Race double standard clear in rioters’ Capitol insurrection
Black Lives Matter protests, 2020: Overwhelming force from law enforcement in dozens of cities. Chemical dispersants. Rubber bullets and hand-to-hand combat with largely peaceful crowds and some unruly vandals and looters. More than 14,000 arrests. The U.S. Capitol, Jan. 6, 2021: Barely more than a few dozen arrests. Several weapons...
Explainer: Transfer of power under 25th Amendment
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s role in inciting violence at the Capitol and his refusal to acknowledge his election defeat is prompting some lawmakers to urge his removal from office through the 25th Amendment. The amendment allows for the vice president and a majority of the Cabinet to declare a...
U.S. registering highest deaths yet from the coronavirus
The U.S. registered more covid-19 deaths in a single day than ever before — nearly 3,900 — on the very day the mob attack on the Capitol laid bare some of the same, deep political divisions that have hampered the battle against the pandemic. The virus is surging in virtually...
As Arizona becomes world covid hot spot, focus put on governor
As Arizona experienced periodic spikes in covid-19 cases since last spring, Gov. Doug Ducey frequently resisted calls to take strong measures. He has declined to institute a statewide mask mandate, allowed school districts to mostly make their own choices and allowed businesses to stay open. All of those choices by...
Pa. sees highest covid case count in 3 weeks
Pennsylvania has nearly 10,000 new covid cases, according to the state Department of Health. There were 9,698 covid cases and 265 new deaths reported Thursday. Of the newly reported deaths, 103 are from January, 161 are from December and one is from November. The new numbers bring total cases to...
Identical twins aren’t perfect clones, research shows
WASHINGTON — If you’re an identical twin who’s always resisted being called a clone of your sibling, scientists say you have a point. Identical twins are not exactly genetically the same, new research shows. Scientists in Iceland sequenced DNA from 387 pairs of identical twins — those derived from a...
Boston Marathon bomber sues over ballcap, showers in prison
BOSTON — Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has sued the federal government for $250,000 over his treatment at the Colorado prison where he is serving a life sentence. Tsarnaev, 26, calls his treatment in the handwritten suit filed Monday “unlawful, unreasonable and discriminatory.” He cites the confiscation of a white...
Insurrection marks moment of reckoning for Republicans
The insurrection at the U.S. Capitol was both stunning and predictable, the result of a Republican Party that has repeatedly enabled President Donald Trump’s destructive behavior. When Trump was a presidential candidate in 2016, Republican officials ignored his call to supporters to “knock the crap out” of protesters. Less than...
Facebook bans Trump through Biden inauguration, maybe longerVideo
Facebook will bar President Donald Trump from posting on its system at least until the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden. In a post Thursday morning, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said the risk of allowing Trump to use the platform is too great, following his incitement of a mob that later...
Split court tosses Pennsylvania victims’ rights amendment
HARRISBURG — A divided state court on Thursday threw out a victims’ rights state constitutional amendment that voters apparently passed by a wide margin, ruling it bundled too many changes together. Commonwealth Court in a 3-2 decision said state officials may not tabulate the votes for the so-called Marsy’s Law...
Pentagon activates 6,200 National Guard members to secure Biden inauguration
The Defense Department has formally activated roughly 6,200 members of the National Guard from six northeastern states to help support the Capitol Police and other law enforcement in Washington in the wake of the deadly riot Wednesday that rocked the U.S. Capitol. Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller signed orders activating...
1st covid-19 variant case identified in Pennsylvania
The first case of the covid-19 variant initially seen in the United Kingdom last month has been identified in Pennsylvania, Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said Thursday. “Public health experts are still in the early stages of working to better understand this new variant, how it spreads and how...
Late night hosts react with shock, anger to Capitol attack
Late night TV talk show hosts expressed anger and frustration at the violence at the U.S. Capitol, offering somber monologues that pleaded for unity even as some aimed pointed barbs at those they held responsible for the mobs’ actions. “It was a terrible day in the history of this country,”...
