Stocks up again … Britain to bolster salaries
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are rising on Wall Street Friday as talks appear to be continuing in the start-and-stop drive on Capitol Hill to deliver more aid to the ailing economy. The S&P 500 rose 0.6% in the opening minutes of trading, on track for its third straight gain. It’s also on pace to close out its best week since July, following a weekslong run of mostly shaky trading. A spokesman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin spoke late Thursday about the possibility of a comprehensive deal to support the economy. Investors say such stimulus is crucial.

LONDON (AP) — The British government will pay two thirds of the salaries of workers in companies that have to close as a result of new coronavirus lockdown restrictions, which are widely expected to come into effect next week. Treasury chief Rishi Sunak responded Friday to calls from businesses, local leaders and unions to provide a financial support package to prevent mass job losses in sectors that will be subject to new restrictions. Pubs and restaurants in large parts of the north of England, where the coronavirus is spreading fastest, are expected to face a government order to shut their doors again, barely three months after reopening.

TOKYO (AP) — The foreign ministers of Japan and Mongolia have agreed to cooperate in promoting a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific,” a vision that Tokyo is pushing with the U.S. and other “like-minded” countries to counter China’s growing assertiveness in the region. Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi held talks in Mongolia with his counterpart, Nyamtseren Enkhtaivan. His visit comes after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo canceled a trip to Mongolia because of President Donald Trump’s COVID-19 infection. Japan and Mongolia also signed a $235 million emergency loan to help the pandemic-hit Mongolian economy and fund medical equipment.
HONG KONG (AP) — Some 637 million Chinese tourists took domestic trips during the eight-day Golden Week holiday, spending the equivalent of tens of billions of dollars at a time when China is seeking to boost consumer spending to stimulate the economy. The holiday, which began Oct. 1, saw more than 45% of China’s population take trips within the country and spend 466.6 billion yuan ($69.5 billion), according to data from China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism. That marked a decline of 21% for domestic tourists from last year’s Golden Week and a 30% decline for spending. Still the numbers indicate that consumption is beginning to bounce back from the battering it took from the coronavirus pandemic.

SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — People in Maine are getting their first opportunity to legally buy marijuana for adult recreational use. But the supply could be thin. Retailers blame the pandemic and a limited number of licensed manufacturers for reducing the variety of products available on Friday, the opening day. Licenses were issued only a month ago and to just seven stores.

Mother accused of taking, selling nude photos of daughters
NEW CASTLE, Pa. (AP) — A woman in western Pennsylvania is accused of taking nude photos of her young daughters and sending them to a man who, in some cases, paid for them, police said.
Police on Thursday charged the woman, the children’s father and the man who received and bought the photos.
The girls are between 11 and 13 years old, police said.
The mother was charged with conspiracy to commit sexual abuse/photographing or filming sexual acts and other counts. The father was charged with child endangerment because authorities said he had knowledge his children were being photographed.
Police decided not to release the names of the parents in order to protect the identities of their daughters, who have been placed into the custody of child welfare officials.
Police charged David Bates, 60, of Ellwood City, with six counts of conspiracy to commit sexual abuse of children/photographing or filming sexual acts, six counts of solicitation to commit sexual abuse of children/photographing or filming sexual acts and six counts of sexual abuse of children/child pornography. It could not be determined if he had retained a lawyer.

Story by Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano

(Aliquippa, Pa.)  There was a water line break Thursday morning that occurred  in the area of St. Titus Roman Catholic Church on Franklin Avenue.. The break has been repaired, according to a spokesperson for the Aliquippa Water Authority.

(File Photo)

Story by Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano 

(Aliquippa, Pa) Beaver County 9-1-1 reported Friday morning that a shooting occurred Thursday night on Sheffield  Avenue in Aliquippa near the Eleanor Roosevelt Apartments.  The call came in at 8:50 p.m..  The  shooting victim was life flighted to a Pittsburgh hospital. .

In 25th Amendment bid, Pelosi mulls Trump’s fitness to serve
By LISA MASCARO AP Congressional Correspondent
WASHINGTON (AP) — The tensions between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and President Donald Trump are getting even worse. Now she is questioning his fitness to serve. And she’s announced legislation that would create a commission to allow Congress to intervene under the 25th Amendment to the Constitution and to remove the president from executive duties. Pelosi says Trump needs to disclose more about his health after his COVID-19 diagnosis. The president quickly answered back on Twitter, saying that “Crazy Nancy is the one who should be under observation.” Congress isn’t in legislative session, and so any serious consideration of the measure, let alone votes in the House or Senate, is unlikely.

Scalia ‘heir’ Barrett may be open to reversing Roe v. Wade
By MICHAEL TARM AP Legal Affairs Writer
CHICAGO (AP) — President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee has made clear in her academic writings that she’s at least open to reversing some long-established precedents, possibly including the Roe v. Wade ruling that entrenched women’s abortion rights. Amy Coney Barrett in a 2013 Texas Law Review article described precedent as a “soft” high-court rule and not “an inexorable command.” She added that “legal culture” has never “treated the reversal of precedent as out-of-bounds.” But Barrett has also sometimes struck a pragmatic chord, warning that reversing precedents could shatter trust in the Supreme Court.

“The new anti-fraud steps we are taking with ID.me allow us to more efficiently process PUA claims while reducing fraud,” said Secretary Oleksiak. “Pennsylvania families are relying on the money they receive through the PUA program to pay their bills, buy food, and keep a roof over their families. ID.me is another step we are taking to help out-of-work Pennsylvanians get the PUA benefits they’re eligible for while preventing fraudsters from illegally lining their pockets.”

Claimants should check their PUA dashboards for secure notifications from ID.me and promptly follow the directions they receive to verify their identities. Only PUA claimants who have been contacted can complete the steps. If claimants do not complete the steps, their payments may continue to be held.

L&I contracted with ID.me to complete additional identity verification after detecting a surge of fraudulent claims through the PUA program in mid-September. Payments to all new claimants for the PUA program were temporarily paused while additional identity verification steps could be implemented to prevent payouts to fraudsters.

ID.me can initially vet about 5,000 claimants daily and expects to ramp up its capacity in the coming days. This new step is in addition to several others taken since fraudulent activity began to be detected in the PUA program in several states this past Spring.

This fraud, which is widespread in many states throughout the country, is occurring when scammers use personal information obtained through previous, non-government data breaches to file for PUA under stolen identities.

ID.me is a federally certified identity verification provider that specializes in digital identity protection. ID.me is already assisting several other states with preventing fraud within the PUA program. L&I continues to work with law enforcement officials to investigate suspected cases of fraud and bring scammers to justice.

Politics has way of finding Supreme Court eager to avoid it
By MARK SHERMAN Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court might prefer to avoid politics, but politics has a way of finding the court. President Donald Trump wants the court to keep his taxes from being turned over to New York’s top prosecutor and allow his administration to exclude non-citizens from the census count. He wants the justices to counteract an order making it easier for women to get an abortion pill and rein in voting by mail. And Trump is hoping to have his third high court nominee, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, installed before Election Day. That would forge a 6-3 conservative majority on the court.