July 23, 2020 2:20 am
Christie Dee Harr, 41 of Monessen had felony animal cruelty charges filed against her again. Harr appeared before District Justice Mark Wilson as The Washington County District Attorney filed the charges again because of the death of one of the Humane Officers that investigated the case. About a half dozen animal rights activists gathered outside of Wilson’s office to protest the alleged actions of Harr. A building that is owned by Harr was raided by the District Attorney’s office back in October of 2019 where more than 200 cats and other animals were found to be in deplorable condition. Faith Bjalobok, a fellow with the Oxford Center for Animal Ethics and the Fluffy Jean Fund stated that the demonstrators merely wanted the DA Office to do their job and get the charges against Harr to court. The demonstrators had their wishes granted as felony charges of cruelty to animals and misdemeanor counts of neglect of animals were waived to court by Harr. Allen Roth, Harr’s attorney had no comment.
July 22, 2020 9:22 am
BOSTON (AP) – A new poll finds very few Americans think schools should return to normal operations this fall, even as President Donald Trump pushes for a full reopening. The poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that only about 1 in 10 Americans say daycare centers, preschools and K-12 schools should start the school year like any other. Most think mask requirements and other safety measures are necessary to restart in-person instruction, and roughly 3 in 10 say that teaching kids in classrooms shouldn’t happen at all. Trump claims there is wide support for a full reopening, arguing that Democrats oppose doing so for political reasons.
July 22, 2020 7:48 am
HOUSTON (AP) – A federal judge has declined to order the release of roughly 300 migrant parents and children held in U.S. family detention centers. U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg made that decision Wednesday despite what he called immigration authorities’ “shortcomings” in controlling the coronavirus. Lawyers for the families had asked U.S. Boasberg to issue a preliminary injunction forcing the release of the families because they fear being infected by the coronavirus. More than 3,700 cases of the coronavirus have been confirmed in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities. Boasberg said ICE had shown it’s adopting guidance to provide masks, disinfect surfaces, and isolate people if necessary.
July 22, 2020 4:41 am
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – A powerful 7.8 earthquake has struck the Alaska Peninsula and a tsunami warning has been issued. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the 7.8 magnitude quake struck Tuesday at about 11:12 p.m. PST. It had a depth of 6 miles and was centered 60 miles south-southeast of Perryville, Alaska. The tsunami warning was issued for South Alaska, the Alaska Peninsula and the Aleutian Islands. A tsunami advisory was posted for other nearby areas.
July 22, 2020 4:15 am
NEW CASTLE, Del. (AP) – Joe Biden is accusing President Donald Trump of quitting on the country amid the coronavirus and says the White House has no real plans to rebuild the post-pandemic economy. Those comments came Tuesday as Biden unveiled a plan to create 3 million new jobs by dramatically improving care for children and the elderly. He promised to spend $775 billion over 10 years to increase tax credits for low-income families, bolster caregiver services for seniors and provide preschool for all 3- and 4-year-olds. He said the virus has laid bare how many families struggle to care for children and aging relatives while working full time.
July 22, 2020 4:13 am
(AP) – Florida added nearly 10,000 new confirmed cases Wednesday, bringing the total since March 1 to almost 380,000. Florida recorded more than 100 new coronavirus deaths for the seventh time in two weeks, pushing its death toll from the pandemic to nearly 5,500. The state health department reported 138 more deaths, bringing Florida’s weekly average to 118 a day, equal with Texas for the worst current seven-day average in the nation. A month ago, Florida was averaging 33 deaths a day. The percentage positive tests has remained at about 18% the last two weeks, quadruple about 4% in June. (Photo: CNN)
July 22, 2020 4:11 am
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – One of the first coronavirus outbreaks at an Iowa meatpacking plant was more severe than previously known, with over twice as many workers becoming infected than the Iowa Department of Public Health publicly confirmed. The department announced at a May 5 news conference that 221 employees at the Tyson Foods pork processing plant in Columbus Junction had tested positive for COVID-19. But records show that days earlier, Tyson officials told workplace safety regulators that 522 plant employees had tested positive to their knowledge. A dozen of the plant’s roughly 1,300 workers were believed to have been hospitalized by then, and two died after contracting the virus.
July 22, 2020 4:10 am
HONG KONG (AP) – Twitter said it would crack down on accounts and content related to QAnon, the far-right U.S. conspiracy theory popular among supporters of President Donald Trump. It will ban accounts associated with QAnon content and block sharing of associated URLs. Twitter also will stop highlighting and recommending tweets associated with QAnon. The company said it was taking action against online behavior that could lead to offline harm. The QAnon conspiracy theory is centered on the baseless belief that Trump is waging a secret campaign against enemies in the “deep state.” Trump has retweeted QAnon-promoting accounts and its followers flock to the president’s rallies wearing clothes and hats with QAnon symbols and slogans.
July 22, 2020 4:09 am
CHICAGO (AP) – Authorities say gunfire outside a funeral home on Chicago’s South Side that wounded 15 people was part of an ongoing conflict involving the gang of the man being mourned. Police Superintendent David Brown says the person whose funeral people were attending Tuesday was killed in a drive-by shooting last week and that the person was believed to have been killed in retaliation for a previous shooting. No arrests have been made but a person of interest is being questioned and police are examining the stolen car that the gunmen used. The shooting – and other violence in the city – comes as the federal government plans to send more agents to Chicago to combat a spike in gun violence.
July 22, 2020 4:08 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump is using the Department of Homeland Security in unprecedented ways as he tries to bolster his law-and-order credentials by making a heavy-handed show of force in cities around the nation ahead of November elections. His plan to deploy federal agents to Chicago and perhaps other Democratic-run cities where violence is spiking represents Trump’s latest effort to use the agency to supplement local law enforcement in ways that bolster his reelection chances. Trump has already deployed Homeland Security agents to Portland, Oregon, on the grounds of protecting federal buildings from protesters.
