Weather better for historic SpaceX launch of NASA astronauts
By MARCIA DUNN AP Aerospace Writer
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The weather is looking up for SpaceX’s first astronaut launch, as officials vow to keep crew safety the top priority. Forecasters say the odds of acceptable conditions have improved to 60% for Wednesday’s planned launch of a SpaceX Falcon rocket with two NASA astronauts. But that doesn’t factor in the sea states along the SpaceX Dragon capsule’s path to orbit. SpaceX needs relatively calm waves and wind up the U.S. and Canadian seaboard and across the North Atlantic to Ireland, in case astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken need to make an emergency splashdown. This will be the first astronaut launch from Florida in nearly a decade, and a first for a private company. Both President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence are expected to attend today’s launch.

Biden knocks Trump for ‘this macho stuff’ in shunning masks
By WILL WEISSERT Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Joe Biden says President Donald Trump is a “fool” who is “stoking deaths” for suggesting that wearing a mask in public to combat the spread of the coronavirus is anything other than a sign of leadership. The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee on Tuesday also knocked Trump for “this macho stuff” in shunning masks. Biden’s comments came a day after he wore a black face mask at a park near their Delaware home to lay a wreath at a veterans’ memorial for Memorial Day. Trump later retweeted a post that appeared to make fun of Biden in his mask. The president does not wear a face mask in public.

Woman fired after backlash from racist park confrontation
By TOM HAYS and RYAN KRYSKA Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — A video of a verbal dispute between a white woman walking her dog off a leash and a black man bird watching in Central Park is sparking accusations of racism. The cell phone recording by birdwatcher Christian Cooper shows Amy Cooper calling police to frantically report she was being threatened by “an African-American man.” The confrontation happened early Monday morning when Christian Cooper said he noticed Amy Cooper had let her dog off its leash against the rules in the Ramble, a secluded section of Central Park popular with birdwatchers. The widely watched video posted on social media resulted in an announcement by Amy Cooper’s employers on Tuesday that they were firing her despite her public plea for forgiveness.

Swift firings for Minneapolis officers in death of black man
By AMY FORLITI and JEFF BAENEN Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Firings came swiftly for four Minneapolis police officers after bystander video captured the death of a black man in custody. The video showed the man pleading that he could not breathe as a white officer knelt on his neck and kept his knee there for several minutes after the man stopped moving. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said the firings were the “right call.” Monday’s death of George Floyd is under investigation by the FBI and state law enforcement authorities in a process likely to take months. The case drew immediate comparisons to that of Eric Garner, an unarmed black man who died in 2014 in New York after being placed in a police chokehold.

Kail Supports Temporary Budget to Fund Education and Critical Services

HARRISBURG – Rep. Josh Kail (R-Beaver/Washington) issued the following statement after voting in favor of a temporary budget that would fund education and critical services while allowing for flexibility for the rest of the 2020-21 fiscal year:

“This budget would fully fund education from K-12, as well as higher education, for 12 months so our children can go back to school safely without any further interruption in their learning next school year.

“Just as important as our kids getting the education they need is the absence of any new taxes. With so many people out of work without support from the unemployment compensation system, there’s no way we could ask Pennsylvanians to pay more. We have to respect that they’re in a financial crisis because of the pandemic.

“COVID-19 has caused unknown financial losses at the state level, too. By creating a five-month budget and then a seven-month budget in the fall, we should have a better picture of the state’s financial situation.

“Later in the year, we should know what kind of support we’re going to receive from the federal government. Plus, since tax collection dates were changed to July and August, it’s impossible to have a sense of incoming revenue now. Creating a two-part budget allows us to move forward now and pivot later as needed.”

 

Wife of victim says UConn student was looking for neighbor
By PAT EATON-ROBB Associated Press
WILLINGTON, Conn. (AP) — A victim’s wife says a college student suspected in two slayings in Connecticut said he had gone to the neighborhood of the first victim because he was looking for a young woman he knew. Cindy DeMers says her husband, Ted DeMers, was killed with a machete after giving Peter Manfredonia a ride to his motorcycle. She says Manfredonia, who was walking in front of their house wearing a motorcycle helmet, had told them that the bike had broken down while he was riding to the house of their neighbor, whom he mentioned by name.