July 24, 2020 4:25 am
MIAMI (AP) – The National Hurricane Center says Tropical Storm Hanna is forecast to reach the Texas coast over the weekend, threatening to bring heavy rain, rough waters and strong winds. An advisory released early Friday says Hanna has maximum sustained winds around 40 mph and is located about 360 miles east, southeast of Corpus Christi, Texas. Hanna is expected to make landfall Saturday and bring 3 to 5 inches of rain, and coastal swells. Tropical Storm Gonzalo is also moving closer to the southern Windward Islands and could cross over several others islands this weekend. Some strengthening is forecast, but Gonzalo is expected to weaken as it moves into the Caribbean Sea.
July 24, 2020 4:24 am
BEIJING (AP) – China has ordered the United States to close its consulate in the western city of Chengdu in an increasingly rancorous diplomatic conflict. The order followed the U.S. closure of the Chinese Consulate in Houston after Washington accused Chinese agents of trying to steal medical and other research in Texas. The Chinese foreign ministry appealed to Washington to reverse its “erroneous decision.” Chinese-U.S. relations have soured amid a mounting array of conflicts including trade, technology, spying accusations, Hong Kong and allegations of abuses against Chinese ethnic Muslims. The foreign ministry says “the current situation in Chinese-U.S. relations is not what China desires to see. The United States is responsible for all this.”
July 24, 2020 4:23 am
President Donald Trump is now acknowledging that some schools may need to delay their reopening this fall as the coronavirus continues to surge. It marks a shift from Trump’s previous demand for a full reopening of the nation’s schools this fall. In recent weeks, Trump has said that it’s safe to open schools and that Democrats have opposed it for political reasons. But speaking at a White House news conference Thursday, Trump said districts in some virus hot spots “may need to delay reopening for a few weeks.” But even as he tempered his position, Trump insisted that every school should be “actively making preparations to open.”
July 24, 2020 4:22 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump is having to shift plans for the Republican National Convention again. He has scrapped convention events scheduled for Florida next month, citing a “flare-up” of the coronavirus. Trump’s formal renomination will still go forward in North Carolina. Trump made the announcement Thursday at the White House. He had moved parts of the GOP convention to Florida last month amid a dispute with North Carolina’s Democratic leaders over holding an indoor gathering with maskless supporters. But those plans were steadily scaled back as virus cases spiked in Florida and much of the country over the last month.
July 24, 2020 4:20 am
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – A federal judge specifically blocked U.S. agents from arresting or using physical force against journalists and legal observers at the ongoing Portland, Oregon, protests. The demonstrations have sparked confrontations between local officials and President Donald Trump over the limits of federal power. U.S. Judge Michael Simon made his ruling late Thursday, a day after Portland’s mayor was tear-gassed by federal agents as he made an appearance outside a federal courthouse during raucous demonstrations. Protesters have gathered in Oregon’s largest city for nearly two months straight since George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis.
July 24, 2020 4:19 am
A Pennsylvania county has filed suit to compel Gov. Tom Wolf to release $12.8 million in federal coronavirus relief funding that he withheld after county leaders defied his shutdown orders. Wolf withheld the funding from Lebanon County, where local Republican leaders voted in mid-May to lift pandemic restrictions in a direct challenge of the Democratic governor’s authority. The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Commonwealth Court, says Wolf had no legal right to withhold funding appropriated by the legislature. The suit accuses him of a “gross abuse of power” and acting like a “de facto King.”
July 24, 2020 4:15 am
DERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa. — (WPXI) – Police have made an arrest in a Derry Township shooting that left a woman dead, and they said it wasn’t intentional. “He has no idea who this family was. This had nothing to do with this family whatsoever. It’s tragic. it’s a shame,” said Pennsylvania State Trooper Steve Limani Investigators said Nathan Quidetto is accused of firing multiple rounds into the home of 52-year-old Tracy Squib. Troopers wouldn’t say how they connected Quidetto to the crime, but said he allegedly admitted to pulling the trigger in retaliation for a botched drug deal, but the Squib’s home ended up being the wrong target. Squib was a mother of two and a beloved figure in her community and church. Quidetto has been charged with homicide and is in the Westmoreland county prison without bail.
July 24, 2020 4:08 am
The Washington School District School Board took 90 minutes to approve a recommended opening plan for the upcoming school year that begins on August 20. More than 25 minutes of discussion about the plan took place before an executive session was quickly called to answer questions that seemed to continue to nag at several directors. The biggest issue was why students were not able to return to a 5 day a week schedule. As explained to the parents on Wednesday evening, social distancing requirements are what keep students from returning to a normal 5 day a week schedule. A hybrid learning model was approved. Students will be divided into two groups. Each group will attend school in the buildings two days a week either Monday/Tuesday or Wednesday/Thursday with a district wide virtual day on Friday. A 5 day a week cyber academy is also available. Students with IEP requirements will attend school in buildings 5 days a week. A roll call vote was taken to approve the model and the vote was unanimous to approve the hybrid model. A unanimous vote was registered approving the cyber academy and the Friday virtual day option for the hybrid model. Superintendent Dr. James Konrad reminded the board that this plan is a living document that can be amended as needed depending on circumstances that impact the schedule with relation to the Covid-19 pandemic.
July 24, 2020 2:58 am
WJPA News has learned that more than 170 employees of the Meadows Racetrack and Casino in Washington County have been informed that they will be permanently furloughed amid declining revenues due to the COVID-19 PANDEMIC. The WARN notice was sent to 174 workers, informing them that they would be laid-off beginning September 15, 2020. Under WARN – an acronym for the federal Worker Adjustment and Retaining Notification Act – employers with 100 or more workers are required to provide 60 calendar-day advance notification of plant closings and mass layoffs. Officials say the layoffs will be permanent, but the facility will remain open. Company officials say the impact on their business was not reasonably foreseeable until now. They say the initial closure of business considerably affected their business and they believe that the impact will continue for the foreseeable future. These layoffs come on the heels of the furloughs of some 180 workers that was announced several weeks ago.
July 23, 2020 4:50 pm
DALLAS (AP) – Southwest Airlines says it won’t allow health waivers to its face-mask rule. Only children under 2 will be exempt from the requirement to cover their mouth and nose during flights. Meanwhile, Delta Air Lines says it will expand its coronavirus testing of employees to include at-home tests. Air travel has collapsed because of the virus pandemic, and airlines are trying to convince passengers and their own employees about safety. All airlines require passengers to wear masks during flights, and most extend the rule to airports too. But some people have complained about violators refusing to keep their mask on.
