Pennsylvania Democrats notch key election-related court wins
By MARC LEVY Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s highest court has given the Democratic Party a series of victories related to November’s presidential election in the battleground state. One of Thursday’s decisions was in a lawsuit that sought favorable fixes to glitches and gray areas in the mail-in voting law. The court granted Democrats’ request to order a three-day extension of Pennsylvania’s Election Day deadline to count mailed-in ballots. It also authorized satellite election offices and drop boxes to head off an avalanche of mail ballots in Philadelphia and its populous suburbs. Another ruling kicked the Green Party’s presidential candidate off the November ballot for not strictly following procedures for getting on it.

Green Party candidate is ordered off Pennsylvania ballot
By MARC LEVY Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court says the Green Party’s candidate for president didn’t strictly follow procedures for getting on the state ballot in November’s election and cannot appear on it. Thursday’s decision is a win for Democrats as Joe Biden tries to recapture the critical battleground state’s electoral votes from President Donald Trump. The court in a 5-2 Democratic majority reversed the ruling by a Republican judge on the candidacy of Howie Hawkins. In this case, Democrats targeted what they said were disqualifying irregularities in how the Green Party candidate filed affidavits that accompany paperwork to get on the ballot.

Biden makes push for voters on National Black Voter Day
By KAT STAFFORD Associated Press
DETROIT (AP) — Joe Biden’s campaign is unveiling a series of nationwide digital events targeting Black voters in swing states — a strategic move to further energize the key demographic as the race heads into its final weeks. The virtual events, which will commemorate Friday’s inaugural National Black Voter Day, will begin with a voter registration and early vote rally in North Carolina featuring vice presidential nominee Sen. Kamala Harris as part of the campaign’s “Turn Up and Turn out the Vote Virtual Bus Tour.”

(Big Beaver, Pa.) The Pennsylvania Turnpike’s Beaver Valley Interchange (Exit 13) will be closed on weekdays for three weeks starting Sept. 21, the Turnpike Commission said.

Crews will be reconstructing the road shoulders and resurfacing the ramps leading to and from the highway, according to a news release. Work is scheduled to stop on the weekends, but the work is weather-dependent and may spill into the weekends.

During the closure, motorists looking to exit or enter the turnpike in the area will be directed to use the New Castle Interchange (Exit 10). Signs will be posted to guide motorists to Route 18.

The Turnpike Commission said Route 18 will be reduced to a single lane between Fairlane Boulevard and Wallace Run Road “for a short time” while work takes place at the ramps.

Pennsylvania sees big drop in jobless rate in August
By MARC LEVY Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate took a steep drop in August, as the labor force shrank and payrolls shot up again in a continuing rebound from the pandemic. The state Department of Labor and Industry said Friday that Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate was 10.3% in August, down 2.2 percentage points from July’s adjusted rate of 12.5%. It had initially estimated July’s rate at 13.7% in July. The national rate was 8.4% in August. Payrolls gained back almost 60,000 of the more than 1.1 million jobs lost since March. Pennsylvania has now regained slightly more than half the jobs lost in the last six months, according to state figures.

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are drifting in morning trading on Wall Street, as another zig-zag week for markets closes out following their abrupt loss of momentum this month. The S&P 500 was down 0.1% in morning trading after giving up a small gain in the first few minutes of trading. It’s still on pace for a gain of 0.4% this week after a two-day slump followed up on a two-day gain. Analysts have warned that today could be even bumpier than usual. Futures and options on stocks and indexes are set to expire in an event known as “quadruple witching,” which can drive swings in prices.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Commerce Department says it is prohibiting Chinese-owned TikTok and WeChat from app stores as of Sunday, citing national security and data privacy concerns. Google and Apple, the owners of the major mobile app stores, and WeChat owner Tencent did not immediately reply to questions. Oracle, which had proposed a deal with TikTok, also did not reply. TikTok says it’s disappointed. It’s not clear what will happen to WeChat, which has millions of U.S. users. A further ban on the much more popular TikTok goes into effect on Nov. 12 — shortly after the U.S. election.

