May 16, 2020 7:22 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump’s emergency powers are worrying senators and legal experts. Dozens of special authorities become available to any president during national emergencies. They are rarely used, but Trump last month stunned legal experts and others when he mistakenly claimed that he had “total” authority over governors in easing COVID-19 guidelines. That prompted 10 senators to probe how sweeping Trump believes his emergency powers are. They want to see this administration’s Presidential Emergency Action Documents. These little-known, classified documents don’t give a president authority beyond what’s in the Constitution, but they outline what powers a president believes the Constitution allows him to exercise during national emergencies.
May 16, 2020 7:21 am
BOSTON (AP) – The U.S. government is imposing new restrictions on Chinese tech giant Huawei by limiting its ability to use American technology to produce semiconductors abroad. The Commerce Department said Friday the move aims to prevent Huawei from making a run around existing U.S. sanctions. The U.S. government blacklisted the Chinese tech company a year ago, deeming it a national security risk. But numerous loopholes exist. China reacted angrily.
May 16, 2020 7:19 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump has fired the State Department’s inspector general, an Obama administration appointee whose office was critical of alleged political bias in the agency’s management. The ouster is the latest in a series of moves against independent executive branch watchdogs who have found fault with the Trump administration. A senior department official says Trump removed Steve Linick from his job Friday but gave no reason for his removal. In a letter to Congress, Trump said Linick no longer had his full confidence. Democrats in Congress immediately cried foul, with the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee suggesting that Linick was fired in part in retaliation for opening an unspecified investigation into Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
May 16, 2020 7:18 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Democrats have powered a massive $3 trillion coronavirus response bill through the House, over Republican opposition. The 1,815-page measure is aimed at propping up a U.S. economy in free fall and a health care system overwhelmed by a pandemic that’s still ravaging the country. It’s also an election-year statement of priorities by Democrats. The measure has no chance of passing the GOP-controlled Senate and has already drawn a White House veto threat. Passage sets up difficult negotiation with the White House and Senate Republicans over what’s likely to be the last major COVID-19 response bill before November’s presidential and congressional elections.
May 16, 2020 4:42 am
Over 500 families in the Mon Valley have fresh food thanks to a large “Truck to Trunk” pull-up food drive that took place Friday afternoon at the Mon Valley Career and Technology Center in Speers. According to event organizer, Michele Schwerha, volunteers from Fourth Street Foods, Mon Valley CTC, Charleroi Fire & Regional Police, and Charleroi Council loaded people’s trunks with boxes of fresh meats, vegetables, pasta, milk, frozen goods, cleaning supplies, and homemade masks. The line of cars stretched from the parking lot all the way to Interstate 70. Mon Valley CTC Director, Neil Henehan, said the event seemed to bring the Mon Valley together, something he was proud of his students and staff for helping to accomplish.
May 16, 2020 4:10 am
Cars, vans, and trucks of high school, middle school and elementary teachers, board members, and administrators showed their support for the Prexies’ Class of 2020 Friday night with a parade through the city. The caravan led by City of Washington Police, school officers, and city Firetrucks left Wash High about 5 p.m. and traveled to Highland Ave., East Washington, streets on the east side of town, back through the West end, and Tylerdale and back to the school lot. Seniors waved to their teachers who honked and waved and cheered. Prexies pride was on display for all to experience!
May 16, 2020 3:42 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – A Greene County judge has been accused of judicial misconduct by the Pennsylvania Judicial Conduct Board for the alleged mishandling of criminal cases. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that the board filed a 21-count complaint Thursday against President Judge Farley Toothman. The complaint alleges that in one incident Toothman retaliated against a woman who confronted his law clerk for alleged theft from a Sunoco gas station. That woman was incarcerated for 25 days on contempt charges for allegedly violating a payment plan in connection to an unrelated case. Toothman could not be immediately reached to comment on the charges. But he told the Observer-Reporter newspaper Thursday that the complaint was regrettable.
May 16, 2020 3:37 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – The state Supreme Court is dismissing a lawsuit seeking to force Pennsylvania elections officials to accept absentee or mail-in ballots as long as they are received within a week after the primary or general elections during the pandemic. The ruling was Friday. Disability Rights Pennsylvania and several other parties argued that postal delays from the pandemic could cause ballots to be received too late to count. However, Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration opposed it, saying it would be unconstitutional to give different voters different deadlines. The deadline for county elections offices to receive absentee and mail-in ballots is currently 8 p.m., when polls close, on election day.
May 15, 2020 5:29 pm
GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Ariz. (AP) – Tourists are once again roaming portions of Grand Canyon National Park after some areas reopened Friday, despite concerns that it could hurt efforts to control the coronavirus. During the early morning, more than two dozen people were enjoying some viewpoints along the South Rim. Park officials say the South Rim entrance will only be open until 10 a.m. through Monday. Visitors will have limited access to viewpoints and other sites. Officials on the hard-hit Navajo Nation, which stretches into northern Arizona, expressed disappointment at the reopening. There have been at least 3,632 positive cases and 127 deaths on the reservation, which also includes parts of New Mexico and Utah.
May 15, 2020 5:16 pm
UNDATED (AP) – J.C. Penney has forestalled a bankruptcy filing by making a $17 million interest payment. The retailer had skipped an interest payment of $12 million in mid-April, kicking off a 30-day grace period. Another non-payment would have meant default. Today’s payment comes as reports are swirling about an expected bankruptcy filing. Penny would become the fourth major retailer to file for bankruptcy protection. J.Crew, Neiman Marcus and Stage Stores have filed for Chapter 11 this month.
