July 15, 2019 10:24 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Former Vice President Joe Biden will spend much of the coming week talking about his approach to health care. On Monday, Biden is unveiling a plan that would add a “public option” to the 2010 health care overhaul known as “Obamacare,” with expanded coverage paid for by raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans. Biden’s almost singular focus on former President Barack Obama’s health care law has been on display recently in early voting states. Biden hopes his positioning as Obamacare’s chief defender helps him on several fronts. It’s a reminder of his close work alongside Obama, who remains popular among Democratic voters. And it could reinforce Biden’s pitch as a sensible centrist. Biden’s proposal was outlined by advisers ahead of its release. It’s anchored by a “Medicare-like” plan that any American could buy on Affordable Care Act exchanges.
July 15, 2019 9:43 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Trump administration is moving to end asylum protections for most Central American migrants. A rule published Monday bars migrants from seeking asylum in the United States if they’ve traveled through another country first. Tens of thousands of migrant families from Central America travel through Mexico to the U.S. each month, many claiming asylum. The Trump administration claims families are taking advantage of legal loopholes it says allow migrants a free pass to the country while they wait out phony asylum requests. The rule is almost certain to face a legal challenge. U.S. law allows refugees to request asylum when they arrive at the U.S. regardless of how they did so. But there’s an exception for those who have come through a country considered “safe.” Immigrant rights groups say the Republican administration’s policies are a cruel effort to keep immigrants out.
July 15, 2019 7:27 am
PENN HILLS, Pa. (AP) – Authorities say a western Pennsylvania police officer returned fire and killed one of two homicide suspects following discovery of a man shot to death in a car. Allegheny County police superintendent Coleman McDonough says the body of 30-year-old Joshua Antonio Makhanda-Lopez was found in a Penn Hills apartment parking lot just before 9 p.m. Sunday. Witnesses said suspects fled to a nearby home. Three of four males inside came out, but one remained inside and was found in a basement. McDonough says 20-year-old Onaje Dickinson emerged and began firing at an officer, who returned fire, killing him. Police say Dickinson and 15-year-old, Myzle Ford, are believed to have killed Lopez after he was lured to the scene in a robbery conspiracy. The teen faces homicide, robbery, conspiracy and weapons charges.
(Photo: WPXI)
July 15, 2019 6:57 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Federal prosecutors say several more women have contacted them since financier Jeffrey Epstein’s arrest to say he abused them when they were underage. They cited the contacts in arguing against bail prior to a hearing Monday. Epstein’s lawyers say he’s no threat to flee and should await trial under house arrest in his $77 million Manhattan mansion. Prosecutors, calling him a flight risk and danger, say evidence against him is growing “stronger by the day.” They say they worry Epstein will try to influence witnesses if he is not incarcerated on charges that he recruited and abused dozens of underage girls in New York and Florida in the early 2000s. Epstein’s lawyers, though, say he’s lived a law-abiding life since pleading guilty to Florida solicitation charges in 2008.
July 15, 2019 4:21 am
CHICAGO (AP) – A dozen churches in the Los Angeles area have declared themselves sanctuaries for migrant families as the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown is scheduled to begin.
Guillermo Torres, with Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice, says more churches have become involved than ever before, which he attributes to a growing sense of indignation at the administration’s actions on immigration. President Donald Trump announced plans for sweeps that are expected to begin Sunday and target about 2,000 people with deportation orders in major cities, including Los Angeles. Torres said Sunday that there had been no reports of arrests. Pastor Fred Morris says the mere threat of roundups has already spread widespread fear in the community. He says he counseled his largely Hispanic congregation on what to do if agents arrive: don’t open the door, don’t answer questions. Many houses of worship in other cities and states have also declared themselves immigrant sanctuaries.
July 15, 2019 4:19 am
SRIHARIKOTA, India (AP) – India has called off the launch of a moon mission to explore the lunar south pole. The Chandrayaan-2 mission was aborted less than an hour before takeoff on Monday. Indian Space Research Organization spokesman B.R. Guruprasad says a “technical snag” was observed in the 640-ton launch-vehicle system. The agency says a new launch date would be announced. Chandrayaan, the word for “moon craft” in Sanskrit, is designed for a soft landing on the far side of the moon and to send a rover to explore water deposits confirmed by a previous Indian space mission. India’s nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi is eager to show off the country’s security and technology prowess. If India did manage the soft landing, it would be only the fourth to do so after the U.S., Russia and China.
July 15, 2019 4:18 am
NEW ORLEANS (AP) – Even though Tropical Depression Barry did not unleash catastrophic flooding in Louisiana, many across the Gulf Coast were urged to take heed of tornado and flash-flood warnings Monday as the storm moved north. Barry was downgraded from a tropical storm on Sunday afternoon but continued to pose a threat. Much of Louisiana and Mississippi were under flash-flood watches, as were parts of Arkansas, eastern Texas, western Tennessee and southeastern Missouri. Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards urged residents to be cautious as they ventured outside after a weekend in which many had sheltered indoors. He says he was “extremely grateful” that the storm had not caused the disastrous floods that had earlier been forecast. According to poweroutage.us, about 60,000 customers in Louisiana and 3,300 customers in Mississippi were without power Sunday night.
July 15, 2019 4:15 am
BETHLEHEM, Pa. (AP) – A man who authorities say climbed atop the rusting blast furnace at a former eastern Pennsylvania steel mill, prompting evacuation of an arts and entertainment venue now at the site, is now facing a felony charge of risking a catastrophe. Twenty-five-year-old Jonathan David Wallace of Mertztown was also charged Sunday with reckless endangering and defiant trespass following the more-than-21-hour ordeal at the old Bethlehem Steel Corp. site. Events at the SteelStacks campus were postponed or canceled as the man balanced on a beam hundreds of feet above. Officers climbed to a platform below and talked to him for hours before his arrest Saturday afternoon. Court documents don’t list an attorney for Wallace; messages left at numbers listed for him weren’t immediately returned Sunday.
July 15, 2019 4:13 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania’s Republican Party is trying to amicably settle a contested race for chairman between a candidate who had backing from Trump campaign officials, and a rival.
Bernadette Comfort instead will serve as President Donald Trump campaign’s chairwoman in the presidential battleground state ahead of the 2020 election. The state GOP’s former general counsel, Lawrence Tabas, will be the consensus candidate for state party chairman. Both sides said they had enough votes to win. The deal came together Friday. The party meets Saturday. Comfort had backing from Trump campaign officials and some Trump-aligned committee members supported Tabas. But party activists accuse Comfort of knowing about and ignoring complaints of sexual harassment by state party officials, accusations she’s denied.
July 15, 2019 4:12 am
ROCHESTER, Pa. (AP) – Authorities in western Pennsylvania have for the second time lifted a shelter-in-place advisory following a fire and chlorine gas leak at an abandoned industrial site. Emergency responders in Beaver County said the blaze at the old Beaver Alkali Products facility in Rochester was reported at about 9 p.m. Friday. No evacuations were ordered, but residents were asked to stay inside with windows and doors closed. The order was lifted after the blaze was reported under control at about 6 a.m. Saturday, but was reinstated “due to another chemical release.” The advisory was once again lifted Saturday afternoon, with emergency services officials saying “normal activities may be resumed.” The Department of Environmental Protection said the building had been abandoned for about 10 years and an emergency demolition was conducted last week.
