August 18, 2020 4:15 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Michelle Obama didn’t mince words about President Donald Trump in her speech at the Democratic National Convention, saying, “If you think things cannot possibly get worse, trust me they can; and they will.” The former first lady issued a blunt and emotional appeal that capped the first night of the convention Monday. Mrs. Obama declared President Donald Trump to be “in over his head” and the “wrong president for our country.” She says, “Whenever we look to this White House for some leadership, or consolation, or any semblance of steadiness, what we get instead is chaos, division, and a total and utter lack of empathy.”
August 18, 2020 4:11 am
South Korean health officials say they have found 457 coronavirus cases linked to a huge Seoul church led by a bitter critic of the country’s president, driving an alarming surge of infections in the greater capital area. Kwon Jun-wook, director of South Korea’s National Health Institute, said outbreaks at the Sarang Jeil Church and elsewhere have pushed the country into the biggest crisis yet since the emergence of COVID-19. He said a failure to slow transmissions in the densely populated Seoul metropolitan area, home to nearly 26 million people, could create a situation comparable to the “miserable scenes of the United States or European countries.”
August 18, 2020 4:09 am
The group that oversees Pennsylvania school sports is signaling again that it’s seriously considering moving ahead with the fall season despite the governor’s recommendation that schools bail on athletics until 2021. Melissa Mertz is associate executive director of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association. She said Monday in a radio interview that the group feels “fairly comfortable” it can hold sporting events safely. The group’s board plans to make a final decision on fall sports when it meets Friday. Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration says youth sports increase the risk of spreading the virus and should be canceled for now.
August 18, 2020 4:01 am
Peters Township School Board members held to their schedule of opening schools on August 24. At their meeting on Monday night no mention of changing dates or even backing off of their full 5 day attendance schedule for students was made. Board members were updated on how their learning platform Canvas will work with students choosing a remote option for school and how teachers will be handling the additional duties of remote instruction. The program is interactive and teachers will be able to teach students in a live scenario. Superintendent Dr. Jeannine French indicated that a synchronous model is preferred by many parents because it will force students to get up each day and treat the remote learning vehicle as an actual school day. All live teaching will fall within the school day. The new facemask mandate issued by the Departments of Health and Education were no worry to the board. According to French, Peters Township was ahead of the curve and had that mandate in place before the commonwealth. Certain types of facemasks will not be allowed. According to new scientific research, masks with valves and gaiters have shown to be less effective face coverings for the prevention of Covid-19. The board will update its facemask policy by eliminating gaiters and masks with valves before the beginning of school. Those updates will come out on Tuesday.
August 18, 2020 2:26 am
(WPXI) – The state made some changes Monday to situations when students are allowed to remove their face coverings in school. On July 1, the secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Health Dr. Rachel Levine, announced an order requiring universal face coverings in the state. The Department of Education said the order does apply to all students, staff members and visitors 2 and older while in school entities. These are the updated circumstances when students are allowed to remove face coverings:
- Eating or drinking when spaced at least 6 feet apart.
- When wearing a face covering creates an unsafe condition in which to operate equipment or execute a task.
- At least 6 feet apart during “face-covering breaks” to last no longer than 10 minutes.
August 18, 2020 2:21 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Postmaster general says he is halting some operational changes until after the November election. Democrats contended that the changes threatened mail-in voting, and some states planned to file lawsuits. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy announced Tuesday he would “suspend” his initiatives until after the election “to avoid even the appearance of impact on election mail.” The crisis at the Postal Service has erupted as a major election year issue as DeJoy, a Trump ally who took control of the agency in June, has swiftly engineered cuts and operational changes that are disrupting mail delivery operations and raising alarms among workers.
August 17, 2020 8:47 am
CEDAR PARK, Texas (AP) – A man who was at the center of a hostage situation at a home near Austin, Texas, after three police officers were shot has surrendered to police. The Cedar Park Police Department says the man exited the home peacefully with his mother about 9 a.m. Monday. Earlier in the morning, police said the man released his sister, brother and a family pet from the home. His name wasn’t immediately released. On Sunday afternoon, three police officers were shot at the home, but all are expected to recover. The man’s mother initially called police after he kicked in the door to the home.
August 17, 2020 8:46 am
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Videos posted online appear to show a man punched and kicked unconscious by demonstrators just blocks away from a peaceful protest in Portland, Oregon. News outlets report the man had been driving a truck that crashed downtown Sunday night. Afterward, the man is seen sitting in the street. He appears to be punched and kicked in the head by demonstrators. A police spokesperson told The Oregonian that the man was taken to a hospital with serious injuries. A peaceful protest took place blocks away outside a U.S. courthouse. Demonstrations, often violent, have happened nightly in Portland for more than two months following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
August 17, 2020 6:25 am
A McDonald man was killed in an ATV crash Sunday afternoon. The Washington County Coroner’s office says 70 year old Angelo Quaresima was pronounced dead just after 1:30 p.m. A cause and manner of death are pending. The crash occurred on private property near Swihart Road in Cecil Township. Police say Quaresima was operating a side-by-side ATV and lost control. He was not wearing a seatbelt. Cecil Township police continue to investigate.
August 17, 2020 4:25 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Joe Biden will accept the Democratic presidential nomination in a live speech Thursday night, but he’ll be seen and heard every night of the convention in some form. Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez tells The Associated Press on Monday that Biden will be part of the virtual convention’s prime-time programming leading up to his Thursday address. For example, Perez said Monday’s programming will include Biden talking with activists about criminal justice reform. During traditional conventions, the nominee is often mentioned from the speaker’s podium but is largely shielded from view as the convention builds to the acceptance speech on Thursday night.
