August 21, 2020 3:49 am
Nearly a year after his DUI arrest in the City of Washington, City Councilman Matt Staniszewski entered a guilty plea and was sentenced. Staniszewski was found unconscious in a parked car on E. Wheeling Street in August of 2019. It was the fourth DUI arrest for Staniszewski. Staniszewski entered into an open plea and his case was considered as a first time DUI offender because it has been more than 10 years since his last offense. Staniszewski’s attorney Sean Logue presented Senior Judge Anthony Bardaro with evidence of Staniszewski’s in-patient treatment for substance abuse and his community activism combating substance abuse as evidence for a favorable sentence. Ultimately, Bardaro reviewed all of the evidence and sentenced Staniszewski to six months probation and a $300 fine. After the hearing Staniszewski commented, saying he took responsibility for his actions and is working to support individuals by helping them find better coping mechanisms than indulgence of substance abuse.
August 20, 2020 1:43 pm
BETHESDA, Md. (AP) – U.S. government coronavirus expert Dr. Anthony Fauci has undergone surgery to remove a growth from his vocal cord that was causing his notably hoarse voice. A spokesperson at the National Institutes of Health says Fauci underwent outpatient surgery for the polyp Thursday and was home and resting. Fauci is a member of the White House coronavirus task force. He has become the nation’s leading scientific voice on the pandemic, giving regular public advice via media interviews and webcasts, as recently as Wednesday. Fauci has said the bump on his vocal cord never got a chance to heal because he couldn’t rest his voice during the crisis.
August 20, 2020 9:37 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The number of laid-off workers seeking U.S. unemployment benefits rose to 1.1 million last week after two weeks of declines, evidence that employers are still cutting large numbers of jobs as the coronavirus bedevils the U.S. economy. The latest figures suggest that more than five months after the viral outbreak erupted the economy is still weak, despite recent gains as some businesses reopen and some sectors like housing and manufacturing have rebounded. A rising number of people who have lost jobs say they consider their loss to be permanent.
August 20, 2020 5:43 am
MOSCOW (AP) – Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny is in a coma in a hospital in Siberia after falling ill from a suspected poisoning. His spokeswoman said Navalny felt unwell on a flight to Moscow and the plane made an emergency landing. Kira Yarmysh said Navalny lost consciousness and must have consumed poison in tea he drank before boarding his flight. Russia’s state news agency Tass reported the politician is in grave condition. He is the most prominent member of Russia’s opposition and has set up a network of campaign offices across Russia to put forward opposition candidates in regional elections, challenging members of Russia’s ruling party.
August 20, 2020 4:26 am
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) – U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree says at least 4,800 chicks shipped to Maine farmers through the U.S. Postal Service have arrived dead in the recent weeks since rapid cuts hit the federal mail carrier’s operations. The Portland Press Herald reported Wednesday that Pingree is raising the issue of the dead chicks in a letter to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and U.S. Department of Agriculture Commissioner Sonny Perdue. DeJoy, a Republican donor, took control of the agency in June and has since swiftly engineered cuts and operational changes that are disrupting mail delivery operations. He announced Tuesday he would halt some changes to mail delivery that critics blamed for widespread delays and warned could disrupt the November election.
August 20, 2020 4:24 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Former White House adviser Steve Bannon has been arrested on charges that he and three others ripped off donors to an online fundraising scheme “We Build The Wall.” The charges were contained in an indictment unsealed Thursday in Manhattan federal court. Federal prosecutors alleged that Bannon and three others “orchestrated a scheme to defraud hundreds of thousands of donors” in connection with an online crowdfunding campaign that raised more than $25 million to build a wall along the southern border of the United States. The indictment said Bannon received over $1 million himself, using some to pay a co-defendant and hundreds of thousands more to cover Bannon’s personal expenses. A phone at the law office of Bannon’s lawyer went unanswered Thursday. (Photo: CNN)
August 20, 2020 4:23 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump is praising the supporters of QAnon, a convoluted, pro-Trump conspiracy theory, and suggesting he appreciates their support of his candidacy. Speaking during a press conference Wednesday at the White House, Trump courted the support of those who put stock in the conspiracy theory, saying, “I heard that these are people that love our country.” It was his first public comment on the subject. The baseless QAnon theory centers on an alleged anonymous, high-ranking government official known as “Q” who shares information about an anti-Trump “deep state” often tied to satanism and child sex trafficking.
August 20, 2020 4:21 am
VACAVILLE, Calif. (AP) – Wildfires raging through Northern California are threatening thousands of homes and blackening the skies near San Francisco as crews struggle to surround them despite steep terrain and blistering heat. Fire officials say hundreds of thousands of acres and well over 100 buildings have burned, including homes. At least 8,000 people were ordered to evacuate Wednesday night because of fires in the Russian River area of Solano County. Other fires north, east and south of San Francisco are causing terrible air quality over the city. Meanwhile, a pilot on a water-dropping mission died Wednesday when his helicopter crashed in central California.
August 20, 2020 4:21 am
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) – Former President Barack Obama warned that American democracy may not survive if Donald Trump is reelected. His scathing assessment was echoed Wednesday night by Kamala Harris at the Democratic Convention as she embraced her historic role as the first Black woman on a national political ticket. Obama, himself a barrier breaker as the nation’s first Black president, pleaded with voters to “embrace your own responsibility as citizens” and vote this fall – no matter the impediments of the coronavirus pandemic or postal slowdowns. Joe Biden accepts his presidential nomination Thursday night and gives a speech he hopes will send party workers out to do political battle.
August 20, 2020 4:14 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. — (WPXI) – Two days away from a decision by the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association regarding fall sports, parents and student athletes are going to Harrisburg to make sure the governor knows how they feel. Football players are preparing to take the field in a few weeks for their first game, but the fate of fall sports is still unknown. The PIAA’s decision could jeopardize college opportunities for seniors hoping for scholarships based off this 2020 season. “It’s a big year because, I mean, we need to be able to get film to be able to send to these coaches,” said North Allegheny senior Braden Frank. Julie Burkart, a mother whose two children are both student athletes in Allentown, organized a “Let our kids play in PA” rally that will be held in Harrisburg on Thursday. It will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. “I think being there on the steps of the capital is somewhat symbolic, and the number of people willing to join me from all over the state is certainly a very good visual and shows the kind of support this issue has,” Burkart said. PIAA officials and Gov. Tom Wolf’s office have gone back and forth on the issue of playing or postponing fall sports due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Wolf recommended postponing sports until at least January 2021.
