Christmas in the ICU: Decorations, lights and many tears
OPELIKA, Ala. — A Christmas tree stands outside the intensive care room where a man stricken by covid-19 lies unconscious, a machine breathing for him. A few feet away, a plastic snowman adorns the door of another patient whose face is barely visible behind ventilator tubes. The decorations are “a...
High court opening tops Pennsylvania’s 2021 judicial races
HARRISBURG — Statewide judicial races will be among Pennsylvania’s most closely watched election contests in the coming year, with lawyers and judges around the state already lining up supporters and trying to figure out if they can raise enough money to win. The marquee race will be for Supreme Court,...
2 killed when plane crashes along Texas service road
GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas — Two people were killed when a small plane crashed along a highway service road in North Texas shortly after taking off, authorities said. The Federal Aviation Administration said the single-engine Wheeler Express CT crashed Monday afternoon about 1 mile west of the Grand Prairie Municipal Airport,...
Biden to address covid bill, holiday pandemic precautions
WILMINGTON, Del. — President-elect Joe Biden will speak Tuesday as the nation deals with a covid-19 surge that’s casting a shadow over the Christmas holiday this week. Biden will deliver remarks in Wilmington, Delaware on Tuesday afternoon, where he’s expected to speak on the $900 billion coronavirus aid bill passed...
Senator says Treasury Dept. email accounts compromised in hack
WASHINGTON — Dozens of email accounts at the Treasury Department were compromised in a massive breach of U.S. government agencies being blamed on Russia, with hackers breaking into systems used by the department’s highest-ranking officials. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., provided new details of the hack following a briefing to Senate...
Air Force says Black people more often investigated, punished
WASHINGTON — Black service members in the Air Force are far more likely to be investigated, arrested, face disciplinary actions and be discharged for misconduct, according to a new report that looked at racial disparities across the service. The report by the Air Force inspector general, released Monday, said Black...
More than 70 West Point cadets accused of cheating on exam
WEST POINT, N.Y. — More than 70 cadets training at the U.S. Military Academy to be Army officers have been accused of cheating on a math exam taken online when they were studying remotely because of the coronavirus pandemic. Lt. Col. Christopher Ophardt, spokesman for the academy at West Point,...
Congress approves $900B covid relief bill, sending to TrumpVideo
WASHINGTON — Congress passed a $900 billion pandemic relief package Monday night that would finally deliver long-sought cash to businesses and individuals and resources to vaccinate a nation confronting a frightening surge in covid-19 cases and deaths. Lawmakers tacked on a $1.4 trillion catchall spending bill and thousands of pages...
Sacked data scientist Rebekah Jones sues Florida over police raid on home
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Rebekah Jones, a fired covid-19 data manager for the state of Florida, is suing the Florida Department of Law Enforcement over a police raid on her house. Jones’ lawsuit alleges that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement violated her constitutional rights, as well as state law,...
Fox, Newsmax shoot down their own aired claims on electionVideo
NEW YORK — Two election technology companies whose names have come up in President Donald Trump’s false charges of widespread voter fraud in the presidential election are fighting back, prompting unusual public statements from Fox News and Newsmax. The statements, over the weekend and on Monday, came after the companies...
Tensions rise inside and outside of Oregon’s CapitolVideo
SALEM, Ore. — State police declared an unlawful assembly Monday morning at Oregon’s Capitol building as protesters opposed to covid-19 restrictions attempted to force their way in during the third special legislative session. Lawmakers are at the Capitol to consider measures that would provide $800 million in relief to people...
Pennsylvania man accused of casting dead mother’s ballot
PHILADELPHIA — A Pennsylvania man is facing charges of unlawful voting and perjury after prosecutors say he illegally voted on behalf of a long-dead family member in the General Election. Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer said during a news conference Monday that Bruce Bartman, 70, of Marple, voted in...
