November 9, 2020 1:23 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump says he has fired Defense Secretary Mark Esper. This is an unprecedented move at a time of national uncertainty about the outcome of Trump’s bid for a second term. It is the first time in the post-World War II era that a president seeking reelection has removed his secretary of defense after Election Day. The conventional wisdom is that stability atop the Pentagon and the military be maintained during a possible transition to a new administration. Esper was Trump’s second defense secretary, succeeding Jim Mattis, who resigned in 2018.
November 9, 2020 10:11 am
Philadelphia native and the lead singer of ‘The Dovells’, Len Barry has died. Born in West Philly as Leonard Borisoff, Barry broke into the music business as the lead singer of Philly’s Dovells in 1961. The group’s “The Bristol Stomp” hit No. 2 on the Billboard charts, earning a gold record. He quickly followed that with another hit record, “You Can’t Sit Down,” which peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard charts. Both hits were popular dance songs for teens, here and across the nation. The noted singer, songwriter, and record producer died Thursday, Nov. 5, of myelodysplasia, a cancer of the bone marrow, at Nazareth Hospital. He was 78 and lived in Northeast Philadelphia.
November 9, 2020 7:29 am
(AP) – Pfizer says an early peek at its vaccine data suggests the shots may be 90% effective at preventing COVID-19. Monday’s announcement doesn’t mean a vaccine is imminent. The interim analysis, from independent data monitors, looked at 94 infections recorded so far in a study that has enrolled nearly 44,000 people. Pfizer did not provide any more details about those cases, and cautioned the initial protection rate might change by the time the study ends. The shots are made by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech. Pfizer has said it plans to seek U.S. review later this month.
November 9, 2020 5:50 am
The Trinity School District has closed the high school through Tuesday, November 17 after reporting additional students tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 14 days. Superintendent Dr. Michael Lucas tells WJPA that there are now six confirmed cases. High school students will continue with remote education for the next seven school days. All weekend activities have been cancelled. The closure is only for the high school. The high school has been operating under a four-day-a-week, in class schedule with remote learning on Friday’s. Peters Township High School is also closed until Thursday, November 19th because of additional virus cases.
November 9, 2020 4:08 am
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) – Joe Biden is signaling that he plans to move quickly to build out his government. The first focus for the president-election is the coronavirus pandemic that will likely dominate the early days of his administration. Biden has named a former surgeon general, Dr. Vivek Murthy, and a former Food and Drug Administration commissioner, David Kessler, as co-chairs of the coronavirus working group. Other members are expected to be announced Monday. Transition team officials say Biden this week will also launch his agency review teams. They’re the transition staffers with access to key agencies in the current administration to help smooth the transfer of power.
November 9, 2020 4:07 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Trump campaign’s election night watch party in the White House East Room was supposed to be a scene of celebration. Instead, the event has emerged as the latest cautionary chapter in the tale of how the president’s approach to the coronavirus has affected the nation, his presidency and those around him. White House chief of staff Mark Meadows attended the event, and has become the latest top White House official to contract the coronavirus. Meadows is part of another White House cluster that has emerged a month after President Donald Trump’s own diagnosis.
November 9, 2020 4:05 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Norm Crosby, the comedian known for mangling the English language, has died at 93. Crosby’s daughter-in-law, Maggie Crosby, told The New York Times that the comic died Saturday of heart failure in Los Angeles. Crosby worked steadily in his native New England before his first major New York appearance, in 1963. Casting around for a way to stand out, he began noticing how people misuse words. He started breaking up audiences by such gaffes as calling the famed baby doctor Benjamin Spock “Dr. Spook.” Starting in 1978, he starred in a syndicated TV show, “Norm Crosby’s Comedy Shop” and for many years he served as co-host with Jerry Lewis on the telethon for muscular dystrophy.
November 9, 2020 4:03 am
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) – Heavy rain from Tropical Storm Eta is causing dangerous flooding across Florida’s most densely populated urban areas. The system stranded cars and swamped entire neighborhoods with fast-rising water that had no place to drain. The system made landfall Monday in the Florida Keys and posed a serious threat across South Florida, which was already drenched from more than 14 inches (35 centimeters) of rain last month. Forecasters say Eta could dump an additional 6 to 12 inches (15 to 30 centimeters). Earlier, the storm struck Nicaragua as a Category 4 hurricane and killed nearly 70 people from Mexico to Panama.
November 9, 2020 4:02 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump has promised legal action in the coming days as he refused to concede the presidency after his loss to Democrat Joe Biden. What Trump is lacking, though, is proof. But senior administration officials told The Associated Press that overwhelming evidence of fraud isn’t really the point. The strategy to battle against the votes tallied for Biden through litigation in Pennsylvania and other places is more to provide Trump with an off-ramp for a loss he can’t quite grasp and less about changing the election’s outcome – and a platform to plot his post-White House future. The officials spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.
November 9, 2020 4:00 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – Officials with the University of Pittsburgh report that at midnight the campus will move to the Elevated Risk Posture after at least 40 confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been identified since Friday. School officials said they believe the cases are linked to gatherings that took place over the Halloween weekend. The school will also enacted a shelter-in-place order at midnight that was originally scheduled for Nov. 12. During this time period, students should only leave their rooms or apartments to attend classes, labs or clinics in person; to pick up food; to exercise safely; to study in the library; to work when necessary; and shop for essentials.
