June 5, 2020 4:01 am
COLLEVILLE-SUR-MER, France (AP) – Saturday’s anniversary will be one of the loneliest remembrances ever for the June 6, 1944 D-Day landings in Normandy. The coronavirus pandemic is keeping almost everyone away – from government leaders to frail veterans who might not get another chance for a final farewell to their unlucky comrades. Even the weather forecast is bad. Heading into the remembrance weekend, the salty brine coming off the ocean on France’s Omaha Beach hits the nostrils, the shrieks of seagulls pierces the ears and a sense of desolation hangs across the region’s country roads.
June 5, 2020 3:59 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The U.S. unemployment rate fell to 13.3% in May, and 2.5 million jobs were added – a surprisingly positive reading in the midst of a recession that has paralyzed the economy and depressed the job market in the wake of the viral pandemic. The May job gain suggests that businesses have quickly been recalling workers as states have reopened their economies. There has been other evidence that the job market meltdown triggered by the coronavirus has bottomed out.
June 5, 2020 2:58 am
UPDATE Thursday, 7:15 pm
Washington County Elections Office posted nearly final first tallies from Tuesday’s Primary Election. More than 10,000 mail-in ballots had to be counted Thursday to complete the original count. Just under 200 ballots will have to be “remade” due to issues with the scanner reading them. Another 40 ballots will be reviewed by the Canvass Board because there are overvotes, blank ballots or unclear marks. There are also 535 provisional ballots to be evaluated. Of the 755 ballots outstanding, 55 are from the PA House 39 race. Incumbent Mike Puskaric leads the Republican primary by 176 votes over challenger Tom Kirsch.
Numbers listed below now include all precincts from Washington County, along with precincts included in local races from Allegheny, Fayette, Greene and Westmoreland Counties. Over the next several weeks, the Canvass Board will deal with the ballots listed above, conduct a complete recount and certify the final results.
PRIMARY ELECTION RESULTS
President of the United States-Democrat
Joe Biden 18,799
Bernie Sanders 3,421
Tulsi Gabbard 1,208
President of the United States-Republican
Donald Trump 19,987
Bill Weld 844
Roque De La Fuente 253
PA Auditor General-Democrat (Winner vs. Republican Timothy DeFoor)
Michael Lamb 18,453
Nina Ahmad 2,362
Christina Hartman 1,260
Scott Conklin 662
Tracie Fountain 768
Rose Rosie Marie Davis 496
PA House 49-Republican (Winner vs. Democrat Randy Barli)
Bud Cook (Incumbent) 3,294
Tony Bottino 2,123
PA House 39 Republican (Winner vs. Democrat Sara Summer Oliphant)
Mike Puskaric (Incumbent) 3,432
Tom Kirsch 3,256
PA Senate 37 Republican (Winner vs. Democrat Incumbent Pam Iovino)
Devlin Robinson 16,151
Jeff Neff 11,691
Democratic Delegate to the National Convention (Vote For 5)
Bibiana Boerio 36,129
Chrisitan Sesek 35,911
Nate Regotti 33,092
Janice Foley 16,688
Casey Konopisos 13,757
Mike Cordaro 13,272
Robert Mason 12,523
Brayden Campbell 10,784
Republican Delegate to the National Convention (Vote For 3)
Guy Reschenthaler 38,393
Scott Avolio 15,402
Rose Tennent 14,862
Jill Cooper 13,859
Scott Day 13,697
John Ventre 13,189
Jon Marietta 9,102
Susanna DeJeet 8,154
Thomas Uram 7,620
Daryl Price 5,948
Eric Sivavec 4,457
Republican Alternate Delegate to the National Convention (Vote For 3)
Scott Day 32,110
Thomas Uram 24,987
Melanie Patterson 23,397
Sonia Stopperich Sulc 16,115
Patrick Geho 14,747
Uncontested Races (winners meet in November General Election)
(D-Democrat, R-Republican, I-Incumbent)
US Congress–PA 14th District
Bill Marx (D) vs. Guy Reschenthaler (R-I)
PA Attorney General
Josh Shapiro (D-I) vs. Heather Heidelbaugh (R)
PA Treasurer
Joe Torsella (D-I) vs. Stacy Garrity (R)
PA House 15
Bob Williams (D) vs. Joshua Kail (R-I)
PA House 40
Sharon Guidi (D) vs. Natalie Mihalek (R-I)
PA House 46
Byron Timmins (D) vs. Jason Ortitay (R-I)
PA House 48
Harlan Shober (D) vs. Tim O’Neal (R-I)
PA House 50
Pam Snyder (D-I) vs. Larry Yost (R)
June 5, 2020 2:35 am
Today is a day many in Washington County have been waiting for since the coronavirus pandemic lockdowns began in Pennsylvania. Under Governor Tom Wolf’s order, the county has now moved into the green phase of his reopening plan which means that restaurants and bars, hair salons, barbershops, gyms, spas, wellness facilities, casinos, theaters and shopping malls are all allowed to open, but they must limit occupancy to 50%. In addition, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines must continue to be followed and Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said people will still need to wear masks and still be vigilant to potential spread. If you will be heading out to your favorite bar or restaurant over the weekend, be aware that the bar or restaurant you left in March might not look like the same one you’ll be entering on Friday. In addition to the governor’s guidelines, the state liquor control board has also issued guidelines in the interest of patron’s safety.
