September 21, 2020 4:19 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – A woman suspected of sending an envelope containing the poison ricin, which was addressed to White House, has been arrested at the New York-Canada border. That’s according to three law enforcement officials who spoke Sunday to The Associated Press. The officials say the woman was taken into custody by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers and is expected to face federal charges. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police have said the letter appeared to have originated in Canada. Officials say it was intercepted at a government facility that screens mail addressed to the White House and President Donald Trump.
September 21, 2020 4:18 am
CHICAGO (AP) – A front-runner to fill the Supreme Court seat vacated by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is a federal appellate judge who has established herself as a reliable conservative on hot-button legal issues from abortion to gun control. Amy Coney Barrett is hailed by religious conservatives and others on the right as an ideological heir to the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. Liberals say Barrett’s legal views are too influenced by her Catholic beliefs and fear she could seek to scale back abortion rights.
September 21, 2020 4:16 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump says he expects to announce his pick for the Supreme Court on Friday or Saturday, after funeral services for Ruth Bader Ginsburg. He told “Fox & Friends” on Monday that he had a list of five finalists, “probably four,” and that he is pushing for a confirmation vote before Election Day. Trump disparaged reports that Ginsburg had told her granddaughter it was her wish that a replacement justice not be confirmed until the inauguration of a new president. Trump said he thought his Democratic political foes were behind the report, including Rep. Adam Schiff, who led the House impeachment probe, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer.
September 21, 2020 4:11 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – The Nov. 3 presidential contest will test Pennsylvania’s ability to handle a massive mail-in vote and, while its high court settled several partisan points of dispute over how to update the state’s election law, counties remain unprepared in several important ways. Plus, the legal challenges are not necessarily over. Meanwhile, lawmakers and election officials continue to warn that the conditions are ripe for a presidential election result to be left hanging in limbo on a drawn-out vote count in Pennsylvania, a premier battleground state where the result could be very close. Some also warn that huge numbers of mail-in votes could be invalidated, unless the law is changed.
September 21, 2020 4:10 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – President Donald Trump will make his fourth and fifth appearances in September in Pennsylvania, flying into and out of rallies at two different airports this week. Tuesday’s event is at Pittsburgh International Airport and Saturday’s event is at Harrisburg International Airport. Trump’s visits underscores the importance of Pennsylvania to the Nov. 3 presidential election, as Trump seeks a second term against Democratic nominee Joe Biden. Biden has made four visits to Pennsylvania this month, including an address Sunday in Philadelphia, where he slammed Trump and leading Senate Republicans for trying to install a replacement on the Supreme Court for the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
September 20, 2020 7:54 am
NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump said Saturday he’s given his “blessing” to a proposed deal that would see the popular video-sharing app TikTok partner with Oracle and Walmart and form a U.S. company. Trump has targeted Chinese-owned TikTok for national security and data privacy concerns in the latest flashpoint in the rising tensions between Washington and Beijing. The president’s support for a deal comes just a day after the Commerce Department announced restrictions that if put in place could eventually make it nearly impossible for TikTok’s legions of younger fans to use the app. Trump said if completed the deal would create a new company likely to be based in Texas. Trump said the new company will be hiring at least 25,000 people and making a $5 billion contribution to a fund dedicated to education for Americans. “That’s their contribution that I’ve been asking for,” he said.
September 20, 2020 7:52 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal officials intercepted an envelope addressed to the White House that contained the poison ricin, a U.S. law enforcement official told The Associated Press on Saturday. The letter appeared to have originated in Canada, according to a statement from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, which said it was assisting the FBI. The letter was intercepted at a government facility that screens mail addressed to the White House and President Donald Trump, the U.S. official said. A preliminary investigation indicated it tested positive for ricin, a poison found naturally in castor beans, the U.S. official said. The U.S. official was not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. Federal investigators were working to determine where the enveloped originated and who mailed it. The FBI, the Secret Service and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service were leading the investigation.
September 20, 2020 7:50 am
JUNIPER HILLS, Calif. (AP) — Strong winds stoked a wildfire burning for nearly two weeks in mountains northeast of Los Angeles, prompting authorities to issue new evacuation orders for desert communities that lost some homes a day earlier. Meanwhile, officials were investigating the death of a firefighter on the lines of another Southern California wildfire that erupted earlier this month from a smoke-generating pyrotechnic device used by a couple to reveal their baby’s gender. The death occurred Thursday in San Bernardino National Forest as crews battled the El Dorado Fire about 75 miles (120 kilometers) east of Los Angeles, the U.S. Forest Service said in a statement.
September 20, 2020 7:49 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is promising to put forth a female nominee in the coming week to fill the Supreme Court vacancy created by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, pushing the Republican-controlled Senate to consider the pick without delay. Taking the stage Saturday night at a North Carolina rally to chants of “Fill that seat,” the president said he would nominate his selection despite Democrats’ objections. And, after conducting what he joked was a “very scientific poll” of the Fayetteville crowd as to whether supporters wanted a man or a woman, he declared the choice would be “a very talented, very brilliant woman.” He added that he did not yet know whom he would choose. “We win an election and those are the consequences,” said the president, who then seemed to signal that he’d be willing to accept a vote on his nominee during the lame-duck period after the election. “We have a lot of time. We have plenty of time. We’re talking about January 20th.” But one Republican senator had already broken ranks. Maine’s Susan Collins, who is in a tough reelection battle, said earlier Saturday that she believed replacing Ginsburg should be the decision of the president who is elected Nov. 3. Three more defections from the GOP ranks would be needed to stop Trump’s nominee from joining the court.
September 20, 2020 7:45 am
ALLEGHENY CO., Pa. (WPXI) — A tractor-trailer crashed into a Primanti Bros. restaurant in Allegheny County early Sunday. According to emergency responders, the crash happened around 4 a.m. at the chain’s location on Steubenville Pike (Route 60) in Crafton. Police tape surrounded the front of the restaurant — as the front lobby was severely damaged according to officials. A construction manager told our news partners at Channel 11 the 18-wheeler lost its brakes, hit the guiderail and slammed into the building. Luckily, the restaurant was closed when the crash happened. An engineer is coming in to look at the restaurant for structural purposes, but officials said Primanti’s will remain closed for now. Police are investigating the incident.
