Pennsylvania high court takes up another election lawsuit
By MARC LEVY Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s highest court is taking up another election-related lawsuit, this one filed by the state Democratic Party amid a partisan fight over fixing glitches and gray areas in the battleground state’s fledgling mail-in voting law. Briefs are due Sept. 8, the state Supreme Court said in its Tuesday order. The Democratic Party’s lawsuit asks the court to order an extension of Pennsylvania’s Election Day-deadline to count mailed-in ballots, a similar request to one in a lawsuit already taken up by the state Supreme Court. It also asks the court to allow the use of satellite election offices and drop boxes to help relieve the pressure from an avalanche of mailed-in ballots.

Lawmakers ask Trump’s postmaster to return sorting machines
By MARC LEVY Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — U.S. Sen. Bob Casey and 10 of Pennsylvania’s members of Congress are asking President Donald Trump’s postmaster general to immediately return sorting machines that were removed, while union officials say the machines’ removal has contributed to a slowdown in mail delivery. Tuesday’s letter to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy was signed by Casey, a Democrat, all nine Pennsylvania Democrats in the U.S. House and one of nine Pennsylvania Republicans, U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick. They say they’ve heard from people in every county across Pennsylvania who are gravely concerned about delayed mail delivery. They say at least 30 letter-sorting machines have been removed from Pennsylvania mail facilities.

Barr sets restrictions on surveillance of candidates, aides
By ERIC TUCKER Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department is imposing new restrictions on how it conducts any secret national security surveillance of candidates for federal offices or their staff. The restrictions were announced by Attorney General William Barr in a pair of memos issued Tuesday. They are part of broader changes to the Justice Department’s surveillance procedures that have been implemented in response to problems detected during the Russia investigation four years ago. One new policy would require the FBI to consider briefing a candidate or staffer that the person is at risk of being compromised by a foreign power before applying for a warrant from the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to eavesdrop on their communications.

US construction spending edges up tiny 0.1% in July
By MARTIN CRUTSINGER AP Economics Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. construction spending edged up a tiny 0.1% in July, breaking a string of losses due to disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The Commerce Department reported that the slight July gain followed a 0.5% decline in June. In July, spending on residential construction rose a solid 2.1% while nonresidential construction fell by 1%. Home sales have been strong after an initial hit from the pandemic and the hope is that those gains will help lift housing construction in the months ahead. The report showed that total government construction fell by 1.3% in July.

(Beaver County) Beaver County Radio News Coordinator Sandy Gioradano with a story about rent and being evicted during the pandemic. A small group of people lined up outside of the Beaver County Courthouse seeking answers if there will be an eviction, or if there will be an extension for those who are renting here in Pennsylvania. Pittsburgh resident Dave Williams has expressed that many people are working from home because of the pandemic, kids are home, and school has become home for all children in school, and to burden them with this issue makes the situation worse. Residents are still waiting on Gov. Tom Wolf and his decision on if he will extend the rent release.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is diving head-first into the latest eruption in the nation’s reckoning over racial injustice with a trip Tuesday to Kenosha, Wisconsin, over the objections of local leaders. The city has been riven by protests since the Aug. 23 shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man hit seven times in the back by police. On the eve of his visit, Trump defended a teenage supporter accused of fatally shooting two men in Kenosha last week. Wisconsin’s Democratic governor, Tony Evers, who deployed the National Guard to quell demonstrations in response to the Blake shooting, pleaded with Trump to stay away for fear of straining tensions further.

The coronavirus pandemic has brought hard times for many farmers and has imperiled food security for many millions both in the cities and the countryside. United Nations experts are holding an online conference beginning Tuesday to brainstorm ways to help alleviate hunger and prevent the problems from worsening with the loss of many millions of jobs. Experts say disruptions due to outbreaks of the illness and restrictions on businesses and travel to control them run the gamut, from crops going unharvested by migrant workers unable to reach their jobs to transport problems to farm families selling livestock and equipment to survive. But enterprising fishing villages, farmers and technicians are coming up with creative ways to beat the crisis.

More than 50 Black former McDonald’s franchise owners are suing the burger chain for discrimination. In a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday in Chicago, the 52 plaintiffs say McDonald’s steered them to less-profitable restaurants and didn’t give them the same support and opportunities given white franchisees. The franchisees owned 200 U.S. stores before being forced to sell them over the last decade. They’re seeking compensation of $4 million to $5 million per store. The plaintiffs say McDonald’s steered them to inner-city restaurants with higher security and insurance costs, then forced them to make costly renovations. They say they weren’t offered rent relief and other financial benefits that white franchisees were given.

Los Angeles (AP) — The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the shooting of a Black man by two deputies in South L.A. Sheriff’s Lt. Brandon Dean told the Los Angeles Times that the deputies tried to stop the man for riding a bike in violation of vehicle codes. The man dropped his bike and ran, and the deputies chased him. Dean said the man punched a deputy in the face, and dropped a bundle of clothes he was carrying. A gun fell out of the bundle, and the deputies fatally shot him. Protesters gathered, demanding answers. The sheriff’s office is asking for patience with the investigation.