October 1, 2020 2:29 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania’s top state elections official says it appears that an election worker’s decision to throw out nine military ballots in Wilkes-Barre amounted to a mistake and not “intentional fraud.” Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar said during an online news conference Wednesday that the elections office in Luzerne County is getting training on handling mailed-in ballots. She says the initial reports she has fielded indicate it was a bad mistake. President Donald Trump has repeatedly brought up the nine ballots as evidence of election fraud in the past week, including two mentions during Tuesday night’s presidential debate.
September 30, 2020 5:43 pm
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – A proposal to set up a Republican-majority panel to review the fall election is headed for a final vote in the state House, over sharp Democratic objections. A resolution passed out of the House State Government Committee on Wednesday would establish a Select Committee on Election Integrity to look into how the election is being regulated and conducted and to help determine if new legislation is needed. A final House vote is likely to be held Thursday. The select committee would have subpoena power and money to operate. Democrats say they’re concerned about Republicans launching partisan investigations into the election in the weeks ahead of Election Day.
September 30, 2020 1:50 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Commission on Presidential Debates says it’s adding new “tools to maintain order” to the upcoming debates after a chaotic first debate between President Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Trump’s frequent interruptions of the Democratic presidential nominee defined Tuesday night’s debate, with Biden frequently unable to complete a sentence. Moderator Chris Wallace of Fox News pleaded with Trump several times to allow Biden to speak uninterrupted, to no avail. The nonpartisan commission has organized every general election presidential debate since 1988. In a statement, the commission said the first debate “made clear that additional structure should be added to the format of the remaining debates to ensure a more orderly discussion of the issues.”
September 30, 2020 9:17 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – An expert says a flash that lit up the skies over parts of Pennsylvania and Ohio in the wee hours was most likely a random meteor. Many social media users in the Pittsburgh area reported seeing a streaking fireball shortly after 4 a.m. Wednesday. It remained in the skies for a short time before disappearing from view. The American Meteor Society says it received more than 200 reports of a bright fireball over eastern Ohio. An official with the nonprofit says it was probably a random meteor not associated with any known meteor shower.
September 30, 2020 8:57 am
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Country star Mac Davis, who crafted the Elvis hits “A Little Less Conversation” and “In the Ghetto” before launching his own successful artist career, has died. He was 78.
His longtime manager Jim Morey said in a press release that Davis died in Nashville on Tuesday after heart surgery and was surrounded by family and friends. Davis had a long and varied career in music for decades as a writer, singer, actor and TV host and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2006. He was named 1974’s entertainer of the year by the Academy of Country Music after the success of songs including “Baby Don’t Get Hooked on Me.” Born in Lubbock, Texas, and raised in Georgia, Davis was inspired by fellow Lubbock native Buddy Holly, but it was Elvis who gave him his first musical big break. Davis helped craft the song “Memories” that was a cornerstone of Elvis’ big 1968 comeback TV special.
September 30, 2020 6:19 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Authorities say they have arrested a man in connection with the shooting of two Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies as they sat in their squad car. District Attorney Jackie Lacy on Wednesday says attempted murder charges have been filed against 36-year-old Deonte Lee Murray. He was arrested two weeks ago in connection with a separate carjacking. The deputies suffered critical wounds in the Sept. 12 shooting which was recorded by surveillance video. They have since been released from the hospital and are recovering at home.
September 30, 2020 4:16 am
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) – The Walt Disney Co. is planning to lay off 28,000 workers in its theme parks division in California and Florida. The company has been squeezed by limits on attendance at its parks and other restrictions due to the pandemic. Officials said Tuesday that two-thirds of the planned layoffs involve part-time workers but they ranged from salaried employees to hourly workers. Disney’s parks closed last spring as the pandemic started spreading in the U.S. The Florida parks reopened this summer, but the California parks have yet to reopen as the company awaits guidance from the state of California.
September 30, 2020 4:15 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Helen Reddy, the Australian-born singer who scored an enduring hit with her feminist anthem “I Am Woman,” has died at 78 in Los Angeles. Reddy’s children announced their mother’s death Tuesday evening, saying that while they are heartbroken, they “take comfort in the knowledge that her voice will live on forever.” The Australian-born singer enjoyed a prolific career, appearing in “Airport 1975” as a singing nun and scoring several hits, starting with “I Don’t Know How To Love Him” from “Jesus Christ Superstar” in 1971. She won the best female pop vocal performance in 1973, thanking her then husband and God, telling the audience “because she makes everything possible.”
September 30, 2020 4:11 am
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) – A Kentucky judge delayed until Friday the release of secret grand jury proceedings in Breonna Taylor’s killing by police. That’s according to the state Attorney General Daniel Cameron’s office. Audio recordings of the proceedings were originally supposed to be released Wednesday. Cameron’s office asked a Louisville court for a week’s delay, so it could redact the names of witnesses and personal information such as addresses and phone numbers. Cameron’s spokeswoman said Wednesday that a judge granted a shorter delay, giving the attorney general until noon Friday. Taylor was shot and killed in her Louisville home by police who were executing a narcotics warrant in March.
September 30, 2020 4:09 am
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) – Authorities in Florida say a woman has been killed and a man hospitalized following a shooting at an Amazon Fulfillment Center in Jacksonville. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office says it responded to the center Tuesday night, where deputies found the woman dead at the scene. The man has been taken to a hospital with injuries that haven’t been detailed. Lt. J.D. Stronko said early findings show the two may have been in a “domestic relationship.” Investigators think they were both Amazon employees. This is the second shooting outside the Amazon facility this year. In June, a targeted shooting left one person dead and two others wounded.
