June 29, 2020 4:15 am
CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) – The average U.S. price of regular-grade gasoline increased by 6 cents over the past two weeks, to $2.22 per gallon. That’s 51 cents below the average pump price from a year ago. Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg of the Lundberg Survey said Sunday that demand for gasoline remains weak even as states reopen for business amid the coronavirus pandemic. She said prices at the pump may slow soon. The highest average price in the nation for regular-grade gas is $3.15 per gallon in the San Francisco Bay Area. The lowest average is $1.78 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
June 29, 2020 4:14 am
BEIJING (AP) – Authorities in southwestern China’s Sichuan province say at least 12 people have died and 10 are missing following heavy rains, adding to a grow toll from summer flooding across the country. More than 7,700 people were evacuated in part of Sichuan’s Mianning county where flooding was particularly bad. The area lies on a plain at the foot of steep hills that eventually rise to the Tibetan Plateau, the source of China’s major rivers. China’s emergency management ministry says flooding since the start of June has left 78 people dead or missing, destroyed or damaged more than 100,000 homes and caused direct economic losses estimated at more than $3.5 billion.
June 29, 2020 4:09 am
Another tragic milestone was passed Sunday in the coronavirus pandemic: 500,000 deaths worldwide. The reported tally comes from Johns Hopkins University researchers. About 1 in 4 of those deaths – more than 125,000 – have been reported in the U.S. The country with the next highest death toll is Brazil, with more than 57,000, or about 1 in 9. Meanwhile, more Florida beaches will be closing again to avoid further spread of the new coronavirus as officials try to tamp down on large gatherings amid a spike in confirmed COVID-19 cases. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a news conference Sunday in Pensacola that interactions among young people are driving the surge.
June 29, 2020 4:08 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump tweeted approvingly of a video showing one of his supporters chanting “white power,” a racist slogan associated with white supremacists. He later deleted the tweet and the White House said the president had not heard “the one statement” on the video. The video appears to have been taken at The Villages, a Florida retirement community. It shows dueling demonstrations between Trump supporters and opponents. Trump tweeted: “Thank you to the great people of The Villages.” South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott told CNN that “there’s no question ” that Trump should not have retweeted the video and “should just take it down.” Scott is the only Black Republican in the Senate.
June 29, 2020 4:07 am
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – Mississippi legislators have taken historic votes to remove a Confederate battle emblem from their state flag. Spectators in the Capitol cheered and applauded after the votes Sunday. It’s the last state flag with the Confederate symbol that many people condemn as racist. Republican Gov. Tate Reeves has said he will sign the bill. The change comes amid widespread protests over racial injustice. Mississippi has a 38% Black population. A commission will design a new flag that cannot include the Confederate symbol but must have the words “In God We Trust.” Voters will be asked to approve the new design in the Nov. 3 election.
June 29, 2020 4:05 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she is asking for a report to Congress after news reports cited U.S. intelligence from months ago that a Russian military intelligence unit secretly offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants for killing American troops in Afghanistan. President Donald Trump denies being briefed and says he’s now told the intelligence wasn’t credible. Pelosi tells ABC’s “This Week” that she hasn’t been informed about the reported bounties. She says “this is as bad as it gets” and yet Trump won’t confront Russia. A senior administration official says the White House plans to brief select members of Congress on Monday.
June 29, 2020 4:01 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania’s health secretary is defending her agency’s handling of the COVID-19 outbreak inside nursing homes and personal care facilities. They account for almost 70% of the state’s nearly 6,600 fatalities. Criticism has focused on the state’s policy that sent recovering patients back to nursing homes after being treated in hospitals. Dr. Rachel Levine’s agency has said it was following a March directive from the federal government that nursing homes admit anyone they normally would, including patients from hospitals where COVID-19 has been present. Levine says the main source of COVID-19 infections inside the facilities is more likely the homes’ own employees.
June 29, 2020 3:58 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Prosecutors are asking a judge to stiffen the home confinement and probation sentences he imposed on a former librarian and a bookseller who pleaded guilty in the theft of rare books from the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh in a years-long scheme. Common Pleas Judge Alexander Bicket sentenced John Schulman to four years of home confinement and Gregory Priore to three years of home confinement. Both were ordered to spend a dozen years on probation. Prosecutors called for “total confinement,” citing the seriousness of the offense. Schulman’s attorney vowed a response “in due course.” Priore’s attorney said the prosecutor’s memo was under review.
June 29, 2020 3:54 am
ALLEGHENY CO., Pa. — (WPXI) – In response to the recent spike in COVID-19 cases in Allegheny County, health officials are ordering all bars and restaurants in the county to stop the sale of alcohol for on-site consumption. County Executive Rich Fitzgerald and health department director Dr. Debra Bogen said the “alarming spike” in cases — there have been more positive cases in the past two days than there were in the past two weeks — led to this decision. Fitzgerald initially said during a press conference Sunday that all bars in the county were going to close. Minutes later, Bogen clarified, saying she is ordering all businesses to stop selling alcohol for on-site consumption beginning on June 30. Restaurants and bars can stay open but with outdoor seating encouraged. People will be allowed to get to-go alcoholic beverages from restaurants. This comes after a new daily record was set for COVID-19 positive cases in Allegheny County on Sunday, the second day in a row. The health department reports 96 positive cases of coronavirus Sunday. That is on top of 90 new cases reported Saturday. The order will go into effect at 5 p.m. on June 30.
June 28, 2020 7:48 am
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi is on the verge of changing its state flag to erase a Confederate battle emblem that’s broadly condemned as racist. The flag’s supporters resisted efforts to change it for decades, but rapid developments in recent weeks have changed dynamics on this issue in the tradition-bound state. As protests against racial injustice recently spread across the U.S., including Mississippi, leaders from business, religion, education and sports have spoken forcefully against the state flag. They have urged legislators to ditch the 126-year-old banner for one that better reflects the diversity of a state with a 38% Black population.
