July 22, 2020 4:13 am
(AP) – Florida added nearly 10,000 new confirmed cases Wednesday, bringing the total since March 1 to almost 380,000. Florida recorded more than 100 new coronavirus deaths for the seventh time in two weeks, pushing its death toll from the pandemic to nearly 5,500. The state health department reported 138 more deaths, bringing Florida’s weekly average to 118 a day, equal with Texas for the worst current seven-day average in the nation. A month ago, Florida was averaging 33 deaths a day. The percentage positive tests has remained at about 18% the last two weeks, quadruple about 4% in June. (Photo: CNN)
July 22, 2020 4:11 am
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – One of the first coronavirus outbreaks at an Iowa meatpacking plant was more severe than previously known, with over twice as many workers becoming infected than the Iowa Department of Public Health publicly confirmed. The department announced at a May 5 news conference that 221 employees at the Tyson Foods pork processing plant in Columbus Junction had tested positive for COVID-19. But records show that days earlier, Tyson officials told workplace safety regulators that 522 plant employees had tested positive to their knowledge. A dozen of the plant’s roughly 1,300 workers were believed to have been hospitalized by then, and two died after contracting the virus.
July 22, 2020 4:10 am
HONG KONG (AP) – Twitter said it would crack down on accounts and content related to QAnon, the far-right U.S. conspiracy theory popular among supporters of President Donald Trump. It will ban accounts associated with QAnon content and block sharing of associated URLs. Twitter also will stop highlighting and recommending tweets associated with QAnon. The company said it was taking action against online behavior that could lead to offline harm. The QAnon conspiracy theory is centered on the baseless belief that Trump is waging a secret campaign against enemies in the “deep state.” Trump has retweeted QAnon-promoting accounts and its followers flock to the president’s rallies wearing clothes and hats with QAnon symbols and slogans.
July 22, 2020 4:09 am
CHICAGO (AP) – Authorities say gunfire outside a funeral home on Chicago’s South Side that wounded 15 people was part of an ongoing conflict involving the gang of the man being mourned. Police Superintendent David Brown says the person whose funeral people were attending Tuesday was killed in a drive-by shooting last week and that the person was believed to have been killed in retaliation for a previous shooting. No arrests have been made but a person of interest is being questioned and police are examining the stolen car that the gunmen used. The shooting – and other violence in the city – comes as the federal government plans to send more agents to Chicago to combat a spike in gun violence.
July 22, 2020 4:08 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump is using the Department of Homeland Security in unprecedented ways as he tries to bolster his law-and-order credentials by making a heavy-handed show of force in cities around the nation ahead of November elections. His plan to deploy federal agents to Chicago and perhaps other Democratic-run cities where violence is spiking represents Trump’s latest effort to use the agency to supplement local law enforcement in ways that bolster his reelection chances. Trump has already deployed Homeland Security agents to Portland, Oregon, on the grounds of protecting federal buildings from protesters.
July 22, 2020 4:05 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – The Pennsylvania Supreme Court says mental health professionals have a duty to warn of threats made by patients even if they are made against an unspecified person. The 3-2 majority opinion Tuesday upheld a 2018 Superior Court decision that the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Presbyterian Shadyside known as Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic and other defendants had a duty to warn the neighbors of a patient who told his doctors he wanted to kill his neighbors, even though he didn’t give his doctors a specific name. In 2008, patient Terrence Andrews stabbed and killed his 18-year-old neighbor, Lisa Maas, with a pair of scissors.
July 22, 2020 4:03 am
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) – A 36-year-old man is accused of raping four Penn State students over a seven-year period, and DNA from the victims led police to him. áJeffrey P. Fields of Port Matilda was charged with rape and other offenses on Tuesday and jailed without bail. Investigators say genealogical tools helped to connect Fields to the attacks that occurred between August 2010 and July 2017. They say Fields worked in State College during that period. Fields did not have a lawyer listed in court records.
July 22, 2020 4:02 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – A state-run veterans nursing home in Pennsylvania where 42 residents have died of COVID-19 failed to take steps to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. That’s according to a new state Health Department report. Health inspectors say that Southeastern Veterans’ Center, a 292-bed facility outside Philadelphia, ignored state and federal guidelines meant to control the virus in nursing homes. The lapses put 128 of the facility’s 154 residents in “immediate jeopardy” of serious injury or death, according to the Health Department.
July 22, 2020 3:56 am
North Strabane Supervisors led off their Agenda Meeting with a Public Hearing on an ordinance that will require utility companies to adhere to stricter standards when restoring roads and sidewalks after repairs have been made. The intent of the ordinance is to have better restoration repairs made by the utilities so that a smoother ride can be attained after the repair has been made. The new standards will also allow the road to last longer and not need to be resurfaced as often. Supervisors will also consider a request to PennDot to lower the speed limit on McClelland Road from Morganza Road to the off ramp of I-79 to 25 miles per hour. Supervisors also listened to a presentation from Penn Micro regarding the installation of a microgrid for power generation for township use and to sell electricity back to First Energy. Initial studies estimate that the township could realize revenue in the amount of roughly $800,000 per year if the presented plan were to be adopted. The township will continue to study the proposal. Finally, Fire Chief Mark Grimm reported on a program called Community Connect. Residents can enter details about their home for the fire department to use in case an emergency arises. Details such as kid’s rooms, residents with disabilities, pets and shut off locations for utilities can be added. Grimm calls the program a great success so far. Councilwoman Emily Holmes used the program and looks at it as a lifesaver for residents. Council will meet again on July 28.
July 22, 2020 2:50 am
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Ohio’s governor is ordering that masks be worn statewide to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Gov. Mike DeWine says the mask mandate will go into effect Thursday evening for everyone age 10 and older. The Republican governor said Wednesday that more counties are seeing an increasing number of cases. Residents will need to wear a mask when out in public or in a place where they are unable to follow social distancing rules. Up until now, Ohio had only required masks in counties that were considered “hotspots.” (Photo: CNN)
