June 5, 2020 4:12 pm
(WPXI) – Four J.C. Penney stores in the Pittsburgh area are among 154 that will close after the company filed for bankruptcy last month. Locations at Monroeville Mall, the Galleria at Pittsburgh Mills, Beaver Valley Mall and Clearview Mall will close their doors. J.C. Penney said closing sales are expected to begin June 12 and this is the first phase of store closures, with additional phases expected in the coming weeks. Store closing sales for the first round of closures are expected to take 10-16 weeks to complete.
June 5, 2020 3:29 pm
ATLANTA (AP) – Protesters stirred by the death of George Floyd are vowing to turn an extraordinary outpouring of grief into a sustained movement as demonstrations shift to a calmer, but no less determined, focus on addressing racial injustice. In Minneapolis, where Floyd died in police custody and the protest movement sparked, the city agreed Friday to ban police chokeholds and require officers to intervene any time they see unauthorized force by another officer. The changes are part of a stipulation between the city and state officials who launched a civil rights investigation into Floyd’s death. The City Council is expected to approve the agreement, which will be enforceable in court, on Friday. (Photo: CNN)
June 5, 2020 4:07 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley says he is blocking two Trump administration nominees until the White House provides adequate reasons for the recent termination of two inspectors general. The Iowa senator is a longtime advocate for the watchdog role of inspectors general. He pledged to block Senate consideration of Christopher Miller to be director of the National Counterterrorism Center and Marshall Billingslea to be undersecretary of state for arms control and international security. Grassley has been seeking answers on President Donald Trump’s recent firings of several inspectors general, including Michael Atkinson, inspector general for the intelligence community, and State Department Inspector General Steve Linick.
June 5, 2020 4:06 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The American Civil Liberties Union has sued the Trump administration, alleging officials violated the civil rights of protesters who were forcefully removed from a park near the White House by police using chemical agents before President Donald Trump walked to a nearby church to take a photo. The lawsuit was filed Thursday. It argues that Trump, Attorney General William Barr and other officials “unlawfully conspired to violate” the protesters’ rights when clearing Lafayette Park on Monday. Barr has defended the decision to forcefully remove peaceful protesters, saying it was necessary to protect officers and federal property.
June 5, 2020 4:05 am
BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) – A state investigator is alleging that the white man accused of killing Ahmaud Arbery was heard saying a racist slur as he stood over the black man, moments after hitting him with three shots from a pump-action shotgun. During a probable cause hearing Thursday, the investigator said Arbery was repeatedly boxed in by two pickup trucks as he desperately tried to escape. Special Agent Richard Dial says Travis McMichael then shot him in the chest, the hand, and the chest again during a struggle. The evidence challenges claims of self-defense during a citizens’ arrest attempt, and could factor into a federal hate crime investigation. A judge ruled there is enough evidence against the three defendants charged in the case to proceed to trial.
June 5, 2020 4:03 am
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Minneapolis has agreed to ban chokeholds by police and to require officers to try to stop any other officers they see using improper force. The agreements reached Friday are the first concrete steps that have been taken to remake the city’s police department since George Floyd’s death. The moves are part of a stipulation between the city and the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, which launched a civil rights investigation this week. The City Council approved the agreement unanimously. Floyd, who was handcuffed and black, died May 25 after a white Minneapolis police officer used his knee to pin down Floyd’s neck and kept it here even after Floyd begged for air and eventually stopped moving.
June 5, 2020 4:02 am
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) – Prosecutors are investigating after a video captured police in Buffalo, New York, shoving a 75-year-old man who then fell and cracked his head. The WBFO recording of Thursday night’s encounter quickly gained steam online and sparked outrage. Two police officers have been suspended without pay. The video shows a man identified as Martin Gugino approaching a line of officers clearing demonstrators from Niagara Square around curfew time. The man falls backward and hits his head on the pavement. Blood leaks out as officers walk past. The mayor says the man is in serious condition.
June 5, 2020 4:01 am
COLLEVILLE-SUR-MER, France (AP) – Saturday’s anniversary will be one of the loneliest remembrances ever for the June 6, 1944 D-Day landings in Normandy. The coronavirus pandemic is keeping almost everyone away – from government leaders to frail veterans who might not get another chance for a final farewell to their unlucky comrades. Even the weather forecast is bad. Heading into the remembrance weekend, the salty brine coming off the ocean on France’s Omaha Beach hits the nostrils, the shrieks of seagulls pierces the ears and a sense of desolation hangs across the region’s country roads.
