July 9, 2020 4:04 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Top Pentagon leaders have told Congress that reports of Russia offering Taliban militants bounties for killing Americans were not corroborated by defense intelligence agencies. They said they are looking into it and the U.S. will respond if necessary. Defense Secretary Mark Esper says his military commanders heard initial reports on the bounty issue in January and he first saw an intelligence paper about it in February. He says that while the threats were taken seriously, they have not yet been found credible. They also defended the performance of the National Guard in helping law enforcement agencies handle protests triggered by the May killing of George Floyd in police hands.
July 9, 2020 4:02 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Two Supreme Court rulings will keep President Donald Trump’s tax returns, banking records and other financial documents out of the public eye for the time being. One case the justices ruled on Thursday had to do with whether Congress could get access to Trump’s financial records. The other case had to do with whether prosecutors in New York could get them. The records requests were nearly identical, except the request from the Manhattan district attorney specifically included Trump’s taxes. The cases go back to lower courts. Trump doesn’t seem too happy with the outcomes. The Republican president says it’s all “a political prosecution” and it’s “Not fair to this Presidency.”
July 9, 2020 4:00 am
For the second time in two months, a Charleroi councilperson has been censured and now faces a fine. Back in June, Charleroi council passed a resolution on executive sessions where council members who discuss executive session details publicly can face being censured and/or a fine. At Wednesday’s regular meeting, council voted 5-2 to censure Jody Cheplic again, and this time, she will pay the borough $255 for allegedly making a Facebook comment regarding an executive session matter. Cheplic told WJPA NEWS that she spoke to an attorney who told her, “she did not overstep her bounds.” Her censure is more of a public reprimand and she will still be able to participate in future council business. In other business, council voted to mover their “Community Days” celebration slated for August to October.
July 9, 2020 3:55 am
ALLEGHENY CO., Pa. — (WPXI)- The Allegheny County Health Department has issued a new two-week order to stem the spread of COVID-19 in our area. The new order, issued by Dr. Debra Bogen, goes into effect at 12:01 a.m. Friday and doesn’t expire until July 24. This comes after three straight days of more than 200 new COVID-19 cases in Allegheny County. Indoor dining and alcohol consumption at bars, restaurants and other businesses are still prohibited in Allegheny County. However, officials said outdoor dining will be allowed until 11 p.m. Takeout is able to continue at restaurants and bars, including alcoholic beverages, after 11 p.m. Another notable change from the health department’s original order is the allowance of a three drink maximum while dining outdoors at restaurants. That includes alcohol, but officials said customers have to remain seated at a table. Also, the use of tobacco products — including e-cigarettes — is prohibited at outdoor dining facilities and indoors at casinos. Officials said masks must be worn at all times while inside the casino as well. The order bans events and gatherings of more than 25 people inside and more than 50 people outside. However, that does not apply to religious gatherings or places of worship.
July 9, 2020 2:51 am
The Washington County Chamber of Commerce continued their Thursday Morning Briefing series by hosting Officials from Frazier Simplex and Vigilant Technologies. The Covid-19 crisis reunited two college classmates at two vastly different aged companies to coordinate efforts in screening employees for symptoms of Covid-19. John Frazier III from Frazier Simplex in Washington was looking for a method to keep his employees safe from the coronavirus at his 103 year old company. He saw a press release from Andy Chen of 4 year old Vigilant Technologies and reunited with his classmate to implement Vigilant Technologies’ symptom screening, tracking and contact tracing system at Frazier’s specialty glass factory. Frazier was looking for a method to keep his employees safe in his factory but he also is using the system at his company’s construction sites. Chan described his application as totally touch free as employees fill out screening questions on their phone or computer before work. At the workplace temperatures are scanned by computer and officials at Frazier Simplex are alerted to any concerns. Frazier likes the system because it allows him to be able to immediately deal with an employee who has symptoms and he can send that employee home or to a hospital to get tested. Frazier is extremely pleased with the ease of the system and the elimination of exposure by an employee. Chan works with companies of all sizes and indicates that this system could be important in having screening done by school districts as they try to reopen.
July 9, 2020 2:04 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Gov. Tom Wolf is extending a statewide moratorium on foreclosures and evictions until Aug. 31, saying renters need more breathing room in the midst of the pandemic. The moratorium had been set to lapse Friday. The Wolf administration has been facing growing calls to extend it, with housing advocates and others predicting a rush to the courthouse and a wave of evictions and homelessness. Landlords say they are hard-pressed to keep up with taxes, insurance, mortgage payments and other expenses without the ability to enforce leases. Pennsylvania is using $175 million of its federal coronavirus relief money to provide rental assistance to eligible tenants and mortgage relief to homeowners, but the money has not started flowing yet.
July 8, 2020 4:40 pm
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – The head of the Tulsa-County Health Department says President Donald Trump’s campaign rally in late June “likely contributed” to a dramatic surge in new coronavirus cases there. Tulsa City-County Health Department Director Dr. Bruce Dart says the city has recorded nearly 500 confirmed new cases in the last two days. Statewide, Oklahoma is reporting 673 confirmed new cases of the coronavirus, the state’s second-highest daily total since the start of the pandemic. The new cases reported Wednesday by the Oklahoma State Department of Health follow a record high of 858 cases that were reported on Tuesday.
July 8, 2020 10:43 am
UNDATED (AP) – President Donald Trump is threatening to withhold federal money if schools don’t reopen in the fall. He says the guidelines his own federal health officials have created for schools to reopen are impractical and expensive. Shortly after Trump tweeted that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidelines were “very tough & expensive,” Vice President Mike Pence announced that the agency plans to release additional school guidance next week. Even as Trump continues to put pressure on state and local officials to fully reopen, New York City officials have announced that most of their students would only attend in-person classes two or three days in the fall. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos says bringing back students for only a few days a week fails them.
July 8, 2020 9:45 am
NEW YORK (AP) – The storied New York clothier Brooks Brothers is filing for bankruptcy protection. The company that says it’s put 40 U.S. presidents in its suits survived two world wars and navigated through casual Fridays and a loosening of dress standards even on Wall Street, but the coronavirus pandemic pushed the 200-year-old company into seek Chapter 11 protection Wednesday. Another famed men’s clothier, Barneys of New York, sought bankruptcy protection last year, and it was followed by a slew of others toppled by the pandemic, including Neiman Marcus, J.Crew and J.C. Penney. More bankruptcies are anticipated in the retail sector which as been rattled by the spread of COVID-19.
July 8, 2020 4:08 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Chief Justice John Roberts spent a night in a hospital last month after he fell and injured his forehead. A Supreme Court spokeswoman confirmed Tuesday night that Roberts was treated at a hospital on June 21 for an injury sustained in a fall while walking for exercise near his home. The spokeswoman, Kathleen L. Arberg, said in a statement that Roberts’ injury required sutures, and out of an abundance of caution, he stayed in the hospital overnight. The statement followed reporting on the incident by The Washington Post.
