August 8, 2020 4:28 am
(AP) – A federal lawsuit is seeking to force Pennsylvania election officials to change the way that voters’ signatures on mail-in ballots are verified. The suit, filed Friday, asserts that tens of thousands of voters are at risk of being disenfranchised in the fall presidential election. The suit was filed by the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania, the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh and two individual voters. It seeks to force election officials to give voters the chance to fix ballots that are either missing signatures, or where there’s a perceived signature mismatch. The Wolf administration declined to comment on the suit.
August 7, 2020 4:54 pm
UNDATED (AP) – Thousands of bikers poured into the small South Dakota town of Sturgis as the 80th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally rumbles to life despite fears it could lead to a massive coronavirus outbreak. The bike rally is set to become the largest gathering of people since the pandemic began. Event organizers are expecting 250,000 people from all over the country to make their way through Sturgis during the 10-day rally. Local residents – and a few bikers – worried it could create a “super-spreader” event. But many who rode their bikes into town expressed defiance of the uncomfortable regulations that have marked life during a pandemic.
August 7, 2020 2:52 pm
The group in charge of high school sports met Friday in an emergency session after Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf said school and youth sports should be postponed until Jan. 1 because of COVID-19. The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Board of Directors has started to reevaluate the plans it had in place, but in a statement Friday afternoon said, it believes delaying sports will have a “potential negative impact on the students’ physical, social, emotional and mental health.” In response to Wolf’s announcement on Thursday, the PIAA said: “We are tremendously disappointed in this decision. Our member schools have worked diligently to develop health and safety plans to allow students the safe return to interscholastic athletics.” The PIAA made a motion during its Friday meeting to postpone all fall sports for two weeks. Board members say they will reconvene on August 21st, but between now and then, voluntary workouts, per the Governor’s guidance for all sports, and with local approval, may continue.
August 7, 2020 10:16 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The United States added 1.8 million jobs in July, a pullback from the gains of May and June and evidence that the resurgent coronavirus is stalling hiring and slowing an economic rebound. With confirmed viral cases still elevated in much of the nation and businesses under continued pressure, many employers appear reluctant or unable to hire. Even counting the hiring of the past three months, the economy has now recovered only about 42% of the 22 million jobs it lost to the pandemic-induced recession, according to the Labor Department’s jobs report released Friday.
August 7, 2020 4:17 am
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has tested negative for COVID-19 after testing positive earlier in the day before he was to meet with President Donald Trump. The Republican governor’s office said he took the test Thursday as part of standard protocol before meeting Trump at an airport in Cleveland. He had planned to join the president on a visit to the Whirlpool Corp. plant in northwest Ohio. DeWine has no symptoms but returned to Columbus before Trump landed where he and his wife, Fran DeWine, were tested. DeWine then returned to his home in Cedarville to quarantine for 14 days. Lt. Gov. Jon Husted tested negative.
August 7, 2020 4:16 am
(AP) – Financial losses are mounting at the U.S. Postal Service during the coronavirus pandemic. The agency said Friday it lost $2.2 billion in the three months ending in June. Officials warn the losses could top $20 billion over two years. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy calls the agency’s financial position “dire.? DeJoy’s comments are his first public remarks since taking the top job in June. The Postal Service is seeking an infusion of at least $10 billion to cover operating losses as well as changes to how it funds retiree health benefits. Lawmakers are calling on the Postal Service to reverse operational changes that are causing delivery delays.
August 7, 2020 4:15 am
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) – A magnitude 4.8 earthquake has struck southern Puerto Rico at a shallow depth in the same region that has not stopped shaking since late December. The quake hit late Thursday at a depth of 7 miles (12 kilometers) and jolted many from their beds. No immediate damage was reported. The tremor initially was reported with a preliminary magnitude of 5.1. The director of Puerto Rico’s Seismic Network tells The Associated Press that the quake was felt across the island. He says it is one of many aftershocks that have occurred since a magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck in early January, killing one person and causing million of dollars along Puerto Rico’s southern coast.
August 7, 2020 4:15 am
(AP) – California has surpassed 10,000 deaths from the coronavirus, making it the U.S. state with the third-highest deaths since the start of the pandemic. The figure was reported Friday by Johns Hopkins University, with 10,024 dead since the outbreak began in California in February. New York has the highest number of deaths in the U.S. at more than 32,000, followed by New Jersey with nearly 16,000. Nearly half of California’s deaths are in hard-hit Los Angeles County, where more than 4,800 of its 10 million residents have died. California is the nation’s most populous state with 40 million people. Gov. Gavin Newsom was the first in the nation to issue a stay-home order in mid-March, but the virus began to surge after the Memorial Day holiday.
August 7, 2020 4:14 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – A marathon meeting in the Capitol generated lots of recriminations but little progress on the top issues confronting negotiators on vital COVID-19 rescue money. The talks are teetering on the brink of collapse. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said of the Thursday night talks: “There’s a handful of very big issues that we are still very far apart” on. He said there are impasses on aid to states and local governments and renewing supplemental unemployment benefits. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said: “We’re very far apart. It’s most unfortunate.” Both sides said the future of the talks is uncertain. President Donald Trump is considering executive orders to address evictions and on unemployment insurance, but they appear unlikely to have much impact.
August 7, 2020 4:13 am
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Violent clashes this week between protesters and police in Portland, Oregon, have ratcheted up tensions in the city days after an agreement between state and federal officials appeared to bring calm. More demonstrations took place overnight Thursday, hours after the city’s mayor decried the unrest. Police declared an unlawful assembly late Thursday and officers worked to push protesters away from a precinct. Portland police had used tear gas on the crowd Wednesday – the first time since U.S. agents left the city. Reporters say smoke canisters were used Thursday night. Protests have gone on unabated in Portland since May 25 following the death of George Floyd.
