Proposed bill would provide relief for theaters, music venues
John Pergal is in a difficult situation. Pergal owns the Thunderbird Cafe & Music Hall in Lawrenceville, and is part of the ownership group for the Roxian Theater in McKees Rocks. Both buildings are usually filled with the sounds of music and the sight of dancing crowds enjoying their favorite...
Russian President Putin offers NATO site inspections to avoid missile buildup
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed Monday that NATO and Russia should conduct mutual inspections of each other’s military bases to secure a moratorium on the deployment of new missiles in Europe following last year’s demise of a U.S.-Russian nuclear arms pact. The United States and Russia both pulled...
Police: Florida man stole bulldozer, ran down Biden signs
HAINES CITY, Fla. — A 26-year-old man has been accused of stealing a bulldozer from a Florida construction site, driving it into a neighborhood and knocking down campaign signs for Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, according to authorities and homeowners. The man took the bulldozer in Haines City on Saturday...
Amy Coney Barrett confirmed as Supreme Court justice in partisan voteVideo
WASHINGTON — Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed to the Supreme Court late Monday by a deeply divided Senate, Republicans overpowering Democrats to install President Donald Trump’s nominee days before the election and secure a likely conservative court majority for years to come. Trump’s choice to fill the vacancy of the...
NASA discovers water on moon’s sunlit surfaceVideo
NASA announced Monday that its Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) has confirmed water on the sunlit surface of the moon. Officials said the finding indicates that water may be distributed across the lunar surface and not limited to cold, shadowed places. “We had indications that H2O — the familiar...
Japan rejects nuclear ban treaty; survivors to keep pushing
TOKYO — Japan said Monday it will not sign a U.N. treaty that bans nuclear weapons and does not welcome its entry into force next year, rejecting the wishes of atomic bomb survivors in Japan who are urging the government to join and work for a nuclear-free world. The United...
Grassroots volunteers rally voters in swing-state of Ohio
CINCINNATI — Something changed in Yana Duke this year. She came to the U.S. as a youth from Ukraine, had never been involved in politics before. But during the 2020 campaign season, she felt she had to do something. “What I’m afraid is coming to this country is what I’m...
Lithuania swings to the center-right as opposition wins vote
VILNIUS, Lithuania — A center-right coalition in Lithuania, led by the conservative Homeland Union, is headed back to power after eight years in the opposition after winning the most votes in a weekend parliamentary runoff. Key challenges looming for the new three-party coalition will be tackling a budget deficit, a...
More U.K. restrictions expected in virus fight
LONDON — British authorities are likely to tighten restrictions on more areas of the country this week, amid mixed signs about whether recent measures have stemmed a steep rise in coronavirus infections. Government scientific advisers say there are some signs the increase has begun to level off since a three-tier...
Fire set in Boston ballot drop box; FBI asked to investigate
A fire was set Sunday in a Boston ballot drop box holding more than 120 ballots in what appears to have been a “deliberate attack,” Massachusetts election officials said. The state has asked the FBI to investigate the fire that was set around 4 a.m. in a ballot drop box...
Man with metal detector finds 222-year-old coin near Maine church
EMBDEN, Maine — A man with a metal detector has found a long-hidden, 222-year-old coin under a few inches of soil outside a church in Maine. Shane Houston, of Charlotte, N.C., was on a metal-detecting trip with a friend from New Hampshire when he found the coin earlier this month,...
GOP slowly gaining as early vote total surpasses 2016Video
With nine days before Election Day, more people already have cast ballots in this year’s presidential election than voted early or absentee in the 2016 race as the start of in-person early voting in big states led to a surge in turnout in recent days. The opening of early voting...
Once a covid-19 vaccine is here, there will be a new challenge: convincing people it’s safe
There’s a good chance that a coronavirus vaccine could be available by late 2020 or early 2021. Developing an effective vaccine that fast would be a remarkable scientific achievement. It would also provide the first real hope of taming a new, deadly virus that has upended all aspects of American...
