August 20, 2020 5:43 am
MOSCOW (AP) – Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny is in a coma in a hospital in Siberia after falling ill from a suspected poisoning. His spokeswoman said Navalny felt unwell on a flight to Moscow and the plane made an emergency landing. Kira Yarmysh said Navalny lost consciousness and must have consumed poison in tea he drank before boarding his flight. Russia’s state news agency Tass reported the politician is in grave condition. He is the most prominent member of Russia’s opposition and has set up a network of campaign offices across Russia to put forward opposition candidates in regional elections, challenging members of Russia’s ruling party.
August 20, 2020 4:26 am
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) – U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree says at least 4,800 chicks shipped to Maine farmers through the U.S. Postal Service have arrived dead in the recent weeks since rapid cuts hit the federal mail carrier’s operations. The Portland Press Herald reported Wednesday that Pingree is raising the issue of the dead chicks in a letter to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and U.S. Department of Agriculture Commissioner Sonny Perdue. DeJoy, a Republican donor, took control of the agency in June and has since swiftly engineered cuts and operational changes that are disrupting mail delivery operations. He announced Tuesday he would halt some changes to mail delivery that critics blamed for widespread delays and warned could disrupt the November election.
August 20, 2020 4:24 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Former White House adviser Steve Bannon has been arrested on charges that he and three others ripped off donors to an online fundraising scheme “We Build The Wall.” The charges were contained in an indictment unsealed Thursday in Manhattan federal court. Federal prosecutors alleged that Bannon and three others “orchestrated a scheme to defraud hundreds of thousands of donors” in connection with an online crowdfunding campaign that raised more than $25 million to build a wall along the southern border of the United States. The indictment said Bannon received over $1 million himself, using some to pay a co-defendant and hundreds of thousands more to cover Bannon’s personal expenses. A phone at the law office of Bannon’s lawyer went unanswered Thursday. (Photo: CNN)
August 20, 2020 4:23 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump is praising the supporters of QAnon, a convoluted, pro-Trump conspiracy theory, and suggesting he appreciates their support of his candidacy. Speaking during a press conference Wednesday at the White House, Trump courted the support of those who put stock in the conspiracy theory, saying, “I heard that these are people that love our country.” It was his first public comment on the subject. The baseless QAnon theory centers on an alleged anonymous, high-ranking government official known as “Q” who shares information about an anti-Trump “deep state” often tied to satanism and child sex trafficking.
August 20, 2020 4:21 am
VACAVILLE, Calif. (AP) – Wildfires raging through Northern California are threatening thousands of homes and blackening the skies near San Francisco as crews struggle to surround them despite steep terrain and blistering heat. Fire officials say hundreds of thousands of acres and well over 100 buildings have burned, including homes. At least 8,000 people were ordered to evacuate Wednesday night because of fires in the Russian River area of Solano County. Other fires north, east and south of San Francisco are causing terrible air quality over the city. Meanwhile, a pilot on a water-dropping mission died Wednesday when his helicopter crashed in central California.
August 20, 2020 4:21 am
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) – Former President Barack Obama warned that American democracy may not survive if Donald Trump is reelected. His scathing assessment was echoed Wednesday night by Kamala Harris at the Democratic Convention as she embraced her historic role as the first Black woman on a national political ticket. Obama, himself a barrier breaker as the nation’s first Black president, pleaded with voters to “embrace your own responsibility as citizens” and vote this fall – no matter the impediments of the coronavirus pandemic or postal slowdowns. Joe Biden accepts his presidential nomination Thursday night and gives a speech he hopes will send party workers out to do political battle.
August 20, 2020 4:14 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. — (WPXI) – Two days away from a decision by the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association regarding fall sports, parents and student athletes are going to Harrisburg to make sure the governor knows how they feel. Football players are preparing to take the field in a few weeks for their first game, but the fate of fall sports is still unknown. The PIAA’s decision could jeopardize college opportunities for seniors hoping for scholarships based off this 2020 season. “It’s a big year because, I mean, we need to be able to get film to be able to send to these coaches,” said North Allegheny senior Braden Frank. Julie Burkart, a mother whose two children are both student athletes in Allentown, organized a “Let our kids play in PA” rally that will be held in Harrisburg on Thursday. It will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. “I think being there on the steps of the capital is somewhat symbolic, and the number of people willing to join me from all over the state is certainly a very good visual and shows the kind of support this issue has,” Burkart said. PIAA officials and Gov. Tom Wolf’s office have gone back and forth on the issue of playing or postponing fall sports due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Wolf recommended postponing sports until at least January 2021.
August 20, 2020 4:11 am
PITTSBURGH – (WPXI) – The University of Pittsburgh is extending its remote learning program until mid-September. The provost and senior vice chancellor announced the change Wednesday, saying although she had hoped that after beginning the first week of the semester remotely the university could move to mostly in-person classes, the decision has been made to extend the remote period until September 14. “This adjustment to the schedule will allow for the completion of staged arrival and shelter-in-place procedures so that all students can start in-person classes at the same time,” Ann Cudd said in the letter. In their weekly COVID-19 briefing, Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald and health director Dr. Debra Bogen expressed concern about the virus spreading on local college campuses — and gave a stern warning to students to continue social distancing and wearing masks. “The bigger thing that we are seeing and hearing already is the off-campus activity. So in neighborhoods like Oakland and Squirrel Hill and South Side and other places, nobody should be walking around on the streets without a mask on,” Fitzgerald said. The University of Pittsburgh echoed this warning in a tweet directed at students. That warning said Pitt students who host large parties could be subject to suspension.
August 20, 2020 2:51 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) –
Pennsylvania’s agriculture secretary says there won’t be an in-person Farm Show in January because of the pandemic. Secretary Russell Redding made the announcement Wednesday through an online news conference. The event scheduled for Jan. 9 through Jan. 15 will be held virtually instead, with a theme of “cultivating tomorrow.” The Farm Show bills itself as the country’s largest agricultural exposition under a single roof, drawing hundreds of thousands of people to Harrisburg to see about 6,000 animals and take in some 10,000 competitive exhibits.
August 19, 2020 3:20 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump is urging people not to buy tires from Goodyear. He claims that the Ohio-based manufacturer has banned MAGA hats. His tweet immediately sent the company’s stock downward on Wednesday. The stock had lost about 3.8% percent of its value in mid-day trading. Goodyear responded to Trump with a tweet of its own, saying that the company was the focus of a conversation that “created some misconceptions about our policies and our company.” Goodyear says it simply ask its workers to “refrain from workplace expressions in support of political campaigning for any candidate or political party, as well as similar forms of advocacy that fall outside the scope of racial justice and equity issues.”
