July 28, 2020 12:50 pm
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) – Authorities in Maine say the woman killed in a rare shark attack off the state’s coast was a 63-year-old resident of New York City. The Maine Department of Marine Resources says the shark bite killed Julie Dimperio Holowach. The shark fatally bit Holowach off Bailey Island on Monday while she was swimming. The marine patrol said a witness saw Holowach swimming off the shore of Bailey Island when she was injured. Two kayakers then helped her get to shore, and an ambulance provided further assistance, but she was pronounced dead at the scene.
July 28, 2020 9:28 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump is back to pushing unproven claims that an anti-malaria drug is an effective treatment for the coronavirus. He’s also lobbing new attacks on the credibility of Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert. A week ago, Trump appeared to project a more serious tone about the coronavirus. But overnight, Trump retweeted a series of tweets advocating for hydroxychloroquine, along with a post that said Fauci has been misleading the public about the drug. Studies have shown the drug isn’t an effective treatment for COVID-19 and the U.S. government is no longer allowing it to be used for that purpose. Fauci said he won’t let the attacks stop him from doing his job.
July 28, 2020 5:41 am
Canonsburg’s annual Oktoberfest is the latest victim of the coronavirus pandemic. Officials announced Monday that they were forced to cancel the event, typically held the third week of September, because of the state Department of Health’s restriction of outdoor gatherings to 250 people. The event generally draws tens of thousands over three days. Organizers say they held out as long as possible in hopes of being able to hold the festival. Like many other events that have cancelled this year, officials say they are already looking forward to next year.
July 28, 2020 4:14 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Deep-pocketed and often anonymous donors are pouring over $100 million into an intensifying dispute about whether it should be easier to vote by mail. In Wisconsin, cities have received $6.3 million from an organization with ties to left-leaning philanthropy to help expand vote by mail. Meanwhile, a well-funded conservative group best known for its focus on judicial appointments is spending heavily to fight cases related to mail-in balloting procedures in court. The massive effort is remarkable considering the practice has long been noncontroversial. But the coronavirus is forcing changes to the way states conduct elections and prompting activists across the political spectrum to seek an advantage.
July 28, 2020 4:10 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The differences in Washington over the next coronavirus aid package are vast. Democrats propose $3 trillion in relief. Republicans have a $1 trillion counteroffer. And millions of Americans’ jobless benefits, school reopenings and eviction protections are at stake. The White House negotiators are returning to Capitol Hill on Tuesday to meet at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office. It’s apparent that Democrats have the leverage. Republicans are so divided over the prospect of big government spending they are leaving Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell with a severely weakened hand as a $600 federal unemployment assistance and eviction protections expire Friday.
July 28, 2020 4:09 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Attorney General William Barr is defending the aggressive federal law enforcement response to civil unrest in America, saying “violent rioters and anarchists have hijacked legitimate protests” sparked by George Floyd’s death at the hands of police. Barr told members of the House Judiciary Committee at a much-anticipated election year hearing Tuesday the violence taking place in Portland, Oregon, and other cities is disconnected from Floyd’s killing, He described Floyd’s death as a “horrible” event that prompted a necessary national reckoning on the relationship between the Black community and law enforcement. Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler says Barr has “aided and abetted” President Donald Trump’s worst impulses. (Photo: CNN)
July 28, 2020 4:06 am
(AP) – The head of U.S. Park Police is denying that his officers turned violently on protesters and journalists near the White House to clear the area for a photo event by President Donald Trump. Gregory T. Monahan’s testimony Tuesday before the House Natural Resources Committee marks his first extended account of the force used against demonstrators and journalists in Lafayette Square on June 1. Democrats are investigating the force used and examining whether Park Police acted to allow Trump to stage a photo opportunity nearby a half-hour later. Monahan told lawmakers there was “zero correlation” between the abrupt clearing of the area and Trump’s surprise appearance shortly after.
July 28, 2020 4:05 am
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – The mayors of six U.S. cities are appealing to Congress to make it illegal for the U.S. government to deploy militarized agents to cities that don’t want them. The mayors of Portland, Oregon, Seattle, Chicago, Kansas City, Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Washington wrote to leaders of the U.S. House and Senate pushing for limits on agent deployments. The move came Monday as a top official said federal militarized officers would remain in Portland until attacks on the U.S. courthouse cease. Early Monday, U.S. agents repeatedly fired what appeared to be tear gas, flash bangs and pepper balls at protester
July 28, 2020 4:03 am
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – West Virginia University has pushed back the start of its fall semester by a week and is switching some courses to online instruction due to concerns about the coronavirus outbreak. University President Gordon Gee says the move is aimed at reducing the overall amount of people on the Morgantown campus. He says most upper-division undergraduate courses will transition to online or a combination of online and face-to-face instruction. The move-in dates for residence halls will now occur from Aug. 15 to 22 with the start of classes set for Aug. 26th.
July 28, 2020 4:01 am
Judge Gary Gilman sentenced two men on felony charges Tuesday morning. Michael Lowe, 29 of Burgettstown was sentenced to two consecutive 1 ½ to 5 year jail terms on felony counts of burglary. This, after initially facing more than 160 different charges stemming from a crime spree in the Burgettstown, Smith and Hanover Township area. Lowe was ordered to pay restitution of nearly $66,000 to roughly a dozen victims. Lowe will make application to the state’s Recidivism Risk Reduction Incentive program, allowing him to reduce his jail term based on good behavior during his sentence. Secondly, Thomas McCort was sentenced on one felony count of possession of child pornography. The 68 year old South Strabane Township man was found to have had more than 1000 images of child pornography on a laptop when police seized that computer back in October of 2019. McCort will serve two years of probation and will have to perform 100 hours of community service in the first year of his sentence. He will not be allowed contact with minors without adult supervision and he will be able to possess a computer as long as the Adult Probation Office has unfettered access to it.
