‘Disappointing’ week of divorce talks between EU, Britain
BRUSSELS — Key players and the economies on both sides of the Brexit divide have been hammered by the corona crisis. Yet, even this common enemy is not enough to bring the European Union and Britain closer together in talks about their post-Brexit relationship. After another week of deeply frustrating...
Sizing up Trump’s green-card halt: Is it just temporary?
SAN DIEGO — Pamela Austin, a recruiter at Adventist Health Bakersfield in California, made seven job offers to foreign nurses in February and just finished a first round of interviews with 12 more candidates. They are from all over the world, including the United Kingdom, Philippines, Australia and Malaysia. The...
From guns to GoPros, Asian Americans seek to deter attacks
When Eddie Song leaves his Manhattan home, it can feel like heading into battle. The Korean American startup founder and avid rider dons his armored motorcycle jacket, motorcycle gloves, a skull face mask and a GoPro camera. “The GoPro is on all the time whenever I leave the house now....
Georgia businesses reopen cautiously amid coronavirus worry
SAVANNAH, Ga. — Some businesses in Georgia reopened cautiously Friday as the Republican governor eased a monthlong shutdown amid experts’ warnings of a potential new surge in coronavirus infections and a potent objection from President Donald Trump. Georgia has ranked in the bottom per capita for testing — a key...
Pennsylvania rivals Sheetz, Wawa team up to help food banks
The novel coronavirus knows no borders, and neither does arguably the biggest rivalry in Pennsylvania. Western Pennsylvania favorite Sheetz teamed up with Philadelphia-area favorite Wawa to provide emergency food bank relief in the eastern part of the state for those in need during the coronavirus pandemic, the chains announced Friday....
Penn State to furlough staff, cut spending after $100 million in losses
Penn State will reduce spending for the coming year by 3% and furlough some 2,000 employees at half pay, effective May 4 through June 30, as officials struggle to balance their books in the face of a $100 million loss. The sprawling university, with a budget of $6.8 billion this...
Makers of Lysol warn about ingesting disinfectants following Trump’s coronavirus statements
WASHINGTON — The parent company of Lysol disinfectant warned Friday that its products should not be used internally to treat covid-19 after President Donald Trump wondered about the prospect during a White House briefing. Trump noted Thursday that researchers were looking at the effects of disinfectants on the virus and...
Kentucky mayor finds woman hiding in his home’s cellar
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — A Kentucky mayor said he found a woman hiding in his cellar. Bowling Green Mayor Bruce Wilkerson said he found the woman Wednesday morning after he heard noises and smelled cigarette smoke outside a home he was renovating, WNKY-TV reported. When he checked the cellar, he...
Humphreys woman loved working with 4-H
Sandy L. Lucas Ruggiero became involved in 4-H many years ago when her daughter wanted to raise rabbits. Although she grew up in Pittsburgh, not out in the country, Mrs. Ruggiero took to helping Jamie raise rabbits and served as a 4-H leader for many years, said her daughter, Jamie...
Judge blocks background checks that denied ammo to law-abiding gun owners in California
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal judge has blocked California’s ammunition background check program, which had prevented nearly one in five law-abiding gun owners from purchasing ammunition because of database glitches and other record-keeping problems. In a 120-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Roger T. Benitez said the state’s program has been...
Trump touts idea of injecting disinfectant, light into the body to combat coronavirusVideo
President Trump suggested that medical experts should somehow try to find a way to inject light or disinfectants into the human body as a means to kill coronavirus — methods that are either not possible or highly dangerous. Trump touted the idea Thursday after William Bryan, who leads the Department...
Pentagon to send Blue Angels, Thunderbirds to honor essential workers during pandemic
The famed Blue Angels and Thunderbirds will perform a multicity tour over the United States to honor health care workers and other essential employees during the coronavirus pandemic. The air shows will occur over “America’s major cities and some of the cities that aren’t so major,” President Trump said this...
