1.5 million more laid-off workers seek unemployment benefits
By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — About 1.5 million laid-off workers applied for U.S. unemployment benefits last week, a historically high number, even as the economy increasingly reopens and employers bring some people back to work. The latest figure from the Labor Department marks the 11th straight weekly decline in applications since they peaked at nearly 7 million in March as the coronavirus shut down much of the economy and caused tens of millions of layoffs. The decline was much smaller than in recent weeks, falling just 58,000.

Jean Kennedy Smith dies at 92; last surviving sibling of JFK
By MICHELLE R. SMITH Associated Press
Relatives say Jean Kennedy Smith, the youngest sister and last surviving sibling of President John F. Kennedy, has died at age 92. Former U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy confirmed to The Associated Press that his aunt had died. A daughter told The New York Times she died Wednesday at her Manhattan home. Smith served as ambassador to Ireland for five years under President Bill Clinton. She also founded an arts education program that supports artists with disabilities. She was the eighth of nine children born to Joseph P. and Rose Kennedy. Smith was viewed for much of her life as a quiet sister who shunned the spotlight.

Injunction extended against removing Lee statue in Virginia
By SARAH RANKIN Associated Press
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A judge has indefinitely extended an injunction preventing the Virginia governor from removing a historic statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from Richmond’s famed Monument Avenue. Richmond Circuit Court Judge Bradley Cavedo made the decision Thursday after hearing from attorneys for the state and for the plaintiff in a lawsuit against Gov Ralph Northam. He gave the plantiff another 21 days to refile a new complaint. The 12-ton 21-foot-tall statue has stood in a prominent spot along Monument Avenue since 1890. Northam ordered its removal earlier this month, citing the pain gripping the country over the death of George Floyd.

Prosecutor: Officer kicked Rayshard Brooks after shooting
By KATE BRUMBACK Associated Press
ATLANTA (AP) — Prosecutors say the Atlanta police officer who killed Rayshard Brooks kicked him after shooting him in the back and didn’t give him medical attention for more than two minutes. Officer Garrett Rolfe has been charged with murder. Prosecutors say Brooks grabbed a Taser from police and ran but fired it from too far away to reach the white officer. Rolfe’s lawyers say he feared for his safety and opened fire after hearing a sound “like a gunshot.” A second officer is charged with aggravated assault. The black man’s killing rocked a nation already roiling from George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis.

Court tosses county ban on probationers using medical pot
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has struck down a county’s policy that forbade people on probation and other forms of supervision from using cannabis if they are registered in Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana program. The justices said Thursday that probationers holding a valid medical marijuana card are immune from punishment under the state’s medical marijuana law. Lebanon County’s court system had sought to prohibit medical marijuana use by people on probation and parole. The policy was challenged by three medical marijuana patients.

Federal agent shot, wounded during raid in Pittsburgh
PITTSBURGH (AP) — A federal agent was shot and wounded while taking part in a raid in a Pittsburgh neighborhood. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives confirmed one of its agents was shot around 6 a.m. and he was treated at the scene by ATF medics. But the agent’s name and further information about his condition were not disclosed. A suspect was taken into custody at the scene. But further details about that person and the charges they may face were not released. Authorities said the wounded agent was taking part in a raid that involved several law enforcement agencies. But further information about the operation were not disclosed.

Story by Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano

(Aliquippa, Pa.) Last night at 6:25 p.m. Aliquippa police were dispatched to the area of 300 Superior Avenue  after a report was received that a 21 year old black male had been shot.  Aliquippa police were given a description of the suspect’s vehicle  and attempted to stop the vehicle .State police were called in to assist.  The operator, according to PA State Police, fled on foot, and in doing so, discarded narcotics. Vershaw Cortaze Bell, 21, Braddock, PA  shortly after, and  a loaded handgun was found in the vehicle.  The victim, Robert Crute was transported to Sewickley Hospital by private vehicle, and then was flown to AGH for multiple gunshot wounds. He is listed in stable condition at this time.

Auditor’s race poses historic first for candidates of color
By MARC LEVY Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s two major political parties have nominated candidates of color for state auditor general, a historic step that means that voters will for the first time elect a racial minority to lead a statewide executive branch office. Nina Ahmad, who came to the United States from Bangladesh as a student 40 years ago, has apparently won a six-way Democratic Party primary as counting wraps up. Tim DeFoor, the Republican Party’s uncontested nominee, is African American. Political analysts and campaign consultants couldn’t think of anyone of color who has been elected to serve in one of the five statewide elected executive branch offices: governor, lieutenant governor, treasurer, attorney general and auditor general.