The Week in Philly from KYW Newsradio

Nationwide social distancing guidelines will stay in place until April 30th, and that's a good thing according to Montgomery County Commissioner Dr. Val Arkoosh. The commissioner, who's also a medical doctor, spoke with Brandon Brooks on KYW Newsradio on Monday morning, March 30th, about when coronavirus is expected to peak in southeastern Pennsylvania, if Montomery County has enough personal prot...

Since the coronavirus pandemic ended social lives as we knew them, anything that took us within six feet from another person is out the window. That includes dating and meeting people, for love or recreation. But apparently we haven't given up on dating entirely -- Geoff Cook, CEO of The Meet Group says video dating has risen dramatically on all of his company's dating apps since the start of the...

The unemployment numbers released on Thursday, March 26 were astronomical and unprecedented. More than 3 million Americans applied for unemployment compensation the previous week. Today on KYW In Depth, Penn Wharton Budget Model Senior Advisor and Director of Outreach Diane Lim talks about why those numbers are going to get worse, what makes this economic downturn unique in American history, and w...

One of the tried and true ways high school seniors figure out where they want to go to college is by visiting the campus and taking a tour. Right now, college visits are shut down across the country just like nearly everything else. Today on KYW In Depth, KYW Newsradio's Suzanne Monaghan speaks with Kristin Dunning, a counselor at Strath Haven High School in Delaware County about some other option...

Researchers at BioAegis in New Jersey have been studying a therapy for pneumonia patients that they say can help treat people with severe cases of COVID-19. It's a protein called gelsolin. Now they're trying to get it through the FDA approval process. Carol MacKenzie spoke with the Chief Medical Officer at BioAegis Therapeutics, Dr. Mark DiNubile, to find out what he's working on and why he thinks...

Distilleries around the country are doing their part to fight the COVID-19 pandemic by making hand sanitizer. Robert Cassell, co-founder of New Liberty Distillery and President of the Pennsylvania Distillers Guild talks to KYW In Depth about the work involved in switching from making spirits to making hand sanitizer, where the biggest need for the hand sanitizer is, the collaboration between busin...

Congress is spending more than $2 trillion on a COVID-19 relief bill while much of our economy is shut down by the coronavirus pandemic. What's in the bill? How much of it is going to help you and your family? What about your employer? We asked those questions and more to Steven Portnoy, White House Correspondent for CBS News, who helps explain: - Why the added unemployment benefits are a bigger d...

Uncertain times call for economics professors on speed dial. Villanova's David Fiorenza checks back in with KYW in Depth to answer a handful of questions, including: - As an economist, what's your biggest concern right now? - We've seen incredible gains and losses in the stock market, do you expect the volatility to continue? - What would a $2 trillion package do for the economy? - Did anything su...

The Providence Animal Center in Media, Pennsylvania is in a tough spot right now. Normally, they have hundreds of animal lovers who volunteer to help out with the dogs and cats at the center. But during the coronavirus pandemic, the limited on-site staff have to pick up all the work. They've also canceled fundraisers that they depend on to keep the Center going. On this episode of KYW In Depth, Ca...

We're continuing our series on Olympic athletes from the Philadelphia area dealing with the postponement of the 2020 games by talking to two athletes who already had their tickets punched to the games. Jake Rosenberg is an Ardmore native who went to Harriton High School. He is an outfielder on the Israeli National Baseball team, which has qualified for the Olympics. Summer Rappaport is a triathlet...

The Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo have been postponed. For some of the athletes who have been training for months or years for the chance to compete, postponing the Olympics means another year of work. For others, it means that some windows that were open this summer might not be open next year.  On this episode of KYW In Depth, Matt Leon reaches out to athletes in the Philadelphia area who have b...

The Philadelphia school district is trying to get laptops and internet access to all of its students. That means buying a very large number of computers, and trying to get internet access to the students who don't have it at home -- roughly half of the student population. KYW Newsradio's Mike DeNardo is back on KYW In Depth to talk about how the district is planning to get it done. See omnystudio....

