October 30, 2020 4:02 am
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) – New Zealanders have voted in favor of legalizing euthanasia in a binding referendum. But in preliminary results, they were rejecting a measure to legalize marijuana. With about 83% of votes counted, New Zealanders emphatically endorsed the euthanasia measure with 65% voting in favor and 34% voting against. The “no” vote on marijuana was much closer, with 53% voting against legalizing it and 46% voting in favor. That left open a slight chance the measure could still pass once all special votes were counted next week, although it would require a huge swing.
October 30, 2020 4:01 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Donald Trump’s campaign rallies are among the nation’s biggest events held in defiance of coronavirus-related crowd restrictions. The president’s rallies regularly cram supporters together – with masks optional and social distancing frowned upon. Public health experts say Trump is setting the wrong example at a time when greater precautions are urgently needed. The U.S. posted a record high number of new infections last week – nearly 500,000. By contrast, Democrat Joe Biden has shunned rallies and instead holds online and drive-in events where people honk their horns to show support. He calls the Trump rallies “super-spreader events.”
October 30, 2020 3:59 am
CHICAGO (AP) – The mother of a 17-year-old accused of killing two demonstrators in Kenosha, Wisconsin, is among those slated to testify at a hearing in Illinois to decide if her son should be extradited across the border to stand trial on homicide charges. During Friday’s hearing, Kyle Rittenhouse’s lawyers also planned to call an expert on self-defense and former homicide detectives in their long-shot bid to block his extradition. The killings occurred on Aug. 25, two days after a police officer trying to arrest Jacob Blake shot him seven times in the back, paralyzing him from the waist down. State-to-state extraditions are typically formalities and judges rarely refuse to OK another state’s request to transfer a suspect.
October 30, 2020 3:58 am
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – When Joe Biden was last in Iowa, his campaign was on the verge of collapse and he was soundly trounced in the caucuses. He returns Friday as the Democratic nominee, believing he’s just days away from becoming president-elect. Iowa is among the clutch of GOP-leaning states that Biden is trying to bring back into the Democratic column. He’ll also swing through Wisconsin on Friday while his running mate, Kamala Harris, courts voters in Texas. Trump, meanwhile, is playing defense in Michigan and Wisconsin. The president and Biden will both be in Minnesota, a longtime Democratic state that Trump is trying to flip.
October 30, 2020 2:47 am
Washington County Commissioner Nick Sherman announced Thursday that he has tested positive for COVID-19. Sherman, a Republican, said in a news release that he learned Thursday morning that he had contracted the coronavirus and says he is experiencing mild flu-like symptoms and is self-quarantining. Sherman says he has traced the infection back to a friend from over the weekend and has taken appropriate steps to notify the people with whom he has interacted. Sherman says he will continue to work from home over the next two weeks, under full quarantine. Sherman says that out of an abundance of caution, he has asked his assistant, Patrick Geho, to also quarantine. Sherman says his office and meeting rooms are being cleaned and disinfected.
October 30, 2020 2:46 am
With Coronavirus cases spiking in Washington County, numerous school districts are feeling the impact. The Canon-McMillan School District has notified families that North Strabane Intermediate School closed for in-person classes Wednesday after a teacher and a student tested positive for COVID. The school will operate through a fully remote-learning model through Monday. Students and staff are to return to the building next Thursday. The district also announced Thursday that three students at Canon-McMillan High School also tested positive. In Peters Township, a phone message sent to parents says the middle school will be closed Friday after receiving a positive coronavirus test. In Chartiers-Houston, the district posted an announcement that a positive case was reported at the junior/senior high school building. The case was due to exposure outside of the school setting. Classes continue as normal.
October 29, 2020 4:40 pm
(AP) – Everyone’s going to streaming, including Judge Judy. The broadcast TV staple’s next act will be with IMDb TV, Amazon’s free digital service. Judith Sheindlin, whose long-running syndicated courtroom show “Judge Judy” will end production in 2021, áwill be dispensing justice on an exclusive show in the U.S. for IMDb TV, it was announced Thursday. The title and debut date for the new courtroom show weren’t announced. The tough-talking former New York family court judge’s popularity made her the highest-paid personality in TV. “Judge Judy” debuted in 1996 and announced it would end production in 2021.
October 29, 2020 4:16 pm
(WPXI) – Pittsburgh Steelers and University of Pittsburgh football and basketball radio broadcaster Bill Hillgrove will serve two years on probation after he was arrested in June for a drunken driving incident in Murrysville. Police said Hillgrove crashed his SUV into the front windowpanes of Ferri’s Shur Save on Old William Penn Highway on June 15. He then went inside and picked up a prescription before driving back home. When officers arrived at Hillgrove’s home, they said they saw damage to the front of his SUV. He also appeared visibly intoxicated, police said. Hillgrove told police that he had a couple of beers, according to the criminal complaint. Court records indicated that Hillgrove had a blood alcohol content of 0.16%, which is twice the limit at which a motorist in Pennsylvania is determined to be intoxicated, our partners at TribLIVE reported. During a hearing this week, Hillgrove agreed to enter the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program for first-time nonviolent offenders. Enrollment in the program does not require a guilty plea and allows for the criminal case to later be expunged. Common Pleas Court Judge Tim Krieger sentenced Hillgrove to serve two years on probation. As part of the deal, two drunken driving counts will be dismissed after Hillgrove completes his probation term. After the incident happened, Hillgrove was suspended by the Steelers and Pitt for two games. He has since returned to the air.
October 29, 2020 1:15 pm
There’s “no place like home for the holidays” is taking on an extra-special meaning in 2020, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. Pennsylvania Secretary of Health, Dr. Rachel Levine, Thursday, took to the airways to beg state residents to stay home for the holidays this year. Levine said small gatherings like dinner and birthday parties have been found to be major contributors of community spread of the virus and she says that even though it is a great sacrifice, if someone does not live with you and is not part of your household, they should not be a part of this year’s festivities. Levine, instead, recommends a virtual gathering rather than an in-person celebration.
October 29, 2020 12:13 pm
(WPXI) – Duquesne University announced it has suspended all Greek Life activity “indefinitely” due to “repeated and egregious violations” of the COVID-19 protocols set in place prior to students returning to classes in the fall. University officials said in a letter that the suspension is effective immediately because organizations that hosted parties and other gatherings above approved limits also took “deliberately misleading actions in an attempt to limit contact tracing.” All organizational activities, including social, recruiting and charitable, are suspended both in-person and virtually for the rest of the fall term. According to the letter, individual students who have been identified as taking part in these events are now restricted from all on-campus activities as well.
