No proof vote was rigged, but 2020 election reviews persist
HARRISBURG — A Pennsylvania courtroom on Wednesday became the latest battleground over claims the 2020 presidential election was rigged, as Republicans around the country pressed ahead with efforts to investigate the voting despite a lack of evidence of widespread fraud. A five-judge panel in Harrisburg heard Democrats’ arguments to block...
O.J. Simpson a ‘completely free man’; parole ends in Nevada
LAS VEGAS — O.J. Simpson is a free man. The 74-year-old former football hero and actor, acquitted California murder defendant and convicted Las Vegas armed robber was granted good behavior credits and discharged from parole effective Dec. 1, Nevada State Police spokeswoman Kim Yoko Smith said Tuesday. “Mr. Simpson is...
German police conduct raids over alleged covid death threats
BERLIN — Police in eastern Germany carried out raids Wednesday in an investigation of alleged threats to kill a state governor and others by opponents of coronavirus restrictions and vaccinations. They said they found weapons including crossbows, but it wasn’t clear whether they were usable. Five properties in Dresden and...
Blaze traps hundreds in Hong Kong tower, 13 hospitalized
HONG KONG — Firefighters on Wednesday rescued hundreds of people who fled to the rooftop of a Hong Kong skyscraper and became trapped there after a major fire broke out. Hours later, the fire service said the blaze was extinguished. In addition to those on the roof, dozens jammed into...
House votes to hold Mark Meadows in contempt in Jan. 6 probeVideo
WASHINGTON — The House voted Tuesday to hold former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows in contempt of Congress after he ceased to cooperate with the Jan. 6 Committee investigating the Capitol insurrection — making it the first time the chamber has voted to hold a former member in...
Calls for Louisiana judge to resign over video with racist language
LAFAYETTE, La. — Racist language heard in a video recorded at the home of a Louisiana judge has led to calls for her resignation. The video shows a television set displaying security footage of what appears to be a foiled burglary at the judge’s home. Laughter and racist slurs are...
3 more Philadelphia Proud Boys charged in Capitol riot after taking photos inside senator’s office
PHILADELPHIA — Federal prosecutors Tuesday unsealed charges against three more members of the Philadelphia Proud Boys related to the Jan. 6 insurrection, after agents uncovered photos of the men flashing hate symbols inside a U.S. senator’s office and posing on the steps of the Capitol during the riot. The three...
Trump loses bid to block his tax returns from Congress
WASHINGTON — A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit Tuesday that was brought by former President Donald Trump in his attempt to block congressional lawmakers from obtaining his tax returns. The ruling, handed down by U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden — a former Justice Department official and Trump appointee — found...
U.S. covid death toll hits 800,000, a year into vaccine drive
The U.S. death toll from covid-19 topped 800,000 on Tuesday, a once-unimaginable figure seen as doubly tragic, given that more than 200,000 of those lives were lost after the vaccine became available practically for the asking last spring. The number of deaths, as compiled by Johns Hopkins University, is about...
3 voters from retirement haven in Florida charged with voting fraud
THE VILLAGES, Fla. — Three voters from a Florida retirement community that is a GOP stronghold have been arrested on charges of voting more than once. The arrests come weeks after Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis pledged to create a law enforcement agency to investigate election crimes, despite there being...
Congress sends Biden $2.5T debt limit hike, avoiding default
WASHINGTON — Congress averted a catastrophic debt default early Wednesday morning after Democratic majorities in both chambers voted to send a $2.5 trillion increase in the nation’s borrowing authority to President Joe Biden over lockstep Republican opposition. Capping a marathon day, the House gave final approval to the legislation early...
District of Columbia sues Proud Boys, Oath Keepers over Jan. 6Video
WASHINGTON — The District of Columbia has filed a civil lawsuit seeking harsh financial penalties against far-right groups Proud Boys and Oath Keepers over their role in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump. The suit, filed Tuesday in federal court, also names...
