September 5, 2020 4:18 am
BEIJING (AP) – President Xi Jinping has pledged to open China’s service industries wider to foreign competitors as its first in-person trade fair since the coronavirus outbreak opened under intensive anti-disease controls. Xi gave no details, but Chinese leaders are emphasizing tourism, retailing and other services. They are part of plans to nurture self-sustaining economic growth supported by consumer spending instead of trade and investment. Most exhibitors from abroad at the China International Fair for Trade in Services are due to participate via internet because Beijing has yet to relax curbs that bar most foreign visitors from the country.
September 5, 2020 4:16 am
NEW YORK (AP) – On the campaign trail, it’s like two different worlds out there. With President Donald Trump, the pandemic is largely over, the economy is roaring back, and murderous mobs are infiltrating America’s suburbs. With Democrat Joe Biden, the pandemic is raging, the economy isn’t working for the working-class, and systemic racism threatens Black lives across America. The first week of the fall sprint to Election Day has crystallized dramatically different versions of reality as the Republican incumbent and his Democratic challenger trekked from Washington and Delaware to Wisconsin and Pennsylvania and back. The candidates are fighting to navigate one of the most turbulent election seasons in modern history.
September 5, 2020 4:14 am
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Demonstrators were out on the streets again Friday night in Portland, Oregon, as the city this weekend reaches 100 straight nights of protests marked by vandalism and violence. The demonstrations started in late May after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. A slaying of a right-wing Trump supporter shot and killed after he came downtown last weekend with a pro-Trump caravan of pickup trucks further roiled things in the liberal city. The prime suspect in the shooting, self-described anti-fascist, was killed Thursday night by law enforcement. On Friday, demonstrators marched to a police building where they were met with officers donning riot gear.
September 5, 2020 4:13 am
NEW DELHI (AP) – India’s coronavirus cases have crossed 4 million, leading the world in new infections and deepening misery in the country’s vast hinterlands where surges have crippled the underfunded health care system. Initially, the virus ravaged India’s sprawling and densely populated cities. It has since stretched to almost every state, spreading through villages. With a population of nearly 1.4 billion people, India’s massive caseload isn’t surprising experts. The country’s delayed response to the virus forced the government to implement a harsh lockdown in late March. For over two months, the economy remained shuttered, buying time for health workers to prepare for the worst. With the cost of the restrictions also rising, authorities saw no choice but to reopen activities.
September 5, 2020 4:10 am
PITTSBURGH, Pa. (WPXI) — A two-year undercover investigation culminated Friday with 27 federal indictments and the dismantling of a major international distribution network that stretched from Mexico to the streets of Pittsburgh. Federal agents launched “Operation Tripwire” after a special agent with the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General noticed a large number of packages coming to a Pittsburgh address from California. Ken Cleevely, special agent in charge, said he developed sufficient evidence to obtain a federal search warrant, opened the parcel and found it contained four kilograms (about 8.8 pounds) of cocaine. Agents eventually traced the drugs to a Mexican cartel. Investigators said the cartel smuggled the cocaine into the U.S. — to Arizona and California first and then to Pittsburgh. U.S. Attorney Scott Brady said the cartel would use commercial airplanes, underground tunnels, trucks and other forms of transportation to get across the border. During Operation Tripwire, agents seized over 90 kilograms of cocaine and $1.3 million in cash. That amount of cocaine is worth about $2.7 million on the street. This week, federal agents raided homes in three states and arrested 27 members of the cartel’s distribution network: 11 in California, six in Arizona and 10 in Pittsburgh. Brady said they are still working to identify cartel members in Mexico, but the ultimate goal is to track them down and bring them to Pittsburgh to face charges.
September 5, 2020 4:01 am
Funding for several projects was addressed by Washington County Commissioners on a teleconference meeting on Friday afternoon. The three agenda items all passed unanimously. Commissioners approved a short term loan to the Washington County Fair Board in the amount of $52,000. Funds for that loan will come from the fairgrounds gas lease and will be repaid by the Fair Board at a future date. A professional services agreement with Zelenkofske, Axlerod, LLC was approved for consulting services on the Covid-19 Washington County Relief Block Grant. The cost of the agreement is not to exceed $35,000. Commissioners also approved a professional services agreement with HTC Communications. The $496,750 labor only agreement will work to provide the county with broadband access to unserved and underserved areas. Funding from the agreement will come from the Washington County Relief Block Grant.
September 5, 2020 4:00 am
PITTSBURGH – Pittsburgh AM radio show host Wendy Bell has been taken off the air until further notice due to controversial comments. According to a spokesperson from KDKA-AM, which is owned by Entercom and is not affiliated with KDKA-TV, Bell was removed from her show because of comments she made “that do not align with Entercom’s values.” In one segment, Bell encouraged violence against vandals at monuments. Bell was let go from her position with WTAE-TV in 2016 after making comments on social media regarding a shooting at a backyard barbecue that left 5 people dead. Here is the full statement sent to ours news partner WPXI on Friday:”Entercom is home to thousands of voices representing Americans of all races, ethnicities, gender identity, sexual orientation, beliefs and ability. We take very seriously our responsibility to provide a platform for our communities to engage in diverse and meaningful dialogue, debate and the right to freedom of speech. We do not condone the incitement of violence on any of our platforms. Members of our community have recently brought to our attention comments made by Wendy Bell that do not align with Entercom’s values. Wendy has been taken off air until further notice.” (Photo courtesy pghcitypaper.com)
September 4, 2020 5:22 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has declared President Donald Trump “unfit” for the presidency, delivering an impassioned reaction to a report that Trump – who never served in uniform – allegedly mocked American war dead. Defending himself, Trump says the allegations published by The Atlantic are false. Biden is intensifying his efforts to frame the 2020 election as a referendum on the president’s character. The allegations, sourced anonymously, describe multiple offensive comments by the president toward fallen U.S. service-members, including calling World War I dead at an American military cemetery in France “losers” and “suckers” in 2018. áTrump calls it “Fake News.”
September 4, 2020 4:23 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The U.S. unemployment rate fell sharply in August to 8.4% from 10.2% even as hiring slowed, with employers adding the fewest jobs since the pandemic began. The Labor Department says employers added 1.4 million jobs, down from 1.7 million in July. The U.S. economy has recovered about half the 22 million jobs lost to the pandemic. Friday’s report adds to evidence that nearly six months after the coronavirus paralyzed the country, the economy is mounting only a fitful recovery. From small businesses to hotels, restaurants, airlines and entertainment venues, a wide spectrum of companies are struggling to survive the loss of customers with confirmed viral cases still high.
September 4, 2020 4:21 am
KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) – Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden told residents in Kenosha, Wisconsin, that the turmoil their city has experienced following the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man, could help the nation confront centuries of systemic racism. The Democrat sought to draw a sharp contrast with President Donald Trump, who visited Kenosha earlier this week but concentrated on praising law enforcement and accusing protesters of “domestic terrorism.” Biden met Thursday with the Blake family and talked with the hospitalized Blake on the phone. Jacob Blake’s uncle said Biden’s visit was more unifying, and he noted Trump did not ask at all about his nephew.
