July 5, 2020 7:29 am
BALTIMORE (AP) – Baltimore protesters have pulled down a statue of Christopher Columbus and thrown it into the city’s Inner Harbor. News outlets report demonstrators on Saturday night used ropes to topple the monument near the Little Italy neighborhood. Protesters mobilized by the death of George Floyd at the hands of police have called for the removal of statues of Columbus, Confederate figures and others. They say the Italian explorer is responsible for the genocide and exploitation of native peoples in the Americas. Statues of Columbus have also been toppled or vandalized in cities such as Miami; Richmond, Virginia; St. Paul, Minnesota, and Boston, where one was decapitated.
July 5, 2020 7:29 am
BAGHDAD (AP) – The Iraqi military says a rocket aimed at Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone, home of the U.S. Embassy, struck a residential house and injured a child. It says the rocket landed next to a house close to a local TV channel. Iraqi officials say the embassy’s recently installed air defense system may have attempted to intercept the rocket. The U.S. has criticized the Iraqi government for being unable to reign in Iran-backed militia groups it believes are orchestrating recent attacks on Americans. The uptick comes shortly before Iraq embarks on strategic talks with the U.S. expected to focus of the presence of American forces in the country.
July 5, 2020 7:28 am
Pope Francis is praising U.N. Security Council efforts for worldwide cease-fires to help tackle the coronavirus pandemic. In remarks Sunday to the public in St. Peter’s Square, Francis hailed the Security Council’s “request for a global and immediate cease-fire, which would permit the peace and security indispensable for supplying so urgently needed humanitarian assistance.” The pontiff called for the prompt implementation “for the good of the so many persons who are suffering.” He also expressed hope that the Security Council resolution be a “courageous first step for the future of peace.” The resolution calls on parties to armed conflicts to immediately cease fire for at least 90 days to enable safe, sustained delivery of humanitarian assistance, including medical evacuations.
July 5, 2020 7:26 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump has a vision for his second term, if he wins one, of establishing a “National Garden of American Heroes.” It would pay tribute to some of the most prominent figures in U.S. history, a collection of what he calls “the greatest Americans to ever live.” His idea comes as elected officials and institutions are reckoning with whether it’s appropriate to continue to honor people, including past presidents, who benefited from slavery or espoused racist views, with monuments or buildings and streets named after them. Absent from Trump’s initial list are any Native American, Hispanic or Asian American individuals.
July 5, 2020 7:22 am
PITTSBURGH (WPXI) — Hundreds of people marched through downtown Pittsburgh during a protest on the Fourth of July. The protest started in Market Square around 3 p.m. Saturday. Hundreds of protesters gathered and began marching toward the City-County building on Grant Street before heading toward Liberty Avenue. Pittsburgh Public Safety said the crowd stopped at the intersection of Liberty Avenue and Grant Street around 4:45 p.m., causing road closures in the area. After briefly stopping there, police said the protesters then marched down Liberty toward The Point. The crowd stopped at the intersection of Liberty Avenue and Commonwealth Place around 5:30 p.m., where a line of police officers blocked off traffic. About 45 minutes later, the protesters turned around and marched to the intersection of Stanwix Street and Liberty Avenue. The crowd made it back to Market Square at around 7 p.m. Officials said the protests were peaceful, and no incidents were reported. Police continued to close roads surrounding the protesters, and rolling closures and delays downtown happened until around 7:15 p.m. as the protest went on. This comes hours after a group of protesters clashed with supporters of President Donald Trump during a boat rally on the North Shore.
July 5, 2020 3:54 am
The Washington County Coroner has provided an update to the shooting that occurred in Hanover Township of Friday afternoon. Joseph Robert Warrick, Sr.,46 was shot by his son during an argument at their residence. Warrick was pronounced dead at his residence on Hanover Acres Dr. The cause of death is pending autopsy and the manner of death is under investigation by the Pennsylvania State Police.
July 5, 2020 3:18 am
The Meadows Racetrack and Casino is changing its smoking policy inside the casino. As of 8:00 AM on July 4, smoking will be banned in all areas of the casino. This policy change appeared on a Facebook post and on the casino’s website. The change was brought about by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board and by the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Outdoor smoking lounges will be provided.
July 4, 2020 10:32 am
LONDON (AP) – England is embarking on perhaps its biggest lockdown easing yet as pubs and restaurants have the right to reopen for the first time in more than three months. In addition to the reopening of much of the hospitality sector, couples can tie the knot once again, while many of those who have had enough of their lockdown hair can finally get a trim. In all cases, social distancing rules have to be followed. Though the easing of the lockdown will be warmly welcomed by many, there are concerns that the British government is being overly hasty, even reckless, in sanctioning the changes, given the country’s still-high coronavirus infection and death rates.
July 4, 2020 10:30 am
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – North Korea is reiterating it has no immediate plans to resume nuclear negotiations with the United States unless Washington discards what it describes as “hostile” polices toward Pyongyang. The statement by North Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui came days after President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, John Bolton, told reporters that Trump might seek another summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as an “October surprise” ahead of the U.S. presidential election. Kim and Trump have met three times since embarking on their high-stakes nuclear diplomacy in 2018, but negotiations have faltered since their second summit in February last year in Vietnam.
July 4, 2020 10:29 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Intelligence alleging that Afghan militants might have accepted Russian bounties for killing American troops didn’t scuttle the U.S.-Taliban agreement or President Donald Trump’s plan to withdraw thousands more troops from the war. But it’s given critics of the deal more reason to claim the Taliban shouldn’t be trusted. The U.S. agreed to remove all its troops by May 2021 and the Taliban pledged, among other things, to break ties with al-Qaida. Gen. Frank McKenzie, the top U.S. general in Afghanistan, says he remains skeptical that the Taliban will honor its commitment. So far, Trump has reduced U.S. troops from 12,000 to 8,600 and is contemplating how quickly to pull out more