Officer suspended for blaring ‘Trump 2020’ from NYPD vehicleVideo
NEW YORK — The New York Police Department said Sunday it has suspended an officer without pay a day after he was seen on video saying “Trump 2020” over a patrol vehicle’s loudspeaker, a violation of department rules. The suspension is effective immediately and the incident remains under investigation, the...
U.N. chief says covid-19 is ‘the greatest crisis of our age’Video
BERLIN — The head of the United Nations said Sunday that “the covid-19 pandemic is the greatest crisis of our age.” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres opened an online session of the World Health Summit with a call for worldwide solidarity in the global crisis and demanded that developed countries support...
Senate votes to advance Barrett; confirmation expected Monday
WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans voted overwhelmingly Sunday to advance Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett toward final confirmation despite Democratic objections, just over a week before the presidential election. The vote was 51-48. Barrett’s confirmation on Monday was hardly in doubt, with majority Republicans mostly united in support behind President...
New storm Zeta a hurricane threat to Mexico, U.S. Gulf CoastVideo
MIAMI — Newly formed Tropical Storm Zeta strengthened Sunday in the western Caribbean and will probably become a hurricane before hitting Mexico’s resort-dotted Yucatan Peninsula and the U.S. Gulf Coast in coming days. Zeta was the earliest named 27th Atlantic storm recorded in an already historic hurricane season. The system...
Trump aide says ‘we’re not going to control the pandemic’Video
LONDONDERRY, N.H. — The coronavirus has reached into the heart of the White House once more, less than a week before Election Day, as it scorches the nation and the president’s top aide says “we’re not going to control the pandemic.” Officials on Sunday scoffed at the notion of dialing...
Pope Francis names first Black cardinal in the U.S.
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis on Sunday named 13 new cardinals, including Washington D.C. Archbishop Wilton Gregory, who would become the first Black U.S. prelate to earn the coveted red hat. In a surprise announcement from his studio window to faithful standing below in St. Peter’s Square, Francis said the...
Pence to keep up travel despite contact with infected aides
WASHINGTON — Vice President Mike Pence plans to maintain an aggressive campaign schedule this week despite an apparent outbreak of the coronavirus among his senior aides, the White House says. Pence’s chief of staff, Marc Short, and “a couple of key staff surrounding the vice president” have tested positive for...
Pa. Attorney General Josh Shapiro seeks second term in race against Republican Heather Heidelbaugh
Attorney General Josh Shapiro calls himself “the people’s lawyer.” Heather Heidelbaugh, his Republican challenger in the Nov. 3 election, refers to herself as “a lawyer’s lawyer.” While Shapiro has garnered national headlines for his impassioned challenges against the Trump administration, Heidelbaugh says the office is one that should focus on...
1 million could lose power as California winds whip up
SAN FRANCISCO — Northern California officials urged residents to leave homes in the hills, secure backyard furniture and other loose items and have an evacuation plan ready ahead of powerful winds that could lead to widespread electricity outages and leave more than 1 million people in the dark. Pacific Gas...
Eyes turn to Texas as early voting surge surpasses 2016
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas has already cast nearly 7 million votes, more than anywhere in America, and Glen Murdoch couldn’t get his ballot in fast enough after becoming a U.S. citizen this summer. “I was champing at the bit,” said Murdoch, who moved to Austin from Australia shortly after President...
GOP asks Supreme Court again to block Pa. ballot extension
HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania Republican Party is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to speedily take up its case to block counties in the presidential battleground state from counting mailed-in ballots received up to three days after the Nov. 3 election. The Republican Party’s late Friday filing came four days after...
Surging coronavirus colors White House race in closing days
LUMBERTON, North Carolina — President Donald Trump on Saturday mocked Democrat Joe Biden as “an inspiring guy” for raising alarm about the pandemic even as the president attracted sizable campaign crowds with coronavirus cases surging across the country in the closing days of the race. Biden, pressing the case that...
