July 4, 2020 3:37 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Gov. Tom Wolf’s more expansive mask order issued this week as the coronavirus shows new signs of life in Pennsylvania is being met with hostility from Republicans. They are objecting to the Democrat’s use of power, to wearing a mask itself and to what they call confusion it’s causing. It is one of many partisan fights over the coronavirus in a premier presidential battleground state where Democrats blame President Donald Trump for the virus’ devastation and Republicans blame Wolf. Pennsylvania’s state House Republican leaders called Wolf’s expanded mask order “another unenforceable, unilateral mask order.” Five House Republicans are questioning the science behind using a mask to contain the virus.
July 4, 2020 3:33 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – The rising number of COVID-19 infections in the Pittsburgh area is helping drive Pennsylvania’s number of confirmed new cases to 667. The state Health Department said Friday the Pennsylvania death toll from the coronavirus pandemic rose by 34 to more than 6,700 so far. The number of cases in Allegheny County, which encompasses Pittsburgh, rose by 166, prompting the county to close bars and restaurants for a week, starting Friday. Meanwhile, Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration is recommending that people stay at home for 14 days if they are returning from Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas or Utah.
July 3, 2020 4:02 am
Stocks are higher in Asia after a report showed the U.S. job market is recovering from the wreckage of the coronavirus pandemic in the spring. Shanghai led regional gains on Friday, adding 1%, and shares rose across the region despite rising numbers of newly confirmed coronavirus cases in South Korea and Japan. Overnight, the S&P 500 rose 0.5%, finishing the holiday-shortened week with a gain of 4%. Worries about the virus are still weighing on investors, however. Florida reported another sharp increase in confirmed cases, helping to cut the S&P 500’s early gains by more than half. The bond market also showed continued caution.
July 3, 2020 4:00 am
WASHINGTON, Pa. — The City of Washington has gotten numerous complaints about residents setting off fireworks in city neighborhoods. City Council was addressed on Thursday during their first face to face regular council meeting about people setting off fireworks on a nightly basis since Memorial Day. West End Resident Fern Sibert told council that the previous night she had to call police about fireworks being set off after 3:00 AM. Mayor Scott Putnam called the behavior ridiculous and instructed affected residents to call 9-1-1 and the events will be reported to City Police. Putnam also indicated that extra police patrols will be used to address fireworks complaints over the holiday weekend. In other council business, Councilman Joe Manning was able to provide a financial update both current and projected. Manning states that financially the city should be ok until the end of the year, but because of lost revenues due to the Covid-19 pandemic shut down revenues for 2021 could be down as much as 25%. Budgeted funds for overtime are currently 60% depleted. Two city employees are either currently or will be on military leave of absence due to deployment. That and the extra fireworks patrols this weekend will put a strain on those funds going forward. Manning indicated that his department will keep a very close eye on the budget for the remainder of the year.
July 3, 2020 3:17 am
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – A suspect has died and a police officer who was shot in the head during a Kansas City shooting remains in critical condition. Kansas City police on Twitter said that an officer was hospitalized for emergency surgery after the Thursday evening shooting. The Missouri State Highway Patrol tweeted that the suspect fired at police, who returned fire. The Patrol tweeted that police fatally shot the suspect. The shooting is the second that injured a Kansas City officer Thursday. Three people including a police officer were shot earlier Thursday after a reported robbery at a bus stop.
July 3, 2020 3:16 am
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) – The U.S. Supreme Court has blocked a lower court ruling allowing curbside voting in Alabama and waiving some absentee ballot requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conservative justices granted Alabama’s request to stay a federal judge’s order that would allow local officials to offer curbside voting in the July runoff and loosen absentee ballot requirements in three of the state’s large counties. The order will remain stayed while the court decides whether to hear Alabama’s appeal. Alabama argued that it would be confusing to change absentee ballot rules in three of Alabama’s 67 counties and that curbside voting would be a major change done right before the election.
July 3, 2020 3:15 am
HONG KONG (AP) – Prominent Hong Kong democracy activist Nathan Law has left the city for an undisclosed location, he revealed on his Facebook page shortly after testifying at a U.S. congressional hearing about the tough national security law China had imposed on the semi-autonomous territory. Law told reporters in a WhatsApp message that he would not reveal his whereabouts. His departure comes days after Hong Kong’s national security law took effect, targeting vaguely defined crimes of secessionist, subversive and terrorist acts, as well as any collusion with foreign forces. Hong Kong government also said that popular protest slogan “Liberate Hong Kong, the revolution of our times” is a call for independence and as such could be in violation of the new law.
July 3, 2020 3:14 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The White House says President Donald Trump was never briefed on intelligence that Russia had put a bounty on U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan because there wasn’t corroborating evidence. But former intelligence officials say presidents are routinely informed about intelligence even when it’s not definitively confirmed. They say it strains credulity to think Trump wouldn’t have been told of something so important, whether corroborated or not. Intelligence that may be on shaky ground today may foreshadow tomorrow’s calamity, so briefers are expected to ensure presidents have the fullest possible picture to prepare for something that may soon require full attention.
July 3, 2020 3:13 am
TORONTO (AP) – Canadian police say an armed man crashed his truck through a gate and breached the grounds where Prime Minister Justin Trudeau lives before being arrested two hours later. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police say Trudeau was not present at the time of the incident in Ottawa on Thursday. The man, a member of Canada’s armed forces, is in custody and being interviewed. Police say charges are pending. Canada’s defense minister has declined to comment while the investigation is in progress.
July 3, 2020 3:11 am
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has ordered that face coverings must be worn in public across most of the state. The move announced Thursday is a dramatic ramp-up of the Republican governor’s efforts to control spiking numbers of confirmed coronavirus cases and hospitalizations. Abbott had pushed Texas’ aggressive reopening of the state economy in May. He previously said the government could not order individuals to wear masks. His previous orders had undercut early efforts by local governments to enforce mask requirements. Thursday’s order requires “all Texans to wear a face covering over the nose and mouth in public spaces in counties with 20 or more positive” coronavirus cases.”
