California man charged with decapitating son, daughterVideo
LANCASTER, Calif. — A Southern California father of four has been charged with decapitating his teenage son and 12-year-old daughter and abusing his two other boys, prosecutors said. Maurice Jewel Taylor Sr., 34, faces two felony counts each of murder and child abuse under circumstances or conditions likely to cause...
Senate falls short of halting Trump’s $23B arms sales to UAE
WASHINGTON — The Senate fell short Wednesday in trying to halt the Trump administration’s proposed $23 billion arms sales to the United Arab Emirates, despite bipartisan objections to the package of F-35 fighter jets and drones stemming from a broader Middle East peace agreement. Senators argued the sale of the...
Lawmakers act to avert shutdown, buying time for covid relief talks
WASHINGTON — Still spinning their wheels on covid-19 relief, lawmakers grabbed a one-week government funding extension on Wednesday that buys time for more talks — though there is considerable disagreement over who is supposed to be taking the lead from there. Amid the uncertainty, the House easily passed a one-week...
5 dead, including 3 children, as a result of house fire in West VirginiaVideo
WILLIAMSBURG, W.Va. — Five people, including three children, died and emergency crews were looking for a possible sixth victim following a house fire in West Virginia, officials said. Fire crews, the Greenbrier County Sheriff’s Office and the West Virginia State Police responded to the blaze Tuesday afternoon at a home...
AP-NORC poll: Only half in U.S. want shots as vaccine nearsVideo
WASHINGTON — As states frantically prepare to begin months of vaccinations that could end the pandemic, a new poll finds only about half of Americans are ready to roll up their sleeves when their turn comes. The survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows about a...
Pa. appellate court delivers another loss to Trump’s GOP allies seeking to void state’s election results
PHILADELPHIA — A Pennsylvania appellate court on Wednesday denied the latest in a string of legal challenges seeking to roll back certification of the election results, ending the last active court battle in the state over the outcome of the race. In a four-page opinion, Commonwealth Court President Judge Mary...
Hunter Biden tax probe examining Chinese business dealingsVideo
WILMINGTON, Del. — The Justice Department is investigating the finances of President-elect Joe Biden’s son, including scrutinizing some of his Chinese business dealings and other transactions, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The revelations put a renewed spotlight on questions about Hunter Biden’s financial...
West Virginia chemical plant blast kills 1, injures 3Video
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — An explosion and fire at a West Virginia chemical plant that shook surrounding homes killed one person while injuring three others, authorities said Wednesday. It occurred after 10 p.m. Tuesday on the Chemours property site in the Kanawha County community of Belle, the county commission said in...
U.S. govt, states bring antitrust action against FacebookVideo
WASHINGTON — Federal regulators on Wednesday sued Facebook, seeking forced divestment of its Instagram and WhatsApp messaging services. In a separate case, 48 states and districts accused the company of abusing its market power in social networking to crush smaller competitors. The antitrust lawsuits were announced by the Federal Trade...
Former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe enters governor’s race
RICHMOND, Va. — Former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe has formally announced his candidacy for next year’s gubernatorial contest in a race that will serve as a barometer of voter sentiment during President-elect Joe Biden’s first year in office. McAuliffe held a news conference Wednesday outside an elementary school in Richmond,...
Neo-Nazi group member who threatened journalist gets prison
An Arizona man who joined other members of a neo-Nazi group in a coordinated campaign to threaten and harass journalists, activists and other targets on both U.S. coasts was sentenced Wednesday to 16 months in federal prison. Johnny Roman Garza, 21, expressed remorse before a federal judge in Seattle handed...
More than half the inmates at Pennsylvania federal prison have covid
Atif Malik is serving an eight-year prison sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution at Loretto in Cambria County for a nonviolent crime. In April, he filed his own motion seeking compassionate release because of a variety of pre-existing health conditions and the increasing risk of covid-19 spreading in the facility....
