November 7, 2020 10:27 am
BOSTON (AP) – A texting company run by a top Trump campaign aide was used to send thousands of targeted, anonymous text messages that urged supporters to rally where votes were being counted in Philadelphia on Thursday. They falsely claimed the Democrats were trying to steal the presidential election. Two people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition they not be further identified said the texts were sent using phone numbers leased to the text-messaging platform Opn Sesame. Its CEO is Gary Coby, the Trump campaign’s digital director. Coby declined to comment. A spokesperson for the Trump campaign said it did not send the texts.
November 7, 2020 10:25 am
The most turbulent and norm-breaking presidential election of a lifetime has led to an extraordinary spectacle over the past three days: armed protesters gathering nightly outside offices where local workers are counting the votes to decide who will be the next occupant of the White House. Some carry shotguns. Some have handguns. Most often, they carry black, military-style semiautomatic rifles. The protesters with weapons are a small minority of the demonstrators. There has been no violence, and the laws in Arizona and Michigan – where guns have been seen outside vote-tabulation centers — allow people to openly carry guns in public. But experts warn that the guns create a dangerous situation that could tip easily into violence.
November 7, 2020 10:21 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Facing the potential for narrow losses in multiple battlegrounds, President Donald Trump might have a tough time persuading the Supreme Court to take up his call to intervene and prevent Joe Biden from becoming president. Trump could need the court’s help in two or more states. That’s an unlikely scenario that is far different from what took place in 2000, the only time the court has effectively settled a presidential election. Twenty years ago, the entire fight was over Florida’s electoral votes and involved a recount as opposed to trying to halt the initial counting of ballots.
November 7, 2020 10:18 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump’s chief of staff Mark Meadows has been diagnosed with the coronavirus as the nation sets daily records for confirmed cases for the pandemic. Two senior administration officials confirmed Meadows tested positive for the virus, which has killed more than 236,000 Americans so far this year. Meadows traveled with Trump in the run-up to Election Day and last appeared in public early Wednesday morning without a mask as Trump falsely declared victory in the vote count. He had been one of the close aides around Trump when the president came down with the virus more than a month ago, but was tested daily and maintained his regular work schedule.
November 7, 2020 10:16 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Until six weeks ago, defenders of the Affordable Care Act could take comfort in some simple math. Five Supreme Court justices who had twice preserved the Obama-era health care law remained on the bench and seemed unlikely votes to dismantle it. But Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death and her replacement by Amy Coney Barrett have altered the equation as the court prepares to hear arguments Tuesday in the third major legal challenge to the law. Republican attorneys general in 18 states, backed by the Trump administration, are arguing that the whole law should be struck down. Invalidating the entire law would threaten coverage for more than 23 million people.
November 7, 2020 4:19 am
The Center for Coalfield Justice will hold a car rally at the Washington Wildthings parking lot to demand that every vote be counted before election winners are certified. In a statement released by the organization they state that “Our democracy has never been tested like this before. It is our duty to ensure that every vote is counted and that every vote counts. The event is meant for all community members and will begin at the Washington Wildthings parking lot at noon on Saturday.
November 7, 2020 4:08 am
Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine announced that the Department of Health is looking for entities to collaborate on research about Covid-19. The focus of the research will be health impacts and treatments of the virus. The types of research allowed under the grant program will include biomedical research, clinical research and health services research. Requests for applications began on October 28 and the deadline for applications is December 9. Grant work will begin on June 1, 2021 and run through May 31, 2025. Interested parties must submit a letter of intent as instructed. Ten million dollars is anticipated to be available through three grants and potential topics of study may include improving the knowledge of the genetic makeup of Covid-19, behavioral and mental health impacts to the population due to Covid-19 and vaccine development.
November 7, 2020 3:54 am
The Pennsylvania Department of Health announced the opening of a Covid-19 testing site in Westmoreland County. Westmoreland County has been an area of concern as 2998 cases of coronavirus have occurred since the beginning of September, according to Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine. This week Westmoreland County experienced a 7.2 percent positivity rate. That is down from the 8.4 percent from the previous week. Counties of concern are identified by percent positive rates of 5 percent or more. Information about counties of concern can be found on the PA. Department of Health website under the Early Warning Monitoring Dashboard. The site is located in the parking lot at the PNC Bank at 300 Hillcrest Shopping Center in Lower Burrell. Up to 440 patients can be seen per day and mid nasal swab tests will be performed. Patients must be three years old or older and are encouraged to bring a photo ID or insurance card. No appointment is necessary and patients do not need to be experiencing symptoms of Covid-19 to be tested. The test times will begin November 7 at 7:00 am and last until 6:00 pm. The last day for testing will be Wednesday November 11.
November 6, 2020 12:39 pm
NEW YORK (AP) – Weatherman and morning TV co-host Al Roker has revealed that he has been diagnosed with prostate cancer and will be undergoing surgery to have his prostate removed. Roker revealed he got the diagnosis Sept. 29. It began with a routine physical when his doctor discovered he had an elevated prostate-specific antigen in his bloodwork. That led to him getting an MRI, followed by a biopsy, to confirm his diagnosis. The 66-year-old TV personality urged others at risk – particularly Black men – to ensure they see a doctor and get the proper checkups to stop a cancer that is very treatable if detected early. (Photo courtesy of The Today Show)
November 6, 2020 9:15 am
The Peters Township school district says they have identified seven additional, positive COVID-19 cases at the high school. That now puts the total at 11 in the past 48 hours. The district now says the high school will be closed through Thursday, November 19 and all students will attend class remotely. The district says the potential for in-school spread is significant since several students who tested positive were in school prior to that testing. Officials say they are taking all recommended steps to ensure the safety of students and staff. The district says the origins of these coronavirus exposures has been traced to out of school events.
