July 24, 2020 4:19 am
A Pennsylvania county has filed suit to compel Gov. Tom Wolf to release $12.8 million in federal coronavirus relief funding that he withheld after county leaders defied his shutdown orders. Wolf withheld the funding from Lebanon County, where local Republican leaders voted in mid-May to lift pandemic restrictions in a direct challenge of the Democratic governor’s authority. The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Commonwealth Court, says Wolf had no legal right to withhold funding appropriated by the legislature. The suit accuses him of a “gross abuse of power” and acting like a “de facto King.”
July 24, 2020 4:15 am
DERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa. — (WPXI) – Police have made an arrest in a Derry Township shooting that left a woman dead, and they said it wasn’t intentional. “He has no idea who this family was. This had nothing to do with this family whatsoever. It’s tragic. it’s a shame,” said Pennsylvania State Trooper Steve Limani Investigators said Nathan Quidetto is accused of firing multiple rounds into the home of 52-year-old Tracy Squib. Troopers wouldn’t say how they connected Quidetto to the crime, but said he allegedly admitted to pulling the trigger in retaliation for a botched drug deal, but the Squib’s home ended up being the wrong target. Squib was a mother of two and a beloved figure in her community and church. Quidetto has been charged with homicide and is in the Westmoreland county prison without bail.
July 24, 2020 4:08 am
The Washington School District School Board took 90 minutes to approve a recommended opening plan for the upcoming school year that begins on August 20. More than 25 minutes of discussion about the plan took place before an executive session was quickly called to answer questions that seemed to continue to nag at several directors. The biggest issue was why students were not able to return to a 5 day a week schedule. As explained to the parents on Wednesday evening, social distancing requirements are what keep students from returning to a normal 5 day a week schedule. A hybrid learning model was approved. Students will be divided into two groups. Each group will attend school in the buildings two days a week either Monday/Tuesday or Wednesday/Thursday with a district wide virtual day on Friday. A 5 day a week cyber academy is also available. Students with IEP requirements will attend school in buildings 5 days a week. A roll call vote was taken to approve the model and the vote was unanimous to approve the hybrid model. A unanimous vote was registered approving the cyber academy and the Friday virtual day option for the hybrid model. Superintendent Dr. James Konrad reminded the board that this plan is a living document that can be amended as needed depending on circumstances that impact the schedule with relation to the Covid-19 pandemic.
July 24, 2020 2:58 am
WJPA News has learned that more than 170 employees of the Meadows Racetrack and Casino in Washington County have been informed that they will be permanently furloughed amid declining revenues due to the COVID-19 PANDEMIC. The WARN notice was sent to 174 workers, informing them that they would be laid-off beginning September 15, 2020. Under WARN – an acronym for the federal Worker Adjustment and Retaining Notification Act – employers with 100 or more workers are required to provide 60 calendar-day advance notification of plant closings and mass layoffs. Officials say the layoffs will be permanent, but the facility will remain open. Company officials say the impact on their business was not reasonably foreseeable until now. They say the initial closure of business considerably affected their business and they believe that the impact will continue for the foreseeable future. These layoffs come on the heels of the furloughs of some 180 workers that was announced several weeks ago.
July 23, 2020 4:50 pm
DALLAS (AP) – Southwest Airlines says it won’t allow health waivers to its face-mask rule. Only children under 2 will be exempt from the requirement to cover their mouth and nose during flights. Meanwhile, Delta Air Lines says it will expand its coronavirus testing of employees to include at-home tests. Air travel has collapsed because of the virus pandemic, and airlines are trying to convince passengers and their own employees about safety. All airlines require passengers to wear masks during flights, and most extend the rule to airports too. But some people have complained about violators refusing to keep their mask on.
July 23, 2020 3:53 pm
(WPXI) – One of the leading members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force said Pittsburgh and 10 other U.S. cities must take “aggressive” steps to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19, the Center for Public Integrity reported. The Center for Public Integrity says Dr. Deborah Birx called out Pittsburgh — along with Baltimore, Cleveland, Columbus, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Miami, Minneapolis, Nashville, New Orleans and St. Louis — during a private call with state and local leaders from those areas. However, Pittsburgh city officials and Allegheny County officials both confirmed to our news partners at Channel 11 that none of their representatives were on that phone call. County spokesperson Amie Downs said no one in the administration received such communication from the task force. Among Birx’s recommendations were that officials in the 11 cities should perform contact tracing for those testing positive for the virus to help mitigate spread. Southwestern Pennsylvania, like the other cities mentioned by Birx, has in recent weeks seen an increase in the percentage of positive coronavirus tests. While the statewide percent-positivity was just 4.4% last week, Beaver, Allegheny and Washington counties had “concerning” rates. Beaver was at 8.2%, Allegheny was at 7.5% and Washington stood at 6.2%.
July 23, 2020 8:46 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The number of laid-off Americans seeking unemployment benefits rose last week for the first time since the pandemic struck in March, evidence of the deepening economic pain the outbreak is causing to the economy. The rise in weekly jobless claims to 1.4 million underscores the outsize role the unemployment insurance system is playing among the nation’s safety net programs – just when a $600 weekly federal aid payment for the jobless is set to expire at the end of this week. All told, the Labor Department said Thursday that roughly 32 million people are receiving unemployment benefits.
July 23, 2020 4:08 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Senate Republicans and the White House have reached tentative agreement for more testing funds in the next COVID-19 relief package. But deep disagreements over the scope of the $1 trillion in federal aid remain ahead of Thursday’s expected roll out. Facing a GOP revolt, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is preparing a “handful” of COVID-19 aid bills instead of a single package. That’s the word from a top lawmaker involved in the negotiations. A key holdup remains President Donald Trump’s push for a payroll tax cut. Hardly any GOP senators support the idea.
July 23, 2020 4:07 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Joe Biden has said during a virtual town hall that President Donald Trump was the country’s “first” racist president. The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee’s comment came Wednesday in response to a questioner mentioning the president referring to the coronavirus as the “China virus.” Biden said, “We’ve had racists, and they’ve existed. They’ve tried to get elected president. He’s the first one that has.” But many presidents – including the nation’s first, George Washington – owned slaves. Trump responded by saying that he’d done more for Black Americans than any other president, with the possible exception of Abraham Lincoln.
July 23, 2020 4:06 am
NEW YORK (AP) – A judge has ordered the release from prison of President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer, saying he believes the government retaliated against him for writing a book about Trump. U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein ordered Michael Cohen released from prison by 2 p.m. on Friday. Cohen sued the government earlier this week, saying he was ordered back to prison on July 9 because he was writing a book to be released before the November presidential election. Hellerstein said he believes Cohen’s First Amendment rights were violated by the decision.
