May 11, 2020 9:56 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – A majority of Americans disapprove of protests against restrictions aimed at preventing the spread the coronavirus. That’s according to a new poll that also finds the still-expansive support for such limits has dipped. The new survey from the University of Chicago Divinity School and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds 55% of Americans say they disapprove of such protests, while 31% approve. The poll also finds that 71% of Americans favor requiring people to stay in their homes except for essential errands, down slightly from 80% two weeks earlier. Similarly, 67% of Americans now say they favor requiring bars and restaurants to close, down from 76%.
May 11, 2020 8:51 am
BEAVER COUNTY, Pa — (WPXI) – The Pennsylvania National Guard arrived Monday morning at Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center in Beaver County to offer support to the facility and the Department of Health. The National Guard conducted an assessment of the facility on Saturday, the spokesperson said. The agency will provide additional staff to the facility from Monday, May 11 to Monday, May 18. At that point, Brighton Rehab is going to bring in additional nursing support from Texas and the National Guard will leave. There will be 27 members of the national guard who will support the staff. They will help with cleaning, meal preparations, and service. After numerous reports and questions from Channel 11, this is the latest action to be taken at the facility where it is believed more than 70 residents died from the coronavirus.
May 11, 2020 5:21 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Comedian Jerry Stiller has died at 92. His son Ben Stiller said the actor died of natural causes in a tweet posted early Monday. Jerry Stiller began his career in the 1950s as the partner of his wife Anne Meara and remained popular decades later with his featured roles on “Seinfeld” and “King of Queens.” Stiller was a multi-talented performer who appeared in an assortment of movies. He played Walter Matthau’s police sidekick in the thriller “The Taking of Pelham One Two Three” and Divine’s husband Wilbur Turnblad in John Waters’ twisted comedy “Hairspray.”
May 11, 2020 4:06 am
UNDATED (AP) – Visitors wearing face masks streamed into Shanghai Disneyland as China’s most prominent theme park reopened in a new step toward rolling back anti-coronavirus controls that shut down its economy. The park, which closed Jan. 25, will limit visitors and is keeping some attractions closed in line with social distancing guidelines. Disney guests, many wearing Mickey Mouse ears, and children dressed as movie characters were checked for fevers at the gate, and decals were used to designate a safe distance between visitors. China, where the pandemic began in December, was the first economy to shut down and the first to reopen in early March.
May 11, 2020 4:02 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Some people who watch a lot of news about the new coronavirus may end up feeling ill – but not because of COVID-19. A new survey finds some people watching heavy doses of coronavirus news can make themselves sick with worry or anxiety. The Pew Research Center survey taken last month says of those Americans who said they regularly watch news on the pandemic, 71 percent they need to cut back on viewing for the sake of their mental or emotional well-being.
May 11, 2020 3:54 am
SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) – Georgia’s attorney general is appointing a black district attorney to take over the case involving the slaying of Ahmaud Arbery (pictured). Attorney General Chris Carr said Monday he has chosen Cobb County District Attorney Joyette Holmes to head the prosecution. Holmes is the third outside prosecutor assigned to the case since Arbery was slain Feb 23. The case went more than two months without arrests until last week, when video of Arbery’s shooting surfaced online. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation charged a white father and son with felony murder and aggravated assault. A Justice Department spokeswoman said Monday that federal prosecutors are looking at the evidence to determine if federal hate crime charges are warranted.
May 11, 2020 3:53 am
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) – The Iranian army says a missile strike on a naval vessel taking part in an exercise in the Gulf of Oman has killed 19 sailors and wounded 15. The statement on Monday significantly raised the death toll in the incident Sunday. Earlier Iranian state media reports said the Konarak, a Hendijan-class support ship, was too close to a target during an exercise on Sunday. The vessel had been putting targets out for other ships to target. It said the missile struck the vessel accidentally.
May 11, 2020 3:52 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – China’s direct investments in the United States fell last year to the lowest level since the Great Recession — even before the coronavirus pandemic shut down much of global commerce. The drop reflected tensions between the world’s two biggest economies and Chinese government restrictions on overseas investment. A report out Monday found that China’s direct investment in the United States dropped from $5.4 billion in 2018 to $5 billion last year, the lowest level since the recession year of 2009. U.S. investment in China blipped up last year — to $14 billion from $13 billion in 2018.
May 11, 2020 2:54 am
Governor Tom Wolf announced Friday afternoon that southwest counties with the exception of Beaver are moving into the yellow phase. Wolf says thirteen more western counties, including much of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, can shed his most restrictive pandemic orders on movement and businesses next week, joining much of northern Pennsylvania that began emerging Friday. The counties that will move into the yellow phase on Friday, May 15th, include Washington, Allegheny, Armstrong, Bedford, Blair, Butler, Cambria, Fayette, Fulton, Greene, Indiana, Somerset and Westmoreland. The only western county held back, Beaver County, is home to perhaps the state’s worst nursing home outbreak, where dozens have died and a congressman is calling for an investigation. So…what exactly does the “Yellow Phase” mean to you? See below:
Work & Congregate Settings
Telework must continue where feasible
Businesses with in-person operations must follow business and building safety orders
Child care open – complying with guidelines
Congregate care and prison restrictions in place
School remains closed for in-person instruction
Social Restrictions
State at home order lifted for aggressive mitigation
Large gatherings of more than 25 prohibited
In-person retail allowable, curbside and delivery preferable
Indoor recreation, health and wellness facilities and personal care services (gyms, spas, hair salons, nail salons, and other entities that provide massage therapy), and all entertainment such as casinos and theaters will remain closed
Restaurants and bars limited to carry-out and delivery only
**All businesses must follow CDC and DOH guidance for social distancing and cleaning (Photo: WPXI)
May 10, 2020 8:12 am
U.S. regulators have approved a new type of coronavirus test that administration officials have promoted as a key to opening up the country. The Food and Drug Administration on Saturday announced emergency authorization for antigen tests developed by Quidel Corp. of San Diego. The test can rapidly detect fragments of virus proteins in samples collected from swabs swiped inside the nasal cavity, the FDA said in a statement. The antigen test is the third type of test to be authorized by the FDA. Currently, the only way to diagnose active COVID-19 is to test a patient’s nasal swab for the genetic material of the virus. While considered highly accurate, the tests can take hours and require expensive, specialized equipment mainly found at commercial labs, hospitals or universities. A second type looks in the blood for antibodies, the proteins produced by the body days or weeks after fighting an infection. Such tests are helpful for researchers to understand how far a disease has spread within a community, but they aren’t useful for diagnosing active infections. Antigen tests can diagnose active infections by detecting the earliest toxic traces of the virus rather than genetic code of the virus itself. The FDA said that it expects to authorize more antigen tests in the future.
