Split families make pacts, duel over custody amid virus
As the country hunkered down to fend off the coronavirus, Carolina McAuley expected her middle school-age kids would continue to shuttle between her house and her ex-husband’s — until she got sick. Suddenly, her long-standing custody arrangement unraveled as she came down with a fever and chills and lost her...
Trump shakes up press team as White House deals with coronavirus
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump shook up his communications team on Tuesday, replacing his press secretary and adding new staffers as he grapples with the coronavirus pandemic. Stephanie Grisham, who had held the titles of press secretary and White House communications director since last June, is out after never holding...
Navy official apologizes for calling fired captain ‘stupid’Video
WASHINGTON — The Navy’s acting secretary has been forced to apologize after a profanity-laden broadside in which he called the fired commander of the coronavirus-stricken USS Theodore Roosevelt “too naive or too stupid.” Thomas Modly issued a written apology Monday hours after President Donald Trump, at a White House news...
Pandemic politics: Wisconsin primary moving forward
MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin is asking hundreds of thousands of voters to ignore a stay-at-home order in the midst of a pandemic to participate in Tuesday’s presidential primary election, becoming a test case for dozens of states struggling to balance public health concerns with a core pillar of democracy. The...
U.K.’s Boris Johnson spends night in ICU; not on ventilatorVideo
LONDON — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson spent the night in the intensive care unit of a London hospital with the new coronavirus, but is not on a ventilator, a senior government minister said Tuesday, as pressure grew on the government to release more details of Johnson’s condition. Johnson was...
Pakistan doctors jailed for virus protest demand protectionVideo
QUETTA, Pakistan — The Pakistani military promised Tuesday that dozens of doctors who were briefly jailed for taking to the streets in southwestern Baluchistan province to protest the lack of protective equipment to treat the growing number of coronavirus cases will get the equipment they need. The 47 doctors protested...
Region’s churches spread Holy Week message online
A number of the region’s churches will livestream Holy Week services as the state’s stay at home order remains in effect through the month’s end. • Catholic Diocese of Greensburg’s virtual Holy Week services will be streamed at dioceseofgreensburg.org, facebook.com/dioceseofgreensburg and youtube.com. • Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh Bishop David Zubik...
NYC parks could become ‘temporary’ burial sites as coronavirus deaths increase
NEW YORK — New York City has plans to turn parks into temporary cemeteries if the death toll from coronavirus continues to spike, according to a Manhattan politician. With morgues and funeral homes overwhelmed, the city will dig trenches with 10 caskets each if needed, Councilman Mark Levine tweeted Monday....
Body of Kathleen Kennedy Townsend’s daughter recovered
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The body of the daughter of former Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend was located in about 25 feet of water and recovered, authorities said Monday, and they will keep searching for her son, after the two went missing following a canoeing accident last week. The body of...
PennDOT reopens more rest stops along Pennsylvania interstates
PennDOT has reopened four more rest areas after they were closed to help curb the spread of the coronavirus. Rest stops that reopened Monday include:Interstate 70 eastbound in Washington County, 3.5 miles east of Exit 1Interstate 81 northbound in Franklin County, 1 mile north of the Maryland state lineInterstate 81...
Hundreds on cruise ship in dark on plans
MIAMI — Hundreds of passengers and crew remained stuck on the Coral Princess cruise ship at PortMiami on Monday with little information about when they will be getting off. Meanwhile, the circumstances surrounding the death of passenger Wilson Maa, 71, who waited nearly five hours aboard the ship Saturday evening...
Boeing repeating test flight of astronaut capsule after flop
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Boeing said Monday it will repeat a test flight of its astronaut capsule following last year’s botched demo, considered a perilous close call by NASA. Boeing spokesman Jerry Drelling said the company is looking to fly a second Starliner capsule, once again without a crew, possibly...
Australian court dismisses cardinal’s sex abuse convictions
CANBERRA, Australia — Australia’s highest court has dismissed the convictions of the most senior Catholic found guilty of child sex abuse. High Court Chief Justice Susan Kiefel announced the decision of the seven judges Tuesday in the appeal of Cardinal George Pell. The decision means he will be released from...
Trump slams watchdog report on hospitals engulfed by coronavirusVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Monday disputed the veracity of a federal survey that found hospitals faced severe shortages of coronavirus test supplies, questioning whether its conclusions were skewed by politics. With coronavirus cases rocketing toward their expected peak, the nonpartisan Health and Human Services inspector general’s office reported...
Army holds off on sending new recruits to basic training because of coronavirus concerns
WASHINGTON — The Army will temporarily hold off on sending new recruits to basic training in order to strengthen protective measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus on those bases, the head of Army Training and Doctrine Command said Monday. The pause will be in effect for at least...
White House pushes unproven drug for virus; doctors waryVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump and his administration kept up their out-sized promotion Monday of an malaria drug not yet officially approved for fighting the new coronavirus, even though scientists say more testing is needed before it’s proven safe and effective against covid-19. Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro championed hydroxychloroquine...
Man found dead at Texas State Capitol grounds
AUSTIN, Texas — A dead man was found Monday on the grounds of the Texas State Capitol, authorities said. The Texas Rangers are investigating the man’s death after a security guard encountered the body near the entrance to a state office building in the downtown Capitol Complex, according to a...
Lost Time: How coronavirus spread while supply orders laggedVideo
The government’s stockpile of critically needed medical supplies and equipment is nearly drained just as the numbers of people infected with the coronavirus and in need of critical care is surging. Back in January, the first alarms were sounding about the outbreak in China. In time, it would become a...
With coronavirus deaths showing signs of slowing, officials caution against letting guard down
NEW YORK — The steep rise in coronavirus deaths appeared to be leveling off Monday in hard-hit New York, echoing a trend underway in Italy and Spain, while the crisis escalated in Britain, where Prime Minister Boris Johnson was moved to intensive care after his condition deteriorated. Johnson, 55, was...
Chicago mayor: Virus deaths in black community ‘devastating’
Chicago is launching a health campaign focused on the city’s black and brown communities, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Monday following a media report highlighting the disproportionate number of black residents among those who have died of COVID-19 complications in the city. Lightfoot called WBEZ’s finding that 70% of recorded deaths...
Navy leader calls fired carrier Capt. Brett E. Crozier ‘naive’ or ‘stupid’
WASHINGTON — In an extraordinary broadside punctuated with profanity, the Navy’s top leader accused the fired commander of the cornavirus-stricken USS Theodore Roosevelt of being “too naive or too stupid” to be in charge of an aircraft carrier. He delivered the criticism to sailors who had cheered the departing skipper...
Coronavirus is mostly mild and rarely fatal for U.S. kids, data show
The first national data on covid-19 in U.S. children suggest that while the illness usually isn’t severe in kids, some do get sick enough to require hospital treatment. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report released Monday shows that fever, cough and shortness of breath were the most common...
Hundreds wait in long lines at Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank for food giveawayVideo
The line seems to be getting longer every week at the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. The organization on Monday held its fifth drive-up food distribution at its headquarters in Duquesne, serving 861 vehicles in three hours. About a half-hour before the noon start, vehicles were backed up onto Route...
Officials offer guidance on how to properly wear a homemade face maskVideo
Pennsylvania officials last week asked all residents to wear homemade face masks if they leave their homes to help prevent the spread of covid-19. But are they wearing them the right way to protect themselves and others? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended the use of homemade...
This week’s supermoon will be the biggest and brightest of the year
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A supermoon rises in the sky this week, looking to be the biggest and brightest of the year. Not only will the moon be closer to Earth than usual, it will also be a full moon. Scientists call this cosmic combo a supermoon. The moon will...