UNDATED (AP) — A drug company says that a medicine it sells to tamp down inflammation has helped prevent the need for breathing machines in hospitalized COVID-19 patients in the first large study that primarily enrolled Hispanics and Blacks. Switzerland-based Roche reported the results Friday for the drug, which is used now to treat rheumatoid arthritis and some other diseases. The results have not yet been published or reviewed by independent scientists. The study included nearly 400 patients from the U.S., South America and Africa. Hispanics and Blacks have been disproportionately hurt by the pandemic.

UNDATED (AP) — The EU Commission has finalized a deal with Sanofi and GSK allowing its 27 member states to buy up to 300 million doses of a potential COVID-19 vaccine. It’s the second contract signed by the bloc’s executive arm after a first agreement was reached last month with AstraZeneca for up to 400 million doses. The Commission says some of the reserved shots could be donated to “lower- and middle-income countries.”

LONDON (AP) — The European Medicines Agency is recommending an inexpensive steroid be licensed for the treatment of people with severe coronavirus who need oxygen support. The EMA says it is endorsing the use of dexamethasone in adults and adolescents age 12 or older who need either supplemental oxygen or a ventilator to help them breathe. The drug can be taken orally or via an infusion. In June, British researchers published research showing dexamethasone can reduce deaths by up to one third in patients hospitalized with severe coronavirus. Shortly afterward, the U.K. government immediately authorized its use in hospitals across the country for seriously ill coronavirus patients.

Pittsburgh, PA – PennDOT District 11 is announcing gas line installation work on Route 551 (Wallace Run Road) in Chippewa Township, Beaver County will begin Friday, September 18 weather permitting.

A full-closure of Wallace Run Road between the 37^th Street Extension and McKinley Road will occur around-the-clock from 7 a.m. Friday, September 18 continuously through 7 p.m. Friday, September 25 as crews from Minnesota Limited conduct gas line work. Traffic will be detoured via the 37^th Street Extension and McKinley Road.

PennDOT is not involved in this work and is providing this information as a public service announcement only. For further information contact Travis Gehr at 330-440-4959.

Motorists can check conditions on more than 40,000 roadway miles, including color-coded winter conditions on 2,900 miles, by visiting www.511PA.com. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information, and access to more than 1,000 traffic cameras.

511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and Android devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following regional twitter alerts accessible on the 511PA website.

Story by Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano

(Darlington Twp., Pa.) Maintenance workers in the Blackhawk School District discovered about 50 windows broken at the Northwestern Elementary School on Monday morning, according to Darlington Township police Chief Al Filauri. Filauri said rocks were thrown at the windows all around the school  The school has been closed for 2 years, and is for sale, the chief said.

Harrisburg, PA – Today, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) released its employment situation report for August 2020.

Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate was down 2.2 percentage points over the month to 10.3 percent in August. The national rate fell 1.8 percentage points from July’s level to 8.4 percent. The commonwealth’s unemployment rate increased by 5.8 percentage points from August 2019 while the national rate was up 4.7 points over the year.

Pennsylvania’s civilian labor force – the estimated number of residents working or looking for work – was down 59,000 over the month as the unemployment count fell by 144,000 while employment increased 86,000.

Pennsylvania’s total nonfarm jobs were up 59,500 over the month to 5,577,900 in August. Jobs increased in 9 of the 11 industry supersectors. The largest volume gain was in trade, transportation & utilities, up 19,600 jobs from July.

Over the past four months, Pennsylvania has recovered 52.4% of the total nonfarm jobs lost in March and April.

Over the year, total nonfarm jobs in Pennsylvania were down 499,600 with declines in 10 of the 11 supersectors. The largest 12-month change among supersectors was a decline of 163,000 jobs in leisure & hospitality.

Additional information is available on the L&I website at www.dli.pa.gov or by following us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Note: The above data are seasonally adjusted. Seasonally adjusted data provide the most valid month-to-month comparison.