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.
August 14, 2020 4:12 am
NEW YORK (AP) – An analysis by The Associated Press and Core Logic found that the average home price in the U.S. in May was up 4.2% compared to a year ago. The data shows that prices for cheaper homes – those found in the lower third of prices in metropolitan areas and a typical target for first-time buyers – grew faster than the rest of the market. The coronavirus pandemic helped shape the housing market by influencing everything from the direction of mortgage rates, to the inventory of homes on the market to the types of homes in demand and the desired locations.
August 13, 2020 5:20 pm
JERUSALEM (AP) – Israel and the United Arab Emirates say they are establishing full diplomatic relations in a U.S.-brokered deal that required Israel to halt its contentious plan to annex occupied West Bank land sought by the Palestinians. The historic agreement delivered a key foreign policy victory to President Donald Trump as he seeks re-election and reflected a changing Middle East in which shared concerns about archenemy Iran have largely overtaken traditional Arab support for the Palestinians. A spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the deal amounts to “treason,” and should be reversed. The agreement makes the UAE the third Arab country, after Egypt and Jordan, to have full diplomatic ties with Israel.
August 13, 2020 4:35 pm
NEW YORK (AP) – The nation’s largest movie theater chain will reopen in the U.S. on Aug. 20 with retro ticket prices of 15 cents per movie. AMC Entertainment said Thursday that it expects to open the doors to more than 100 cinemas – or about a sixth of its nationwide locations – on Aug. 20 with throwback pricing for a day. AMC theaters have reopened in numerous international countries but have remained shuttered in the U.S. since March. The chain touted the reopening as “Movies in 2020 at 1920 Prices.” Regal Cinemas, the second largest chain, is to reopen some U.S. locations on Aug. 21.
