WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s trip to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which was scuttled Friday because of unfounded fears that someone there had contracted the coronavirus, is back on. Trump is looking to dampen growing alarm about the spread of the virus in America. Before leaving the White House on Friday, Trump said Americans should “be calm.” He spoke while signing a an $8.3 billion coronavirus response funding bill at the White House. He says the CDC trip had been scuttled over concern about a possible infection there, but the White House now says the president will visit on Friday.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Passengers aboard a cruise ship off the California coast have been instructed to stay in their cabins as they await test results that could show whether the coronavirus is spreading among the 3,500 people aboard. The results are expected Friday. On Thursday, a military helicopter crew lowered test kits onto the 951-foot (290-meter) Grand Princess by rope and later retrieved them for analysis at a lab as the vessel lay at sea off San Francisco, under orders to keep its distance from shore. The Princess cruise line says 45 people were selected for testing.

….AND NOW IT’S TIME FOR THE ‘BUSINESS MINUTE’ REPORT…BROUGHT YOU BY MINUTEMAN PRESS:

The first-ever Primanti Bros. Restautant and Bar in Beaver County opened its doors on Wednesday. The restaurant is located near the Walmart on Brodhead Road in Monaca. The new location gave away free sandwiches for a year to the first 100 customers through the door. The new Primanti’s hosted a by-invitation-only fundraiser Tuesday night for the Monaca Community Development Corp.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hiring jumped in February as employers added 273,000 jobs, evidence that the economy was in strong shape before the coronavirus began to sweep through the U.S. The Labor Department said Friday that the unemployment rate fell to 3.5%, matching a 50-year low, down from 3.6% in the previous month. The job gain comes from a survey of payrolls in the second week of February, so the healthy gains pre-date the viral outbreak.

Meanwhile, Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate was up one-tenth of a percentage point over the month to 4.7 percent in January, according to data from the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry. Pennsylvania’s civilian labor force – the estimated number of residents working or looking for work – was up 11,000 over the month to a record high of 6,549,000 due to gains in both employment and unemployment.

 

 

Gas prices in the Beaver County region dropped this week, according to Triple-A: The average price of gasoline across Western Pennsylvania is six cents cheaper this week at $2.662 per gallon, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report. The average price of unleaded self-serve gasoline in Beaver:  $2.726 .

UNDATED (AP) — The Dow is plunging again and other major indexes like the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq are suffering greater percentage declines. On Friday, the economic repercussions of the spreading coronavirus have become clearer. However, no one knows how long it will go on, and that is causing massive disruptions in industries ranging from airlines and tech, to movie theater chains and amusement parks. Cruise ship operators may be the hardest hit. Passengers and crew members aboard a cruise ship being held off the California coast are awaiting coronavirus test results Friday. The Grand Princess lays at anchor near San Francisco on Thursday after a traveler from a previous voyage died of the disease and at least four others became infected.

….AND THAT’S THE ‘BUSINESS MINUTE’ REPORT…BROUGHT YOU BY MINUTEMAN PRESS.

 

Several Beaver County school districts are calling for charter school reforms. Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano has details. Click on ‘play’ to hear Sandy’s report…

SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) — President Donald Trump defended his administration’s response to the coronavirus and his confrontational style of name-calling political opponents as he fielded questions from the public in his first TV town hall of the 2020 election cycle. Trump regularly calls his top Democratic presidential opponents “Sleepy Joe” and “Crazy Bernie.” Asked whether he could deliver his message without the controversial rhetoric, the president replied: “When they hit us, we have to hit back … You can’t turn your cheek.”

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Authorities have released the name of the suspect who was shot and killed in an exchange of gunfire that left a Pittsburgh police detective wounded. The Allegheny County medical examiner says 25-year-old Elijah Brewer died at a hospital Thursday night following the shooting, which took place during a traffic stop on East Ohio Street. Allegheny County Police say four detectives had stopped the vehicle when there was an exchange of gunfire between the officers and the sole passenger. The detective was shot in the leg. Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich says he was taken to a hospital where he is alert and recovering.