatment to pass such a strict test against the virus, which has killed more than 218,000 people since it emerged late last year. The study was led by the U.S. National Institutes of Health and tested Remdesivir versus usual care in more than 1,000 hospitalized coronavirus patients around the world. Results released Wednesday showed the drug reduced the time to recovery by 31%, or four days on average, compared to usual care. It is given through an IV and interferes with the virus’s ability to copy its genetic material.
April 29, 2020 3:27 pm
UNDATED (AP) – Boeing says it will cut about 10% of its work force and slow production of planes as it deals with the ongoing grounding of its best-selling plane and the coronavirus pandemic. With air travel falling sharply because of the virus, airlines have delayed orders and deliveries of new planes, reducing Boeing’s revenue. The company announced the job cuts as it reported a loss of $641 million in the first quarter. It earned $2.15 billion in the same period last year. Revenue fell 26% to $16.91 billion. Boeing says jobs will be eliminated through a combination of voluntary exits and layoffs. They will be deepest in the division that makes airline jets, and less severe in the company’s defense and space unit.
April 29, 2020 3:24 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump says the federal government’s coronavirus social distancing guidelines will be “fading out” when they expire on Thursday and states pivot to reopening. The administration says the guidance issued 45 days ago has been incorporated into recommendations given to states on how they can begin the process of gradually reopening their economies. The news comes on a day that brought hopeful signs on a new treatment along with grim economic numbers. The U.S. economy shrank at a 4.8% annual rate last quarter.
April 29, 2020 1:42 pm
Traffic is moving again after an accident Wednesday morning on Interstate 79 north near the Southpointe Exit. Authorities say both lanes of the interstate were closed after an accident involving a car and a truck. The truck landed on its side and crews were called in to remove the wreckage. There’s been no word on whether anyone was hurt.
April 29, 2020 4:12 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump has ordered meat processing plants to remain open amid concerns over growing coronavirus cases and the impact on the nation’s food supply. An executive order signed Tuesday by the president uses the Defense Production Act to classify meat processing as critical infrastructure to keep plants open and prevent a shortage of chicken, pork and other meat on supermarket shelves. The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union says 20 food-processing and meatpacking union workers in the U.S. have died of the virus. And they say the country can’t have a secure food supply unless workers are kept safe.
April 29, 2020 4:10 am
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Former Vice President Joe Biden has won Ohio’s presidential primary. Tuesday’s contest was less about the Democratic nomination and more about how states can conduct elections in the era of the coronavirus. The primary was originally scheduled for March 17, but Republican Gov. Mike DeWine cited a “health emergency” and recommended that in-person balloting not be held until June 2. Amid legal challenges, officials pushed balloting to this week while converting to a mail-in process since the state remains under a stay-at-home order. The result was never in doubt after Biden’s last rival, Bernie Sanders, dropped out of the race earlier this month.
April 29, 2020 4:07 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The U.S. economy began 2020 riding the crest of a record-long expansion with every expectation that its 11th year of growth would not be its last. Then the economy screeched to a sudden halt. And now it’s in free-fall. On Wednesday, the government will offer a glimpse of how dark the picture has grown and how much worse it could get as the coronavirus pandemic inflicts ruinous damage. The Commerce Department is expected to estimate that the gross domestic product sank at an annual rate of 5% or more in the January-March quarter. And yet forecasters say that will be only a precursor of a far grimmer GDP report to come on the current quarter.
