July 1, 2019 1:46 pm
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Legislation to help Pennsylvania’s counties afford new voting machines before next year’s election is wrapped up in the politics of voting and election laws. Gov. Tom Wolf said Monday that he’ll decide later in the week whether to sign or veto a bill that was opposed by the vast majority of his fellow Democrats in the state Legislature. The bill passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature authorizes borrowing $90 million to help counties underwrite a total voting-machine replacement cost that could exceed $100 million. Hours before it passed, Republicans added that provision to legislation that also eliminates the single ballot option for voters to select a straight-party ticket in elections. Democrats say that’ll benefit Republicans in down-ballot legislative elections. Republicans say it’ll encourage voters to vote for candidates, not parties.
July 1, 2019 10:34 am
OPAL, Va. (AP) – The Transportation Department is poised to relax the federal rules that govern how many hours a day truck drivers can be behind the wheel. Interest groups that represent motor carriers and truck drivers have lobbied for revisions they say would make the rigid “hours of service” rules more flexible. The trucking industry has developed a strong relationship with President Donald Trump, who’s made rolling back layers of regulatory oversight a priority. Highway safety advocates say the contemplated changes represent a dangerous weakening of regulations and will result in truckers putting in even longer days at a time when they say driver fatigue already is such a serious problem. They point to new government data that shows fatal crashes involving trucks weighing as much as 80,000 pounds have increased.
July 1, 2019 9:28 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Americans give President Donald Trump mixed reviews for his economic stewardship despite the growth achieved during this presidency. The findings from a poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research come as the economy appears to have set a record for the longest expansion in U.S. history. Nearly two-thirds describe the economy as “good,” while 47% say they approve of how Trump is handling the issue. About 4 in 10 approve of how he is handling his job overall. The survey indicates that most Americans do not believe they’re personally benefiting from his trade policies. Only 17% say they received a tax cut after the president’s tax overhaul passed in 2017. Those doubts create a possible vulnerability as Trump highlights the strong economy in his campaign for re-election.
July 1, 2019 9:26 am
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) – Iran’s foreign minister says it has surpassed the limit on its stockpile of low-enriched uranium set by the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. The state-run IRNA news agency quoted Mohammad Javad Zarif as making the announcement Monday. The deal limited Iran to 300 kilograms of uranium enriched up to 3.67%. IRNA reported that Zarif, answering a reporter’s question about whether Iran had broken the limit, said: “Yes.” The report did not elaborate. This represents the first time Iran has broken one of the limits set by the accord. President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the nuclear deal last year and restored heavy economic sanctions on Iran, which recently said it would back away from its commitments if the deal is not renegotiated.
July 1, 2019 8:27 am
PITTSBURGH – It was a frightening wake-up call for many in Oakland on Sunday morning. The University of Pittsburgh put out a safety alert after a woman reported that someone tried to climb into a her apartment window and burglarize her. Police said the woman screamed and the suspect ran off, unable to take anything. “It’s definitely shocking anytime something like this happens,” Pitt student Mason Unger said. Unger said a similar situation happened to his girlfriend not long ago. “There was another scare like that. Just happening close here again, so, and being so close to campus, it is scary,” Unger said. University police are urging people to lock their doors and windows, and to stay alert. A message sent out Sunday morning from police said: “University of Pittsburgh Police Officers assisted the City of Pittsburgh Police Department with an attempted burglary that occurred on June 30, 2019 at approximately 12:48 a.m. in the 400 block of Oakland Avenue. The victim stated that an unknown person attemtped to climb into her unlocked bedroom window. The victim stated that when she screamed, the actor fled on foot eastbound towards Oakland Avenue. No injuries were reported, there were no signs of forced entry, and nothing was taken from the residence.”
July 1, 2019 7:29 am
FAIRMONT, W.Va. (AP) – NASA is holding a formal ceremony to rename a West Virginia facility after a mathematician whose calculations helped astronauts return to Earth. The ceremony is set for Tuesday in Fairmont for the Katherine Johnson Independent Verification and Validation Facility. Congress passed a bill allowing the name change and President Donald Trump signed it into law on Dec. 11. In June, George Mason University named a building on its Manassas, Virginia, campus in Johnson’s honor. Johnson, who is now 100, worked at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton as a human “computer.” She was portrayed by Taraji P. Henson in the film “Hidden Figures,” which documented the contributions of her and two other African-American women while overcoming racism and sexism. Last year, Johnson was honored by alma mater West Virginia State University with a bronze statue and scholarship dedication.
July 1, 2019 7:26 am
HONG KONG (AP) – Police in Hong Kong have used tear gas to clear a crowd of protesters gathered outside the city’s legislature after several hundred broke into the building and spray-painted pro-democracy slogans on the walls of the main chamber. In a slow and deliberate operation, large numbers of officers began moving in after taking positions outside the legislature around midnight. Protesters had swarmed into the building about 9 p.m. Monday after breaking windows and prying open metal security curtains. Some who had gathered outside quickly scattered as police lobbed tear gas canisters and advanced behind tall clear shields. Inside the legislature building, police wearing helmets entered the main chamber with shields but found only media inside.
Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of other protesters marched through the city on Monday to demand expanded democracy on the 22nd anniversary of the former British colony’s return to China.
July 1, 2019 6:56 am
LA HACHADURA, El Salvador (AP) – The bodies of the father and daughter who drowned together while trying to cross the Rio Grande River to the U.S. have returned to El Salvador.
The remains of Oscar Alberto Martínez and his young daughter Valeria entered the Central American country by land on Sunday. They are expected to be buried in a private ceremony in the capital Monday. Photographs of Valeria, face down with her little arm wrapped around her father’s neck, broke hearts around the world and underscored the dangers that migrants undertake in trying to reach the U.S. The father and daughter were swept up in a current between Matamoros, Mexico, and Brownsville, Texas.
July 1, 2019 6:20 am
UNIONTOWN, Pa. (AP) – State police reportedly have a juvenile in custody – who they believe is responsible for firing a gun during a fireworks show at a mall in Fayette County over the weekend. Police were called to the Uniontown Mall just before 10 p.m. Sunday, but the person who fired the shot was gone. In video obtained by WPXI-TV, someone can be heard screaming “Get your kids in the car. He’s shooting.” No one was injured. State Police say they were dispatched to the Mall for a report of a single gunshot. (Photo: WPXI)
July 1, 2019 6:17 am
SAN DIEGO (AP) – No matter the outcome, the murder trial of Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher accused of killing a wounded Islamic State captive and shooting civilians in Iraq in 2017 has provided a rare view into the insular Navy SEAL community and likely will have a long-term impact on one of the military’s most secretive and revered forces. Closing arguments are expected on Monday. Gallagher has pleaded not guilty to murder, attempted murder and other charges. Nearly a dozen Alpha platoon members of SEAL Team 7 testified during the court-martial at Naval Base San Diego. Many were granted immunity, including a Navy SEAL who stunned the court when he testified that he killed the militant after Gallagher stabbed him by plugging his breathing tube.
