September 3, 2020 4:13 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Election experts are taking issue with President Donald Trump’s suggestion that people who vote early by mail should vote again at their polling place if their ballot hasn’t been counted. Experts and state voting officials say the president’s idea would lead to chaos, long lines and more work for election officials. Information on whether a ballot has been counted isn’t even typically available right away. What can be checked is whether an absentee ballot has been received, and in some cases, whether it’s passed a security review and will be submitted for counting. Most states offer ways for voters to verify the status of their ballot online. (Photo: CNN)
September 3, 2020 4:12 am
PUNTA GORDA, Belize (AP) – Nana has strengthened into a hurricane as it barrels westward just off the coast of Honduras on a collision course with the Central American nation of Belize, where thousands of people were stocking up on food, water and construction materials. Long lines stretched through supermarkets and hardware store shelves were nearly bare as residents of Belize bought materials to board up windows and doors ahead of Nana’s expected landfall early Thursday as a hurricane. The U.S. National Hurricane Center reported that Nana was located about 60 miles (95 kilometers) southeast of Belize City with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 kph).
September 3, 2020 2:41 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Federal agents searched a nursing home near Pittsburgh that had the worst coronavirus outbreak of any in Pennsylvania and was already being investigated by the state on suspicion of criminal neglect. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that U.S. Attorney Scott Brady said in a written statement that agents were at the Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center in Beaver County, as well as at the Mount Lebanon Rehabilitation and Wellness Center in Allegheny County. Meanwhile, Temple University announced Thursday that the majority of classes will shift online through the end of the fall semester amid rising numbers of coronavirus cases among students.
September 3, 2020 2:28 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration is relaxing restrictions on spectators at some fall sporting events, though attendance at high school football and volleyball games might still prove to be impossible because of statewide limits on mass gatherings. The revised guidance issued Wednesday says that “spectators may attend sporting events,” but they count toward the statewide gathering limits of 25 people indoors and 250 people outdoors. Meanwhile, the state House of Representatives approved a bill to give parents more power to let their children repeat a year of schooling if they feel their child didn’t get the education they needed or missed out on extracurricular activities amid the pandemic. It doesn’t include sports.
September 3, 2020 2:19 am
DETROIT (AP) – Korean automakers Hyundai and Kia are recalling over 591,000 vehicles in the U.S. to fix a brake fluid leak that could cause engine fires. The recalls cover more than 440,000 Kia Optima midsize sedans from 2013 through 2015 and Kia Sorento SUVs from 2014 and 2015. Also covered are 151,000 Hyundai Santa Fe SUVs from 2013 to 2015. The affiliated automakers say brake fluid can leak inside a hydraulic control unit for the anti-lock brakes, possibly causing an electrical short that can lead to fires. Kia’s recall will start Oct. 15, while Hyundai’s will start Oct. 23. Dealers for both companies will inspect the control units for leaks and replace them if needed at no cost to owners.
September 2, 2020 5:25 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – The debates between President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden are expected to be knock-down, drag-out heavyweight political battles. And now, we know who will referee them. The moderators will represent Fox News, C-SPAN and NBC. The nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates has named Chris Wallace of Fox for the first debate, Sept. 29 in Cleveland. Steve Scully of C-SPAN will handle the town meeting forum debate forum on Oct. 15 in Miami. And NBC’s Kristen Welker will do the Oct. 22 debate in Nashville, Tennessee. The commission also says USA Today’s Susan Page will moderate the vice presidential debate. That’s set for Oct. 7 in Salt Lake City, where Vice President Mike Pence and Democrat Kamala Harris will square off.
September 2, 2020 10:38 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. companies added jobs at a modest pace last month, a private survey found, a sign that while hiring continues, it is only soaking up a relatively small proportion of the unemployed. Payroll processor ADP said Wednesday that businesses added 428,000 jobs in August, a figure that before the pandemic would have represented a healthy gain. But the increase represents a small slice of the 12 million jobs that have been lost to the spread of the coronavirus.
September 2, 2020 10:37 am
BERLIN (AP) – The German government says tests have shown “proof without doubt” that Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was poisoned with the Soviet-era nerve agent Novichok. Navalny is one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s fiercest critics. He fell into a coma on a flight back to Moscow from Siberia on Aug 20. Doctors at Berlin’s Charite hospital last week said there were indications that Navalny had been poisoned. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman said Wednesday that a special German military laboratory found proof of “a chemical nerve agent from the Novichok group.” The Kremlin said it hadn’t been informed yet of Navalny being poisoned with a nerve agent.
September 2, 2020 4:16 am
KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) – Demonstrators marched through Kenosha after President Donald Trump wrapped up his visit to the area. More than 100 people followed a man with a megaphone, shouting, “Arrest the police” and other chants. The city has seen protests and some violence since the Aug. 23 police shooting of Jacob Blake. The 29-year-old Black man was shot seven times in the back. His family says he is paralyzed. At one point Tuesday afternoon, a group of protesters surrounded a man who they said belongs to a white nationalist group. Police officers moved in quickly and pulled the man away.
September 2, 2020 4:15 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Trump administration says it will not work with an international cooperative effort to develop and distribute a COVID-19 vaccine because it does not want to be constrained by multilateral groups like the World Health Organization. The decision to go it alone, first reported by The Washington Post, follows the White House’s decision in early July to pull the United States out of the WHO. Trump claims the WHO needs reform and is heavily influenced by China. White House spokesman Judd Deere says the U.S. will continue engaging with its global partners to defeat the virus, but will not be “constrained by multilateral organizations influenced by the corrupt World Health Organization and China.”
