June 29, 2020 4:08 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump tweeted approvingly of a video showing one of his supporters chanting “white power,” a racist slogan associated with white supremacists. He later deleted the tweet and the White House said the president had not heard “the one statement” on the video. The video appears to have been taken at The Villages, a Florida retirement community. It shows dueling demonstrations between Trump supporters and opponents. Trump tweeted: “Thank you to the great people of The Villages.” South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott told CNN that “there’s no question ” that Trump should not have retweeted the video and “should just take it down.” Scott is the only Black Republican in the Senate.
June 29, 2020 4:07 am
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – Mississippi legislators have taken historic votes to remove a Confederate battle emblem from their state flag. Spectators in the Capitol cheered and applauded after the votes Sunday. It’s the last state flag with the Confederate symbol that many people condemn as racist. Republican Gov. Tate Reeves has said he will sign the bill. The change comes amid widespread protests over racial injustice. Mississippi has a 38% Black population. A commission will design a new flag that cannot include the Confederate symbol but must have the words “In God We Trust.” Voters will be asked to approve the new design in the Nov. 3 election.
June 29, 2020 4:05 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she is asking for a report to Congress after news reports cited U.S. intelligence from months ago that a Russian military intelligence unit secretly offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants for killing American troops in Afghanistan. President Donald Trump denies being briefed and says he’s now told the intelligence wasn’t credible. Pelosi tells ABC’s “This Week” that she hasn’t been informed about the reported bounties. She says “this is as bad as it gets” and yet Trump won’t confront Russia. A senior administration official says the White House plans to brief select members of Congress on Monday.
June 29, 2020 4:01 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania’s health secretary is defending her agency’s handling of the COVID-19 outbreak inside nursing homes and personal care facilities. They account for almost 70% of the state’s nearly 6,600 fatalities. Criticism has focused on the state’s policy that sent recovering patients back to nursing homes after being treated in hospitals. Dr. Rachel Levine’s agency has said it was following a March directive from the federal government that nursing homes admit anyone they normally would, including patients from hospitals where COVID-19 has been present. Levine says the main source of COVID-19 infections inside the facilities is more likely the homes’ own employees.
June 29, 2020 3:58 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Prosecutors are asking a judge to stiffen the home confinement and probation sentences he imposed on a former librarian and a bookseller who pleaded guilty in the theft of rare books from the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh in a years-long scheme. Common Pleas Judge Alexander Bicket sentenced John Schulman to four years of home confinement and Gregory Priore to three years of home confinement. Both were ordered to spend a dozen years on probation. Prosecutors called for “total confinement,” citing the seriousness of the offense. Schulman’s attorney vowed a response “in due course.” Priore’s attorney said the prosecutor’s memo was under review.
June 29, 2020 3:54 am
ALLEGHENY CO., Pa. — (WPXI) – In response to the recent spike in COVID-19 cases in Allegheny County, health officials are ordering all bars and restaurants in the county to stop the sale of alcohol for on-site consumption. County Executive Rich Fitzgerald and health department director Dr. Debra Bogen said the “alarming spike” in cases — there have been more positive cases in the past two days than there were in the past two weeks — led to this decision. Fitzgerald initially said during a press conference Sunday that all bars in the county were going to close. Minutes later, Bogen clarified, saying she is ordering all businesses to stop selling alcohol for on-site consumption beginning on June 30. Restaurants and bars can stay open but with outdoor seating encouraged. People will be allowed to get to-go alcoholic beverages from restaurants. This comes after a new daily record was set for COVID-19 positive cases in Allegheny County on Sunday, the second day in a row. The health department reports 96 positive cases of coronavirus Sunday. That is on top of 90 new cases reported Saturday. The order will go into effect at 5 p.m. on June 30.
June 28, 2020 7:48 am
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi is on the verge of changing its state flag to erase a Confederate battle emblem that’s broadly condemned as racist. The flag’s supporters resisted efforts to change it for decades, but rapid developments in recent weeks have changed dynamics on this issue in the tradition-bound state. As protests against racial injustice recently spread across the U.S., including Mississippi, leaders from business, religion, education and sports have spoken forcefully against the state flag. They have urged legislators to ditch the 126-year-old banner for one that better reflects the diversity of a state with a 38% Black population.
June 28, 2020 7:46 am
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Authorities were investigating a fatal shooting Saturday night at a park in downtown Louisville, Kentucky, where demonstrators had gathered to protest the death of Breonna Taylor. Reports of shots fired at Jefferson Square Park came in around 9 p.m., Louisville Metro police said in a statement, followed by calls that the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department was performing life-saving measures on a male who died at the scene. Shortly after, police were told of a shooting victim across the street at the Hall of Justice. That person was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. Video posted on social media appeared to show a man opening fire into the park as people scrambled for cover. The footage later showed at least one person bleeding profusely on the ground. Officers cleared the park and police “are trying to gather as much information as possible in order to identify all who were involved in the incident,” the statement said. No information about arrests, possible suspects and the victims’ identities and ages was immediately released. Officials did not immediately release additional information.
June 28, 2020 7:45 am
BEIJING (AP) — China has extended COVID-19 tests to newly reopened salons amid a drop in cases, while South Korea continues to face new infections after it eased social distancing rules to lift the economy. In the U.S., Vice President Mike Pence called off off a planned campaign bus tour in Florida following a surge in confirmed cases there. Hard-hit Italy, meanwhile, registered the lowest day-to-day tally of COVID-19 deaths Saturday in nearly four months. No positive cases were found in Beijing’s beauty and barbershops in a further sign that the city’s recent outbreak has been largely brought under control.
June 28, 2020 7:42 am
LONDON (AP) — The Rolling Stones are threatening President Donald Trump with legal action for using their songs at his rallies despite cease-and-desist directives. The Stones said in a statement Sunday that their legal team is working with music rights organization BMI to stop use of their material in Trump’s reelection campaign. “The BMI have notified the Trump campaign on behalf of the Stones that the unauthorized use of their songs will constitute a breach of its licensing agreement,” the Stones said. “If Donald Trump disregards the exclusion and persists, then he would face a lawsuit for breaking the embargo and playing music that has not been licensed.’’ The Stones had complained during Trump’s 2016 campaign about the use of their music to fire up his conservative base at rallies. The Rolling Stones’ 1969 classic “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” was a popular song for his events. It was played again at the close of Trump’s recent rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma — an indoor event criticized for its potential to spread coronavirus.
