July 11, 2019 9:23 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump says he’ll hold a news conference Thursday to talk about the 2020 census and his push to include a question on citizenship. A Supreme Court ruling barred the question for now. But Trump has said he may issue an executive order or memorandum to try to force the issue. An executive order would not, by itself, override court rulings blocking the question. But such a move could give administration lawyers a new basis to try to convince federal courts the question could be included. Trump tweeted Thursday he will hold the news conference following a White House social media summit.
July 11, 2019 8:21 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – A senior military officer has accused the Air Force general tapped to be the next vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of sexual misconduct, potentially jeopardizing his nomination. Members of Congress have raised questions about the allegations and the military investigation that found insufficient evidence to charge him. The officer tells The Associated Press that Gen. John Hyten subjected her to a series of unwanted sexual advances by kissing, hugging and rubbing up against her during 2017 while she was one of his aides. She says he tried to derail her military career after she rebuffed him. The AP routinely does not name victims of sexual assault. The Air Force investigated the woman’s allegations, and found there was insufficient evidence to charge the general or recommend punishment.
July 11, 2019 8:19 am
It has become Washington’s largest annual event. The Whiskey Rebellion Festival opens this afternoon as it celebrates its tenth anniversary. It includes live music, food, fireworks, and historical commemorations. The opening takes place with the Main Street farmers market and the Washington Health Systems Health Fair. The Washington Symphony Brass Quintet and the Washington Festival Chorale will perform at the Main Street Community Pavilion. Friday’s events include heritage crafts, decorate the liberty pole and Blues, Brews and BBQ from 6:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. A parade is set for Saturday morning at 10:30 a.m. and there will be a distilleries tasting tour and tar and feathering on Main Street. At Washington Park, there will be 18th century re-enactments and demonstrations. On Sunday, a historical community church service begins at 10:30 a.m. at the Main pavillion followed by a local community choirs concert, family and children’s activities and the trial of David Bradford at the George Washington Hotel at 2 p.m. Freedom Transit will be offering a ‘free fare’ day on Saturday for those heading to the festival.
July 11, 2019 4:22 am
NEW ORLEANS (AP) – A potential tropical storm brewing in the Gulf of Mexico presents twin troubles for parts of southeast Louisiana. It could contribute to the rising of an already high Mississippi River, with water reaching the tops of levees this weekend. And there is also the widespread danger of flash floods like the one that walloped New Orleans on Wednesday. Officials said that storm dumped as much as 8 inches in parts of the metro area in three hours. The Gulf disturbance that spawned the floods was forecast to strengthen into a tropical storm by Thursday night.
Forecasters said Louisiana could see up to 12 inches of rain by Monday. Some areas could get 18 inches. Mississippi and Texas were also at risk of torrential rains.
July 11, 2019 4:18 am
NEW YORK (AP) – The former Palm Beach County state attorney is disputing Labor Secretary Alex Acosta’s account of why he signed off on a secret sex trafficking plea deal involving now-jailed financier Jeffrey Epstein. Acosta insisted Wednesday that the deal in which Epstein pleaded guilty to lesser state charges was the toughest he could have gotten at the time. And he said prosecutors were working to avoid a more lenient arrangement that would have allowed Epstein to “walk free.” But Barry Krischer, who was in office at the time, says Acosta’s recollection “is completely wrong.” Krischer, a Democrat, said that the U.S. attorney’s office’s always had the ability to file its own federal charges and that a lengthy indictment was prepared but “abandoned after secret negotiations between Mr. Epstein’s lawyers and Mr. Acosta.”
July 11, 2019 4:17 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – To prepare for next week’s high-stakes hearing with Robert Mueller, some Democrats are watching old video of his testimony on other matters. Others are closely re-reading the former special counsel’s 448-page report of Russia’s election meddling and the Trump campaign. And almost all are worrying about how they’ll make the most of the limited time for questioning. Mueller has said he won’t answer questions beyond what is in his report when he comes to Congress on July 17. He is expected to testify before the House’s judiciary and intelligence committees for two hours each. Democrats will be trying to spotlight what they say are the report’s most damaging findings about President Donald Trump. A Rhode Island congressman, David Cicilline, says Democrats have to be “very strategic about the questions.”
July 11, 2019 4:14 am
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has denied British allegations of a confrontation in the Strait of Hormuz, saying if it had received orders to seize any ships it would have executed them immediately. The semi-official Fars news agency carried a statement from the Guard’s navy early Thursday saying “there were no clashes with alien boats, especially English boats.” Britain says three Iranian vessels unsuccessfully tried to impede the passage of a British commercial vessel through the Strait of Hormuz and only turned away after receiving “verbal warnings” from a UK navy vessel. Last week, authorities in Gibraltar intercepted an Iranian supertanker that was believed to be breaching European Union sanctions by carrying a shipment of Tehran’s crude oil to Syria. Tehran had warned of repercussions. The tanker’s detention comes at a particularly sensitive time as tensions between the U.S. and Iran grow over the unraveling of a 2015 nuclear deal, which President Trump withdrew from last year.
July 11, 2019 4:12 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania will try again to award licenses for five more mini-casinos, part of an aggressive gambling expansion authorized in 2017 by a cash-hungry state government.
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board on Wednesday approved a motion to restart auctions Sept. 4, under orders by a provision slipped into a budget-related bill signed by Gov. Tom Wolf. The gaming board stopped the auctions last year after it received no bids for a sixth license. The first five auctions raised $127 million, and the first mini-casino is expected to open next year. The auctions are limited to owners of Pennsylvania’s 12 operating casinos and a 13th that’s under construction in Philadelphia. Pennsylvania is the nation’s No. 2 state for commercial casino revenue, behind Nevada, and No. 1 in tax revenue from casino gambling.
July 11, 2019 4:10 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania students who attend one of the 14 state-owned universities won’t see higher tuition next year, the first such freeze in more than 20 years. The State System of Higher Education’s board on Wednesday voted for to keep in-state tuition flat at about $7,700. Most of the system’s students are from Pennsylvania. The system’s last tuition freeze was for the 1998-99 school year, when the cost for in-state students was less than half what it is today. The universities have seen total enrollment fall over the past eight years from about 112,000 to just over 90,000. The state government’s support for the system is rising by about 2 percent this year, to $477 million.
July 11, 2019 4:08 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania’s elected fiscal watchdog is urging state officials to end the Keystone Exams, saying they’re not federally required and it’s costing taxpayers nearly $100 million between 2015 and 2021. Auditor General Eugene DePasquale said Wednesday that Pennsylvania should instead consider using a nationally recognized standardized high school test. DePasquale says many states use the SAT or ACT to meet the federal requirement for a secondary-level standardized test. DePasquale says at least 12 other states have phased out the state-specific tests while Pennsylvania keeps paying millions of dollars to Minnesota-based Data Recognition Corp. each year to administer and score the Keystone Exams. The Department of Education says it’s willing to consider a high school exam other than the Keystones, but says notes any change in the assessment requires federal approval.
