June 1, 2020 3:56 am
Protests happened across the Pittsburgh area Monday afternoon in response to the death of George Floyd. It was the third straight day of protests in the region. Floyd died while in police custody earlier this week. Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was arrested Friday and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter in Floyd’s death. Chauvin is accused of keeping his knee on the Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes. Hundreds of protesters marched through the streets of Pittsburgh and then gathered in Pittsburgh’s East Liberty neighborhood. (Photo: WPXI)
May 31, 2020 8:31 am
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — In a cramped office in eastern Seoul, Hwang Seungwon points a remote control toward a huge NASA-like overhead screen stretching across one of the walls. With each flick of the control, a colorful array of pie charts, graphs and maps reveals the search habits of thousands of South Korean senior citizens being monitored by voice-enabled “smart” speakers, an experimental remote care service the company says is increasingly needed during the coronavirus crisis. “We closely monitor for signs of danger, whether they are more frequently using search words that indicate rising states of loneliness or insecurity,” said Hwang, director of a social enterprise that handles SK Telecom’s services. Trigger words lead to a recommendation for a visit by public health officials. As South Korea’s government pushes to allow businesses to access vast amounts of personal information and to ease restrictions holding back telemedicine, tech firms could potentially find much bigger markets for their artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies.
May 31, 2020 8:29 am
Officials across the U.S. South are still scrambling to adjust their hurricane plans to the coronavirus. The big unknown: Where will people fleeing storms go? The Associated Press surveyed more than 70 counties and states from Texas to Virginia, with more than 60% of coastal counties saying as of late May that they’re still solidifying plans for public hurricane shelters. They’re also altering preparations for dealing with the sick and elderly, protective equipment and cleanup costs. In Georgia’s McIntosh County, south of Savannah, Emergency Management Agency Director Ty Poppell said evacuations during the pandemic would be a “nightmare.” He worried about social distancing at shelters and on buses used to get people out. “I’d love to be able to tell you we’ve got that answered right now,” Poppell said. “It’s a work in progress.” Hurricane season officially starts Monday, though Tropical Storms Arthur and Bertha arrived early. Forecasters are expecting a busier-than-normal season.
May 31, 2020 8:27 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Police fired pepper spray at demonstrators near the White House and the D.C. National Guard was called in as pockets of violence and vandalism erupted during a second straight night of protests over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and President Donald Trump’s response to it. Hundreds of people converged on the White House and marched along the National Mall, chanting “Black Lives Matter,” “I can’t breathe” and “No justice, no peace.” Protesters threw water bottles, traffic cones, scooters, even tear gas cans at police lines. They set fire to a car and a trash bin and smashed windows, including at Bay Atlantic University. “What are you doing? That’s a school,” one man yelled. An American flag hanging at the Export-Import Bank was taken down, burned and replaced with a Black Lives Matter banner. The D.C. demonstration was one of several around the country responding to the death of Floyd, a black man who died in police custody.
May 31, 2020 8:25 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The mayor of Atlanta, one of dozens of U.S. cities hit by massive protests in recent days, has a message for demonstrators: “If you were out protesting last night, you probably need to go get a COVID test this week.” As more beaches, churches, schools and businesses reopened worldwide, civil unrest in the United States over repeated racial injustice is raising fears of new coronavirus outbreaks in a country that has seen more infections and deaths than anywhere else in the world. Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms warned that “there is still a pandemic in America that’s killing black and brown people at higher numbers.” Violent protests over the death of George Floyd have shaken the country from New York City to Minneapolis, from Atlanta to Los Angeles. Some protests have turned into riots and clashes with police, leaving stores burned and torched cars in the streets. City officials have ordered overnight curfews to quell the violence. Floyd, a black man, died on May 25 in Minneapolis after a white police officer pressed a knee into his neck. It was the latest in a series of deaths of black men and women at the hands of police in America. Health experts fear that silent carriers of the virus who have no symptoms could unwittingly infect others at protests where people are packed cheek to jowl, many without masks.