Appeals court rejects lawsuit over Georgia absentee ballot signatures
ATLANTA — The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has denied a Republican Party effort to reject more absentee ballots in Georgia’s U.S. Senate runoffs by changing how election officials check absentee ballot signatures. A three-judge panel ruled unanimously on Sunday against the lawsuit brought by the political campaigns of...
Acrobats hurt in circus accident reach $52.5M settlement
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Eight acrobats severely injured when the rigging suspending them by their hair plummeted to the floor during a circus performance in Rhode Island in 2014 have reached a $52.5 million settlement with the ownership and management of the arena where the circus was held, their lawyer confirmed...
U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly asks Supreme Court to rule against mail-in voting before primary
Even with the arrival of vaccines, the pandemic is all but certain to continue to grip Pennsylvania when voters go to the polls for the municipal primary on May 18. U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, who himself suffered from covid-19 in the spring, does not want mail-in ballots to be available...
Biden gets covid-19 vaccine, says ‘nothing to worry about’
NEWARK, Del. — President-elect Joe Biden on Monday received his first dose of the coronavirus vaccine on live television as part of a growing effort to convince the American public the inoculations are safe. The president-elect took a dose of Pfizer vaccine at a hospital not far from his Delaware...
Man dressed as Santa rescued from power lines in California
RIO LINDA, Calif. — Santa found himself a little more tied up than usual this time of year. A Northern California man impersonating Santa Claus and flying on a powered parachute was rescued Sunday after he became entangled in power lines, authorities said. The incident happened shortly after the man...
Volcano erupts on Hawaii’s Big Island, draws crowds to park
Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano on the Big Island erupted and shot a steam and ash cloud into the atmosphere that lasted about an hour, an official with the National Weather Service said early Monday. The eruption began late Sunday within Kilauea’s summit crater, the U.S. Geological Survey said. The crater, named...
Ontario to go on province-wide shutdown Dec. 26
TORONTO — Ontario on Monday announced a province-wide shutdown because of a second wave of covid-19 in Canada’s most populous province. The lockdown will be put in place for southern Ontario from Dec. 26 until Jan. 23, but will lift for northern Ontario on Jan. 9. One top infectious disease...
Pennsylvania’s covid-19 cases continue slight downward trend
Health officials said there were 15,100 new cases of coronavirus over the past two days — 19% less than this time last week. The Pennsylvania Department of Health announced 7,213 covid-19 cases on Sunday and another 7,887 cases on Monday. Of the two-day new cases, 90% (13,653) were confirmed through...
EU greenlights covid-19 vaccine after agency gives safety OK
AMSTERDAM — The European Union on Monday gave official approval for the coronavirus vaccine developed by BioNTech and Pfizer to be put onto the market across the 27-nation bloc. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the commission “took the decision to make available for European citizens the first...
Virginia’s Lee statue has been removed from U.S. Capitol
WASHINGTON — A statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee that has represented Virginia in the U.S. Capitol for 111 years has been removed. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said in a statement that workers removed the statue from the National Statuary Hall Collection early Monday morning. Northam had requested the...
Probe: Trump officials attacked CDC reports about coronavirus spread
WASHINGTON — Trump administration political appointees tried to block or change more than a dozen government reports that detailed scientific findings about the spread of the coronavirus, a House panel investigating the alleged interference said Monday. Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., said his coronavirus subcommittee investigators have found evidence of a...
Explosion in gunpowder factory in Italy kills 3 people
ROME — An explosion in a gunpowder processing factory in a town in south-central Italy on Monday killed three people, Italian media said. The ANSA news agency quoted Casalbordino Mayor Filippo Marinucci at the scene as providing the death toll. Italian firefighters were called to help at the site of...
AG William Barr: ‘No reason’ for special counsel on election, Hunter Biden
WASHINGTON — Attorney General William Barr used his final public appearance to undercut President Donald Trump on multiple fronts Monday, saying he saw no reason to appoint a special counsel to look into the president’s claims about the 2020 election or to name one for the tax investigation of President-elect...
