July 3, 2020 3:14 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The White House says President Donald Trump was never briefed on intelligence that Russia had put a bounty on U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan because there wasn’t corroborating evidence. But former intelligence officials say presidents are routinely informed about intelligence even when it’s not definitively confirmed. They say it strains credulity to think Trump wouldn’t have been told of something so important, whether corroborated or not. Intelligence that may be on shaky ground today may foreshadow tomorrow’s calamity, so briefers are expected to ensure presidents have the fullest possible picture to prepare for something that may soon require full attention.
July 3, 2020 3:13 am
TORONTO (AP) – Canadian police say an armed man crashed his truck through a gate and breached the grounds where Prime Minister Justin Trudeau lives before being arrested two hours later. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police say Trudeau was not present at the time of the incident in Ottawa on Thursday. The man, a member of Canada’s armed forces, is in custody and being interviewed. Police say charges are pending. Canada’s defense minister has declined to comment while the investigation is in progress.
July 3, 2020 3:11 am
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has ordered that face coverings must be worn in public across most of the state. The move announced Thursday is a dramatic ramp-up of the Republican governor’s efforts to control spiking numbers of confirmed coronavirus cases and hospitalizations. Abbott had pushed Texas’ aggressive reopening of the state economy in May. He previously said the government could not order individuals to wear masks. His previous orders had undercut early efforts by local governments to enforce mask requirements. Thursday’s order requires “all Texans to wear a face covering over the nose and mouth in public spaces in counties with 20 or more positive” coronavirus cases.”
July 3, 2020 3:02 am
LAWRENCE CO., Pa. (WPXI) — Two months after a man fell from McConnells Mill State Park into a creek, park officials announced crews found his body. Officials said the body of Jeff Hanby II was found Thursday by rescue crews — exactly two months since he slipped on a rock and fell into Slippery Rock Creek on May 2. He fell into the creek about 100 yards downstream of a covered bridge, officials said. A search for Hanby, 38, immediately began that night and continued each day over the past few months. Brandon Kraeer says he was getting ready to walk his dog when he saw Hanby fall in from about 40 yards away. He said he started running after him on the trail, trying to throw him a life vest. “I followed him all the way probably about half a mile and then all of a sudden he went into a rapid and that was the last time I personally saw him,” Kraeer said.
July 3, 2020 3:00 am
ALLEGHENY CO., Pa. (WPXI) — Kennywood and Sandcastle have postponed both of their scheduled reopenings following Thursday’s order from the Allegheny County Health Department. Both amusement parks were scheduled to reopen for season pass holders and “Family and Friends Day” on July 6, but because that falls within the county’s weeklong order of no gatherings with more than 25 people, officials said they will not reopen as planned. It’s unclear when Kennywood and Sandcastle will reopen for the summer. Its website still lists July 11 as the full reopening date for the general public.
July 3, 2020 2:29 am
Coronavirus numbers are climbing in Washington County and that concerns Washington County Commission Chairperson Diana Irey-Vaughan. Irey-Vaughan tells WJPA News that she spoke with Governor Tom Wolf’s office on Thursday and was informed that the county has been placed on a mitigation watch list because of the alarming daily increases in COVID-19 cases. Irey-Vaughan says the Governor has noticed the uptick and there is a danger that the county could be forced to shut down again if the trend continues. Irey-Vaughan is urging every resident to be extremely diligent when going out, especially with the July 4th holiday weekend coming up. Irey-Vaughan is reminding everyone to “mask-up” and practice social distancing.
July 3, 2020 2:23 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – With a spike in coronavirus cases expected to grow, Allegheny County, home to Pittsburgh and 1.2 million residents, imposed a one-week shutdown of bars, restaurants and casinos and all gatherings of more than 25 people. The order is to take effect after midnight Thursday. The move comes as Pennsylvania on Thursday reported its highest one-day total of confirmed coronavirus cases since May, and Allegheny County reported its highest one-day total of positive tests that officials called larger increase than expected. The county’s health director, Dr. Debra Bogen, also asked Allegheny County residents to follow a voluntary stay-at-home protocol, limiting travel outside the home to necessities.
July 2, 2020 10:31 am
President Donald Trump says the positive jobs report shows the U.S. economy is “roaring back” from the coronavirus. U.S. employers added a substantial 4.8 million jobs in June and the unemployment rate fell to 11.1% as the job market improved for the second straight month. However, the economy remains far short of regaining the colossal losses it suffered in the spring during the coronavirus outbreak. Trump says there are still areas where “we’re putting out the flames” of the virus. Many states, especially in the South and West, are experiencing spikes in coronavirus cases and leading some governors to slow the pace of reopening their economies.
July 2, 2020 9:17 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. employers added a substantial 4.8 million jobs in June, and the unemployment rate fell to 11.1%, as the job market improved for a second straight month yet remained far short of regaining the colossal losses it suffered this spring. The nation has now recovered roughly one-third of the 22 million jobs it lost to the pandemic recession. And with confirmed coronavirus cases spiking across the Sun Belt states, a range of evidence suggests that a job market recovery may be stalling. In those states and elsewhere, some restaurants, bars and other retailers that had re-opened are being forced to close again.
July 2, 2020 5:10 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania’s high court has ruled against an effort by Republican state lawmakers to end Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf’s shutdown orders. A divided court ruled Wednesday that a resolution passed with mostly GOP votes was a “legal nullity” because it wasn’t sent to Wolf to sign or veto. The resolution would have ended Wolf’s emergency disaster declaration that led to the closure of “non-life-sustaining” businesses, bans on large gatherings and orders for people to isolate at home. Two senior Republican senators sued to enforce their resolution, and the high court took up the matter and ruled without hearing oral argument.
