July 18, 2020 10:17 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – When Congress approved the eye-popping $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief bill in March, it was the biggest rescue of its kind in U.S. history. Now, with the pandemic worsening, it’s clear that package was only the start, and Congress returns to work Monday to try to draft another one. The current round of aid is running out. Extra employment benefits expire and so does a federal eviction freeze. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is poised to roll out his $1 trillion-plus proposal. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi already has pushed through a more sweeping $3 trillion effort. Big spending that Congress hoped to avoid now seems inevitable.
July 18, 2020 4:17 am
(AP)-A surge of 34,884 new coronavirus cases has taken India’s tally to 1,038,716, as local governments continue to reimpose focused lockdowns in several parts of the country. The Health Ministry on Saturday also reported 671 deaths in the past 24 hours for a total of 26,273. The ministry says the recovery rate has slightly come down to 62.9%. About a dozen states, including Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Assam, have put high-risk areas under lockdowns, only allowing essential food supplies and health services. Rahul Gandhi, leader of the main opposition Congress party, urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take concrete steps to contain the pandemic. He warned that the number of infections will double to 2 million by Aug. 10 at the current pace.
July 18, 2020 4:14 am
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – The mayor of Portland is demanding that President Donald Trump remove militarized federal agents he deployed to the city after some detained people on streets distant from federal property they were sent to protect. Democratic Gov. Kate Brown said Trump is looking for a confrontation in the hopes of winning political points elsewhere. The protests following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis have often devolved into violent clashes between smaller groups and the police. The unrest has caused divisions in a city that prides itself on its activism and progressive reputation.
July 18, 2020 4:10 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Joe Biden says he’s begun receiving intelligence briefings as he warned that Russia, China and other adversaries were attempting to undermine the upcoming U.S. election in November. The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee wasn’t specific and offered no evidence while addressing a virtual fundraiser Friday. But, in the process, he confirmed receiving classified briefings after suggesting as recently as late last month that he wasn’t getting them. Biden received intelligence briefings while vice president but told reporters he wasn’t getting them as of June 30. Classified briefings are traditionally provided to major-party nominees once they win the primary, but Biden won’t formally become the nominee until the party’s convention next month.
July 18, 2020 4:06 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania’s unemployment slid a bit down in June after hitting a pandemic peak in April, but it was well above the national rate even as payrolls rebounded by more 230,000. The state Department of Labor and Industry reported Friday that Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate was 13% in June, down four-tenths of a percentage point from May’s adjusted rate. The state’s rate went over 16% in April, the highest rate in over four decades of record-keeping. A survey of employers showed seasonally adjusted nonfarm payrolls grew by more than 230,000 in June to surpass 5.4 million. That was about 1 in 5 jobs lost during the pandemic.
July 18, 2020 3:57 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump says this country has the “best testing in the world. But snapshots from around the U.S. are revealing shortfalls. In Pittsburgh, adults who are afraid they’ve been exposed to the coronavirus are being asked to skip testing if they can quarantine at home for 14 days. Hawaii will wait another month to lift a two-week quarantine on visitors because of test supply shortages and delays in results. In Sun Belt states where the virus is surging, lines of cars with people seeking tests snake for hours in the beating sun, often yielding results so far after the fact that they’re useless. Public health experts say the testing system is in shambles.
July 18, 2020 3:54 am
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – A hearing took place in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh on Friday over a lawsuit connected to Governor Wolf’s ’emergency declaration’ powers and restrictions imposed to try and stop the spread of Coronavirus. Washington County is part of the suit and Commissioner’s Chairman Republican Diana Irey-Vaughan testified. She told WJPA NEWS that, “testimony was submitted earlier by affidavit and Friday’s hearing was to cross-examine and confirm the details of her testimony with the attorneys representing both sides.” Also present at the hearing was Republican Commissioner Nick Sherman. Judge William Stickman presided over the case, which will continue with testimony from the side representing the Governor and Secretary of Health next week. Butler, Fayette, and Greene Counties are also part of the suit, along with politicians and businesses that claim their constitutional rights were violated as they were ordered to close their doors.
July 18, 2020 3:52 am
Komatsu Mining Corporation. is expanding its footprint locally. The company that has been operating in Washington County for 60 years has purchased a lot at Alta Vista Business Park to develop a 250,000 square foot distribution center. The business park is owned by the Mon Valley Alliance and Komatsu chose the site because of its proximity to Interstates 70 and 79 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Ben Brown, CEO of the Mon Valley Alliance stated that “The development is a result of investments made by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Washington County Commissioners through the Local Share Account program, Fallowfield Township and Charleroi School District. The site is designated with a Keystone Opportunity Zone designation. The Class A center will be built on about 30 acres and feature a 215,000-square-foot warehouse, 35,000 square feet of office space and more than 250 parking spaces.
July 18, 2020 3:35 am
ATLANTA (AP) – John Lewis, who carried the struggle against racial discrimination from Southern battlegrounds of the 1960s to the halls of Congress, has died. He was 80. Lewis was the last survivor of the Big Six civil rights activists, led by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. He was best known for leading 600 protesters in the 1965 Bloody Sunday march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. Lewis was knocked to the ground and beaten by state troopers. Televised images forced the country’s attention on racial oppression. A Democrat from Atlanta, he won his U.S. House seat in 1986.
July 17, 2020 2:37 pm
WASHINGTON, Pa. – Tom Flickinger, Treasurer of Washington County is notifying county taxpayers that due to software conversion issues the Web page will be suspended beginning July 20th until August 1st 2020. Real Estate tax payments will not be available to be paid online. Also, taxpayers due tax refunds from the county will be delayed until after the software conversion. Mr. Flickinger reminds taxpayers that penalties and fees have been suspended on current 2020 real estate taxes until December 31st 2020. Prior year taxes due will carry the normal penalty and fee assessments. Mr. Flickinger wishes to thank county taxpayers for their understanding. Any questions please contact Mr. Flickinger directly.
