September 22, 2020 4:09 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump has met with the conservative appeals court judge, Amy Coney Barrett, who is considered the favorite to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. But the president is considering other women for the high court opening and says he plans more interviews ahead of announcing his choice by the end of the week. A person familiar with discussions in the White House and the Senate tells The Associated Press that Barrett and another appeals court judge, Barbara Lagoa, are the focus of attention. Barrett has long been favored by conservatives, and she was a strong contender for the seat that eventually went to Brett Kavanaugh in 2018.
September 22, 2020 4:08 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – A wildfire scorching its way through brush and timber from the mountains to the desert northeast of Los Angeles is threatening more than 1,000 homes. Authorities say the Bobcat Fire continues to threaten Mount Wilson northeast of Los Angeles and towns in the Antelope Valley on the other side of the San Gabriel Mountains. About 1,100 homes are under evacuation orders. Gov. Gavin Newsom says nearly 19,000 firefighters are battling 27 major blazes around California. He says the fires have destroyed thousands of buildings and burned an area larger than the state of Connecticut.
September 22, 2020 4:06 am
RUFFS DALE, Pa. — (WPXI) – A woman has been charged with first degree murder and criminal homicide in the shooting death of her ex-boyfriend Sunday night inside her Westmoreland County home. According to police, Meghan West, 29, invited Andrew Pristas, 30, to the Valley High Mobile Home Park in Ruffs Dale. Just before midnight, the two got into an argument over something on West’s phone. She ran into a bedroom and locked herself inside. According to police, she grabbed a gun and fired a warning shot through the door. West claims that Pristas continued to try to break down the locked door before she fired a second round into the door, which struck him. “She went outside the door and realized he was laying there in a pool of blood, initiated a 911 phone call and she did render some medical aid,” said Trooper Steve Limani of the Pennsylvania State Police. West was denied bond.
September 22, 2020 2:51 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania’s new coronavirus exposure-notification app is now available on app stores. The release of the app Tuesday is part of Pennsylvania’s effort to more quickly break chains of transmission by using the new technology to notify people who may have been exposed. The app is based on smartphone technology developed by Apple and Google. The app is interoperable with the state of Delaware’s app, which released last week. Use will be limited to people 18 and over. It is designed to automatically notify people if they might have been exposed to the coronavirus, and state officials say the app does not store personal information.
September 21, 2020 5:27 pm
NEW YORK (AP) – The nation’s top public health agency has stirred confusion, by posting – and then taking down – an apparent change in its position on how easily the coronavirus can spread through the air. Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say the respiratory virus spreads primarily through small airborne droplets. CDC officials have also acknowledged growing evidence that the virus can also be carried on smaller, aerosolized particles that spread over a wider area. The agency’s position appeared to have changed when it posted new detail on aerosolized particles on Friday, but that language was removed on Monday.
September 21, 2020 4:58 pm
NEW YORK (AP) – Ellen DeGeneres used her opening monologue of the new season of her daytime talk show to address allegations of a toxic work environment, apologizing for things “that never should have happened.” “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” started its 18th season with the host on stage for the first time in months after taping from DeGeneres’s home during quarantine. She said she took responsibility for what happens on her show. Three of the show’s producers exited over the summer amid allegations of a dysfunctional workplace that harbored misbehavior including sexual misconduct and racially insensitive remarks.
September 21, 2020 12:43 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – The body of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will lie in repose at the Supreme Court this week, with arrangements to allow for public viewing despite the coronavirus pandemic. Ginsburg’s casket will be on public view Wednesday and Thursday under the portico at the top of the iconic steps in front of the building. A private ceremony will take place at the court on Wednesday morning. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the Ginsburg will lie in state in the Capitol’s Statuary Hall on Friday for a ceremony for invited guests. Ginsburg will be buried next week at Arlington National Cemetery in a private service. The justice died Friday at age 87 of metastatic pancreatic cancer.
September 21, 2020 6:24 am
A Claysville man was killed in an ATV crash Sunday night. The Washington County Coroner’s office says 32 year old Francis Shape was pronounced dead at the scene along East Finley Drive in Claysville. It happened just before 8:30 p.m. Investigators say Shape lost control of the vehicle and struck a tree. He was not wearing a helmet. State Police continue to investigate.
September 21, 2020 4:20 am
HOUSTON (AP) – Tropical storm conditions were beginning Monday in parts of Texas and Louisiana as Tropical Storm Beta slowly works its way into a part of the country that’s already been drenched and battered during a busy hurricane season. The U.S. National Hurricane Center no longer predicts Beta will strengthen into a hurricane. Forecasters have also lowered expected rainfall totals to 15 inches instead of 20 inches. The heaviest rain from Beta is not expected to occur until late Monday into Tuesday. If Beta makes landfall, it will be the ninth named storm to hit the continental U.S. in 2020, tying a record set in 1916.
September 21, 2020 4:19 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – A woman suspected of sending an envelope containing the poison ricin, which was addressed to White House, has been arrested at the New York-Canada border. That’s according to three law enforcement officials who spoke Sunday to The Associated Press. The officials say the woman was taken into custody by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers and is expected to face federal charges. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police have said the letter appeared to have originated in Canada. Officials say it was intercepted at a government facility that screens mail addressed to the White House and President Donald Trump.
