Suit challenges expansion of mail-in voting in Pennsylvania
Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly is leading a suit filed Saturday in Pennsylvania challenging the use of mail-in ballots predominately cast by Democrats in lifting Joe Biden to victory in the presidential race in the state and seeking to block certification of the election results. The lawsuit was filed in...
Judge throws out bid to stop Pa. vote certification; Toomey calls on Trump to ‘accept outcome of election’
Pennsylvania officials can certify election results that currently show Democrat Joe Biden winning the state by more than 80,000 votes, a federal judge ruled Saturday, dealing President Donald Trump’s campaign another blow in its effort to invalidate the election. NEW: The @TeamTrump lawsuit against the PA Sec’y of State —...
Teen charged in Kenosha killings poses with ‘Silver Spoons’ actor
KENOSHA, Wis. — An Illinois 17-year-old accused of killing two people during a protest in Wisconsin was seen smiling in a photo with his lawyer and “Silver Spoons” actor Ricky Schroder after being released from custody by posting a $2 million bond. Kyle Rittenhouse is accused of fatally shooting Joseph...
G-20 summit opens as leaders urge united response to virus
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The Group of 20 summit opened on Saturday with appeals by the world’s most powerful leaders to collectively chart a way forward as the coronavirus pandemic overshadows this year’s gathering, transforming it from in-person meetings to a virtual gathering of speeches and declarations. In a...
IS attack hits Afghan capital; Pompeo joins peace talks
KABUL, Afghanistan — Mortars slammed into a residential area of the Afghan capital, killing eight people Saturday, hours before outgoing U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo held what are likely his last meetings with the Taliban and Afghan government negotiators trying to hammer out a peace deal. The attack in...
Nevada facing double-bind of rising covid-19 cases, limping economy
LAS VEGAS — As the coronavirus surges to record levels in Nevada, the governor has implored residents to stay home. But Democrat Steve Sisolak has also encouraged out-of-state visitors, the lifeblood of Nevada’s limping economy, to come to his state and spend money in Las Vegas. The pandemic has put...
Skates (and masks) on! Rockefeller Center ice rink opens
NEW YORK — The Rockefeller Center ice-skating rink is opening in a limited way but on time for the holidays. The iconic, sunken rink in midtown Manhattan is welcoming skaters Saturday afternoon as part of a tradition dating to the 1930s, according to the Rockefeller Center website. The rink is...
Ben Carson says he’s ‘out of the woods’ after battling covid-19
STERLING, Va. — Housing Secretary Ben Carson is crediting unapproved, experimental treatments with saving his life after he became “desperately ill” following his infection with the coronavirus. There is no medical evidence that the treatments Carson cited worked. A retired neurosurgeon, Carson said Friday that he believes he’s now “out...
Criminal justice reformers cheer multiple election victories
NEW YORK — Almost six months after the death of George Floyd, criminal justice reform advocates are cheering the election of a handful of progressive prosecutors, the passage of ballot initiatives designed to ease mass incarceration and the decriminalization of drugs in several states. Voters also sent Black Lives Matter...
Pennsylvania surpasses 300,000 coronavirus cases; reports 112 deaths
Pennsylvania on Saturday reported 6,778 new coronavirus cases, marking a grim milestone of the Keystone State surpassing 300,000 cases. The new data bring the total cases to 302,564. Officials said 20,086 of those are considered probable cases. The state also reported 112 new deaths. Of the new deaths reported Saturday,...
California enacts nighttime curfew as covid-19 cases spike
LOS ANGELES — California enacts a nighttime curfew Saturday as spiking coronavirus cases threaten to swamp health care systems and the state’s largest county warned that an even more drastic lockdown could be imminent. The newest restrictions require people not on essential errands to stay home from 10 p.m. to...
Mourners pay respects to Serb Patriarch Irinej despite virus
BELGRADE, Serbia — Mourners on Saturday were paying respects following the death of the Serbian Orthodox Church Patriarch Irinej, many ignoring preventive measures against the new coronavirus even though the head of the church died after contracting the virus himself. The coffin holding the patriarch’s body was first brought to...
