July 7, 2020 4:23 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Retailers have a message for state governors: Please make everyone wear a face mask. The Retail Industry Leaders Association, which represents Target, Home Depot and other major chains, says different rules around the country have made it confusing for shoppers and often lead to conflicts between customers and workers trying to enforce store rules. Videos on social media have shown shoppers getting angry when employees ask them to wear a mask. The retail association has sent a letter to the National Governors Association asking that all states require face mask wearing. According to the retailers, fewer than half of U.S. states require wearing a face mask in public.
July 7, 2020 4:22 am
NEW YORK (AP) – A white woman walking her dog who called the police during a videotaped dispute with a Black man in Central Park was charged Monday with filing a false report. In May, Amy Cooper drew widespread condemnation for calling 911 to report she was being threatened by “an African-American man” when bird watcher Christian Cooper appeared to keep his distance as he recorded her rant on his phone. District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. said in a statement on Monday that his office had charged Amy Cooper with falsely reporting the confrontation, a misdemeanor. She was ordered to appear in court on Oct. 14.
July 7, 2020 4:21 am
ATLANTA (AP) – Atlanta’s mayor says she has tested positive for COVID-19, despite having what she describes as “no symptoms.” 50-year-old Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms is among the women named as a potential vice-presidential running mate for presumptive presidential nominee Joe Biden. Bottoms announced her positive test in a tweet on Monday. She says she decided that she and family members should get retested because her husband has been sleeping an unusual amount since Thursday. Bottoms’ national profile has risen in recent months both as a mayor handling the coronavirus pandemic and amid the national reckoning on race since the death of George Floyd.
July 7, 2020 4:18 am
BEIJING (AP) – China is accusing the U.S. of flexing its military muscles in the South China Sea by conducting joint exercises with two U.S. aircraft carrier groups in the strategic waterway. A foreign ministry spokesperson says the exercises were performed “totally out of ulterior motives” and undermined stability in the area. The U.S. Navy said over the weekend that the USS Nimitz and the USS Ronald Reagan along with their accompanying vessels and aircraft conducted exercises “designed to maximize air defense capabilities, and extend the reach of long-range precision maritime strikes from carrier-based aircraft.” China claims almost all of the South China Sea. Five other governments claim all or part of the sea.
July 7, 2020 4:17 am
(AP) – President Donald Trump says he will pressure governors to reopen schools and colleges this fall, arguing that some want to keep schools closed for political reasons against the will of families. Trump said he is “very much gong to put pressure on governors and everybody else to open the schools.” Trump did not immediately explain how he would pressure governors, but he repeated an earlier claim that Democrats want to keep schools closed for political reasons and not health reasons. Trump held a meeting at the White House Tuesday as part of an all-out effort to get the nation’s schools to reopen during the coronavirus pandemic.
July 7, 2020 4:16 am
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) – New York is now requiring people from three additional states to quarantine for 14 days as more individuals are testing positive for COVID-19 nationwide. Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a Tuesday press release that Delaware, Kansas and Oklahoma now join a total of 19 states that qualify under New York’s metrics for community spread. Cuomo’s advisory applies to states with a positive test rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents over a 7-day rolling average, or states with a 10% or higher positivity rate over a 7-day rolling average.
July 7, 2020 4:14 am
Cecil Township Supervisors met Monday evening in a live streamed format. Supervisors authorized a new 5 year contract with the Police Department for the years 2021-2025. Chairwoman Cindy Fisher in a quick review of the contract indicated that the only change to the existing contract is the annual merit increases. This contract calls for increases of 3.5% in the first 3 years and 3% in the remaining 2 years. The motion passed 4-1. Supervisor Eric Sivavec dissented complaining that he did not have time to review the contract. Fisher pointed out that he was emailed a copy of the contract on June 24. Supervisors authorized the Township Manager to obtain an appraisal for a property located on Klinger Road for the purposes of building a new Public Works complex. Supervisors also agreed with its Parks Board and authorized the cancellation of the Fall Festival. The Parks Board was concerned that all preparation would be lost if any new restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic would be instituted. The board also brought up difficulties enforcing current social distancing practices.
July 7, 2020 4:12 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Vice President Mike Pence will travel again to Pennsylvania this week, dropping in on an important presidential battleground state. Pence on Thursday will take a bus tour from Lancaster to Philadelphia, going to a suburban Philadelphia maker of wireless communication technology and speaking to Philadelphia police officers at their union hall before a “Back the Blue” rally. Bob Asher, Pennsylvania’s Republican national committeeman, says Pence will also attend a fundraiser. Pence was last in Pennsylvania last month. The presumptive Democratic nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden, has numerous ties to Pennsylvania. He grew up in the Democratic bastion of Scranton and is making his headquarters in Philadelphia.
July 7, 2020 4:07 am
DELMONT, Pa. — How hot is it? So hot that a road in Westmoreland County has a lane closed until repairs can be made to the pavement, which buckled from the heat. The Delmont Borough Police Department posted on its Facebook page that State Route 66 North had a lane closed just before the West Pittsburgh Street intersection. It’s unclear how long the repairs will take. Monday marked the fourth day in a row of temperatures climbing past 90 degrees.
July 6, 2020 4:38 pm
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – The Treasury Department has released the names of more than 26,000 businesses or organizations based in Pennsylvania that received funds from a federal program intended to support the economy as states shut down to stem the spread of the coronavirus. The Treasury on Monday only identified borrowers that got more than $150,000. So far, that’s about one-quarter of the more than 97,000 entities from Pennsylvania that borrowed from the program. The average loan amount for the entire program was $107,000, the Treasury says. The government handed out $521 billion through the Paycheck Protection Program. The Trump administration has refused to release details on loans under $150,000.