Ex-Chief of Staff Mulvaney quits administration in protest of Trump’s incitement of Capitol riot
Mick Mulvaney, a former acting White House chief of staff, resigned Thursday from a diplomatic post in protest of President Trump’s incitement of the rioters who stormed the Capitol. Mulvaney, a staunch Trump loyalist, quit his post as special envoy for Northern Ireland over the president’s shameful handling of the...
How quickly do I need a 2nd covid-19 vaccine shot?
The first covid-19 vaccines in the U.S. require two doses a few weeks apart. People should get some degree of protection within two weeks of the first shot, with the second shot bringing about the vaccine’s full protection. For the vaccine by Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech, the second shot is...
Here’s who objected, supported certification of Pennsylvania’s electors
Members of Congress confirmed Joe Biden’s presidential win early Thursday morning, but not without first deliberating on proposals aimed to discredit the results of the contentious 2020 presidential election. The U.S. Congress voted on proposals that objected electoral votes from Pennsylvania and Arizona, key battleground states. Both proposals were rejected....
Rep. Conor Lamb’s ‘lies’ accusation causes late-night stir in CongressVideo
It’s not what Rep. Conor Lamb had originally planned to say to his fellow U.S. House members. But Lamb’s “the truth hurts” speech early Thursday caused a stir on the House floor, with some Republican congressmen rushing toward the Democrats in a pique of anger.Lamb, a Democrat from Mt. Lebanon,...
Iraq issues arrest warrant for Trump over Soleimani killing
BAGHDAD — An arrest warrant was issued Thursday for outgoing President Donald Trump in connection with the killing of an Iranian general and a powerful Iraqi militia leader last year, Iraq’s judiciary said. The warrant was issued by a judge in Baghdad’s investigative court tasked with probing the Washington-directed drone...
South Africa buys 1.5 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine
JOHANNESBURG — South Africa says it will import 1.5 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to inoculate the country’s health workers. This is South Africa’s first announcement of the purchase of a covid-19 vaccine as cases there soar. The first 1 million doses will be delivered later this month from...
Casey joins Schumer, Pelosi in urging Cabinet to oust Trump over siege on Capitol
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey and several House Democrats from Pennsylvania, including Rep. Mike Doyle of Forest Hills, joined a growing chorus including Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi calling on President Trump’s Cabinet to remove him from office following Wednesday’s violent assault on the Capitol by...
Trump says his term is ending, transition will be orderly
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump for the first time acknowledged his defeat in the Nov. 3 election and announced there would be an “orderly transition on January 20th” after Congress concluded the electoral vote count early Thursday certifying President-elect Joe Biden’s victory. Trump’s acknowledgment came after a day of chaos...
Lawmakers vow to investigate police after Capitol breachVideo
WASHINGTON — Lawmakers are vowing an investigation into how Capitol police handled Wednesday’s violent breach at the Capitol, questioning whether a lack of preparedness allowed the mob to occupy and vandalize the building. Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., chairwoman of the House Administration Committee, said the breach “raises grave security concerns,″...
30 people arrested for violating D.C. curfewVideo
WASHINGTON — Police have arrested 30 people for violating a curfew imposed in Washington, D.C., after rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol. Officials say the 30 people were arrested Wednesday evening after being found on the streets after the 6 p.m. deadline. The curfew had been imposed after scores of supporters...
Facebook removes Trump’s video on Capitol chaos; Twitter locks his account
Twitter and Facebook on Wednesday removed a video posted by President Donald Trump in which he falsely claimed that the November election was stolen from him and asked rioters who breached the U.S. Capitol to go home even as he praised them. In the video, Trump said that he won...
West Virginia delegate records himself storming U.S. CapitolVideo
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A West Virginia lawmaker took video of himself and other supporters of President Trump rushing Wednesday into the U.S. Capitol. In the video by Republican Del. Derrick Evans, later deleted from his social media page, he is shown wearing a helmet and clamoring at the door to...
