The Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh has announced a number of changes in response to the global spread of coronavirus. So far there are no cases in the Pittsburgh area, but the Allegheny County Health Department and other public organizations are preparing for what they say is inevitable. To go along with these preparations, Catholics can expect the following changes when they attend Sunday Mass:

• The distribution of the Precious Blood during communion is temporarily suspended
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• Holy Water fonts will be cleaned and drained more often
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• The exchange of handshakes and other physical contact during the Sign of Peace is temporarily suspended
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• Those who feel ill are being advised to stay home from Mass until they are well.

HEMPFIELD, Pa. (AP) — In Hempfield Township, a man has admitted using his SUV as a weapon against a romantic rival last year. Seth Vanderella pleaded guilty Monday to simple assault, reckless endangerment and three traffic offenses stemming from the July 4 incident in Hempfield. In return, Westmoreland County prosecutors dismissed an aggravated assault charge against the 27-year-old Greensburg man. This was the second time in less than two years that Vanderella admitted causing injuries to another person with a vehicle. He struck a female pedestrian in April 2018 when he drove onto a sidewalk in a Hempfield shopping plaza parking lot and then drove away. The woman suffered multiple broken bones and bruises.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A man has pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in a drug deal and subsequent shooting that left one man dead in Pittsburgh. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports Dion Jackson pleaded guilty Monday. Jackson admitted he went to buy drugs from Raheem Porter in July 2017, and Porter was killed during the sale. Prosecutors say Porter’s childhood friend Russell Page fired a bullet that inadvertently struck Porter while the three men were sitting in a car. After Porter gave Jackson five bricks of heroin, Jackson pointed a gun at Page’s head and struck his collarbone. Page tried to return fire and shot Porter’s back.

The Aliquippa School Board president, who is accused of threatening two seventh graders, is now facing charges. Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano has details. Click on ‘play’ to hear Sandy’s report…

WEATHER FORECAST FOR TUESDAY, MARCH 3RD, 2020

TODAY – RAIN THIS MORNING WITH THUNDERSTORMS BY
EVENING. HIGH – 56.

TONIGHT – SHOWERS THIS EVENING. THEN REMAINING
PARTLY CLOUDY OVERNIGHT. LOW – 36.

WEDNESDAY – PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES DURING THE
MORNING HOURS WILL GIVE WAY TO
OCCASIONAL SHOWERS IN THE AFTERNOON.
HIGH NEAR 50.

SELMA, Ala. (AP) — An emboldened Joe Biden is casting himself as the clear moderate alternative to polarizing progressive Bernie Sanders as the Democrats’ shrinking presidential field races toward Super Tuesday. On Sunday, former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg dropped out of the race. Biden pressed his case during a round of national television interviews that reflected a stark reality a day after his resounding primary victory in South Carolina. Biden is being forced to rely upon free media coverage because he is understaffed, underfunded and almost out of time as he fights to transform his sole win into a national movement.

UNDATED (AP) — Amy Klobuchar is ending her Democratic presidential campaign and is set to endorse Joe Biden. The Minnesota senator announced the decision Monday, calling it quits after a bid that broke briefly into the top tier with a third-place finish in New Hampshire but failed to sustain that energy further into the Democratic nomination fight. The three-term senator launched her campaign in a Minnesota snowstorm last February, touting her “grit” and Midwestern sensibilities. But she couldn’t compete with her rivals in early fundraising, and her effort to own the primary’s moderate lane got tougher when Biden and another Midwesterner, Pete Buttigieg of Indiana, got in. Buttigieg dropped out Sunday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Mark Esper says he has given the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan the go-ahead to begin the initial withdrawal of U.S. troops. Esper said he was not sure whether it began Monday but said Gen. Scott Miller in Kabul has the authority to begin now. Speaking alongside Esper at the Pentagon Monday, the U.S. military’s top general said there’s no expectation that violence in Afghanistan will “go to zero” quickly, following the U.S.-Taliban peace agreement announced on Saturday. Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said it would be unrealistic to think that violence would stop immediately.

MCKEESPORT, Pa. (AP) — A shooter opened fire on a vehicle carrying three people in a western Pennsylvania community, leaving one passenger hospitalized in critical condition. Authorities say the shooting in McKeesport occurred around 2:45 p.m. Sunday, though it’s still not clear what sparked the gunfire. The driver continued on for several streets before stopping the vehicle. Witnesses say the victim, a 19-year-old man whose name was not released, then got out the vehicle and started screaming for help. The 20-year-old male driver and a 13-year-old who was sitting in the back seat were not injured. Authorities say the victim was shot multiple times. The shooter apparently fled the scene on foot and remained at large Monday.