September 10, 2020 4:08 am
OROVILLE, Calif. (AP) – A Northern California wildfire is threatening thousands of homes after winds whipped it into a monster that incinerated houses in a small mountain community and killed at least three people. The North Complex fire northeast of San Francisco exploded to six times its previous size between Tuesday and Wednesday thanks to gusting winds. The winds have subsided but only after flames critically burned several people and damaged or destroyed hundreds, if not thousands, of homes and other buildings. Some 20,000 people are under evacuation orders or warnings in three counties. Other large fires are burning around the state and the West.
September 10, 2020 2:32 am
NEW YORK (AP) – The coronavirus pandemic has reshaped how the U.S. is observing the anniversary of 9/11. The terror attacks’ 19th anniversary will be marked Friday by dueling ceremonies at the Sept. 11 memorial plaza and a corner nearby in New York. Vice President Mike Pence is expected at both remembrances. The two ceremonies reflect a divide over how to observe the anniversary in a time of social distancing. The double beams of light that evoke the fallen twin towers were nearly canceled because of virus concerns, until an uproar restored the tribute. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden plan to attend a truncated ceremony at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Pennsylvania.
September 10, 2020 2:17 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump is heading for a rally in battleground Michigan Thursday as he tries to move past revelations that he was determined to play down the threat of the coronavirus last winter -even as he talked of the dangers in private. He’s getting new pushback concerning the virus and his rallies, too. Local leaders are worried that the rallies are growing in size and flouting public health guidelines intended to halt the spread of the virus. This week, the state of Nevada became the first to scuttle Trump’s plans for rallies initially set for Las Vegas and Reno. Michigan’s Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has also raised alarms about Thursday’s event.
September 9, 2020 5:57 pm
(AP) – The National Toy Hall of Fame has announced the 12 toys that are up for induction later this year. Breyer Horses and My Little Pony are neck and neck. Also nominated is Baby Nancy, an ethnically correct Black doll unlike any that had been produced before her. The games Risk, Sorry, Yahtzee, bingo and Jenga also made the list released Wednesday. Nominees are rounded out by Lite-Brite, Masters of the Universe, sidewalk chalk and the 1990s virtual pet, Tamagotchi. Three of the finalists will be inducted into the hall in Rochester, New York, on Nov. 5.
September 9, 2020 5:42 pm
LOS ANGELES (AP) – “Yes, we’re gonna talk about it.” That is the vow Ellen DeGeneres is making as she prepares to launch a new season of her talk show. The first show of the new season is Sept. 21 – and in a statement, DeGeneres says she will address the shakeup of her production staff. The show has been roiled by claims that it’s being done in a toxic environment – and some celebrities said they felt mistreated on the show. Three top members of the production staff were fired. And the talk of behind-the-scenes turmoil have sullied DeGeneres’ image as a kindly soul. (Photo: CNN)
September 9, 2020 2:54 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – Vice President Mike Pence and other top officials from President Donald Trump’s campaign are slated to attend a Montana fundraiser this month hosted by a couple who are adherents of the QAnon conspiracy theory. That’s according to an event invitation obtained by The Associated Press and a review of social media postings. The QAnon conspiracy theory centers on the baseless belief that Trump is waging a secret campaign against enemies in the “deep state” and a child sex trafficking ring run by satanic pedophiles and cannibals. The social media accounts of event hosts Caryn and Michael Borland show they have repeatedly shared QAnon memes, or retweeted posts from QAnon accounts.
September 9, 2020 1:29 pm
LOS ANGELES (AP) – After more than a decade, “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” will be ending its run next year. Kim Kardashian West and other members of the extended Kardashian-Jenner family said in a statement Tuesday that they are saying goodbye to the reality show with “heavy hearts.” áIt was a family decision, they said. The show’s home, the E! network, said it’s a delayed farewell. The new season begins Sept. 17, with the final season to air in 2021. The series, which debuted in October 2007, áspawned 12 spinoffs, including “Kourtney and Khloe Take Miami” and “Revenge Body with Khloe Kardashian.” (Photo: CNN)
September 9, 2020 9:54 am
The Washington County District Attorney’s office has been closed and some 30 staff members are now working remotely. District Attorney Gene Vittone says they were informed Tuesday that a staff member tested positive for COVID-19. Vittone tells WJPA that the individual is asymptomatic but did come in contact with numerous other workers in the office. The office is now being cleaned and sanitized. All of those workers are getting tested. Vittone says all protocols are being followed and he praised the county’s response to the situation. He says his staff will continue to work remotely until it is deemed safe to return.
September 9, 2020 9:26 am
Just days into the new school year, the Trinity School District has been forced to change its schedule, but it has nothing to do with COVID-19. The district has announced that high school, middle school and Trinity West Elementary students will have remote-learning only on Thursday. In a letter to parents, the district says it is the result of a political rally and planned protests. Eric Trump, the son of President Donald Trump, is to be at the American Legion Post 175 along Park Avenue Thursday afternoon. The district says they “learned that groups are planning to protest in front of our high school from South Main Street to Franklin Farms Road.” They say the “heightened level of security and road construction traffic will disrupt our transportation and safe access to three of our school buildings”. Students and staff will not report to those buildings on Thursday. Trinity North, South and East will have no change in their schedule.
September 9, 2020 8:56 am
O’FALLON, Mo. (AP) – Teachers in at least three states have died after bouts with the coronavirus since the dawn of the new school year. A teachers’ union leader worries that the return to in-person classes will have a deadly impact across the U.S. if proper precautions aren’t taken. AshLee DeMarinis was just 34 when she died Sunday. She taught social skills and special education in Potosi, Missouri. A third grade teacher died Monday in South Carolina. And two other educators died recently in Mississippi. It’s unclear how many teachers in the U.S. have become ill with the coronavirus since the new school year began.