May 31, 2020 8:22 am
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Another night of unrest in every corner of the country left charred and shattered landscapes in dozens of American cities Sunday as years of festering frustrations over the mistreatment of African Americans at the hands of police boiled over in expressions of rage met with tear gas and rubber bullets. Cars and businesses were torched, the words “I can’t breathe” were spray-painted all over buildings, a fire in a trash bin burned near the gates of the White House, and tens of thousands marched peacefully through city streets to protest the death of George Floyd, a black man who died Monday after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee on his neck until he stopped breathing. His death is one of a litany of racial tragedies that have thrown the country into chaos amid the coronavirus pandemic that has left millions out of work and killed more than 100,000 people in the U.S., including disproportionate numbers of black people. “We’re sick of it. The cops are out of control,” protester Olga Hall said in Washington D.C. “They’re wild. There’s just been too many dead boys.” People set fire to police cars, threw bottles at police officers and busted windows of storefronts, carrying away TVs and other items even as some protesters urged them to stop. In Indianapolis, police were investigating multiple shootings, including one that left a person dead amid the protests — adding to deaths in Detroit and Minneapolis in recent days. In Minneapolis, the city where the protests began, police, state troopers and National Guard members moved in soon after an 8 p.m. curfew took effect to break up protests, firing tear gas and rubber bullets to clear streets outside a police precinct and elsewhere. At least 13 police officers were injured in Philadelphia when peaceful protests turned violent and at least four police vehicles were set on fire. In New York City, dangerous confrontations flared repeatedly as officers made arrests and cleared streets. A video showed two NYPD cruisers lurching into a crowd of demonstrators who were pushing a barricade against one of them and pelting it with objects. Several people were knocked to the ground, and it was unclear if anyone was hurt.
May 31, 2020 8:14 am
PITTSBURGH (WPXI) — Police cars set on fire, businesses vandalized and protesters and police officers injured — all of that prompted the mayor to implement citywide curfew and call in more police. “I’m just so angry at the fact that some segment hijacked this and took some of the youth and brought them into the mix,” said Pittsburgh Police Chief Scott Schubert. Schubert lashed out at protesters who turned violent and set fire to police cars, assaulted journalists and looted businesses. Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto implemented a curfew at 8:30 p.m. and called in more law enforcement agencies. The mayor and the chief both appeared visibly upset that a peaceful protest for more than two hours turned violent so quickly. And they’re blaming it on outsiders. “I’m willing to bet my check that there’s lot of people who are anarchists, who, they’re not here to protest what happened. They’re here to take advantage of the situation and try to throw it their way and bring other people into the mix and cause damage, cause injuries with that. And there’s no doubt that’s who’s doing it. And a lot of the things we are seeing are white males dressed in the anarchist Antifa,” Schubert said. “They’re the ones who are fueling a lot of this. It’s just a damn shame that they took advantage of the situation.” Pittsburgh Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich said more than a dozen businesses in the Central Business District have been vandalized.
May 30, 2020 4:17 am
UNITED NATIONS (AP) – The U.N. Security Council has approved a resolution extending for a year an arms embargo on South Sudan and a travel ban and financial sanctions for targeted individuals. Russia, China and South Africa abstained as the resolution passed 12-0 Friday. The U.S.-drafted resolution welcomes “encouraging developments in South Sudan’s peace process,” including the beginning of the formation of a transitional government. But it also expresses “deep concern at continued fighting in South Sudan” and condemns violations of the peace deal and cessation of hostilities agreement. The resolution urges South Sudan’s leaders to finalize establishment of the transitional national unity government.
May 30, 2020 4:16 am
SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) – The federal government has cited a Georgia nursing home for taking longer than 24 hours to report that six workers had been hospitalized with the coronavirus. The federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration said Friday that it’s the agency’s first citation for a workplace safety violation related to COVID-19. The agency proposed a fine of $6,500 for a violation it concluded was “other than serious.” The nursing home’s administrator, Katy Callaway, said she had not received the citation and declined to comment.
May 30, 2020 4:15 am
PHOENIX (AP) – Trying to stay safe during a global pandemic is hard enough, but people in Southwest desert cities like Phoenix and Las Vegas where temperatures can soar into the triple digits are also trying to protect themselves from the brutal heat. With many government-run spaces like libraries still closed this week to prevent the spread of coronavirus, the Salvation Army is among nonprofits shouldering much of a responsibility for ensuring people stay cool and hydrated amid an extreme heat warning in parts of the southwestern U.S. At the cooling sites, they are also asking people to follow protocols aimed at preventing the virus’ spread.
