June 13, 2020 4:08 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf is asking the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to intervene in his dispute with legislative Republicans who are trying to end pandemic restrictions he imposed in March to slow the spread of the new coronavirus. Republican majorities in the House and Senate, with a few Democrats in support, voted this week to end the state’s emergency disaster declaration that Wolf has used to shut down “non-life-sustaining” businesses. Wolf asked the state’s high court on Friday to uphold the shutdown. The governor also announced he’s loosening restrictions on eight more counties.
June 13, 2020 3:57 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Vice President Mike Pence is working on behalf of the Trump administration to make voters feel better about the direction of the country amid a coronavirus pandemic and racial pandemic. Pence traveled on Friday to Pennsylvania, an important swing state with 20 electoral votes that will be bitterly contested. He began with a listening session with faith and community leaders to hear their concerns following the death of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis. He then talked up the economy at a manufacturing plant 30 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. Pence’s trip to Pennsylvania was part of what is described as the “Great American Comeback Tour.”
June 12, 2020 5:28 pm
NEW YORK (AP) – ABC has named Matt James as its first black “Bachelor” to lead the network’s long-running dating competition show. The casting was announced Friday on “Good Morning America.” James, a 28-year-old from North Carolina, was originally chosen to compete for Clare Crawley’s affection on “The Bachelorette,” but filming was scrapped in March due to the coronavirus pandemic. The show has been under increased pressure to be more diverse and cast a black “Bachelor.” Until now, Rachel Lindsay was the only African American to be cast as a lead in the franchise’s 18 year history when she was named “The Bachelorette” in 2017.
June 12, 2020 4:54 pm
Responding to an urgent need to address increased financial challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Diocese of Pittsburgh announced on Friday the closures of two elementary schools and a merger involving two elementary schools. “I know this news deeply impacts the hearts of our principals, teachers, school families, and other supporters of Catholic education. It impacts mine as well,” Bishop David Zubik said. “Schools are not just buildings. They represent communities that provide important faith formation for our children. I pray that we will be able to come together in the midst of these changes to be grateful for what we have, and to continue to be good stewards of what we are able to utilize to provide Catholic education to our communities.” Schools across the country — public, parochial, and private — have seen a substantial loss of revenue as a result of COVID-19. “Sadly, with funding sources critically reduced due to the impact of the global pandemic, we do not have the ability to financially sustain every one of our school buildings,” Bishop Zubik said. “However, our spiritual and financial commitment to Catholic education remains strong. These decisions were made with exactly that mission in mind – to preserve and protect Catholic education in our diocese.” Regional boards and pastors worked with a diocesan committee to assess their current financial situations and enrollment projections. Recommendations were presented to Bishop Zubik, who approved the closing of Saint Patrick School in Canonsburg and Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament School in Natrona Heights. Both closings will be effective June 30, 2020. In addition, a merger was approved between Saint Joseph Elementary School in Verona and Saint John the Baptist School in Plum Borough effective July 1, 2020.
June 12, 2020 1:55 pm
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania’s most active shale gas driller has pleaded no contest to environmental crimes over its handling of contamination at a pair of well sites. The state attorney general’s office announced Friday that Range Resources Corp. pleaded no contest in Washington County Court to seven misdemeanor counts. As part of its plea, the Fort Worth, Texas-based company will pay $50,000 in fines and make $100,000 in charitable contributions to a pair of watershed groups. Range has drilled more than 1,500 unconventional gas wells in Pennsylvania. It says it’s taken responsibility for the contamination and has improved its operations.
June 12, 2020 4:51 am
It’s now official; there will be no Washington County Agricultural Fair in 2020. The board made the decision Thursday. In a post on its Facebook page, President Todd Richards said “This decision was not made lightly but considering the Covid-19 pandemic concerns and the safety of our many stakeholders we believe it is the right decision.” Last week, the board announced that it wanted more time to make its decision. Both the Greene County and West Alexander fairs announced last week that they were cancelling for 2020. The fair board did vote and approve a resolution to preserve the Junior Livestock Market Competition. A committee will be formed and will immediately begin to work on a plan to conduct the competition during the fair dates of August 15 to 22nd. Detailed competition plans will be announced as soon as they are complete.
June 12, 2020 4:07 am
DALLAS (AP) – President Donald Trump says he will pursue an executive order to encourage police departments to meet “the most current professional standards for the use of force.” He is also accusing Democrats of broadly branding police as the problem. Trump is defending his calls on governors and mayors to aggressively quell violent protests, boasting that, “We’re dominating the street with compassion.” The president offered few details about the yet-to-be-formalized order during a discussion on race relations and policing before a friendly audience in Dallas, but it amounts to his first concrete proposal for police reform in response to the national outcry following the death of George Floyd.
June 12, 2020 4:05 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Authorities say a gunman believed to have wounded a central California sheriff’s deputy and targeted others in a series of attacks has been killed in a confrontation with police. Twenty-six-year-old Mason James Lira died Thursday afternoon in Paso Robles. Lira had been sought since he seriously injured a San Luis Obispo County sheriff’s deputy and killed a transient man Wednesday. Officials say three other law enforcement officers were wounded Thursday in several confrontations before he was killed but all are expected to recover. Lira’s father says his son had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and did not take his medication.
June 12, 2020 4:04 am
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – Black community and political leaders are calling on President Donald Trump to change the date or place of a campaign rally scheduled for Juneteenth in Tulsa, Oklahoma. They are denouncing his plans for a rally on the day that marks the end of slavery in America and in a place that in 1921 was the site of a fiery and orchestrated white-on-black attack. Tulsa community leader Sherry Gamble Smith calls it a “slap in the face.” Trump campaign officials discussed in advance the possible reaction to the Juneteenth date, but there are no plans to change it despite fierce blowback.
June 12, 2020 4:03 am
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – North Korea is again vowing to build up its military force to counter what it perceives as U.S. threats. The country’s foreign minister says there would be little reason to maintain a personal relationship between leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump if Washington persists with sanctions and pressure. He spoke on the second anniversary of the first-ever summit between leaders of the two countries. Foreign Minister Ri Son Gwon said North Korea would never again gift Trump with high-profile meetings and concessions he could boast as achievements unless it gets something substantial in return.
