November 13, 2020 4:15 am
ATLANTA (AP) – Election officials in Georgia’s 159 counties are undertaking a hand tally of the presidential race that stems from an audit required by state law. The law requires that one race be audited by hand to check that the machines counted the ballots accurately, not because of any suspected problems with the results. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger chose to audit the presidential race, in which Democrat Joe Biden leads Republican President Donald Trump by about 14,000 votes. Raffensperger says the tight margin means a full hand count is necessary. The counties are to begin the audit by 9 a.m. Friday and complete it by 11:59 p.m. Wednesday.
November 13, 2020 4:14 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump has wrapped up his Rose Garden news conference celebrating progress made on bringing a coronavirus vaccine to market without taking questions from reporters. The White House has long boasted that Trump has been perhaps the most press accessible commander-in-chief in the nation’s history. But the president has become unusually press shy as he soldiers on with a legal effort to overcome his election loss to President-elect Joe Biden. Trump has made less than a handful of public appearances in recent days and has not answered White House reporters’ questions since before Election Day.
November 13, 2020 4:13 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – A coalition of federal and state officials say they have no evidence that votes were compromised or altered in last week’s presidential election, rejecting unsubstantiated claims of widespread fraud advanced by President Donald Trump and many of his supporters. The statement from cybersecurity experts, which trumpets the Nov. 3 election as the most secure in American history, amounts to the most direct repudiation to date of Trump’s efforts to undermine the integrity of the contest. It echoes repeated assertions by election experts and state officials that the election unfolded smoothly without broad irregularities.
November 13, 2020 4:08 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – A judge in Pennsylvania is siding with President Donald Trump’s campaign in ordering counties not to count mail ballots for which the voter didn’t submit valid identification within six days after the Nov. 3 election. The injunction deals with a small number of ballots that may number a few thousand, or less. The ballots affected may not have been tabulated yet and are unlikely to affect the outcome of the presidential race in Pennsylvania. The Associated Press called the presidential contest for former Vice President Joe Biden on Saturday after determining the remaining ballots left to be counted in Pennsylvania would not allow Trump to catch up. Biden held an approximately 55,000-vote margin Thursday night.
November 13, 2020 4:08 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania’s highest-ranking law enforcement official says that more than a week after Election Day he still hasn’t seen any sign of widespread voter fraud. Democratic Attorney General Josh Shapiro said Thursday that lawyers for the Republican Party and President Donald Trump also haven’t produced any evidence of widespread fraud in the swirl of litigation they’re pursuing. Shapiro also says lawmakers in the Republican-majority General Assembly lack legal authority to attempt to replace Democrat Joe Biden’s Electoral College voters. The electors are due to convene in Harrisburg in about a month.
November 13, 2020 2:48 am
Shona Eakin is the CEO of Voices For Independence, the parent company of the Washington County based center for independent living, Transitional Paths to Independent Living, better known as TRPIL. She is also a Washington County native that has come home to open TRPIL’s new headquarters in the former YWCA building on W. Maiden Street. Eakin, herself is afflicted with physical challenges and remembers her physical therapy sessions at the YWCA swimming pool. She expressed pride in being able to revive this building and put it to use again for the community. The ribbon cutting ceremony held Friday marked the finish of phase one of renovations. Mostly office space has been created to help staff administer the care needed for disabled consumers. The common area is open and is being used as an internet café. Consumers may make an appointment to use the internet or learn computer skills. Phase 2 renovations will include the development of program rooms and the renovation of the auditorium. Despite the pandemic, TRPIL has been quite successful in meeting the needs of their consumers. Eakin wants everyone to know that if they are in need of disability services, they can reach out to TRPIL and they will help get the services needed. (Pictured l to r: Washington County Commissioners Larry Maggi; Washington Health System CEO Brook Ward; VOI/TRPIL CEO Shona Eakin VOI; Bob Bach with VOI and President of the Washington County Chamber of Commerce, Jeff Kotula)
November 12, 2020 4:37 pm
Washington County Judge Gary Gilman has dismissed charges of attempted child-luring and interfering with child custody against a South Strabane Township man. Gilman ruled that authorities failed to establish enough evidence against 67-year-old Jan Ondra, who was charged following allegations that he tried to lure a child into his van in Clarksville in June of 2019. In his ruling, Gilman said that, while many may consider Ondra’s behavior to be socially questionable or unacceptable, it does not rise to the level of criminal conduct. Washington County District Attorney Gene Vittone will reportedly review the court’s decision.
November 12, 2020 1:42 pm
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) – Officials say one of the first cruise ships to ply through Caribbean waters since the pandemic began ended its trip early after one passenger fell ill and is believed to have COVID-19. The SeaDream is carrying 53 passengers and 66 crew, with the majority of passengers hailing from the U.S. according to Sue Bryant, who is aboard the ship and is a cruise editor for The Times and The Sunday Times in Britain. She told The Associated Press on Thursday that one passenger became sick on Wednesday and forced the ship to turn back to Barbados. The ship had yet to dock as authorities tested those on board.
November 12, 2020 8:57 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The number of people seeking unemployment benefits fell last week to 709,000, the fourth straight drop and a sign that the job market is slowly healing. The figures coincide with a sharp resurgence in confirmed viral infections to an all-time high above 120,000 a day. Cases are rising in 49 states, and deaths are increasing in 39. The nation has now recorded 240,000 virus-related deaths and 10.3 million confirmed infections.
November 12, 2020 4:10 am
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) – Tropical Storm Eta is dumping torrents of blustery rain on Florida’s west coast as it slogs over the Gulf of Mexico toward an expected Florida landfall north of the heavily populated Tampa Bay area. The National Hurricane Center in Miami predicted Eta would rumble ashore sometime Thursday and then move northeast across Florida. Eta briefly gained hurricane strength at midweek before weakening to a tropical storm nearing landfall. There were no immediate reports of injuries or serious damage or flooding in the U.S. Eta first hit Nicaragua as a Category 4 hurricane, killing at least 120 people in Central America and Mexico before moving into the Gulf of Mexico.
