July 17, 2020 4:11 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. officials say defense leaders are weighing a new policy that would bar the display of the Confederate flag at department facilities without actually mentioning its name. For weeks, those leaders have been tied in knots over the incendiary issue of banning the Confederate flag. No final decisions have been made, but officials say the new plan presents a creative way to ban the Confederate flag in a manner that may not raise the ire of President Donald Trump. Trump has defended people’s rights to display it. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing internal deliberations.
July 17, 2020 4:09 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The federal ban on cruise ships operating in U.S. territory is being extended through September. The ban was due to expire next week, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced the extension on Thursday. The move comes as coronavirus cases are rising in 40 states. Florida, where many cruises start, just had a single-day record of deaths from COVID-19. Major cruise lines that belong to an industry trade group had already canceled sailings until Sept. 15 because of ongoing discussions with federal officials over how to restart operations safely. The companies are trying to save cash and borrow more money to survive the pandemic.
July 17, 2020 4:08 am
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – Fire officials say Pacific Gas & Electric transmission lines sparked a wildfire last year in Northern California that destroyed hundreds of homes and led to the evacuation of nearly 100,000 people. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection issued the finding Thursday. Cal Fire says investigators determined that power lines near the town of Geyserville ignited the fire that ripped through Sonoma County last October. The agency didn’t release details of the investigation but said it sent the report to the district attorney’s office for possible criminal charges. PG&E recently emerged from bankruptcy caused by its role in several devastating wildfires.
July 17, 2020 4:07 am
SAN DIEGO (AP) – A fire on the USS Bonhomme Richard at a San Diego naval base has been extinguished after a four-day battle against one of the worst infernos to rip through a U.S. warship outside of combat in recent years. Now the attention is turning to the fate of the 840-foot (255-meter) amphibious assault ship that has a collapsed forward mast. Once it’s safe, officials plan to go compartment by compartment to examine its charred bowels and determine if it is salvageable. Teams were checking the vessel to make sure no fire remained. An official investigation will begin into the cause of the blaze that started Sunday.
July 17, 2020 4:06 am
ATLANTA (AP) – Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is suing Atlanta to block the city from enforcing its mandate to wear a mask in public and other rules related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Kemp and Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, in a state court suit filed late Thursday, argued that Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has overstepped her authority and must obey Kemp’s executive orders under state law. The suit comes a day after Kemp clarified his executive orders to expressly block Atlanta and at least 14 other local governments from requiring people to wear face coverings. Kemp’s order was met with defiance Thursday by Bottoms and other mayors, who said they would continue enforcing their mandates and were prepared to go to court.
July 17, 2020 4:04 am
BEIJING (AP) – China has moved a rocket into position to launch a rover to Mars next week in one of three upcoming missions to the red planet. The Long March-5 carrier rocket has been launched experimentally three times, but never with a payload. China’s first mission to Mars aims to land a rover to gather scientific data. The rocket is due to blast off on or around July 23. An orbiter from the United Arab Emirates is scheduled to be launched from Japan on Monday. And the U.S. is sending a rover named Perseverance to collect rock samples in upcoming weeks.
July 17, 2020 4:03 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Western governments are accusing hackers believed to be part of the Russian intelligence services of trying to steal information about a coronavirus vaccine. They have issued an unusually detailed warning aimed at publicly calling out the Kremlin and putting scientists and medical companies on notice about suspicious behavior. Intelligence agencies in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada allege that the hacking group APT29 is attacking academic and pharmaceutical research institutions involved in COVID-19 vaccine development. The group is also known as Cozy Bear and was blamed for U.S. election interference four years ago.
July 17, 2020 4:01 am
The McGuffey School Board met for over two and a half hours taking care of day to day business and pondering and debating what school will look like when classes start on August 27. Director Zonie Jackson led the Committee Meeting by asking questions that she received since a public zoom meeting and parent survey were completed. A question about a full five day week for students was deemed not possible due to lack of space required by social distancing guidelines. Internet connectivity is being addressed with a grant for jet pack acquisition through grants and available hot spots. Students can connect at the school buildings and teachers will do their best to download information on laptops so that the need for connectivity will be limited. What the school week work load will look like is still under development but what was ironed out is that students will attend school in the buildings two days a week and use remote learning the other three. In the business portion of the meeting, the district’s real estate tax assessment appeals program passed on a roll call vote 6-3. At issue for dissenters is the fact that if the school district appeals the assessment of a recently purchased home for the new sales price, that could make the home unaffordable to a new owner. McGuffey uses this practice to keep tax revenue balanced with the up to date purchase prices of homes in the school district. The practice has been used since the countywide reassessment back in 2017.
July 17, 2020 3:57 am
Gov. Tom Wolf has announced $50 million in grant funding is now available for employers to provide hazard pay to employees in life-sustaining industries during the COVID-19 pandemic. “In the fight against COVID-19, our front-line workers have put themselves at risk every day in order to continue to provide life-sustaining services to their fellow Pennsylvanians, and this funding will increase their pay in recognition of those sacrifices,” said Gov. Wolf. “These grants will help businesses retain employees, ensure that Pennsylvanians keep working and avoid disruption of critical goods and services.” The grant fund was created through the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Grant funds may be used for hazard pay for direct, full-time and part-time employees earning less than $20/hour, excluding fringe benefits and overtime for the 10-week period from August 16, 2020, to October 24, 2020. Applicants may apply for up to $1,200 per eligible full-time equivalent (FTE) employee. Employers may apply for a grant to provide hazard pay for up to 500 eligible full-time equivalent employees per location.
July 17, 2020 2:58 am
In a split vote, Washington County Commissioners on Thursday approved a ninety-thousand-dollar contract with JLL Commercial Real Estate of Pittsburgh, to advise them on the feasibility of purchasing the Crossroads Center office building at the corner of West Beau and North Franklin Streets. Commissioner’s Chairperson, Diana Irey-Vaughan says a study showed that it would cost more than ten-million-dollars to make necessary repairs on the Courthouse Square building and as good stewards for the taxpayers, there was no way to justify that expense. If the purchase of the Crossroads building goes through, Irey-Vaughan says the Courthouse Square building would be demolished. Irey-Vaughan says they hope to make a decision within the next three months. Democrat Larry Maggi cast the lone dissenting vote, saying he is concerned about making this kind of move in the midst of a pandemic. He says he also believes that repairs to the Courthouse Square building would be far less than ten-million-dollars, but he says he also believes the matter is a foregone conclusion.
