Mosquitoes flying free as health departments focus on coronavirus
Bug spray, swollen welts, citronella. It’s mosquito season. And in a normal year, the health department serving Ohio’s Delaware County would be setting out more than 90 mosquito traps a week — black tubs of stagnant water with nets designed to ensnare the little buggers. But this year, because of...
Iowa drug kingpin who killed 5 people in 1993 to be executed
IOWA CITY, Iowa — A ruthless Iowa meth kingpin who killed five people, including two young girls, in 1993 to thwart his prosecution for drug trafficking is set to become the third federal inmate to be executed this week. Dustin Honken, 52, would become the first Iowa defendant to be...
Florida reports record 156 deaths, plus near-high for new coronavirus cases
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Florida got a nasty one-two punch of coronavirus news on Thursday: The state reported 156 more deaths and 13,965 more covid-19 cases. The state has never reported more fatalities on a daily pandemic report before, and there’s only been one other day with more infections. Also...
Pa. veterans’ clubs try to keep doors open after coronavirus shutdown
Two of Pennsylvania’s largest veterans’ organizations — Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion — say they remain committed to serving their local communities throughout the novel coronavirus pandemic, despite enduring financial strain. The nonprofits are required to spend 60 percent of their small games of chance funds on...
Pennsylvania draws closer to 100,000 total coronavirus cases
Pennsylvania inched closer to 100,000 coronavirus cases on Thursday, with 781 additional positive test results reported. That brings the state’s total number of cases to 98,446. The state’s department of health also reported 16 additional deaths, bringing the total attributed to covid-19 to 6,973. In the past seven days, between...
Target, Kohl’s, CVS latest to require masks in all stores
Target, Kohl’s and CVS have now added themselves to the list of stores requiring customers to wear a mask while shopping there. Target and CVS joined in on Thursday, while Kohl’s announced their news Wednesday. USA Today reports Target’s mask requirement will go into effect Aug. 1. The policy does...
Allegheny County reports 140 new coronavirus cases; health officials reviewing restrictions
Reported coronavirus cases in Allegheny County dropped Thursday for the second day in a row after hitting a record earlier this week. The county on Thursday reported 140 new coronavirus cases, 12 new hospitalizations and one death. The county had its highest reported number Tuesday with 331, followed by 246...
No servers, no tables: Israeli cafe is pandemic-friendly
TEL AVIV, Israel — As restaurants worldwide struggle to stay open in the coronavirus era, a new Tel Aviv noodle chain offers a pandemic-friendly approach: meals on the go with no human contact. Fast food cafeterias where customers ordered from vending machines, known as automats, once flourished in New York...
Clashes resume on volatile Armenian-Azerbaijani border
YEREVAN, Armenia — Clashes resumed between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces on the South Caucasus nations’ shared border Thursday morning, with both sides blaming each other for attacks that continue the worst outbreak of hostilities in years. Armenia’s Defense Ministry accused Azerbaijani forces of trying to infiltrate the country. Ministry spokeswoman...
U.S. executes 2nd man in a week; lawyers said he had dementia
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — The United States on Thursday carried out its second federal execution this week, killing by lethal injection a Kansas man whose lawyers contended he had dementia and was unfit to be executed. Wesley Ira Purkey was put to death at the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre...
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp explicitly voids mask orders in 15 localities
ATLANTA — Georgia’s Gov. Brian Kemp is explicitly banning Georgia’s cities and counties from ordering people to wear masks in public places. He voided orders on Wednesday that at least 15 local governments across the state had adopted even though Kemp had earlier said cities and counties had no power...
Trump shakes up campaign after mishaps, replacing Brad Parscale
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump shook up his campaign staff Wednesday, replacing campaign manager Brad Parscale with veteran GOP operative Bill Stepien. Trump and Parscale’s relationship had been strained since a Tulsa, Okla., rally that drew a dismal crowd, infuriating the president. The president’s poll numbers have also been sinking...
