October 30, 2020 5:13 am
Washington Mayor Scott Putnam and City Council have agreed to close City Hall out of an abundance of caution. It will be closed Friday due to an exposure to COVID-19. City Hall is to be professionally cleaned and sanitized in accordance with CDC guidelines. It will reopen Monday, November 2 at 8:30 a.m.
October 30, 2020 4:04 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The major players in Washington’s COVID relief blame game are trading accusations as they mark time before an election that promises to change the landscape for talks that have dragged on for months. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a scolding assessment on Thursday, blaming Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin for failing to produce answers to her demands for Democratic priorities as part of the approximately $2 trillion aid package. President Donald Trump again promised “a very big package as soon as the election is over” and faulted Pelosi for the pre-election standoff that has rattled markets and for now shows no signs of easing.
October 30, 2020 4:03 am
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – A three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Minnesota’s absentee ballots that come in after Election Day should be separated from the rest of the ballots, in case a future order makes those votes invalid. Thursday’s ruling doesn’t block Minnesota’s seven-day extension for counting absentee ballots – but it does order a lower court to issue a ruling that would keep the late arriving ballots separate. Republicans had argued that the extension – which had been approved in both state and federal courts due to the COVID-19 pandemic – violated federal law that establishes Nov. 3 as the date of the 2020 election. Democrats said eliminating the extension would create voter confusion.
October 30, 2020 4:02 am
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) – New Zealanders have voted in favor of legalizing euthanasia in a binding referendum. But in preliminary results, they were rejecting a measure to legalize marijuana. With about 83% of votes counted, New Zealanders emphatically endorsed the euthanasia measure with 65% voting in favor and 34% voting against. The “no” vote on marijuana was much closer, with 53% voting against legalizing it and 46% voting in favor. That left open a slight chance the measure could still pass once all special votes were counted next week, although it would require a huge swing.
October 30, 2020 4:01 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Donald Trump’s campaign rallies are among the nation’s biggest events held in defiance of coronavirus-related crowd restrictions. The president’s rallies regularly cram supporters together – with masks optional and social distancing frowned upon. Public health experts say Trump is setting the wrong example at a time when greater precautions are urgently needed. The U.S. posted a record high number of new infections last week – nearly 500,000. By contrast, Democrat Joe Biden has shunned rallies and instead holds online and drive-in events where people honk their horns to show support. He calls the Trump rallies “super-spreader events.”
October 30, 2020 3:59 am
CHICAGO (AP) – The mother of a 17-year-old accused of killing two demonstrators in Kenosha, Wisconsin, is among those slated to testify at a hearing in Illinois to decide if her son should be extradited across the border to stand trial on homicide charges. During Friday’s hearing, Kyle Rittenhouse’s lawyers also planned to call an expert on self-defense and former homicide detectives in their long-shot bid to block his extradition. The killings occurred on Aug. 25, two days after a police officer trying to arrest Jacob Blake shot him seven times in the back, paralyzing him from the waist down. State-to-state extraditions are typically formalities and judges rarely refuse to OK another state’s request to transfer a suspect.
October 30, 2020 3:58 am
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – When Joe Biden was last in Iowa, his campaign was on the verge of collapse and he was soundly trounced in the caucuses. He returns Friday as the Democratic nominee, believing he’s just days away from becoming president-elect. Iowa is among the clutch of GOP-leaning states that Biden is trying to bring back into the Democratic column. He’ll also swing through Wisconsin on Friday while his running mate, Kamala Harris, courts voters in Texas. Trump, meanwhile, is playing defense in Michigan and Wisconsin. The president and Biden will both be in Minnesota, a longtime Democratic state that Trump is trying to flip.
October 30, 2020 2:47 am
Washington County Commissioner Nick Sherman announced Thursday that he has tested positive for COVID-19. Sherman, a Republican, said in a news release that he learned Thursday morning that he had contracted the coronavirus and says he is experiencing mild flu-like symptoms and is self-quarantining. Sherman says he has traced the infection back to a friend from over the weekend and has taken appropriate steps to notify the people with whom he has interacted. Sherman says he will continue to work from home over the next two weeks, under full quarantine. Sherman says that out of an abundance of caution, he has asked his assistant, Patrick Geho, to also quarantine. Sherman says his office and meeting rooms are being cleaned and disinfected.
October 30, 2020 2:46 am
With Coronavirus cases spiking in Washington County, numerous school districts are feeling the impact. The Canon-McMillan School District has notified families that North Strabane Intermediate School closed for in-person classes Wednesday after a teacher and a student tested positive for COVID. The school will operate through a fully remote-learning model through Monday. Students and staff are to return to the building next Thursday. The district also announced Thursday that three students at Canon-McMillan High School also tested positive. In Peters Township, a phone message sent to parents says the middle school will be closed Friday after receiving a positive coronavirus test. In Chartiers-Houston, the district posted an announcement that a positive case was reported at the junior/senior high school building. The case was due to exposure outside of the school setting. Classes continue as normal.
October 29, 2020 4:40 pm
(AP) – Everyone’s going to streaming, including Judge Judy. The broadcast TV staple’s next act will be with IMDb TV, Amazon’s free digital service. Judith Sheindlin, whose long-running syndicated courtroom show “Judge Judy” will end production in 2021, áwill be dispensing justice on an exclusive show in the U.S. for IMDb TV, it was announced Thursday. The title and debut date for the new courtroom show weren’t announced. The tough-talking former New York family court judge’s popularity made her the highest-paid personality in TV. “Judge Judy” debuted in 1996 and announced it would end production in 2021.
