May 30, 2020 4:11 am
BEIJING (AP) – China’s Defense Ministry says the navy’s only entirely home-built aircraft is carrying out sea trials to test weapons and equipment and enhance crew training. Ministry spokesperson Ren Guoqiang says the exercises are being conducted as planned, apparently unaffected by the country’s coronavirus outbreak. The highly secretive Chinese military was credited with aiding in the response to the epidemic in the epicenter of Wuhan earlier this year, but no information has been released about cases among military personnel or any change in the armed forces’ readiness status. The U.S. Navy, in contrast, saw a public controversy over the spread of the coronavirus aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt and the firing of the aircraft carrier’s skipper in April.
May 30, 2020 4:10 am
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) – A Utah judge has blocked a concert protesting coronavirus restrictions, siding with county health officials who said the event expected to attract thousands of people could worsen the pandemic. Judge Dianna Gibson decided Friday there was a real risk of spreading the virus among the audience and others. The decision came hours after Utah marked its largest single-day increase in coronavirus cases with 343. Organizers didn’t immediately say whether they would cancel the concert by Nashville-based country singer Collin Raye. The event was also aimed at supporting business hurt by the crisis.
May 30, 2020 4:09 am
ATLANTA (AP) – Days after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, people took to the streets in protest in dozens of cities around the country. They marched, chanted, stopped traffic and in some cases turned violent toward police to protest the death of the handcuffed black man after a white officer pressed a knee into his neck even after he stopped moving. Georgia’s governor mobilized the National Guard to protect Atlanta, where demonstrators set a police car and American flag on fire, injured at least three officers, spray-painted the iconic logo sign at CNN headquarters, and broke into a restaurant. The crowd pelted officers who came over with bottles.
May 30, 2020 4:04 am
SOUTH STRABANE, Pa. — An individual is dead after a motorcycle crash on Interstate 79 Friday night. Officials were called to the scene around 8:45 p.m. after the unnamed operator of the vehicle lost control of the motorcycle and traveled up an embankment on the left side of the roadway. The accident occurred in the southbound lanes of I-79 near mile marker 38, or the Interstate 70 West interchange. Coroner Tim Warco’s office pronounced the individual dead at roughly 9:45 p.m. Canonsburg ambulance assisted on scene. The identity of the victim has not been released pending the notification of next of kin. The cause and manner of death is pending. The Pennsylvania State Police are still investigating the incident.
May 30, 2020 2:26 am
An Independence Twp. man accused of killing his common law wife’s son had all charges waived to court. Arnold Lee Webster, 65 will face felony homicide and manslaughter charges along with 10 felony counts of prohibited possession of firearms. The charges stem from the August 28, 2019 shooting of Joshua Ryan Boland. Webster is accused of shooting Boland in the chest inside of Webster’s home after arguing with him outside and inside the home. Public Defender Adam Yarussi tried to have the homicide charge dismissed. He tried to make Boland look like an intruder to Webster’s home. Judge Ethan Ward did not accept the argument and held all charges for court. The trial date is pending.
May 29, 2020 5:59 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump has announced that the U.S. will be terminating its relationship with the World Health Organization. He said the WHO failed to adequately respond to the coronavirus because China has “total control” over the global organization. He said Chinese officials “ignored” their reporting obligations to the WHO and pressured the WHO to mislead the world when the virus was first discovered. He noted that the U.S. contributes about $450 million to the world body while China provides about $40 million.
May 29, 2020 4:12 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump is escalating his war on social media companies, signing an executive order challenging the liability protections that have served as a bedrock for unfettered speech on the internet. He declared he was “fed up” with what he considers bias as prepared to sign the order on Thursday. Still, the move appears to be more about politics than substance, as the president aims to rally supporters after he lashed out at Twitter for applying fact checks to two of his tweets. Legal experts have expressed doubts Trump can do much by himself, without an act of Congress. And the order is certain to face legal challenges.
May 29, 2020 4:10 am
South Korea has reported 58 new cases of the coronavirus, all in the Seoul metropolitan area, as officials scramble to stem transmissions linked to a massive e-commerce warehouse near the capital. The figures announced Friday by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention brought national totals to 11,402 infections and 269 deaths. Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun called for officials to examine working conditions at warehouses of online shopping companies, which have seen orders surge during the pandemic, and other congested workplaces. South Korea has reported 177 new COVID-19 cases over the past three days, a resurgence that threatens to erase some of its hard-won gains against the virus.
May 29, 2020 4:09 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The tensions between the Trump administration and China are growing. The administration may soon expel thousands of Chinese graduate students and impose other sanctions against Chinese officials. These are the latest signs of escalating tensions over trade, the coronavirus pandemic, human rights and the status of Hong Kong. President Donald Trump says he intends to make an announcement about China on Friday. Officials say he is considering a proposal to revoke the visas of Chinese students affiliated with educational institutions in China that are linked to the People’s Liberation Army or Chinese intelligence. The officials were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
May 29, 2020 4:07 am
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – The Minneapolis officer who was seen on video kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a handcuffed black man who died in custody after pleading that he could not breathe, has been arrested and charged with murder. Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman says Derek Chauvin was charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter, after his office gathered enough evidence to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt. He did not have immediate details, but said a criminal complaint would be made available later. The charges come after three days of protests, which had been escalating in violence.