Bad guys don't take days off, even during global virus pandemics. Federal authorities are sounding the alarm on scams like fake vaccines and cures during the COVID-19 crisis that prey on people's fear and target their wallets. On this episode of KYW In Depth, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District Bill McSwain tells KYW Newsradio crime and justice reporter Kristen Johanson how the coronavirus scam...

Most businesses in the Philadelphia area are shut down right now because of the COVID-19 pandemic. But for some essential businesses - what Pennsylvania calls life-sustaining - there are jobs that need to be filled, and now more than ever. Matt Lutcavage, chief HR officer at Giant Food Stores joins KYW In Depth to talk about the challenges faces by grocery stores and supermarkets during this crisi...

Times are getting tough for families who normally don't struggle to put food on the table. But for people who deal with hunger on a regular basis, the instability brought on by the coronavirus pandemic is very serious. On this episode of KYW In Depth, Stefanie Arck-Baynes from Philabundance and Greg DeLozier from the Food Bank of South Jersey talk to KYW Newsradio's Matt Leon about the biggest cha...

If you live in Bucks, Montgomery, Chester, or Delaware counties -- Gov. Tom Wolf says stay at home. KYW Newsradio's suburban bureau chief Jim Melwert joins KYW In Depth to break down what that order means, why it's different than the shelter in place orders we've seen in other states, and where the suburban counties are in fighting the spread of COVID-19. See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for p...

The number of coronavirus cases in New Jersey is exploding. KYW Newsradio's Mike DeNardo checks in on KYW In Depth with an update on the number of cases in the Garden State, and what assistance Governor Murphy is asking for from the federal government. See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

Custody, child support, and family court issues can be difficult for families to get through on a good day. During the COVID-19 pandemic, they can feel impossible. Family law attorney Jennifer Brandt, the chair of the Cozen O'Connor Family Law group, joins KYW In Depth with tips on how families can navigate these tough issues during this crisis.  See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy in...

The COVID-19 outbreak pulled the plug on college sports across the boards. For spring sports, seasons were just getting started. So for college coaches who were expecting to be waist deep into the grind of a season -- what do they do when that season is brought to a very premature close? KYW Newsradio's Matt Leon caught up with two of the top college baseball coaches in the region - Fritz Hamburg...

A lot of people are out of work in Pennsylvania right now because of the COVID-19 pandemic. And many have never had to submit a claim for unemployment compensation before. The process can be confusing and intimidating. We've been getting a lot of questions about the unemployment process, so we took them and asked an expert to answer them. James Pearl is an attorney in Philadelphia, he's been pract...

UPDATE: The Governor has extended the deadline for enforcement until Monday, March 23, at 8:00 AM.  We know a bit more than we did last night about the ordered closure of non-life-sustaining businesses in Pennsylvania amid the coronavirus pandemi. And since then, some of the business types have switched categories. Ian Bush and Tom Rickert talk about the changes and wrap up one of the strangest we...

We don't hear a lot about the 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic. At least, we didn't until COVID-19 started being the only thing we talked about. But there's a lot we can learn from what was "almost certainly the worst plague in human history," according to George Wohlreich, President and Chief Executive Officer of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia. Wohlreich joins KYW In Depth to tell us what hap...

Can your blood type make you more susceptible to COVID-19? Why are men and women getting sick and dying at different rates? If we social distance well, how long will it take for things to go back to normal? Why do you need to stay 10 feet away from other people if you absolutely don't want to get sick? The answers to these questions and more come from Dr. Krys Johnson at Temple's Department of Epi...

Congressman Andy Kim represents New Jersey's 3rd district. He is currently self-quarantining after he came into direct contact with another member of Congress who tested positive for COVID-19. Carol MacKenzie talked to Congressman Kim about what self-quarantining looks like, what's involved, and what kind of symptoms he's experiencing. See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf has ordered the closure of all non-life-sustaining businesses starting at 8pm Thursday, March 19th. KYW Newsradio's Ian Bush, Charlotte Reese, and Tom Rickert break down the five-page list sent out by the governor's office to try and figure out what exactly is on the list of life-sustaining businesses, and what isn't. See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy...