September 22, 2020 12:18 pm
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania’s Republican U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey says he’s on board with the Senate considering President Donald Trump’s forthcoming nominee to the Supreme Court right away, despite having endorsed waiting eight months until after the 2016 election to fill a vacancy under President Barack Obama. The difference now, Toomey said Tuesday, is that the Senate and White House are controlled by the same party, so there is no reason to wait until after the Nov. 3 election. Trump said he is obligated to pick a nominee as soon as possible to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died Friday. Democrats says Ginsburg’s seat should not be filled until after voters pick between Trump and Democrat Joe Biden.
September 22, 2020 11:57 am
(AP) – The death toll in the U.S. from the coronavirus has topped 200,000, a figure unimaginable eight months ago when the scourge first reached the world’s richest nation. That’s according to the count kept by Johns Hopkins University, based on figures from state health authorities. The real number of dead is thought be much higher, in part because many COVID-19 deaths, especially early on, were probably ascribed to other causes. The number of dead in the U.S. is equivalent to a 9/11 attack every day for 67 days. It is roughly equal to the population of Salt Lake City or Huntsville, Alabama. (Photo: CNN)
September 22, 2020 9:28 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Republicans have the votes to confirm President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court pick before the Nov. 3 presidential election, according to the Senate Judiciary chairman who will shepherd the nomination through the chamber. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina tells Fox News that Trump’s nominee will be supported by every Republican in the Judiciary Committee. He adds: “We’ve got the votes to confirm the justice on the floor of the Senate before the election and that’s what’s coming.” Trump expects to announce his pick by week’s end. On Monday, he met with conservative appeals court judge, Amy Coney Barrett, who is considered the favorite to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
September 22, 2020 4:15 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Justice Department identified New York City, Portland, Oregon, and Seattle as three cities that could have federal funding slashed under a memorandum by President Donald Trump that sought to identify localities that permit “anarchy, violence and destruction in American cities.” The designation drew immediate criticism from local elected officials. It comes as Trump has cast cities run by Democratic mayors as under siege by violence and lawlessness. That’s despite the fact that most of the demonstrations against racial injustice have been largely peaceful. An attempt to cut off federal funding to the cities would likely be met with immediate legal challenges.
September 22, 2020 4:11 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump is boasting on the campaign trail about his reshaping of the federal judiciary days after the death of liberal Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Trump was holding rallies in Vandalia and Swanton, Ohio, on Monday. He says he’s appointed more than 200 judges to the federal bench during his term. Trump said, “Some presidents never get any – they last a long time. He added: “We’ve had three. It’s blowing their minds.” Trump says he’s considering five women for the lifetime appointment to the nation’s highest court. He said he plans to announce his decision Friday or Saturday.
September 22, 2020 4:09 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump has met with the conservative appeals court judge, Amy Coney Barrett, who is considered the favorite to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. But the president is considering other women for the high court opening and says he plans more interviews ahead of announcing his choice by the end of the week. A person familiar with discussions in the White House and the Senate tells The Associated Press that Barrett and another appeals court judge, Barbara Lagoa, are the focus of attention. Barrett has long been favored by conservatives, and she was a strong contender for the seat that eventually went to Brett Kavanaugh in 2018.
September 22, 2020 4:08 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – A wildfire scorching its way through brush and timber from the mountains to the desert northeast of Los Angeles is threatening more than 1,000 homes. Authorities say the Bobcat Fire continues to threaten Mount Wilson northeast of Los Angeles and towns in the Antelope Valley on the other side of the San Gabriel Mountains. About 1,100 homes are under evacuation orders. Gov. Gavin Newsom says nearly 19,000 firefighters are battling 27 major blazes around California. He says the fires have destroyed thousands of buildings and burned an area larger than the state of Connecticut.
September 22, 2020 4:06 am
RUFFS DALE, Pa. — (WPXI) – A woman has been charged with first degree murder and criminal homicide in the shooting death of her ex-boyfriend Sunday night inside her Westmoreland County home. According to police, Meghan West, 29, invited Andrew Pristas, 30, to the Valley High Mobile Home Park in Ruffs Dale. Just before midnight, the two got into an argument over something on West’s phone. She ran into a bedroom and locked herself inside. According to police, she grabbed a gun and fired a warning shot through the door. West claims that Pristas continued to try to break down the locked door before she fired a second round into the door, which struck him. “She went outside the door and realized he was laying there in a pool of blood, initiated a 911 phone call and she did render some medical aid,” said Trooper Steve Limani of the Pennsylvania State Police. West was denied bond.
September 22, 2020 2:51 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania’s new coronavirus exposure-notification app is now available on app stores. The release of the app Tuesday is part of Pennsylvania’s effort to more quickly break chains of transmission by using the new technology to notify people who may have been exposed. The app is based on smartphone technology developed by Apple and Google. The app is interoperable with the state of Delaware’s app, which released last week. Use will be limited to people 18 and over. It is designed to automatically notify people if they might have been exposed to the coronavirus, and state officials say the app does not store personal information.
September 21, 2020 5:27 pm
NEW YORK (AP) – The nation’s top public health agency has stirred confusion, by posting – and then taking down – an apparent change in its position on how easily the coronavirus can spread through the air. Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say the respiratory virus spreads primarily through small airborne droplets. CDC officials have also acknowledged growing evidence that the virus can also be carried on smaller, aerosolized particles that spread over a wider area. The agency’s position appeared to have changed when it posted new detail on aerosolized particles on Friday, but that language was removed on Monday.
