May 27, 2020 4:07 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The White House says President Donald Trump followed the law when he fired multiple inspectors general in the last two months, but the administration is offering no new details about why they were let go. A White House letter issued Tuesday in response to concerns from Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley does little to explain the decision-making behind Trump’s recent upheaval of the inspector general community, and Grassley made clear that he was dissatisfied by the response. It is unlikely to quell outrage from Democrats and good-government groups who fear the president is moving to dismantle a post-Watergate network of watchdogs meant to root out corruption, fraud and other problems.
May 27, 2020 4:06 am
LAS VEGAS (AP) – Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak announced Tuesday night that he would allow casinos to reopen June 4, welcoming tourists to return to the glitzy gambling mecca of Las Vegas. The Democratic governor told reporters that Nevada will welcome visitors from across the country to come to Las Vegas and have a good time. Sisolak shuttered the casinos 10 weeks ago as part of a broad shutdown to stop the spread of the coronavirus. The casinos typically draw millions of tourists to Las Vegas and power the state’s economy. The governor said he would also allow in-person religious services of up to 50 people starting Friday.
May 27, 2020 4:04 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Joe Biden says President Donald Trump is a “fool” who is “stoking deaths” for suggesting that wearing a mask in public to combat the spread of the coronavirus is anything other than a sign of leadership. The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee on Tuesday also knocked Trump for “this macho stuff” in shunning masks. Biden’s comments came a day after he wore a black face mask at a park near their Delaware home to lay a wreath at a veterans’ memorial for Memorial Day. Trump later retweeted a post that appeared to make fun of Biden in his mask. The president does not wear a face mask in public.
May 27, 2020 4:03 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Congress is shifting its attention to a more modest overhaul of small business coronavirus aid, although it remains deadlocked on a larger relief bill. The House this week is expected to pass legislation that would give small employers more time to take advantage of federal subsidies for payroll and other costs. The Senate is considering a similar proposal. Lawmakers are trying to help restaurants, stores and other small businesses as they struggle during the pandemic. Many businesses that are reopening are seeing sharply reduced revenue, increasing the urgency in Washington to act.
May 27, 2020 4:01 am
Only about half of Americans say they would get a COVID-19 vaccine if the scientists working furiously to create one succeed. Another 31% simply aren’t sure, while 1 in 5 say they’d refuse. That’s according to a survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Worldwide, about a dozen vaccine candidates are in early stages of testing in people or poised to begin. The findings released Wednesday show the public has a lot of questions. U.S. health officials insist safety is the top priority as the leading vaccine candidates move into larger studies.
May 27, 2020 4:00 am
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) – Tropical Storm Bertha surprised the South Carolina coast, forming and making landfall within two hours, bringing a poor beach day of rain and gusty winds, but no major problems. Forecasters expected the bad weather Wednesday, but didn’t predict it to organize so quickly and become the second named storm before the official start of this year’s Atlantic hurricane season. Bertha was named around 8 a.m. Wednesday, was onshore east of Charleston by 9:30 a.m. and downgraded to a tropical depression by 2 p.m. Like almost all storms with heavy rain, several streets flooded in Charleston, leaving ankle to calf high brown water mixed with trash from knocked over cans Wednesday.
May 27, 2020 3:57 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Police and state regulators are cracking down on a handful of Pennsylvania businesses that are supposed to remain shut down but have instead thrown open their doors. The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture has suspended the operating licenses of two York County diners that resumed dine-in service earlier this month. Two gyms in eastern Pennsylvania have also reopened, with state police already citing one and local police threatening to cite the other. áThe Pennsylvania Department of Health, meanwhile, is reporting 13 additional deaths linked to COVID-19, raising the statewide total to 5,152. State health officials also reported that 451 more people have tested positive for the new coronavirus.
May 27, 2020 3:55 am
WILLINGTON, Conn. (AP) – The wife of a man killed in a machete attack said Tuesday that the college student suspected in that and another killing was looking for a young woman he knew when he began his rampage. University of Connecticut senior Peter Manfredonia is a fugitive in the killing of that young woman’s 62-year-old neighbor in Willington, Connecticut. Police say he also is believed to have also killed a high school friend who was found dead Sunday about 70 miles away. Manfredonia was last reported seen in Pennsylvania on Sunday and is the target of a search involving police and the FBI.
May 26, 2020 1:49 pm
If you are a Comcast customer, you may have experienced problems with your cable, internet and/or telephone service on Tuesday. According to a recording released by the company, there was an outage in some parts of Washington County, including parts of the city for several hours. Comcast said technicians resolved the problem by mid-afternoon, however there was no word on exactly what caused the outage.
May 26, 2020 10:05 am
49th Legislative District Republican State Representative Bud Cook wants Republican Washington County Commissioners Diana Irey-Vaughn and Nick Sherman to voluntarily recuse themselves from election oversight during the primary election next week. Cook sent a certified letter making the request. He claims Vaughn and Sherman; Endorsed his primary challenger Tony Bottino, Both are involved in his current ‘Right to Know’ request and ongoing court case involving the Local Share Account and its financial records, and Vaughn’s previous involvement in overseeing the election office operations during the 2018 general election when several absentee ballots were misplaced. Irey-Vaughn tells WJPA news that she turned the matter over to the County Solicitor and neither she nor Sherman will recuse themselves. The Washington County Commissioners are all election board members and provide assistance during elections. Irey-Vaughn, however, says commissioner’s never handle ballots. Cook says he will consider pursuing court action to remove the pair and/or have attorneys present in the election office on primary election day. Sherman says Cook is ‘using this to get his name in the newspaper’ and on the radio. Irey-Vaughn calls it “more politics at its worst”.
