August 12, 2020 2:08 am
WASHINGTON, Pa. — (WPXI) – A day after the Washington Wild Things suspended games following a warning by Pennsylvania State Police, the state’s health department seemed to contradict what the team said the reasoning was behind its decision. According to the team, the organization was warned by state police that if their season continued, they could be held accountable. When Gov. Tom Wolf permitted professional sports to resume play in front of 250 people, the organization put together a plan that would let fans enjoy the game in a safe and healthy environment. However, the Pa. Department of Health clarified by saying PSP received complaints about too many people attending games and that the organization never applied for a waiver that would allow the Wild Things to extend capacity beyond 250 people. Health department officials said “there was no intent for the Washington Wild Things to shut down,” and that the team can continue its season as long as it meets the 250 capacity limit.
August 11, 2020 3:43 pm
(AP) – The Big Ten and Pac-12 conferences won’t play football this fall because of concerns about COVID-19. The decisions take two of college football’s five power conferences out of a crumbling season amid the pandemic. The Big Ten’s announcement that it was postponing all fall sports and hoping to make them up in the second semester came first. An hour later, the Pac-12 called a news conference to say that all sports in its conference would be paused until Jan. 1, including basketball. The Atlantic Coast Conference, Big 12 and Southeastern Conference are still moving forward with plans to conduct a football season.
August 11, 2020 9:48 am
The Houston Pumpkin Festival is the latest, local even to cancel because of the coronavirus pandemic. Officials posted the announcement on their Facebook page saying “We waited as long as possible with hopes the situation may change”. “The health and safety of our community, vendors, and volunteers is most important to us”. The Pumpkin Festival is a three-day event held the second weekend in October. It is sponsored by the Houston Volunteer Fire Department and is their primary fundraiser. That made the decision especially difficult. Festival officials say they are looking ahead to 2021.
August 11, 2020 6:25 am
MOSCOW (AP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin says that a coronavirus vaccine developed in his country has been cleared for use and one of his daughters has already been inoculated, even as international experts have questioned its safety. Speaking at a government meeting Tuesday, Putin said that the vaccine has proven efficient during tests, offering a lasting immunity from the coronavirus. Putin added that the vaccine underwent the necessary tests. He added that one of his two adult daughters has received two shots of the vaccine. Russian authorities have said that medical workers, teachers and other risk groups will be the first to be inoculated.
August 11, 2020 4:55 am
The coronavirus put a number of activities on hold since it shut down normal life back in March. One of the activities that Peters Township Council paused was its capital improvements program. Council voted unanimously to resume a limited number of those projects. Township Manager Paul Lauer suggested about a half dozen projects that can be completed. Among those projects are the replacement of the smoke and fire detection system in the municipal building and the upgrade to the HVAC system in the library. Lauer hopes to be able to include an air cleaning system to filter out impurities and viruses such as Covid-19. Lauer said that roads will be addressed. The rejuvenator and crack sealing process will take place. Lauer praised council and their conservative budgeting practices that allow them to continue these plans. Revenues are running slightly behind in 2020, but the budgeting is what gave council the liberty to tackle the projects and their $460,000 price tag.
August 11, 2020 4:23 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump was abruptly escorted by a U.S. Secret Service agent out of the White House briefing room as he was beginning a coronavirus briefing Monday afternoon. He returned minutes later, saying there was a “shooting” outside the White House that was “under control.” Trump says, “There was an actual shooting and somebody’s been taken to the hospital.” He says the shots were fired by law enforcement, and he believes the individual who was shot was armed. The shooting took place near 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue just blocks from the White House, according to two sources with knowledge of the situation.
August 11, 2020 4:22 am
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Police camera video of Minneapolis officers arresting George Floyd has been released to the public and is now available for publication. The footage became available Monday after a Hennepin County judge ordered it released. News organizations including The Associated Press had already viewed and written about the footage, and also pressed for the right to publish it. The video comes from the body cameras of former Officers Thomas Lane and J. Kueng. The footage shows Floyd pleading with the officers as they struggle to place him in a squad car in the minutes before his death on May 25. Floyd, a handcuffed Black man, died after Officer Derek Chauvin, who is white, pressed his knee against Floyd’s neck for nearly eight minutes.
August 11, 2020 4:19 am
SEATTLE (AP) – Seattle’s police chief says she will retire. The move was reported Monday, the same day the City Council approved reducing the department through layoffs and attrition. The cuts were supported by demonstrators who have marched in the city following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. The reductions were strongly opposed by the mayor and police chief. KING-TV reported that Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best, the city’s first Black police chief, told the department of her decision in a letter, saying her retirement will be effective Sept. 2. Budget measures approved Monday would cut less than $4 million of the department’s $400 million annual budget this year.
August 11, 2020 4:18 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats are holding firm in their negotiations with the White House over coronavirus relief. With many Republicans balking at more big government spending, Democrats are using their leverage to force President Donald Trump into a politically risky standoff over help for millions of Americans. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnunchin told governors on Monday that passing congressional legislation remains the “first choice.” While Trump has issued some executive actions, Pelosi is dismissing them as an “illusion.” Trump says he’s still quite open to a deal with Congress.
August 11, 2020 4:17 am
CANTON, Ga. (AP) – A Georgia school district has quarantined more than 900 students and staff members because of possible exposure to the coronavirus since classes resumed this last week. The Cherokee County School District outside Atlanta said it would also temporarily shut down a hard-hit high school in which a widely shared photo showed dozens of maskless students posing together. The district serves more than 42,000 students. News of the quarantines came a day after Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said that the reopening of some of the state’s schools amid the coronavirus outbreak has gone well with the exception of the viral photos of students crowded together without masks.
