Photo by Pierce Edinger
AP PA Headlines 5/13/20
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — President Donald Trump will return here to tour a distribution center of medical and surgical products for healthcare facilities, including personal protective equipment in the fight against the coronavirus. Trump’s visit Thursday is to a warehouse of Virginia-based Owens and Minor in suburban Allentown.
The White House said he will also deliver remarks. It is Trump’s second visit to Pennsylvania this year. Pennsylvania’s 20 electoral votes are perhaps this year’s premier electoral prize state after Trump’s unexpected win in Pennsylvania in 2016 helped pave his way to the White House. Trump did particularly well in the politically moderate Allentown area.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s top prosecutor has opened criminal investigations into several nursing homes amid a coronavirus outbreak that has killed 2,600 nursing home residents. Nursing home deaths account for more than two-thirds of the state’s death toll. The attorney general’s office isn’t saying how many facilities it is investigating, or revealing their names or any other details about the specific allegations.
Attorney General Josh Shapiro said Tuesday his office will hold “nursing facilities and caretakers criminally accountable if they fail to properly provide care to our loved ones.” Meanwhile, Gov. Tom Wolf says his administration plans to begin testing every resident and employee in nursing homes and other facilities caring for older adults.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — It takes hundreds of millions of dollars a year for the Pennsylvania General Assembly to maintain what is one of the country’s largest legislative staffs. A new Associated Press review reveals the Legislature’s appetite for food, shelter, transportation, office supplies and computer equipment. The examination of invoices and more than 6,000 pages of spending line items by the state’s legislative branch last year found lawmakers often use the latitude their own rules provide to decide what to buy and from whom. Examples of their spending include custom framing, food and drink, high-end furniture, video equipment and computers.
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Features
ATLANTA (AP) — The Georgia prosecutors who first handled the fatal shooting of a black man, before charges were filed more than two months later, were placed under investigation for their conduct in the case, which has fueled a national outcry and questions about whether the slaying was racially motivated.
Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr says he asked the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and federal authorities to investigate how local prosecutors handled the killing of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery, who was pursued by a white father and son before being shot on a residential street just outside the port city of Brunswick. Arbery’s relatives have said he was merely jogging through the subdivision at the time.
Gregory and Travis McMichael weren’t charged with murder until last week, after the release of a video of the Feb. 23 shooting. “Unfortunately, many questions and concerns have arisen” about the actions of the district attorneys, Carr said yesterday in a statement. As a result, the attorney general asked the GBI to review the matter “to determine whether the process was undermined in any way.” Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said federal prosecutors have asked Carr to share any results, as the department considers whether hate crimes charges are warranted.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Dr. Anthony Fauci, the U.S. government’s top infectious disease expert, has issued a blunt warning that cities and states could see more COVID-19 deaths and economic damage if they lift stay-at-home orders too swiftly. As he testified by video to a Senate committee, Fauci’s cautions on Tuesday marked a sharp contrast to President Donald Trump, who is pushing to right a free-falling economy. The tension between balancing people’s safety and the economic fallout is a problem for many countries. Italy, for example, recently eased restrictions only to see more infections in a hard-hit region.
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has unveiled a more than $3 trillion new coronavirus aid package. It would provide nearly $1 trillion for states, cities and tribal governments to avert layoffs and another $200 billion in “hazard pay” for essential workers. It would offer $1,200 in direct cash aid to individuals, up to $6,000 per household. It would also extend unemployment benefits, and there would be $75 billion more for virus testing. A House vote is expected Friday. But the Senate’s Republican leader is cautioning his colleagues not to go so fast. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says there is no “urgency” to act immediately.
NEW YORK (AP) — The lights on Broadway will stay dim through summer. The Broadway League says no shows will hit the boards in New York before Labor Day. And even then, there is no set date yet for shows to reopen. Broadway has been shut down since Mar. 12, as the new coronavirus began spreading in New York and elsewhere. Those with tickets can get refunds or exchanges.
NEW YORK (AP) — This July Fourth holiday, you’ll be able to see the original Broadway cast of “Hamilton” perform the musical smash from the comfort of your couch. The Walt Disney Company said Tuesday it will put the live capture of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s show on Disney TV Plus starting on July 3. It had been slated to be in movie theaters in October, 2021. The film was made at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway in June of 2016, and stars all of the original Tony Award winners. The groundbreaking, biographical hip-hop show about the life of Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton won 11 Tony Awards.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Anyone who has been on a teleconference plagued with random noises and technical issues can appreciate what it was like to be a U.S. Senator. Yesterday, members of the chamber convened for an online meeting on the coronavirus pandemic. But it was clear that when it comes to doing business online, the lawmakers are no better at it than our co-workers, families and friends are. During the session, participants could hear senators asking if they could be heard — or asking others to make sure their mics were muted. And a barking dog was heard as chairman Lamar Alexander introduced two witnesses. He later called claims that it was his dog that was barking, “fake news.”
FERNDALE, Mich. (AP) — Sarah Ignash spends her days looking after dogs in normal times. With her business temporarily shuttered because of the coronavirus, though, she’s taken to walks on the wild side through her Detroit suburb with dancing bears, bipedal zebras and the like. Ignash’s business in nearby Roseville specializes in boarding, grooming and day care for dogs. She is one of the roughly two dozen members of the Ferndale T-Rex Walking Club who have been donning inflatable costumes for feel-good jaunts during these stressful times. The members’ suits run the gamut from dancing hippos and bears to a cheerful Pikachu. And, of course, there’s a T-Rex.
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