October 23, 2020 2:42 am
Governor Tom Wolf has announced a plan to waive liquor license fees to provide financial relief to restaurants and bars, which have faced significant financial impacts during the COVID-19 public health crisis. “As we enter the anticipated fall resurgence of COVID-19 cases, the very contagious nature of this virus makes gathering indoors publicly at full capacity dangerous. Still, we know that restaurant and bar owners in Pennsylvania are committed to keeping their employees and customers safe and the vast majority of these businesses have followed safety precautions and invested in new procedures and supplies, but COVID continues to hurt this industry,” Gov. Wolf said. “My administration continues to look for innovative ways that we can support the bar and restaurant industry. Eliminating liquor license fees is an important step toward helping bars and restaurants retain the capital they need to weather the storm of COVID-19.” Wolf says he is working with the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board to waive standard licensing fees through 2021 starting January 1, 2021. More than 16,000 Pennsylvania restaurants and bars, clubs, catering clubs and hotels would see $20 million in relief.
October 22, 2020 2:54 pm
NEW YORK (AP) – President Donald Trump has posted full, unedited interviews that he and the vice president did with “60 Minutes” on Facebook before the show’s scheduled broadcast this weekend. The footage shows Trump growing increasingly prickly as Lesley Stahl presses him on a host of topics, including his response to the coronavirus pandemic, his slipping support among suburban women, the lack of masks at his rallies, and the “Obamacare” replacement plan he has long promised but failed to unveil. Trump eventually cut the interview short and declined to appear with Vice President Mike Pence. CBS News in a statement called the White House’s decision “unprecedented” but said the interview would air Sunday, as planned. (Photo: Yahoo)
October 22, 2020 11:48 am
(AP) – Magician James Randi, whose daring escapes were later eclipsed by his work as the country’s foremost skeptic, has died. The Florida-based James Randi Educational Foundation announced its founder died Tuesday at 92. As The Amazing Randi, the performer escaped from a locked coffin submerged in water and from a straitjacket as he dangled over Niagara Falls. But it was his later work that he was most proud of, shedding a light on psychics, faith healers and others he believed were conning the public. Randi’s namesake foundation later started a $1 million prize for anyone able to prove supernatural abilities. It was never claimed. (Photo: CNN)
October 22, 2020 4:08 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Former President Barack Obama is blasting President Donald Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, his culpability in national discord and his overall fitness for the job in his first in-person campaign pitch for Joe Biden, his former vice president. With less than two weeks until Election Day, Obama delivered a sweeping condemnation of Trump on Wednesday while urging Black men, progressives and other voters not to sit out the Nov. 3 election. At a drive-in rally of about 300 cars, Obama said, “This election requires every single one of us to do our part. What we do these next 13 days will matter for decades to come.”
October 22, 2020 4:06 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Santa Claus won’t be greeting kids at Macy’s flagship New York store this year due to the coronavirus, interrupting a holiday tradition started nearly 160 years ago. Macy’s says more than a quarter of a million people come to see Santa at Macy’s in New York each year, and that makes it hard to create a safe environment during a pandemic. Santa also won’t be making in-person visits this year at its Chicago and San Francisco stores, which have similar Santalands. Macy’s said it will be offering a free online experience on its website at the end of November, where families can play games and get a virtual tour of Santa’s workshop.
October 22, 2020 4:05 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Despite a Democratic boycott, Republicans are powering ahead to confirm Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court by Election Day. The Senate Judiciary Committee set to vote Thursday to recommend President Donald Trump’s nominee to the full Senate. Democrats are planning to boycott the session, but they don’t have the votes to stop Barrett’s ascent. Never before has the Senate confirmed a Supreme Court pick so close to a presidential election. The Senate is planning a rare weekend session to push Barrett’s nomination forward. Final confirmation by the Senate is expected Monday.
October 22, 2020 4:03 am
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden are set to square off in their final debate Thursday. It’s one of the last high-profile opportunities for the trailing president to change the trajectory of an increasingly contentious campaign. Some Trump advisers are urging him to trade his aggressive demeanor for a lower-key style, hoping Biden will get himself in trouble with verbal gaffes. But it’s hardly clear that the president will listen. There were supposed to be three debates, but the second was canceled after Trump got COVID-19 and then objected to the resulting revised format.
October 22, 2020 4:01 am
A large, for-profit Pennsylvania nursing home where dozens of residents died of COVID-19 has been sued over allegations that it failed to take basic steps to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center in Beaver County near the Ohio border was among the hardest-hit nursing homes in the state. It had more than 330 residents infected and 73 deaths. It has been under a federal and state criminal investigation. Wednesday’s suit was filed on behalf of five current residents and the families of 10 residents who died. Brighton says it’s working to “closely follow the guidance” of health officials.
October 22, 2020 3:58 am
SMITHTON, Pa. – A multi-vehicle, fatal crash shut down all lanes of I-70 in Smithton, Wednesday evening. It happened on a bridge that carries the interstate over the Yough river just before 5:30 p.m. The Westmoreland County Coroner’s office says 27 year old Dillon Walton of New Stanton was pronounced dead at the scene. According to the coroner, he was the lone occupant in a car that had stopped with other vehicles in the left travel lane of the eastbound lanes. A tractor trailer failed to slow for the stopped vehicles and struck them in the rear. Walton was partially ejected and suffered multiple blunt force injuries. A cause and manner of death are pending. One other tractor trailer and at least two other vehicles were involved. Several other people were transported from the scene but there is no word on their identities or conditions. Belle Vernon State Police tell us traffic if flowing normally through the area this morning.
October 21, 2020 2:45 pm
BOISE, Idaho (AP) – Hospitals around the United States are starting to buckle from a resurgence of COVID-19 cases, with several states setting records for the number of people hospitalized and leaders scrambling to find extra beds and staff. New highs in cases have been reported in states big and small – from Idaho to Ohio – in recent days. With persistent resistance to statewide mask mandates, some states are relying on individuals to do the right thing to stem the tide of the virus. Other states are worried about the spike putting pressures on the health system and are making plans for ensuring those infected get the hospital care they need.
