August 15, 2020 5:00 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The U.S. Postal Service has sent letters to 46 states, warning it cannot guarantee all ballots cast by mail for the November election will arrive in time to be counted. That’s according to a report published Friday by The Washington Post. The revelation that some voters could be disenfranchised if they try to vote by mail comes amid a campaign by President Donald Trump to sow doubts about the election. Though Trump casts his own ballot by mail, he’s railed against efforts to allow more people to do so, which he argues without evidence will lead to increased voter fraud. The Postal Service is bracing for an unprecedented number of mail-in ballots as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
August 15, 2020 5:00 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – A major union representing U.S. postal workers endorsed Democrat Joe Biden, a move that comes after President Donald Trump acknowledged he was starving the postal service of money in order to make it more difficult to vote by mail in November’s election. The National Association of Letter Carriers, which represents 300,000 current and retired workers, said Thursday that Trump’s longstanding hostility to the mail-delivering agency has heightened during the pandemic. They say his administration has taken “steps outside of the public eye to undermine the Postal Service and letter carriers.” Union president Fredric Rolando said Biden is a “fierce ally and defender of the United States Postal Service.”
August 15, 2020 4:31 am
Freedom Transit is seeking public comment as they consider changes to its ‘Local A’ route. Beginning Monday August 17 and continuing through the end of the month, the transit agency will be accepting comments through their website, email, by phone and in person at the Washington Transit Center along E. Chestnut Street. A full list of proposed changes are available at freedom-transit.org. On Friday, August 28 and Monday, August 31, a public display with information on the changes will be set up in the lobby of the transit center from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. After a review of all comments, the Washington County Transportation Authority Board of Directors will meet Tuesday, September 1 to vote on the proposed changes.
August 15, 2020 4:22 am
The Canon McMillan School Board has approved the purchase of 14 passenger vans to transport students to parochial and other private schools. Superintendent Michael Daniels says the move was made because contracting those routes is more expensive. Progress on the new middle school is being made. Contractors are beginning to use blasting to get through rock formations. School is still scheduled to begin on August 27. The 3 day push back was needed to train teachers on the remote aspect of the hybrid system. Daniels states that students learning remotely will be able to tune in to a live class from their device at home. Finally, the middle school was designated a Don Eichorn “School to Watch”. This award is similar to the Blue Ribbon awards given to elementary schools. This is the fourth time in ten years that the school has earned this award.
August 15, 2020 4:17 am
Churches in California and Minnesota are challenging state pandemic restrictions in court, contending that they are violations of religious liberty. They’re the latest in a series of lawsuits, many in California, arguing that houses of worship should be exempt from certain limits on public gatherings. Most have been rebuffed; some have succeeded. In Minnesota a federal lawsuit challenges executive orders requiring 6-foot social distancing and the wearing of face masks at worship services. In California a lawsuit was filed on behalf of a Los Angeles church where the pastor has been holding services for throngs of worshippers in defiance of state and county orders.
August 15, 2020 4:16 am
MIAMI (AP) – Tropical Storm Josephine has formed in the Atlantic Ocean, making it the earliest “J-named” storm in a record-setting hurricane season. The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said late Thursday that Josephine was located 760 miles east-southeast of the northern Leeward Islands. It was moving west-northwest with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph. No coastal watches or warnings are in effect. Josephine was the earliest tenth Atlantic named storm on record, breaking the previous record of Jose, which formed Aug. 22, 2005. Only Hanna and Isaias have developed into hurricanes so far this year.
August 15, 2020 4:10 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania’s Roman Catholic dioceses have been hit with about 150 lawsuits from people who say they were sexually abused as children by priests and hope a state court decision last year has shown a way around time limits for legal claims. That number may be end up dozens higher as lawyers are filing ahead of the two-year anniversary Friday of the Pennsylvania attorney general’s landmark grand jury report on priest molestation. The bulk of the new cases were filed against the Pittsburgh, Allentown, Scranton and Philadelphia dioceses. The state’s dioceses have already paid out millions to victims of priest molestation.
August 15, 2020 2:20 am
The Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh has issued a revised plan to reopen schools. They official start date for elementary schools has been moved to September 8th in response to teachers who requested more time to implement all COVID-19 health and safety reopening protocols. High schools in the diocese though will remain on their original opening schedule. The diocese says teachers wanted more time to prepare their classrooms, practice the new protocols, test systems for distance learning and have in-service days for health and safety training to incorporate into their new daily routines.
August 14, 2020 4:14 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – In a reminder of his tactics when he rose to power in politics, President Donald Trump is giving credence to a false and racist conspiracy theory about Kamala Harris’ eligibility to be vice president. Trump told reporters Thursday he had “heard” the rumors that Harris, a Black woman and U.S.-born citizen whose parents were immigrants, does not meet the requirement to serve in the White House. Trump said he considered the rumors “very serious.” The conspiracy theory is false. Harris was born in Oakland, California, and is eligible to be president under the constitutional requirements.
August 14, 2020 4:14 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump is intensifying his efforts to block mail-in voting. He acknowledged on Thursday that he’s starving the U.S. Postal Service of funding in order to make it harder to process an expected surge in ballots that he worries could cost him reelection. Meanwhile, his campaign is suing two Iowa counties that are making it easier to vote by mail during the pandemic. The Republican president said on Fox Business Network that among the sticking points on a new virus relief package are Democrats’ demand for billions of dollars to assist states in protecting the election and helping postal workers process mail-in ballots. The campaign of Trump’s Democratic opponent, Joe Biden, jumped on the comments, likening the president’s actions to sabotage.
