August 7, 2020 2:24 am
WASHINGTON, Pa – The Trinity Area School District has officially approved their return-to-school plan for the 2020-2021 school year. At Thursday’s planning meeting, the board approved their health and safety plan – which includes two options: a Hybrid Model and Trinity K-12 Cyber. Students who choose the Hybrid Model will be broken into two groups: A or B. They will attend school two consecutive days and then three days of remote, digital, and live learning. The K-12 Cyber option is complete online learning. According to Superintendent, Dr. Michael Lucas, about 15% of Trinity students have chosen the full cyber option. He says the deadline has passed, but parents may still enroll their children up until the start of school. He also said that, if necessary, Trinity will be prepared to begin the school year completely online if the hybrid model is not recommended by the state health and education departments at the current time. In addition, Lucas said he expects more specific guidance regarding fall sports and that, “it would be extremely disappointing if we do not have sports.” Trinity will hold “parent town hall meetings” and be releasing “what to expect videos” for students and families soon.
August 6, 2020 12:50 pm
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Ohio’s governor has tested positive for the coronavirus just ahead of a planned meeting with President Donald Trump. Republican Gov. Mike DeWine’s office said Thursday he took the test as part of standard protocol before meeting Trump at an airport in Cleveland. He had planned to join the president on a visit to the Whirlpool Corp. plant in northwest Ohio. His office said DeWine has no symptoms, but is returning to Columbus. His office said he and his wife, Fran DeWine, will both be tested there. DeWine then plans to quarantine at his home in Cedarville for 14 days. Lt. Gov. Jon Husted tested negative.
August 6, 2020 12:44 pm
(WPXI) – It could be the final blow for the struggling Century III Mall. JCPenney, the last surviving store at the mall, has been added to the list of stores the company plans to close. A spokesperson told to Channel 11 the Century III location will shut down for good sometime in late October. Liquidation sales start next Friday and returns will no longer be accepted there. The company is closing more than 150 stores, including locations at the Pittsburgh Mills and Clearview malls. The retailer filed for bankruptcy back in May at the height of the coronavirus pandemic. The once beloved mall has been plagued with issues and actually closed last year. Code enforcement said Century III Mall was unsafe and crews were planning to demolish it in the near future but keep JCPenney’s open. Workers aren’t sure when their final day will be.
August 6, 2020 12:35 pm
(AP) – New York’s attorney general is suing the National Rifle Association, seeking to put the powerful gun advocacy organization out of business over allegations that high-ranking executives diverted millions of dollars for personal benefit. The lawsuit filed Thursday by Attorney General Letitia James followed an 18-month investigation into the NRA, which is a nonprofit group originally chartered in New York. She accused its top leaders of using NRA funds for lavish personal trips, contracts for associates and other questionable expenditures. A message was sent to the NRA’s legal team seeking comment.
August 6, 2020 8:45 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Nearly 1.2 million laid-off Americans applied for state unemployment benefits last week, evidence that the coronavirus keeps forcing companies to slash jobs just as a critical $600 weekly federal jobless payment has expired. The Labor Department’s report marked the 20th straight week that at least 1 million people have sought jobless aid. Before the pandemic hit hard in March, the number of Americans seeking unemployment checks had never surpassed 700,000 in a week, not even during the Great Recession of 2007-2009. The new jobless claims were down by 249,000 from the previous week after rising for two straight weeks.
August 6, 2020 4:20 am
BEIRUT (AP) – Investigators probing the deadly blast that ripped across Beirut are focused on possible negligence in the storage of tons of a highly explosive fertilizer in a waterfront warehouse, while the government ordered the house arrest of several port officials. International help began to arrive as Lebanon’s leaders struggled with the widespread damage and shocking aftermath of Tuesday’s blast. The Health Ministry says 135 people were killed and about 5,000 were injured. Public anger mounted against the ruling elite that is being blamed for the chronic mismanagement that led to the disaster. The Port is Beirut and customs office is notorious for being one of the most corrupt institutions in Lebanon, where various factions and politicians, including Hezbollah, hold sway.
August 6, 2020 4:19 am
Facebook has deleted a post by President Donald Trump, citing its coronavirus misinformation policy. The post in question featured a link to a Fox News video in which Trump says children are “virtually immune” to the virus. Facebook said in a statement Wednesday that the video includes false claims that a group of people is immune from COVID-19. It says that is a violation of its policies around harmful COVID-19 misinformation. A tweet from Trump with the same video remained up on Twitter as of Wednesday afternoon. A few hours later, Twitter temporarily blocked the Trump campaign from tweeting until it removed the same video.
August 6, 2020 4:18 am
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – The Minnesota National Guard says mechanical failure and human error led to the crash of a Black Hawk helicopter that killed three Guard members last December. The Guard released a summary on Wednesday that said the crew was conducting a maximum power check on the number one engine near St. Cloud. That engine failed during the check, and the number two engine was in the idle setting, causing a dual engine-out condition. The summary also says the maintenance test pilot failed to respond to a critical situation during the routine maintenance test flight. The St. Cloud Times reports the summary did not include names of any of the positions listed.
August 6, 2020 4:15 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Democratic challenger Joe Biden joined President Donald Trump on Wednesday in scrapping plans to accept his party’s presidential nomination in a convention extravaganza. Neither campaign has announced an alternative to the Democrats’ original plans for Milwaukee and the Republicans’ shifting plans spanning Charlotte, North Carolina, and Jacksonville, Florida. It’s yet another striking demonstration of how the COVID-19 pandemic has upended American life and the 2020 presidential campaign. It’s denying Trump and Biden coveted personal experiences with party faithful and leaving their campaigns looking for alternative ways to capitalize on a moment that still can reach millions of Americans via television and online.
August 6, 2020 4:14 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump took in $165 million for his reelection effort in the month of July, a sum that surpasses what his Democratic rival, Joe Biden, raised during the same period. But a massive cash-on-hand advantage that once gave the Republican a significant competitive edge has largely been closed. Biden and the Democratic Party report that they are just $6 million shy of the $300 million that the president and the Republican National Committee have in the bank. The sums suggest that Trump has continued to spend at a vigorous pace while Biden has cut expenses and stockpiled cash.
