July 10, 2020 12:16 pm
(WPXI) – Ascena Retail Group Inc., the owner of several high-profile mall staples, is preparing to file for bankruptcy and shutter nearly half of its almost 3,000 U.S. stores, Bloomberg reported Thursday. Mahwah, New Jersey-based Ascena owns the Ann Taylor, LOFT, Lou & Grey, Justice, Lane Bryant, Catherines and Cacique brands and operates some 2,800 stores in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico, Forbes reported. Citing people with knowledge of the strategy, Bloomberg reported the company could enter Chapter 11 bankruptcy as early as this week and eliminate roughly $700 million of its $1.1 billion debt load via a negotiated lender agreement. If the plan proceeds, lenders such as Eaton Vance Corp. would assume control of the company.
July 10, 2020 10:14 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – A group of parents of children with disabilities, as well as adults with disabilities themselves, have filed a lawsuit against the owners of Kennywood, Sandcastle, and Idlewild over the company’s mask policy. Palace Entertainment, the company that owns the parks, has a policy that requires all guests to wear masks to enter the parks and while they are inside the parks. The policy does not provide an exception for people who have disabilities or can’t wear a mask for medical reasons. The lawsuit claims the company’s policy violates a part of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The lawsuit is filed on behalf of three kids with autism and their parents. The parents say their kids cannot wear masks due to their medical conditions. An adult with a medical excuse is also part of the lawsuit.
July 10, 2020 4:14 am
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – A Minnesota judge has imposed a gag order on attorneys in the trial of four former Minneapolis police officers charged in the death of George Floyd. Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill issued his order Thursday, the day after the judge says two or more attorneys granted interviews or talked to the news media. The judge said in his order that continuing pretrial publicity in the case would increase the risk of tainting the potential jury pool and “will impair all parties’ right to a fair trial.” Cahill previously had warned he likely would move the ex-officers’ trials out of Minneapolis if public officials, attorneys and family members didn’t stop speaking out about the case.
July 10, 2020 4:11 am
HOUSTON (AP) – A state judge declined on Thursday to reverse Houston’s decision to cancel the Texas Republican convention’s in-person events due to the coronavirus pandemic. Judge Larry Weiman rejected the state GOP’s request for a temporary restraining order, one day after Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said next week’s gathering could not proceed at the downtown convention center. After a contentious two-hour hearing, Weiman said he was concerned about Houston hospitals reporting they have exceeded their regular intensive-care capacity, as the state’s coronavirus cases and deaths have surged. The judge’s decision Thursday came as Texas reported more than 100 deaths in a single day for the first time.
July 10, 2020 4:09 am
NEW YORK (AP) – President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, has been returned to federal prison. The federal Bureau of Prisons told The Associated Press on Thursday that Cohen had “refused the conditions of his home confinement.” A legal adviser says Cohen refused to accept conditions requiring him to avoid speaking with media and to not publish his tell-all book. The move comes weeks after the 53-year-old was released in late May to serve the remainder of his sentence at home because of the coronavirus pandemic. Cohen pleaded guilty to tax evasion, campaign finance fraud and lying to Congress.
July 10, 2020 4:08 am
MIAMI (AP) – Tropical Storm Fay is beginning to edge away from the North Carolina coast, with forecasters saying its sights are set on the mid-Atlantic coast and southern New England. The tropical storm formed Thursday afternoon and it’s expected to bring heavy rain and gusty winds further up the Eastern seaboard. The U.S. National Hurricane Center put Fay about 85 miles north, northeast of Cape Hatteras at 11 p.m. Thursday. Fay has top sustained winds of 45 mph. A tropical storm warning was issued Thursday afternoon from Cape May, New Jersey, to Watch Hill, Rhode Island. The warning area includes Long Island and the Long Island Sound in New York.
July 10, 2020 4:06 am
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) – A district attorney says Utah police officers were legally justified in firing more than 30 times and killing an armed man as he ran away. The case has become a rallying point for protesters in the state amid a national wave of dissent against police brutality. District Attorney Sim Gill said 22-year-old Bernardo Palacios-Carbajal was shot as he ran from Salt Lake City police officers who were investigating a gun-threat call and had yelled for him to drop a gun. The man’s family expressed pain and frustration with the district attorney’s decision and said it would redouble its calls for systemic change.
July 10, 2020 4:05 am
BEIJING (AP) – Two World Health Organization experts will spend the next two days in the Chinese capital to lay the groundwork for a larger mission to investigate the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. Over Saturday and Sunday they will work to fix the “scope and terms of reference” for the future mission aimed at learning how the virus jumped from animals to humans. The WHO mission is sensitive after the U.S. moved to cut ties with the agency over allegations it mishandled the outbreak and is biased toward China. More than 120 nations have called for an investigation. China has insisted that WHO lead it and wait until the pandemic is brought under control.
July 10, 2020 4:03 am
(WPXI) – Pittsburgh’s Labor Day parade, one of the largest Labor Day parades in the country, was canceled Friday over coronavirus concerns. Instead, Allegheny County will hold a series of events including hosting food and blood drives. The Labor Day parade draws large crowds of working Americans and labor unions from across the area. The parade usually attracts some big names in politics. In 2018, former Vice President Joe Biden marched in the parade.
July 10, 2020 4:02 am
MT. LEBANON, Pa. — (WPXI) – A man was arrested in Mt. Lebanon Thursday night after police said he made threats on social media to “blow up” a state office building and get “gunned down by the police.” According to a release, multiple police departments were made aware of the suspect — who was not identified — Thursday around 5:15 p.m. Whitehall police initially issued a bulletin to be on the lookout for the man, who was “potentially armed and dangerous” and driving a white Mercedes sedan. Police originally said he may be armed with numerous firearms after making the threats on social media. Investigators said the suspect also posted threats to the CIA headquarters in Washington, D.C. Mt. Lebanon police spotted the man’s Mercedes on Washington Road near the intersection at Woodhaven Drive. Police said the man was taken into custody without incident. As the suspect was arrested, authorities said officers found numerous weapons in the car, along with “components used in the making of improvised explosive devices.” The Allegheny County Bomb Squad was called in to remove and secure those items. The man is currently in police custody, and the investigation is ongoing.
