July 27, 2020 9:42 am
An Alabama pastor says more than 40 people have been infected with the coronavirus after attending a multi-day revival event at a Baptist church. Pastor Daryl Ross of Warrior Creek Missionary Baptist Church in Marshall County says the churchgoers, including himself, tested positive after the congregation held a series of religious services featuring a guest pastor over the course of several days last week. Ross told Al.com that “just about” everyone in the church has the virus. Services were shut down by Friday after one of the members who attended had tested positive for the virus. Over the weekend, dozens more fell ill.
July 27, 2020 9:41 am
The world’s biggest COVID-19 vaccine test got underway Monday with the first of 30,000 planned volunteers. The experimental vaccine is made by the National Institutes of Health and Moderna Inc., and it’s one of several candidates in the final stretch of the global vaccine race. The needed proof: Whether more people who get dummy shots become infected than those given two doses of the real vaccine. The U.S. government plans separate huge studies of several leading vaccine candidates through fall, each in hot spots where the virus still is spreading.
July 27, 2020 9:40 am
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – A peaceful protest morphed into an intense early morning confrontation between demonstrators and law enforcement in Oregon’s largest city. U.S. agents fired what appeared to be tear gas, flash bangs and pepper balls early Monday to clear a mass of protesters outside the federal courthouse in Portland. Some protesters had climbed over the fence surrounding the courthouse. Others shot fireworks, banged on the fence and projected lights on the building. The city has seen nightly protests for two months since the death of George Floyd. Earlier Sunday, Portland police say a person was shot at a park near where the protests take place. A bag was also found containing loaded rifle magazines and Molotov cocktails.
July 27, 2020 4:28 am
Governor Tom Wolf has allowed legislation requiring his administration to process Right-to-Know Law requests during emergency declarations to become law without his signature. Previously, Wolf had said he would veto the legislation. Unanimously approved in both chambers, it requires all agencies to fulfill and respond to Right-to-Know requests, including during emergency declarations such as the one earlier this year that shut down state offices. In a statement, Wolf said since the bill was introduced, his administration “has expressed deep concerns with forcing commonwealth employees to physically come to an office to process records requests under dangerous conditions. We have gone above and beyond to provide information to the legislature and public throughout the pandemic, including the data that drive our decision making.” Calling the legislation “ill-conceived and poorly drafted,” Wolf said the state’s Office of Open Records assured him it will write guidelines to keep state employees safe. Wolf said state agencies have been processing and responding to records requests for months, and that offices had reopened and were processing requests as the bill made its way through the Legislature.
July 27, 2020 4:16 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The economic outlook of U.S. business economists has improved over the past three months, though their sunnier view could be jeopardized by the resurgence of the coronavirus. A survey released Monday by the National Association for Business Economics finds a “significant snap-back in expectations from the depths reached across nearly all categories in April,” according to Megan Greene, who leads the NABE’s survey of business conditions. The results of the survey of 104 NABE members showed that expectations for growth had brightened considerably, with two-thirds of them forecasting that the economy, as measured by the gross domestic product, will grow between this year’s second quarter and next year’s second quarter.
July 27, 2020 4:15 am
SELMA, Ala. (AP) – The late U.S. Rep. John Lewis has crossed Selma’s Edmund Pettus Bridge for the final time as remembrances continue for the civil rights icon. A processional with Lewis’ casket was carried across the bridge Sunday where he and other civil rights marchers were beaten 55 years ago on “Bloody Sunday,” a key event in the fight for voting rights for African Americans. Lewis died July 17 at the age of 80, months after he was diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer.
July 27, 2020 4:12 am
HONOLULU (AP) – Hurricane Douglas is coming within “razor thin” distance of the Hawaiian Islands. But the storm spared Hawaii the worst of the strong winds, storm surge and flooding that officials had warned about. Meteorologists cautioned the hurricane’s path could shift slightly and Douglas could still unload its destructive power on the islands of Oahu and Kauai. They’re calling on residents to remain vigilant. Heavy rain and wind gusts battered Maui during the morning, downing a small tree on the Hana Highway. Sand and debris washed ashore on a two-lane coastal road on Oahu. Despite the dangers, surfers rode waves and residents took selfies at a lookout point next to the ocean.
July 27, 2020 4:10 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Suggesting a narrower pandemic relief package may be all that’s possible, the White House is still pushing ahead with Monday’s planned rollout of the Senate Republicans’ $1 trillion effort. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi assailed the GOP “disarray” as time-wasting during the crisis. By Friday, millions of unemployed Americans could lose an expiring $600 federal jobless benefit and a federal eviction moratorium is also coming to an end. The Trump administration’s top negotiators – White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin – spent the weekend at the Capitol trying to finish the package. Meadows said they have an agreement “in principle” with Senate Republicans.
July 27, 2020 4:08 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – The founder of an iconic Philadelphia cheesesteak restaurant and one of his sons have been indicted on federal tax evasion and fraud charges for allegedly hiding nearly $8 million in sales over the course of a decade. A spokesperson for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania U.S. Attorney’s office announced the charges Friday against 82-year-old Anthony Lucidonio Sr, and his son, 54-year-old Nicholas Lucidonio. They’re two owners of the well-known cheesesteak and sandwich shop Tony Luke’s. The indictment alleges the pair kept two sets of books to try to defraud the Internal Revenue Service. Court documents didn’t yet show attorneys for the pair.
July 27, 2020 4:07 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – A historical panel has advanced plans to remove a 144-year-old statue of Christopher Columbus from south Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the Philadelphia Historical Commission voted 10-2 Friday in favor of moving the now-boarded-up statue from Marconi Plaza. The vote clears the way for the city’s art commission to decide its fate at a scheduled Aug. 12 meeting. City crews earlier built a wooden box around the statue following clashes between protesters and residents and the city later announced plans to seek its removal, something some south Philadelphia residents have sued to block.