Weeks after election, YouTube cracks down on misinformation
More than a month after the U.S. presidential election, YouTube says it will start removing newly uploaded material that claims widespread voter fraud or errors changed the outcome. The Google-owned video service said Wednesday that this is in line with how it has dealt with past elections. That’s because Tuesday...
Retiring Rep. Kennedy says greed hinders aid to needy in farewell speech
WASHINGTON — Retiring Rep. Joe Kennedy III used his farewell speech from Congress on Wednesday to deride the “great lie of our times” that the government lacks the resources and will to help people in need. He said the real problem is greed, not scarcity. Speaking for five minutes on...
Trump camp loses Nevada high court bid to nullify election
LAS VEGAS — President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign has lost its legal bid to nullify President-elect Joe Biden’s 39,000-vote electoral win in Nevada. The Nevada Supreme Court issued a terse order late Tuesday upholding a state judge’s dismissal of a contest-of-election case that would have either had the Republican president...
Migrants from 6 countries in U.S. on temporary status get extension
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration said Wednesday that it will allow migrants from six countries to extend their legal U.S. residency under a temporary status for nine months while courts consider its effort to end the program. President Donald Trump has long sought to terminate the program, which allows migrants...
Pennsylvania reports 220 new coronavirus deaths, 8,703 new cases
Pennsylvania’s Department of Health on Wednesday reported 220 new deaths attributed to the coronavirus, its highest increase since May. The death toll for the state stands at 11,762. There have been 1,199 deaths reported this month. The state also reported 8,703 new coronavirus cases, a slight decline from Tuesday’s report....
Trump looks past Supreme Court loss to new election lawsuitVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Wednesday asked the Supreme Court to let him join an improbable lawsuit challenging election results in Pennsylvania and other states that he lost, a day after the justices rejected a last-gasp bid to reverse Pennsylvania’s certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s victory. The high court...
Biden seeks to counter doubters on pick for Pentagon chief
WASHINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden made his case for retired Army Gen. Lloyd Austin to be secretary of defense, urging Congress to waive a legal prohibition against a recently serving military officer running the Pentagon. With concern rising in Congress about eroding civilian control of the military, Biden on Tuesday...
UK, EU head for supper showdown over Brexit trade deal
BRUSSELS — The leaders of Britain and the European Union were meeting Wednesday for a dinner that could pave the way to a post-Brexit trade deal — or tip the two sides toward a chaotic economic rupture at the end of the month. Early-morning comments from both sides insisting that...
New White House offer adds $600 checks to covid-19 relief
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration dived back into Capitol Hill’s confusing covid-19 negotiations, offering a $916 billion package to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that would send a $600 direct payment to most Americans but eliminate a $300-per-week employment benefit favored by a bipartisan group of Senate negotiators. Treasury Secretary...
UK investigates possible allergic reactions to covid-19 shot
LONDON — U.K. regulators said Wednesday that people who have a “significant history” of allergic reactions shouldn’t receive the new Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine while they investigate two adverse reactions that occurred on the first day of the country’s mass vaccination program. Professor Stephen Powis, national medical director for the National Health...
West Virginia chemical plant explosion spurs stay-inside orderVideo
BELLE, W.Va. — An explosion at a West Virginia chemical plant on Wednesday night prompted authorities to order residents within 2 miles of the plant to remain indoors. Details about the incident and whether anyone was injured weren’t immediately released. Explosion at the Belle Plant. There’s a shelter in place....
2 killed, 2 critically injured in Omaha house explosionVideo
OMAHA, Neb. — An explosion that leveled a home in Omaha killed two people and left two others critically injured Tuesday morning, fire officials said. Omaha Fire Department Battalion Chief Scott Fitzpatrick said firefighters responded to the explosion shortly after 8 a.m. The house was destroyed, he said. The explosion...
Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis reportedly tests positive for coronavirus
Jenna Ellis, a main component on President Donald Trump’s campaign legal team, has reportedly tested positive for covid-19. Axios reported on Tuesday that Ellis, 36, told friends and associates she got the results shortly after attending a White House Christmas party over the weekend. White House aides have been abuzz...