Brazil’s Bolsonaro gets new positive coronavirus test result
SAO PAULO — Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said Wednesday he has tested positive for the new coronavirus for a second time, following his July 7 announcement that he had covid-19. “I did the test yesterday, and at night the result came back that I am still positive for coronavirus,” Bolsonaro...
New pressure on Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, once hailed for coronavirus action
COLUMBUS — Early during the coronavirus outbreak, Ohio’s Republican governor appeared prophetic with his decisive steps to ban spectators from a sports expo, shut down all schools before any other state and put a stop to the presidential primary. Since then, Gov. Mike DeWine has backtracked away from a statewide...
Alabama to require face masks as coronavirus surges in stateVideo
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama will begin requiring face masks in public as health officials try to quell a surge of new coronavirus cases that is filling up hospitals, Gov. Kay Ivey said Wednesday. In an announcement made a day after the state reported a pandemic-high of 40 deaths in a...
Trump’s former doctor wins House GOP nomination in Texas
AUSTIN — President Donald Trump’s former White House physician and onetime pick to head the Department of Veterans Affairs won the Republican nomination for a U.S. House seat in Texas in an election that unfolded amid an alarming spread of the coronavirus. Ronny Jackson, a retired Navy rear admiral, defeated...
Coronavirus data is funneled away from CDC, sparking worriesVideo
NEW YORK — Hospital data related to the coronavirus pandemic in the United States will now be collected by a private technology firm, rather than the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — a move the Trump administration says will speed up reporting but one that concerns some public health...
Masks and gowns in short supply, leaving hospital workers exposed
American health care workers still face dangerous shortages of personal protective equipment as the uncontrolled spread of covid-19 fills hospitals across the nation and threatens patients and workers in long-term care facilities. Dayna James, an emergency department nurse in Miami, said some days she’s had to clean patient rooms with...
NYPD chief, cops hurt as protesters clash on Brooklyn BridgeVideo
NEW YORK — Several New York City police officers were attacked and injured Wednesday as pro-police and anti-police protesters clashed on the Brooklyn Bridge. At least four officers were hurt, including Chief of Department Terence Monahan, and 37 people were arrested, police said. Information on charges was not immediately available....
Missouri Gov. Parson: Trump ‘focused’ on situation with St. Louis couple
O’FALLON, Mo. — Missouri Gov. Mike Parson said President Donald Trump is focused on and concerned about the possibility that a white St. Louis couple could face criminal charges for displaying guns as they defended their home during a racial injustice protest. Parson told reporters that he had just been...
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg released from hospital
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court said Wednesday that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was discharged from a hospital after being treated for a possible infection. A court spokeswoman said in an emailed statement that Ginsburg was “home and doing well.” Ginsburg had gone to a hospital in Washington on Monday evening...
23 AGs sue Betsy DeVos over student loan forgiveness policy
Democratic attorneys general in more than 20 states sued Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Wednesday, seeking to repeal her overhaul of a student loan forgiveness program. Congress voted to strike down her policy, which makes it more difficult to get federal student loans erased, but President Donald Trump saved it...
Massachusetts mayor steps in to save Pittsburgh couple’s wedding that was missing officiantVideo
MASHPEE, Mass. — A couple gathered with family for a Cape Cod wedding found themselves without an officiant minutes before being wed, until a Massachusetts mayor wrangled special permission to perform the ceremony. Carlo DeMaria, the mayor of Everett, Mass., was on vacation Saturday near the venue in West Yarmouth,...
New peak of 71K U.S. overdose deaths in 2019 dashes hopes
Nearly 71,000 Americans died of drug overdoses last year, a new record that predates the covid-19 crisis, which the White House and many experts believe will drive such deaths even higher. Preliminary numbers released Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show the trend is driven by fentanyl...
New poll shows Biden leading Trump by 13 points in Pennsylvania
A new poll shows Joe Biden leading Donald Trump by 13 points in Pennsylvania for November’s election. The Monmouth University poll of registered Pennsylvania voters shows Biden, the Democratic candidate, is supported by 53% while the incumbent Trump is favored by 40%. “Even taking into account any polling error from...
