October 1, 2020 4:12 am
BERLIN (AP) – Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who is recovering in Germany after being poisoned in Russia by a nerve agent, is accusing Russian President Vladimir Putin of being behind the crime. Navalny’s supporters have frequently maintained that such an attack could have only been ordered at the top levels, though the Kremlin has steadfastly denied any involvement in it. In his first interview since the attack, Navalny told Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine that in his mind, “Putin was behind the attack.” He said in a brief excerpt of the interview released Thursday that “I don’t have any other versions of how the crime was committed.”
October 1, 2020 4:11 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump has signed a bill to fund the government through Dec. 11, averting the possibility of a government shutdown when the new fiscal year starts Thursday. Trump signed the bill, which was approved by sweeping bipartisan agreement Wednesday, into law early Thursday morning shortly after returning from campaigning in Minnesota. The temporary extension will set the stage for a lame-duck session of Congress later this year, where the agenda will be largely determined by the outcome of the presidential election. The measure passed by a 84-10 vote. The House passed the bill last week.
October 1, 2020 4:09 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his wife, Jill Biden, took a train tour across eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania on Wednesday. The former vice president stopped in Pittsburgh, Greensburg, New Alexandria and Latrobe as part of the “Build Back Better Express” train tour. Coming off Tuesday night’s first presidential debate, the tour started in Cleveland, where the debate was held. Stops in Pittsburgh and Greensburg happened before an event in New Alexandria — followed by a stop in Latrobe and at a drive-in event in Johnstown. During his Pittsburgh stop, Biden spoke directly to the city’s industrial history — with a strong backing from the president of the United Steelworkers, who was on-board the train. “The iron workers, steel workers … they’ve built this town, the beautiful bridges that made Pittsburgh famous. And a lot of folks were hurt badly when the steel factories closed,” Biden said. Biden arrived in Greensburg around 4:30 p.m. There was a large crowd of supporters outside the train station to hear him speak.
October 1, 2020 4:04 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – A Republican lawmaker’s positive test for COVID-19 has prompted legislative leaders to immediately cancel the Pennsylvania House’s voting session. Human resources workers were deployed Thursday to trace Rep. Paul Schemel’s personal contacts to see if others should be quarantined. The Franklin County lawmaker issued a statement saying he began to feel sick on Wednesday and got the positive test result Thursday. He then notified House officials. He was most recently in the Capitol on Tuesday, and it’s unclear if he wore a mask while in the building’s public spaces. A significant number of House Republicans have continued to be maskless inside the Capitol.
October 1, 2020 2:49 am
The NFL announced it is rescheduling this week’s Steelers-Titans game to later in the season after an additional Titans player and one personnel tested positive for COVID-19. It will not be played Week 4. An announcement of the new game date will be made soon. A league statement released Thursday morning said; “The decision to postpone the game was made to ensure the health and safety of players, coaches and game day personnel,”. “The Titans facility will remain closed and the team will continue to have no in-person activities until further notice.”
October 1, 2020 2:29 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania’s top state elections official says it appears that an election worker’s decision to throw out nine military ballots in Wilkes-Barre amounted to a mistake and not “intentional fraud.” Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar said during an online news conference Wednesday that the elections office in Luzerne County is getting training on handling mailed-in ballots. She says the initial reports she has fielded indicate it was a bad mistake. President Donald Trump has repeatedly brought up the nine ballots as evidence of election fraud in the past week, including two mentions during Tuesday night’s presidential debate.
September 30, 2020 5:43 pm
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – A proposal to set up a Republican-majority panel to review the fall election is headed for a final vote in the state House, over sharp Democratic objections. A resolution passed out of the House State Government Committee on Wednesday would establish a Select Committee on Election Integrity to look into how the election is being regulated and conducted and to help determine if new legislation is needed. A final House vote is likely to be held Thursday. The select committee would have subpoena power and money to operate. Democrats say they’re concerned about Republicans launching partisan investigations into the election in the weeks ahead of Election Day.
September 30, 2020 1:50 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Commission on Presidential Debates says it’s adding new “tools to maintain order” to the upcoming debates after a chaotic first debate between President Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Trump’s frequent interruptions of the Democratic presidential nominee defined Tuesday night’s debate, with Biden frequently unable to complete a sentence. Moderator Chris Wallace of Fox News pleaded with Trump several times to allow Biden to speak uninterrupted, to no avail. The nonpartisan commission has organized every general election presidential debate since 1988. In a statement, the commission said the first debate “made clear that additional structure should be added to the format of the remaining debates to ensure a more orderly discussion of the issues.”
September 30, 2020 9:17 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – An expert says a flash that lit up the skies over parts of Pennsylvania and Ohio in the wee hours was most likely a random meteor. Many social media users in the Pittsburgh area reported seeing a streaking fireball shortly after 4 a.m. Wednesday. It remained in the skies for a short time before disappearing from view. The American Meteor Society says it received more than 200 reports of a bright fireball over eastern Ohio. An official with the nonprofit says it was probably a random meteor not associated with any known meteor shower.
September 30, 2020 8:57 am
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Country star Mac Davis, who crafted the Elvis hits “A Little Less Conversation” and “In the Ghetto” before launching his own successful artist career, has died. He was 78.
His longtime manager Jim Morey said in a press release that Davis died in Nashville on Tuesday after heart surgery and was surrounded by family and friends. Davis had a long and varied career in music for decades as a writer, singer, actor and TV host and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2006. He was named 1974’s entertainer of the year by the Academy of Country Music after the success of songs including “Baby Don’t Get Hooked on Me.” Born in Lubbock, Texas, and raised in Georgia, Davis was inspired by fellow Lubbock native Buddy Holly, but it was Elvis who gave him his first musical big break. Davis helped craft the song “Memories” that was a cornerstone of Elvis’ big 1968 comeback TV special.
