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COVID-19

Wolf seeking to waive state liquor license fees

PITTSBURGH — A proposal from Gov. Tom Wolf to waive next year’s liquor license fees and direct more federal stimulus money to restaurants and bars is being viewed as a “lifeline” by some operators, while others say it falls well short of what is needed to keep them afloat during the pandemic. Flanked by Democratic county and state officials in the LeMont Restaurant ballroom overlooking downtown Pittsburgh, Wolf said the waiver of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board’s annual fee would save the hospitality industry about $20 million. Wolf also hoped to funnel some of the $1 ...

Wheeler not coaching BG playoff game

Marauder leader 'exposed' to virus Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic head football coach Justin Wheeler will not be on the sideline with the Marauders Saturday for their District 6 Class 1A first-round playoff game against Bishop McCort. Bishop Guilfoyle canceled its game last Friday against Central Cambria due to potential exposure to a COVID-positive individual on the Marauders sideline during a win over Chestnut Ridge on Oct. 10. Cleared members of the team and coaching staff returned to practice and school on Monday, but Wheeler was not among those coaches. "We did have one additional ...

US, Europe split on virus response

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Virus cases are surging across Europe and many U.S. states, but responses by leaders are miles apart, with officials in Ireland, France and elsewhere imposing curfews and restricting gatherings even as some U.S. governors resist mask mandates or more aggressive measures. The stark contrasts in efforts to contain infections come as outbreaks on both sides of the Atlantic raise similar alarms, including shrinking availability of hospital beds and rising deaths. Governors of states including Tennessee, Oklahoma, Nebraska and North Dakota are all facing calls from ...

CDC urges masks for mass transit

The government’s top public health agency is raising the importance of wearing face masks on planes, trains and buses, although the Trump administration has resisted making masks mandatory for travelers. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new interim guidelines for travelers, including a “strong recommendation” to wear face coverings to slow the spread of COVID-19. “Transmission of the virus through travel has led to — and continues to lead to — interstate and international spread of the virus,” the CDC said in a statement. “Local transmission can ...

US overdose deaths may hit record high

Matthew Davidson was beating his heroin addiction. The 31-year-old was attending group recovery meetings. He had a restaurant job he liked. He was a doting uncle to a baby nephew. Then the coronavirus pandemic hit. Davidson lost his job. He started staying home alone in his apartment near Georgetown, Kentucky — depressed and yearning for his recovery support group that had stopped gathering in person, said his cousin Melanie Wyatt. On May 25, his girlfriend came home to find him dead of a drug overdose. Davidson was part of a surge in overdose deaths that hit Kentucky this ...

Coronavirus relief deal inches forward

WASHINGTON — Washington negotiations on a huge COVID-19 relief bill took a modest step forward Tuesday, though time is running out and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, President Donald Trump’s most powerful Senate ally, is pressing the White House against going forward. McConnell on Tuesday told fellow Republicans that he has warned the White House not to divide Republicans by sealing a lopsided $2 trillion relief deal with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi before the election — even as he publicly said he’d slate any such agreement for a vote. Pelosi’s office said talks ...