December 4, 2020 4:08 am
In his quest to cling to power, President Donald Trump has managed to lose not just once to Democrat Joe Biden but over and over again in courts across the country. Seemingly incapable of accepting the reality of his defeat, Trump and his allies continue to mount new cases recycling the same baseless claims, even after Trump’s own attorney general said the Justice Department uncovered no widespread fraud. Another legal blow came Thursday, a day after Trump posted a 46-minute speech to Facebook filled with falsehoods. In Wisconsin, the state Supreme Court refused to hear Trump’s lawsuit seeking to disqualify more than 221,000 ballots in its two biggest Democratic counties.
December 4, 2020 3:04 am
A Canonsburg man facing resentencing for several crimes and a plea agreement for new charges had all of his hearings continued. Judge Valarie Costanzo continued the cases against Brady Hugh Paul, 20 of Canonsburg. Paul was already serving a sentence in the Intermediate Punishment Program for DUI and operating a vehicle with a suspended license. He later pleaded guilty to an unauthorized use of a vehicle charge when he took a car from a woman who was staying at his home. He was to be resentenced on those convictions and was to possibly enter a plea for rape, statutory sexual assault and strangulation charges for an incident in December of 2019 where he allegedly supplied a sixteen year old girl with marijuana and raped her. The hearing was held totally by video conferencing and Paul was unclear about what was happening due to a change in his representation at the public defender office. Costanzo continued all hearings until January. Paul remains in the Washington County Jail on $500,000 bond.
December 4, 2020 2:56 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – The Capitol complex in Harrisburg is closing to the public until further notice because of a statewide surge in coronavirus infections. The Department of General Services said the closure order takes effect Monday and will impact rallies, tours, choir performances, receptions and other public gatherings. The agency says the governor’s office and General Assembly will continue to operate, with access limited to employees and others with credentials. The Capitol is closing amid sharp increases in infections, hospitalizations and deaths statewide and across the nation.
December 4, 2020 2:42 am
Hospital beds are filling up and medical staffs are being stretched to the limit as Pennsylvania’s health care system copes with a growing number of seriously ill COVID-19 patients. Nearly half of all hospitals in the south-central region of the state, and a third of those in the southwest, anticipate staffing shortages within a week. That’s according to the state Department of Health. Nurses in the Philadelphia area say they’re overloaded with COVID patients, impacting the quality of care they can provide. And Pennsylvania’s top health official said Thursday she’s worried about modeling that shows the state will run out of intensive care beds this month.
December 3, 2020 4:45 pm
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Powerful winds have pushed flames through Southern California canyons as an out-of-control wildfire burns near homes, forcing residents to flee. The blaze in Orange County’s Silverado Canyon began late Wednesday as a house fire that quickly spread to tinder-dry brush. It exploded in size early Thursday. Firefighters are struggling in steep terrain amid unpredictable Santa Ana winds that have raised fire danger for much of the region. The blaze broke out as Southern California utilities cut the power to tens of thousands of customers to avoid the threat of wildfires during the windy weather.
December 3, 2020 9:14 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell last week to a still-high 712,000, the latest sign that the U.S. economy and job market remain under stress from the intensified viral outbreak. Thursday’s report from the Labor Department said that initial claims for jobless aid dropped from 787,000 the week before. Before the virus paralyzed the economy in March, the number of people applying for unemployment benefits each week had typically amounted to roughly 225,000. The chronically high pace of applications shows that nearly nine months after the pandemic struck, many employers are still slashing jobs.
December 3, 2020 4:20 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Ivanka Trump has been deposed by attorneys alleging that President Donald Trump’s 2017 inauguration committee misused donor funds. A new court filing, first reported by CNN Wednesday, notes that Ivanka Trump, the president’s oldest daughter and a senior White House adviser, was interviewed Tuesday by attorneys from the Washington, D.C., attorney general’s office. The office has filed a lawsuit alleging waste of the nonprofit’s funds, accusing the committee of making more than $1 million in improper payments to the president’s Washington, D.C., hotel during the week of the inauguration in 2017.
December 3, 2020 4:19 am
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Attorneys for Wisconsin’s governor are calling President Donald Trump’s attempt to overturn the state’s election results an “assault on democracy.” Democratic Gov. Tony Evers filed a response to Trump’s lawsuit with the Wisconsin Supreme Court late Tuesday. The state’s highest court is weighing Trump’s request to disqualify more than 221,000 ballots in Wisconsin’s two heaviest Democratic counties. Democrat Joe Biden defeated Trump by a 2-to-1 margin in those counties on his way to a 20,682-vote win statewide. Trump is not challenging any ballots in the state’s other 70 counties, the majority of which Trump won. His campaign added another lawsuit over his Wisconsin loss late Wednesday in federal court.
December 3, 2020 4:17 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Three former presidents say they’d be willing to publicly take a coronavirus vaccine, once one becomes available, to encourage all Americans to get inoculated against a disease that has already killed more than 275,000 people nationwide. Barack Obama said during an episode of SiriusXM’s “The Joe Madison Show” airing Thursday, “I may end up taking it on TV or having it filmed, just so that people know that I trust this science.” A spokesman for Bill Clinton suggested similar. George W. Bush’s chief of staff told CNN that Bush was ready to do so also. Those comments come as the virus rages nationwide. Vaccines may not be widely available for months. (Photo: CNN)
December 3, 2020 4:17 am
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Alaska authorities say it’s believed six people are missing and four homes have been destroyed after multiple mudslides were reported in the community of Haines on Wednesday. Search and rescue efforts were suspended Wednesday evening as rains continued to batter the area, with authorities citing unstable ground. Those unaccounted for were in the vicinity of where the largest slide came down Wednesday afternoon. Alaska State Troopers say about 9 feet of mud and trees cover the area, which saw evacuations. Haines Borough Mayor Douglas Olerud tells The Associated Press there were several smaller slides in the community of about 2,500 people in southeast Alaska, about 100 miles north of Juneau.