Powerful storm drenches Southern California with heavy rainVideo
LOS ANGELES — A powerful storm charged south through California on Tuesday, drenching the drought-stricken state with desperately needed rain but also triggering rescue efforts on a swollen river and mandatory evacuations due to the threat of mudslides in some areas scarred by wildfires. The National Weather Service reported remarkable...
Fireball from overturned tanker kills dozens in Haiti
CAP-HAITIEN, Haiti — A gasoline tanker overturned and exploded in northern Haiti, unleashing a fireball that swept through homes and businesses on its way to killing at least 60 people in the latest tragedy to befall the Caribbean nation. The blast occurred shortly after midnight in Cap-Haitien, Haiti’s second largest...
Far too little vote fraud to tip election to Trump, AP finds
An Associated Press review of every potential case of voter fraud in the six battleground states disputed by former President Donald Trump has found fewer than 475 — a number that would have made no difference in the 2020 presidential election. Democrat Joe Biden won Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania...
Data indicate omicron is milder, better at evading vaccines
JOHANNESBURG — The omicron variant is offering more hints about what it may have in store as it spreads around the globe: A highly transmissible virus that may cause less severe disease, and one that can be slowed — but not stopped — by today’s vaccines. An analysis Tuesday of...
Cities wracked by opioids close to getting $26B settlement
McMINNVILLE, Ore. — The opioid epidemic blew into this picturesque Oregon town like a toxic wind, leaving overdoses, addiction, homelessness and wrecked families in its wake. In a humble, single-story brick building, three blocks from downtown McMinnville’s wine-tasting rooms and cafes, staffers and volunteers of a recovery center called Provoking...
Donald Trump Jr. led text-message chorus pleading for dad to end Jan. 6 riot: ‘He’s got to condemn this’
Donald Trump Jr. led a chorus of Trump insiders who pleaded with White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to convince the former president to end the attempted insurrection at the Capitol on Jan. 6. As the full House of Representatives prepares to vote Tuesday on referring Meadows for contempt...
UN nuclear chief: Limited Iran access giving ‘blurred image’
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog warned Tuesday that the restrictions faced by his inspectors in Iran threaten to give the world only a “very blurred image” of Tehran’s program as it enriches uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels. Speaking in...
Covid toll nears 800,000 to close out year filled with death
MISSION, Kan. — Carolyn Burnett is bracing for her first Christmas without her son Chris, a beloved high school football coach whose outdoor memorial service drew a crowd of hundreds. The unvaccinated 34-year-old father of four died in September as a result of covid-19 after nearly two weeks on a...
Air Force discharges 27 for refusal to get covid vaccine
WASHINGTON — The Air Force has discharged 27 people for refusing to get the covid-19 vaccine, making them what officials believe are the first service members to be removed for disobeying the mandate to get the shots. The Air Force gave its forces until Nov. 2 to get the vaccine,...
Pennsylvania Senate aims to bar school covid vaccine rule
HARRISBURG — The Republican-controlled Pennsylvania Senate approved legislation Monday to prevent school children from being required to get a covid-19 vaccination to attend school, although it likely faces a veto by Gov. Tom Wolf. The bill passed on party lines, 28-21, and goes to the House of Representatives. Neither the...
Pfizer confirms covid pill’s results, potency versus omicron
WASHINGTON — Pfizer said Tuesday that its experimental pill to treat covid-19 appears effective against the omicron variant. The company also said full results of its 2,250-person study confirmed the pill’s promising early results against the virus: The drug reduced combined hospitalizations and deaths by about 89% among high-risk adults...
Deadlines loom in drawing new Assembly, congressional maps in Pennsylvania
HARRISBURG — A Pennsylvania state House committee cast a set of party-line votes Monday to prepare for an eventual deal on congressional redistricting, while the chairman of the five-person group drawing General Assembly maps announced a voting meeting in the coming days. Legislative Reapportionment Commission Chairman Mark Nordenberg said they...
Fireballs expected to blaze across the sky
The Geminid meteor shower — always a highlight of the meteor year — is expected to peak Monday night into Tuesday morning, with prime viewing opportunities arriving from 3 a.m. to dawn. “The Geminids are a reliable shower for those who watch around 2 a.m. local time from a dark-sky...
