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

Safety Resource funding has been approved for 7 Beaver County schools. Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano has details…

 

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo has filed for bankruptcy protection. Friday’s filing is another step in the western New York diocese’s efforts to recover from a clergy misconduct scandal that‘s been the basis for hundreds of lawsuits, Vatican intervention and the resignation of its bishop. The western New York diocese becomes the second in the state to file for Chapter 11 reorganization, and one of more than 20 dioceses to seek bankruptcy protection nationwide. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, filed Feb. 19. The Rochester Dicoese was the first of New York’s eight dioceses to seek bankruptcy protection when it filed in September.

General Motors is adding 1,200 jobs at two Michigan factories to build midsize SUVs and two new luxury sedans. GM says the Lansing Delta Township plant will get a third shift and 800 more workers to build the Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enclave SUVs, which have three rows of seats. The Lansing Grand River plant will get a second shift and 400 more workers to build two new Cadillac sedans, the CT4 and CT5. Spokesman Dan Flores says employees laid off at other GM factories would fill the new jobs first, then workers would be added. He says the company has not determined yet how many new people would be needed. Lansing Delta Township now employs about 2,500 salaried and blue-collar workers, while the Grand River plant has 1,400.

Americans pulled back on their spending in January, even as their incomes surged, a sign the economy was growing modestly before the threat of coronavirus arose. The Commerce Department said Friday that consumer spending increased 0.2% last month, down from 0.4% in December and smallest gain since October. Incomes, however, rose 0.6%, the biggest gain in nearly a year, spurred by bigger paychecks and an increase in Social Security benefits stemming from a cost of living adjustment.

Concerns about the economic impact of the new coronavirus are intensifying, disrupting business events, production and travel. On Friday, stock markets were down again, heading for their worst week since the height of the global financial crisis in 2008. The Geneva auto show was canceled after Swiss authorities banned large public events. There is a run on face masks, with many businesses selling out. And companies continue to report an expected hit to earnings. British Airways’ parent companies was the latest to warn on a revenue drop, while Philippine Airlines said it was cutting 300 jobs.

Stocks fell sharply on Wall Street, shaving another 3.8% off major U.S. indexes, putting the market on track for its worst week since October 2008. Bond prices soared again as investors sought safety, pushing yields to more record lows. The weeklong global market rout is being driven by fears that the spreading coronavirus will derail the global economy. The outbreak has been shutting down industrial centers, emptying shops and crimping travel around the world. The benchmark S&P 500 index has now lost 15% since hitting a record high just 10 days ago. Crude oil prices fell again.

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

 

UNDATED (AP) — Schools across the United States are canceling trips abroad, preparing online lessons and even rethinking “perfect attendance” awards as they brace for the possibility that the new coronavirus could begin spreading in their communities. Districts are rushing to update emergency plans after federal officials warned that the virus, which started in China, is almost certain to begin spreading in the U.S. Many are preparing for possible school closures that could stretch weeks or longer, even as they work to tamp down panic among students, parents and teachers. School letters sent home from Florida to California seek to assure parents the risk is still very low.

SAN DIEGO (AP) — An federal appeals court has temporarily halted a major Trump administration policy to make asylum seekers wait in Mexico while their cases wind through U.S. immigration courts. A panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled Friday in a 2-1 vote to put on hold the policy that furthered President Donald Trump’s asylum crackdown. The “Remain in Mexico” policy – known officially as “Migrant Protection Protocols” – took effect in January 2019 in San Diego and has spread across the border. Nearly 60,000 people have been sent back since the policy began. The question before the judges was whether to let the policy take effect during legal challenge

The Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development is warning of potential 2020 Census scams. Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano reports. Click on ‘play’ to hear Sandy’s report…

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A new lawsuit seeks to end the practice in Pennsylvania of counting state inmates as residents of the district where they are incarcerated. The petition filed Thursday in Commonwealth Court argues it violates constitutional requirements that elections be free and equal and that state legislative districts be about the same size. The defendants are the state of Pennsylvania, Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf and Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar. An administration spokesman isn’t commenting, but Wolf has previously said he believes prisoners should be counted at their home or last known address for district-drawing purposes.

New details have emerged regarding the case of the missing woman identified as 39-year-old Sabrina Salamon. According to the Lawrence County Coroner, Salamon died of a drug overdose. Investigators found a mix of fentanyl and cocaine in her system. Salamon had been missing since December when she was invovled in a crash. Her body had been found inside a hot tub outside of a home on Long Avenue. Police are still working to determine how her body ended up in the hot tub.

Two weeks ago, coronavirus — specifically COVID-19 — arrived in Pittsburgh. In the form of two tiny vials less than two inches tall containing roughly 50 million viruses. Now, researchers at the Center for Vaccine Research on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh are growing coronavirus. Some people have expressed concern that something as dangerous as coronavirus has been shipped into the city. But researchers at Pitt are trying to assure the public the reason it is here is because they are working to safely and quickly develop a vaccine for the disease.

Robert Morris University is canceling all faculty-led study abroad programs scheduled for this spring as COVID-19, the coronavirus, continues to spread. Officials say the students currently studying abroad for the semester are not being asked to return. The university is keeping in contact with those students and is advising them on the appropriate precautions to take.

WEST NEWTON, Pa. (AP) — Authorities say a mother wearing a Cookie Monster costume apparently overdosed on heroin while sitting in her running car, shortly after she had dropped off her 9-year-old son at a babysitter’s home. 38-year-old Rachel Love Martin of Westmoreland County was charged Wednesday with child endangerment. Authorities say the babysitter called police to her West Newton home because she was concerned Martin may have been under the influence of drugs. Authorities say they are puzzled as to why Martin was wearing the Cookie Monster costume…but they are looking into it.