August 26, 2019 1:36 pm
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) – Several employees of a Florida nursing home have surrendered to face charges in connection with a power outage at a Florida nursing home that led to the deaths of 12 patients. Jim Cobb represents a former administrator at Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills who’s one of those charged. Lawrence Hashish represents one of three nurses charged. Both told The Associated Press that the administrator and two nurses had surrendered Monday. It wasn’t clear whether a third nurse had turned herself in. Cobb says the caregivers are taking the punishment that belongs squarely with state officials, including former Gov. Rick Scott and the power company. State officials didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment. The residents died after the home lost power amid sweltering heat after Hurricane Irma in 2017.
August 26, 2019 9:45 am
Stocks are rising on Wall Street in early trading after President Donald Trump struck a conciliatory tone on trade talks with China, saying Beijing was willing to reopen talks. Big technology companies which do a lot of business in China and have much riding on the outcome of the trade dispute, rose the most early Monday. Apple climbed 2%. Traders will be closely watching the next steps in the trade negotiations, having been disappointed many times recently by early signs that the chill between the two economic giants was thawing. U.S. stocks are coming off their fourth straight week of declines.
August 26, 2019 9:43 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Target is hoping to bring the magic of characters like Mickey Mouse and Elsa to its own customers by creating permanent Disney shops at a cluster of stores starting this fall. As part of its collaboration with The Walt Disney Co., the Minneapolis-based discounter says it will open 25 Disney-branded stores starting Oct. 4, with 40 additional locations opening by October 2020. Target is also launching a Disney-focused online experience on its site on Sunday. And it plans to open a new store near the entrance of the Walt Disney World Resort in 2021. The moves, announced Sunday, come as Target aims to build on its strong sales momentum. Disney, which operates 300 stores globally, is looking for new ways to reach its fans. Financial terms were not disclosed.
August 26, 2019 4:25 am
BEIJING (AP) – China has allowed its yuan to sink to an 11-year low against the dollar after President Donald Trump threatened to block American companies from doing business with this country. The yuan declined Monday to 7.1468 to the dollar, its weakest rate since January 2008. Chinese leaders have promised to avoid “competitive devaluation” to hold down export prices in the face of Trump’s tariff hikes. But regulators are trying to make the state-controlled exchange more market oriented, and investor jitters about the tariff war are pushing the yuan lower. Trump said Friday he was ordering American companies to stop dealing with China. He said later he was threatening to use emergency powers under a 1977 law that targets rogue regimes, terrorists and drug traffickers.
August 26, 2019 4:24 am
MIAMI (AP) – Forecasters say the fourth tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season is maintaining its strength as it moves toward the Windward Islands. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Sunday that Tropical Storm Dorian could intensify to near hurricane strength over the eastern Caribbean Sea by Tuesday. As of 8 p.m. EDT Sunday, Dorian’s center was located about 335 miles (540 kilometers) east-southeast of Barbados and was moving west at 14 mph (23 kph). Maximum sustained winds are at 50 mph (85 kph). A tropical storm warning is in effect for Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines. A tropical storm watch was issued for Grenada and Martinique. Forecasters say Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and the Virgin Islands should monitor Dorian’s progress.
August 26, 2019 4:23 am
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) – It’s finger lickin’ fake chicken. Kentucky Fried Chicken plans to test plant-based chicken nuggets and boneless wings Tuesday at one of its restaurants in Atlanta. Depending on customer feedback, the chain could expand the test to other markets. KFC is partnering with Beyond Meat to develop the new product. Beyond Meat also sells plant-based burgers and sausages at grocery stores and some fast food chains like Carl’s Jr. and Del Taco. It sold frozen plant-based chicken strips until earlier this year, but pulled them off the market because it wanted to improve the recipe. Restaurants are responding to a surge in consumer demand for plant-based meats. U.S. sales of meat substitutes are expected to jump 78% to $2.5 billion between 2018 and 2023, according to Euromonitor.
August 26, 2019 4:22 am
BIARRITZ, France (AP) – President Donald Trump has dismissed concerns about climate change at a world leaders’ summit in France, saying he’s “not going to lose” America’s wealth “on dreams” and “windmills.” Trump was asked at the end of the Group of Seven gathering what the world should be doing to address climate change. Trump skipped a session on the topic earlier Monday and answered by saying that the U.S. “has tremendous wealth” “under its feet” and that he’s not going to lose it “on dreams, on windmills.”
August 26, 2019 4:19 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – A federal appeals court is reversing a lower court decision and ruling that the Pennsylvania House of Representatives’ policy barring atheists from delivering invocations doesn’t violate the U.S. Constitution. Friday’s decision by the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upholds House Speaker Mike Turzai’s policy of limiting prayers at the start of legislative sessions to guest chaplains who believe in God or a divine or higher power. It reverses last year’s decision by a district judge, who sided with atheists, agnostics, freethinkers and humanists in ruling that the restrictions violated constitutional prohibitions on making laws that establish a religion. The appeals court’s 2-1 majority says the policy fits within the “historical tradition of legislative prayer” and it counts as government speech that’s protected from a free speech or equal protection challenge.
August 26, 2019 4:18 am
BEAVER FALLS, Pa. (AP) – A coroner says a school bus driver in western Pennsylvania was electrocuted trying to flee from his burning vehicle after it struck a utility pole and caught fire. Authorities in Beaver County say the bus wasn’t carrying any students when it struck the pole at about 3 p.m. Friday in North Sewickley Township. Officials said the crash brought down power lines, and the driver stepped on the downed wires as he was fleeing the burning vehicle. Coroner David Gabauer said the driver, 60-year-old Timothy VanKirk of Ellwood City, died of accidental high-voltage electrocution. Chris Kemper of the First Student bus company said VanKirk was practicing his route in preparation for the start of school. He called the death a tragedy and said officials’ “thoughts and prayers are with the family.”
August 26, 2019 4:16 am
BELLEFONTE, Pa. (AP) – The former house manager of a now-defunct Penn State fraternity where a pledge fell during a night of hazing and drinking and later died has been placed on two years’ probation on a hindering apprehension conviction. Twenty-three-year-old Braxton Becker of Niskayuna, New York was also ordered to pay a $5,000 fine and do 100 hours of community service on the conviction stemming from the February 2017 death of 19-year-old Timothy Piazza of Lebanon, New Jersey. The Centre Daily Times reports that defense attorney Karen Muir has vowed an appeal. Becker, accused of deleting basement security camera footage, was convicted of hindering apprehension but acquitted of evidence-tampering and obstruction. Muir said her client “has learned a very hard, valuable lesson.” Piazza’s death led to passage of a stricter state anti-hazing law.