In cities across US, voters sanction more police oversight
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Voters in communities across the country approved measures on Election Day toughening civilian oversight of law enforcement agencies, including some that took years to reach the ballot but grew in urgency after global protests over racial injustice and police brutality. The measures take aim at a chronic...
Court: Tennessee can enforce Down syndrome abortion ban
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A federal appeals court ruled Friday that Tennessee can begin outlawing abortions because of a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome, as well prohibit the procedure if it’s based on the race or gender of the fetus. Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Lee enacted the so-called “reason bans” earlier...
Police: 8 injured in Wisconsin mall shooting; suspect sought
WAUWATOSA, Wis. — Police searched Friday evening for the suspect in a shooting at a suburban Milwaukee mall that left seven adults and a teenager injured. Wauwatosa Police Chief Barry Weber gave no motive for the attack at the Mayfair Mall in a brief update about three hours after the...
Fetterman’s flags fly in the face of some Pa. lawmakers
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor, Democrat John Fetterman, may have gotten under somebody’s skin. A provision slipped into lame-duck budget legislation Friday would ban flags not approved by lawmakers from flying at the state Capitol — such as the pro-marijuana legalization and LGBTQ- and transgender-rights flags that Fetterman hangs...
Spokesman: Trump’s eldest son tests positive for coronavirus
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump Jr., the eldest son of President Donald Trump, was quarantining Friday after learning he has been infected with the coronavirus, a spokesperson said. The younger Trump learned his diagnosis at the beginning of the week and has had no symptoms, said the spokesperson, who was granted...
Biden wants Congress to pass emergency covid aid this year
WILMINGTON, Del. — President-elect Joe Biden is calling on Congress to enact billions of dollars in emergency COVID-19 assistance before the year’s end, according to a senior aide who warned Friday that “there’s no more room for delay.” Biden transition aide Jen Psaki delivered the remarks ahead of Biden’s first...
Trump makes late-term bid to lower prescription drug costs
WASHINGTON — Trying to close out major unfinished business, the Trump administration issued regulations Friday that could lower the prices Americans pay for many prescription drugs. But in a time of political uncertainty, it’s hard to say whether the rules will withstand expected legal challenges from the pharmaceutical industry or...
VP Mike Pence campaigns in Georgia ahead of Senate runoffs
CANTON, Ga. — Vice President Mike Pence campaigned in Georgia on Friday as the state’s two Republican senators try to hold off Democratic challengers in January 5th runoffs that will determine who controls the Senate at the outset of President-elect Joe Biden’s administration. The trip highlights a critical juncture both...
Trump objects to counting thousands of Wisconsin ballots
MADISON, Wis. — The recount of the presidential election in Wisconsin’s two most heavily Democratic counties began Friday with President Donald Trump’s campaign seeking to discard tens of thousands of absentee ballots that it alleged should not have been counted. Trump’s three objections attempting to discard the ballots were denied...
Advocates want light show moved from former mental facility
WALTHAM, Mass. — A battle is underway in a Boston suburb over whether it is appropriate to hold a joyous holiday celebration at the site of a now-closed institution where developmentally disabled children were once abused, neglected and warehoused under deplorable conditions. The Waltham Lions Club drive-thru Greater Boston Holiday...
U.K.’s Boris Johnson stands by minister found to have bullied staff
LONDON — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson refused to fire or censure his interior minister Friday, despite an investigator’s conclusion that she bullied members of her staff. A report said Home Secretary Priti Patel had not met the standards required of a government minister, and concluded her behavior fit the...
Thousands mourn death of Belarus protester seized by police
KYIV, Ukraine — Thousands of Belarusians streamed to a church in the capital of Minsk on Friday for the funeral of a protester who was allegedly beaten to death after being arrested by police. Raman Bandarenka’s death on Nov. 12 angered opposition supporters who have held near-daily demonstrations against the...
White House paints Trump’s meeting with Michigan legislators as routine
WASHINGTON — The two Michigan state legislators headed to the White House on Friday to meet with President Donald Trump was nothing out of the ordinary, according to the administration. White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Trump’s meeting with the state legislators was “not an advocacy meeting” and insisted...