June 4, 2020 5:46 pm
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – The mural of George Floyd projected above his golden coffin, where mourners knelt and cried, paused and prayed at his memorial service had a simple message: “I can breathe now.” Celebrities, civil rights activists, politicians and family members of Floyd sang “Amazing Grace,” prayed and joined together in a rousing memorial Thursday that was both a celebration of his life and a mourning of a man whose death at the hands of police has sparked protests nationwide and calls for an end to racial injustice. The memorial was the first service to be held in the next six days across three communities.
June 4, 2020 4:13 am
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – A judge has set bail at $750,000 apiece for three former Minneapolis police officers charged with aiding and abetting in the death of George Floyd. Tou Thao, Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng made their first appearances Thursday in Hennepin County District Court. The Minneapolis Police Department fired them last week and they were arrested Wednesday. Bystander video shows a fourth officer, Derek Chauvin, pressing his knee to Floyd’s neck until he stops moving. Chauvin has been charged with second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in Floyd’s May 25 death. If convicted of aiding and abetting murder, Thao, Lane and Kueng face a maximum 40 years in prison.
June 4, 2020 4:11 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The epic damage to America’s job market from the viral outbreak will come into sharper focus Friday when the government releases the May employment report. Eight million more jobs are estimated to have been lost. Unemployment could top 20%. And potentially fewer than half of all adults may be working. Beneath the dismal figures will be signs that job cuts, severe as they are, are slowing as more businesses gradually or partially reopen. Still, the economy is mired in a recession, and any rebound in hiring will likely be painfully slow. Economists foresee unemployment remaining in double-digits through the November elections and into 2021.
June 4, 2020 4:09 am
MEXICO CITY (AP) – Tropical Storm Cristobal has made landfall on Mexico’s Gulf coast state of Campeche, dumping heavy rain on the already soaked region. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Wednesday the storm had sustained winds of 50 mph (85 kph) and was expected to turn north later in the week, cross the Gulf of Mexico and eventually threaten the United States. But until then, forecasters expect Cristobal to meander along Mexico’s Gulf coast causing severe flooding. The hurricane center said it made landfall Wednesday morning near Atasta, just west of the major oil production town of Ciudad del Carmen.
June 4, 2020 4:09 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump’s Pentagon chief shot down his idea of using active-duty troops to quell protests, but then reversed course and kept the 82nd Airborne Division on standby in the Washington, D.C., region. It was an extraordinary clash between the U.S. military and its commander in chief. Defense Secretary Mark Esper angered Trump early Wednesday when he said he opposed using military troops for law enforcement. After his subsequent visit to the White House, the Pentagon abruptly overturned an earlier decision to send a couple hundred active-duty soldiers home from the D.C. area.
June 4, 2020 4:07 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Congressional Democrats, powered by the Congressional Black Caucus, are preparing a sweeping package of police reforms in response the death of George Floyd. Lawmakers are working furiously in the House and Senate to draft what could become the most ambitious effort in years to oversee law enforcement work. Proposals in Congress are expected to include changes to police accountability laws, the creation of a database of police use-of-force incidents, and revamped training requirements. One proposal is to ban choke holds, a change endorsed by presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.
