September 30, 2020 4:08 am
CLEVELAND (AP) – The first debate between President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden deteriorated into bitter taunts and near chaos Tuesday night. Trump in particular repeatedly interrupted his opponent with angry – and personal – comments that sometimes overshadowed the sharply different visions each man has of a nation facing historic crises. There were heated clashes over the president’s handling of the pandemic, the integrity of the election results, deeply personal attacks about Biden’s family and how the Supreme Court will shape the future of the nation’s health care. Trump also refused to condemn white supremacists who have supported him, telling one such group known as Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by.”
September 30, 2020 4:03 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – A few hundred people brought their support for gun rights to the steps of the Pennsylvania Capitol building for what is an annual rally. Tuesday’s gathering constituted a pep rally, provided an update on the gun lobby’s legislative efforts and opposition, and gave participants an opportunity to target Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf and other political opponents. áOrganizers said rainy weather and the pandemic may have kept down attendance. Cease Fire PA, which advocates to reduce the harm done by firearms, says about 1,600 people have been killed by guns in Pennsylvania in the past year.
September 30, 2020 4:01 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania’s counties are pressing lawmakers and Gov. Tom Wolf to allow them to process mail-in ballots before Election Day in the battleground state as they consider the prospect of waiting until polls open to dig into 3 million envelopes. Allowing counties time to process mail-in ballots before Election Day remained stuck Tuesday in a wider partisan dispute between the Democratic governor and the Republican-controlled Legislature. County officials say processing mail-in ballots before Election Day will speed up vote counting amid concerns that a presidential election result will hang in limbo for days on Pennsylvania’s vote count. Meanwhile, Philadelphia on Tuesday opened seven satellite election offices.
September 29, 2020 4:58 pm
LOS ANGELES (AP) – A 39-year-old woman has been charged in what authorities say was an attempted kidnapping of the 9-month-old granddaughter of Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana from his California home. Prosecutors say Sodsai Dalzell was charged Tuesday with attempted kidnapping and burglary. She appeared in court, but it’s not clear whether she entered a plea. An email to her attorney wasn’t immediately returned. Montana told sheriff’s deputies the baby was asleep in his Malibu home when a woman he didn’t know entered and grabbed the child. Authorities say Montana’s wife, Jennifer, pried the child out of the arms of Dalzell, who fled and was later arrested.
September 29, 2020 4:47 pm
ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) – Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was buried Tuesday in a private ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery. She is the 14th justice to be buried at the cemetery. Washington last week honored the 87-year-old Ginsburg, who died Sept. 18, with two days where the public could view her casket at the top of the Supreme Court’s steps and pay their respects. On Friday, the women’s rights trailblazer and second woman to join the high court lay in state at the U.S. Capitol, the first woman to do so. (Photo: CNN)
September 29, 2020 11:56 am
Classes will continue as normal in the Ringgold School District after two students at Ringgold South Elementary tested positive for the coronavirus. District officials say they were informed of the positive cases early Monday morning and contact tracing was conducted to determine who may have been in close contact with the students. They say anyone who may have been in close contact with them will be notified and asked to self-quarantine for fourteen days. In a letter to parents, district officials say the Pennsylvania Department of Health has not recommended any closures or cancellation of classes at this time.
September 29, 2020 4:35 am
A 24-year-old man has been arrested following a police chase that began in Allegheny County, wound its way through Washington County, moved into West Virginia and ended in Ohio. Authorities say Shad Boccella began his crime spree on Saturday when he assaulted two women in a parking lot on East Carson Street and stole their car, only to abandon it a short distance away. Police say he was then arrested and taken to jail after reports of a theft at a restaurant on the South Side. Boccella was released from jail on Sunday but then reportedly stole a bike from someone on a bridge in McKeesport, and then tried to jump into a boat that was being towed away. Police say Boccella was high on meth, and he was arrested again and taken back to jail, only to be released again Monday morning. Shortly after that, the chase began. It eventually ended in St. Clairsville, Ohio where Boccella was arrested and is currently in the Belmont County Jail in Ohio on fleeing and eluding charges. He’s facing charges in Pittsburgh as well.
September 29, 2020 4:15 am
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – California’s governor says the state is showing signs of a potential new surge of coronavirus cases. Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday that could prompt another shutdown of businesses and further delay school reopenings. The number of new cases in California has improved over the last few weeks, but Newsom said he is concerned about the “reproduction number” in several highly-populated areas. A number greater than one means the virus is spreading. The “R number” is close to one in the San Francisco Bay area and in parts of Southern California. Still, the Newsom administration plans to lift virus restrictions in more counties on Tuesday.
September 29, 2020 4:14 am
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Northern California’s wine country was blanketed by fire again Monday as strong winds fanned flames in the already scorched region, destroying homes and prompting evacuation orders for nearly 70,000 people. Further north near Redding, Shasta County Sheriff Eric Magrini announced that three people had died in a fire there. The fires that began Sunday in the famed Napa-Sonoma wine country north of San Francisco and around Redding came near the third anniversary of deadly wildfires that erupted in 2017, including one that killed 22 people. They are among nearly 30 major wildfires burning across California. The wildlife death toll in California wildfires this year is now 29.
September 29, 2020 4:14 am
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – The Wisconsin Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments in a case that could result in the purging of about 130,000 people from voter rolls in the hotly contested battleground state. The arguments Tuesday come just five weeks before the election in one of several closely watched lawsuits in Wisconsin. However, it wasn’t clear if the court would rule in time to affect the Nov. 3 election that was just five weeks away. Attorneys for both sides didn’t expect a decision after the election. President Donald Trump won Wisconsin by fewer than 23,000 votes in 2016.