June 5, 2020 3:59 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The U.S. unemployment rate fell to 13.3% in May, and 2.5 million jobs were added – a surprisingly positive reading in the midst of a recession that has paralyzed the economy and depressed the job market in the wake of the viral pandemic. The May job gain suggests that businesses have quickly been recalling workers as states have reopened their economies. There has been other evidence that the job market meltdown triggered by the coronavirus has bottomed out.
June 5, 2020 2:58 am
UPDATE Thursday, 7:15 pm
Washington County Elections Office posted nearly final first tallies from Tuesday’s Primary Election. More than 10,000 mail-in ballots had to be counted Thursday to complete the original count. Just under 200 ballots will have to be “remade” due to issues with the scanner reading them. Another 40 ballots will be reviewed by the Canvass Board because there are overvotes, blank ballots or unclear marks. There are also 535 provisional ballots to be evaluated. Of the 755 ballots outstanding, 55 are from the PA House 39 race. Incumbent Mike Puskaric leads the Republican primary by 176 votes over challenger Tom Kirsch.
Numbers listed below now include all precincts from Washington County, along with precincts included in local races from Allegheny, Fayette, Greene and Westmoreland Counties. Over the next several weeks, the Canvass Board will deal with the ballots listed above, conduct a complete recount and certify the final results.
PRIMARY ELECTION RESULTS
President of the United States-Democrat
Joe Biden 18,799
Bernie Sanders 3,421
Tulsi Gabbard 1,208
President of the United States-Republican
Donald Trump 19,987
Bill Weld 844
Roque De La Fuente 253
PA Auditor General-Democrat (Winner vs. Republican Timothy DeFoor)
Michael Lamb 18,453
Nina Ahmad 2,362
Christina Hartman 1,260
Scott Conklin 662
Tracie Fountain 768
Rose Rosie Marie Davis 496
PA House 49-Republican (Winner vs. Democrat Randy Barli)
Bud Cook (Incumbent) 3,294
Tony Bottino 2,123
PA House 39 Republican (Winner vs. Democrat Sara Summer Oliphant)
Mike Puskaric (Incumbent) 3,432
Tom Kirsch 3,256
PA Senate 37 Republican (Winner vs. Democrat Incumbent Pam Iovino)
Devlin Robinson 16,151
Jeff Neff 11,691
Democratic Delegate to the National Convention (Vote For 5)
Bibiana Boerio 36,129
Chrisitan Sesek 35,911
Nate Regotti 33,092
Janice Foley 16,688
Casey Konopisos 13,757
Mike Cordaro 13,272
Robert Mason 12,523
Brayden Campbell 10,784
Republican Delegate to the National Convention (Vote For 3)
Guy Reschenthaler 38,393
Scott Avolio 15,402
Rose Tennent 14,862
Jill Cooper 13,859
Scott Day 13,697
John Ventre 13,189
Jon Marietta 9,102
Susanna DeJeet 8,154
Thomas Uram 7,620
Daryl Price 5,948
Eric Sivavec 4,457
Republican Alternate Delegate to the National Convention (Vote For 3)
Scott Day 32,110
Thomas Uram 24,987
Melanie Patterson 23,397
Sonia Stopperich Sulc 16,115
Patrick Geho 14,747
Uncontested Races (winners meet in November General Election)
(D-Democrat, R-Republican, I-Incumbent)
US Congress–PA 14th District
Bill Marx (D) vs. Guy Reschenthaler (R-I)
PA Attorney General
Josh Shapiro (D-I) vs. Heather Heidelbaugh (R)
PA Treasurer
Joe Torsella (D-I) vs. Stacy Garrity (R)
PA House 15
Bob Williams (D) vs. Joshua Kail (R-I)
PA House 40
Sharon Guidi (D) vs. Natalie Mihalek (R-I)
PA House 46
Byron Timmins (D) vs. Jason Ortitay (R-I)
PA House 48
Harlan Shober (D) vs. Tim O’Neal (R-I)
PA House 50
Pam Snyder (D-I) vs. Larry Yost (R)
