September 15, 2020 12:37 pm
(WPXI) – Three shopping malls in the Pittsburgh area will be closed on Thanksgiving Day, but will be open on Black Friday. Ross Park Mall, South Hills Village and Grove City Premium Outlets will not open their doors Nov. 26TH. Simon Property Group, which owns the malls, made the announcement Monday. It will not open any of its properties on Thanksgiving, citing challenging times. “In these challenging times, we made the decision that we will not open on Thanksgiving Day, instead allowing our associates to spend the holiday with their loved ones,” David Simon, Chairman, CEO and President of Simon Properties, said in a statement. Simon Property Group is the largest mall operator in the United States with locations in almost 40 states. Major retailers — including Target, Walmart, Kohl’s, J.C. Penney, Best Buy, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Bed Bath & Beyond, Office Depot/OfficeMax and Sam’s Club — have announced that stores will be closed on Thanksgiving.
September 15, 2020 12:32 pm
HARRISBURG (AP) – Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration says it will appeal a federal judge’s ruling that pandemic restrictions that required people to stay at home, placed limits on gatherings and ordered “non-life-sustaining” businesses to close are unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge William Stickman IV, an appointee of President Donald Trump, sided with plaintiffs that included hair salons, drive-in movie theaters, a farmer’s market vendor, a horse trainer and several Republican officeholders. Courts had consistently rejected challenges to Wolf’s power to order businesses to close during the pandemic. Wolf’s spokesperson said Monday the administration will seek delayed enforcement of the ruling while it appeals.
September 15, 2020 9:58 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – Researchers at Pitt’s School of Medicine report finding an antibody component that has shown promise in fighting COVID-19. According to a news release, the component is 10 times smaller than an antibody and was used to create a drug to rid the body of the coronavirus. The molecule specifically neutralizes the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The study was reported in the journal ‘Cell’ and showed the new drug, called Ab8, was very effective in treating the virus in mice and hamsters. The study showed due to the small size of the antibody component, there’s promise in being able to have it administered in alternative ways, such as through inhalation. It also showed signs that it would not have a negative side effect in humans. Not only could the drug treat COVID-19, it could also keep people from catching it. Abound Bio, a newly formed UPMC-backed company, has licensed the new drug for worldwide development.
September 15, 2020 4:27 am
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – With the smell of California wildfires in the air, President Donald Trump on Monday ignored the scientific consensus that climate change is playing a central role in West Coast infernos. He reiterated his unfounded claim that poor forest management is to blame. The fires are threatening to become another front in Trump’s reelection bid, which is already facing hurdles because of the coronavirus pandemic, joblessness and social unrest. His Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, in his own speech Monday said the destruction and mounting death toll across California, Oregon and Washington required stronger presidential leadership, and he labeled Trump a “climate arsonist.”
September 15, 2020 4:25 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump is running as the “law and order” candidate, but that hasn’t stopped him and his reelection campaign from defying state emergency orders and flouting his administration’s coronavirus guidelines as he holds rallies in battleground states. Democratic governors and local leaders have urged the president to reconsider the events, warning that he’s putting lives at risk. But they have largely not tried to stop the gatherings of several thousand people as Trump and his team push forward, likening them to “peaceful protests” protected by the First Amendment.
September 15, 2020 4:24 am
ORANGE BEACH, Ala. (AP) – Hurricane Sally is crawling toward the northern Gulf Coast at just 2 mph, a pace that’s enabling the storm to gather huge amounts of water to eventually dump on land. Forecasters now expect landfall late Tuesday or early Wednesday near the Alabama-Mississippi state line. Rainfall is increasing in the two states, where some coastal roads have been closed because of flooding. Forecasters say the slow-moving storm will bring record flooding to the region, with nearly 2 feet of rain accumulation in some areas near the coast. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey is urging residents near Mobile Bay to evacuate if they still can.
September 15, 2020 4:24 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Israel on Tuesday signed historic diplomatic pacts with two Gulf Arab states at a White House ceremony that President Donald Trump hopes will mark the “dawn of a new Middle East” and cast him as a peacemaker at the height of his reelection campaign. Hundreds of people massed on the sun-washed South Lawn to witness the signing of agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. The agreements formalize the normalization of the Jewish state’s already warming relations with the two countries over Iranian aggression in the region. But they do not address the decades-long conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.
September 15, 2020 4:21 am
Washington County Commissioners held a news conference Monday evening to announce their pleasure with a federal judge’s ruling that struck down restrictions and closures of businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic. Judge William Stickman, IV ruled in a 66 page opinion that the restrictions that Governor Tom Wolf and Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine overstepped constitutional boundaries by ordering business closures, restricting outdoor gatherings and mandating stay at home orders. Commissioner Diana Irey-Vaughn applauded the decision as a victory for constitutional rights of business people. Appearing with Irey-Vaughn, Commissioner Nick Sherman cautioned businesses that “We did not cure Covid-19 today.” Sherman asks that people use common sense going forward and strictly adhere to CDC guidelines of wearing masks, keeping six feet apart and frequent washing of hands. Irey-Vaughn looks for the Wolf administration to appeal the ruling. She also looks for the administration to ask for a stay on the decision. When asked if this decision will have effects outside of Pennsylvania, Irey-Vaughn said she expects this ruling to be a landmark nationally as other states look to try and crawl out from restrictive actions of other governors.
September 15, 2020 4:18 am
Peters Township Council held a special hearing regarding changes to its ordinance regulating wireless technology tower locations in the township. Currently, towers are only allowed in industrial zones and on existing structures that allow for combined location of utilities. Changes to the ordinance are in anticipation of upcoming 5G wireless technology. That technology will require hundreds of wireless towers to be deployed throughout the township. The towers by design broadcast communications signals several hundred feet at a time as opposed to several miles similar to the towers currently in use. Because 5G towers can be combined with existing applications, neighborhoods that employ telephone poles will have less of a problem acquiring 5G technology than those neighborhoods with underground utilities. The amended ordinance will still prohibit 5G towers from being built in underground utility neighborhoods. According to Township Manager Paul Lauer, “this will create a delicate balancing act for residents.” They will need to decide if having high speed broadband service is more important than having a wireless tower in their yard. The ordinance also allows the township control over esthetic nature of the structures. Council will enact the ordinance in its next meeting.
September 15, 2020 4:16 am
BEIJING (AP) – The U.S. has issued a new advisory warning against travel to mainland China and Hong Kong, citing the risk of “arbitrary detention” and “arbitrary enforcement of local laws.” The advisory issued Tuesday warned U.S. citizens that China imposes “arbitrary detention and exit bans” to compel cooperation with investigations, pressure family members to return to China from abroad, influence civil disputes and “gain bargaining leverage over foreign governments.” In Hong Kong, it said China “unilaterally and arbitrarily exercises police and security power,” It added that new legislation also covers offenses committed by non-Hong Kong residents, possibly subjecting U.S. citizens who have publicly criticized China to a “heightened risk of arrest, detention, expulsion, or prosecution.”
