October 18, 2020 7:47 am
Ever since Russian agents and other opportunists abused its platform in an attempt to manipulate the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Facebook has insisted — repeatedly — that it’s learned its lesson and is no longer a conduit for misinformation, voter suppression and election disruption. But it has been a long and halting journey for the social network. Critical outsiders, as well as some of Facebook’s own employees, say the company’s efforts to revise its rules and tighten its safeguards remain wholly insufficient to the task, despite it having spent billions on the project. As for why, they point to the company’s persistent unwillingness to act decisively over much of that time. The company’s rhetoric has certainly gotten an update. CEO Mark Zuckerberg now casually references possible outcomes that were unimaginable in 2016 — among them, possible civil unrest and potentially a disputed election that Facebook could easily make even worse — as challenges the platform now faces. “This election is not going to be business as usual,” Zuckerberg wrote in a September Facebook post in which he outlined Facebook’s efforts to encourage voting and remove misinformation from its service. “We all have a responsibility to protect our democracy.” Yet for years Facebook executives have seemed to be caught off guard whenever their platform — created to connect the world — was used for malicious purposes. Zuckerberg has offered multiple apologies over the years, as if no one could have predicted that people would use Facebook to live-stream murders and suicides, incite ethnic cleansings, promote fake cancer cures or attempt to steal elections. While other platforms like Twitter and YouTube have also struggled to address misinformation and hateful content, Facebook stands apart for its reach and scale and, compared to many other platforms, its slower response to the challenges identified in 2016.
October 18, 2020 7:44 am
JANESVILLE, Wisconsin (AP) — President Donald Trump leaned into fear tactics Saturday as he accused the left of trying to “destroy the American way of life” in a late reelection pitch to voters in Michigan and Wisconsin — two Midwestern states that were instrumental to his 2016 victory but may now be slipping from his grasp. In back-to-back rallies, Trump accused the left of wanting to “erase American history” and “purge American values.” He claimed, with no basis, that Democratic rival Joe Biden would put communities at risk. Trump offered the dark message as he faces headwinds not only in national polling, which shows Biden leading, but also in key battleground surveys. His comments come after his campaign, with far less cash than Biden’s, largely retreated from TV advertising in the Midwest, shifting much of its money to Sun Belt states such as Florida, North Carolina, Arizona and Georgia, as well as Pennsylvania. As he tries to energize his base and keep on-the-fence voters from turning against him, Trump sought to paint Democrats as “anti-American radicals” and said moderates had “a moral duty” to join the Republican Party.
October 18, 2020 7:42 am
PITTSBURGH (WPXI) — Two Republican congressional candidates filed a lawsuit in federal court Friday asking for permission to have poll watchers at the satellite election sites in Allegheny County. The suit, filed by Sean Parnell and Luke Negron, argues that poll watchers are necessary at the locations to preserve the election’s integrity. The suit also references the issue reported earlier in the week in which nearly 29,000 voters received the wrong ballot after an error by the printing company. Allegheny County approved a number of satellite election locations where voters could request, fill out and drop off a mail-in ballot in one stop. County leaders said the locations were opened as a result of the pandemic so voters could have a safe place to return ballots or apply for one. The lawsuit says two men tried to get their poll watcher certificates for the satellite offices and were denied. The suit says the men were told by a county elections official that certificates were not available and had not yet been printed. The complaint says not allowing poll watchers at the location is a violation of the state Elections Code. The suit asks the court to decide on the validity of ballots already cast at the locations, find that denying poll watchers is unconstitutional, and declare the rights of voters in Allegheny County have been violated. It names the Allegheny County Board of Elections, County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, County Councilwoman Bethany Hallam and County Councilman Sam DeMarco as defendants. Sean Parnell is running for Congress against U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb, D-Mt. Lebanon, and Luke Negron, running for Congress against U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Forest Hills.
October 17, 2020 9:31 am
(AP)-The Vatican says someone who lives in the same Vatican hotel as Pope Francis has tested positive for coronavirus, adding to the 11 cases of COVID-19 among the Swiss Guards who protect him. The Vatican said Saturday that the resident of the Domus Sanctae Marthae has moved out temporarily and is in isolation, as are all the people who came into direct contact with him. The hotel serves as a residence for Vatican-based priests as well as visiting clerics and lay people. The hotel has a communal dining room and chapel where Francis celebrates Mass each morning.
October 17, 2020 9:27 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Rhonda Fleming, a Hollywood star of the 1940s and 1950s famed for her fiery red hair, has died at 97. Fleming’s assistant Carla Sapon told The New York Times that Fleming died Wednesday in Santa Monica, California. From her first color film, Fleming became popular with producers because of her vivid hair and green eyes. Her best-known films included “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court,” starring Bing Crosby, and Alfred Hitchcock’s “Spellbound,” starring Gregory Peck and Ingrid Bergman. She also made four films with future President Ronald Reagan.
October 17, 2020 9:22 am
PARIS (AP) – French authorities say a suspect shot dead by police after the gruesome beheading of a history teacher near Paris was an 18-year-old Chechen. France’s anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office says authorities investigating the horrific killing of the teacher in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine on Friday have also arrested nine suspects, including the grandparents, parents and 17-year-old brother of the attacker. The teacher had discussed caricatures of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad with his class, authorities said. Chechnya is a predominantly Muslim Russian republic in the North Caucasus. Two wars in the 1990s triggered a wave of emigration, with many Chechens heading for western Europe.
October 17, 2020 9:20 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Republican Sen. David Perdue mocked Kamala Harris, his Senate colleague and the Democratic vice presidential nominee, by repeatedly mispronouncing her name at a Georgia rally for President Donald Trump. Perdue was wrapping up his remarks at an event in Macon on Friday when he referred to Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s running mate as “KAH’-mah-lah? Kah-MAH’-lah? Kamala-mala-mala? I don’t know. Whatever.” A spokesperson for Perdue’s campaign tweeted that the senator “simply mispronounced Sen. Harris’ name” and that “he didn’t mean anything by it.” Harris’ spokesperson, Sabrina Singh, tweeted: “Well that is incredibly racist. Vote him out.”
October 17, 2020 9:16 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – A New York tabloid’s puzzling account about how it acquired emails purportedly from Joe Biden’s son has raised some red flags. One of the biggest involves the source of the emails: Rudy Giuliani. Giuliani has traveled abroad looking for dirt on the Bidens, developing relationships with shadowy figures, including a Ukrainian lawmaker who U.S. officials have described as a Russian agent and part of a broader Russian effort to denigrate the Democratic presidential nominee. The FBI is investigating whether the emails are part of a foreign influence operation.
October 17, 2020 4:32 am
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board reports a slight increase in total gaming revenue in September over the same period last year. $284,235,444 in revenue was reported for total gaming and fantasy contests. That is a 1% increase over September 2019. Locally, the Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh reported a 29% drop in revenue. The Meadows reported a 25% drop in revenue. Statewide, the largest revenue gaining games were Internet Slots and Internet Table Games.
October 17, 2020 4:20 am
A Washington man was sentenced to federal prison for his conviction of possession of a controlled substance and intent to deliver a controlled substance. Ramone Barnes, 34 formally of Washington, will spend the next 10 years in prison. Barnes distributed five bricks of fentanyl to undercover agents on June 26, 2017. On September 25, 2017 agents seized 10 grams of fentanyl in connection with the earlier arrest. Investigators for the Pennsylvania State Police Drug Law Enforcement Division and the Washington County District Attorney’s Office Drug Task Force cooperated in the investigation.