Pennsylvania climate report predicts wetter, warmer future, livestock expansion
A predicted increase in rainfall in Pennsylvania may lead to more flooding and threats to infrastructure in the decades ahead, but some agricultural sectors could experience growth as conditions change, according to a report issued this week by state officials. Created by the Penn State University Environment and Natural Resources...
Mother, son duo accused of shooting at FedEx driver who ran over family dogVideo
Authorities in North Carolina arrested a mother and son Monday after police said they retaliated with gunshots when their pet dog was run over. According to Charlotte-based ABC affiliate WSOC-TV, Catawba County deputies said a FedEx driver accidentally ran over the dog and was accosted by the owners. Following FedEx...
Congress passes expanded small-business loan funding to address coronavirus shutdowns
WASHINGTON — With unemployment claims topping 26 million in the last five weeks because of the coronavirus pandemic, the House voted Thursday to approve another half-trillion dollars in federal relief to replenish a depleted small-business loan program and provide money for hospitals and testing. The bill includes $310 billion for...
Restaurant’s pandemic debut clogs traffic in West Virginia
CROSS LANES, W.Va. — The cars snaked out of the parking lot, up the road and onto the interstate. A newly opened restaurant during the coronavirus pandemic caused quite a stir among cooped-up residents in a small town in West Virginia. Cook Out’s soft opening on Wednesday was a smashing...
At least 7 dead as storms hit Oklahoma, Texas and LouisianaVideo
MADILL, Okla. — Severe weather blew through the South on Thursday after killing at least seven people in Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana, including a worker at a factory hit by an apparent tornado, a man whose car was blown off the road and a man who went outside to grab...
Feds confiscate protective masks meant for Miami-Dade firefighters
MIAMI — A shipment of 1 million face masks en route to South Florida for firefighters was confiscated last week by the federal government, Miami-Dade’s top emergency management official said. Frank Rollason, the director of emergency management for Miami-Dade County, told WLRN on Wednesday that the masks were for firefighters...
Police: Georgia stepfather fatally shot teen during quarantine fight
ATLANTA — A teenager was fatally shot by his stepfather during a fight that may have been related to the coronavirus pandemic, Atlanta police said. Bernie Hargrove, 42, was charged Thursday morning with felony murder in the death of De’onte Roberts, 16, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. Roberts’ mother told police...
Court declines to unseal video in shooting of Indiana judges
INDIANAPOLIS — A man charged with shooting and wounding two judges during a fight outside an Indianapolis fast food restaurant lost a bid to have surveillance video and other evidence unsealed. Marion Superior Criminal Court Judge Shatrese Flowers on Wednesday denied Brandon Kaiser’s motion to dismiss a protective order that...
Bugged: Earth’s insect population shrinks 27% in 30 years
KENSINGTON, Maryland — The world has lost more than one quarter of its land-dwelling insects in the past 30 years, according to researchers whose big picture study of global bug decline paints a disturbing but more nuanced problem than earlier research. From bees and other pollinators crucial to the world’s...
Despite risks, auto workers step up to make medical gear
DETROIT — Cindy Parkhurst could have stayed home collecting most of her pay while the Ford plant where she normally works remains closed due to coronavirus fears. Instead, she along with hundreds of workers at Ford, General Motors, Toyota and other companies has gone back to work to make face...
Gov. Cuomo says antibody survey shows wide exposure to coronavirus in N.Y.Video
NEW YORK — More evidence is emerging that far more New Yorkers have had the coronavirus than the number confirmed by lab tests, officials said Thursday, offering insight that could help authorities decide how and how quickly to let people stop isolating from friends and return to work. Blood samples...
Social media games can open the door to cyber crime
A lot of people are relying on social media to stay connected while ordered to stay at home, but the FBI warns that those games you’re playing online could benefit identity thieves. “This is a hard time for everyone and we know social media has been a boon to help...
Elizabeth Warren’s oldest brother dies of coronavirus
BOSTON — The oldest brother of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Donald Reed Herring, has died from the coronavirus, the Massachusetts senator said Thursday. The former Democratic presidential candidate said her brother died Tuesday evening. He spent his career in the military after joining the U.S. Air Force at the age of...
