Trump trial pending, McConnell calls it ‘vote of conscience’
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial is likely to start after Joe Biden’s inauguration, and the Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, is telling senators their decision on whether to convict the outgoing president over the Capitol riot will be a “vote of conscience.” The timing for the trial, the first...
Biden: Science will be at `forefront’ of his administration
President-elect Joe Biden says “science will always be at the forefront of my administration,” and he is elevating the post of science adviser to Cabinet level, a White House first. Biden, who introduced his team Saturday, said the scientists “will ensure everything we do is grounded in science, facts and...
Pennsylvania reports 7,166 coronavirus cases, 231 deaths
Pennsylvania on Saturday reported 7,166 new coronavirus cases, as hospitalizations and case counts are trending down in the Keystone State. The new data bring the total cases to 761,777. That’s a jump of nearly 48,500 cases from this time last week. The week before, the weekly increase was 56,000. Officials...
No winner of Mega Millions $750M; Powerball drawing Saturday
DES MOINES, Iowa — One of the largest jackpots in U.S. history will grow even larger since there was no winner for Friday’s drawing of the Mega Millions’ $750 million top prize. The numbers were 3, 11, 12, 38, 43, with a Mega Ball of 15 and would have marked...
Diary shows how quest for love landed Navy vet in Iran jail
WASHINGTON — Michael White’s long-anticipated trip to Iran was already a disappointment. The love interest he’d gone to visit had stopped seeing him and he’d idled away hours in his hotel room by himself. Then it got much worse. On his final day, the car he and his tour guide...
Trump administration carries out 13th and final execution
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — The Trump administration early Saturday carried out its 13th federal execution since July, an unprecedented run that concluded just five days before the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden — an opponent of the federal death penalty. Dustin Higgs, convicted in the killings of three women in...
AP explainer: Why expansion of vaccine to smokers caused a stir
TRENTON, N.J. — New Jersey this week made millions of people eligible to get the covid-19 vaccine, including smokers, a move that prompted gripes about them skipping to the front of the inoculation line. Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy made people 65 and older and those 16 and older with medical...
Woman arrested in Capitol attack: ‘I listen to my president’
DALLAS — A Dallas-area real estate agent who is facing charges for allegedly being part of the pro-President Donald Trump mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol last week said she’s a “normal person” who listened to her president. Jenna Ryan, 50, is accused of “knowingly” entering or remaining in the...
Biden: We’ll ‘manage the hell’ out of feds’ covid response
WILMINGTON, Del. — President-elect Joe Biden pledged Friday to boost supplies of coronavirus vaccine and set up new vaccination sites to meet his goal of 100 million shots in 100 days. It’s part of a broader covid strategy that also seeks to straighten out snags in testing and ensure minority...
Flint water charges escalate debate over officials’ failures
FLINT, Mich. — When a former Michigan public health director was charged with involuntary manslaughter in the Flint water crisis, the man who previously held the job says a chilling thought crossed his mind: It could have been me. “I spent 14 years in that chair,” said Jim Haveman, who...
California bill would ban intersex surgery for young kids
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A California lawmaker is trying again to ban some medically unnecessary surgeries on intersex children until they are at least 6-years-old, hoping a narrower focus combined with new legislative leadership will be enough to get the first-of-its-kind legislation signed into law. State Sen. Scott Wiener, a Democrat...
House speaker’s office invader to be put under house arrest
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — An Arkansas man photographed sitting at a desk in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office during the riot at the U.S. Capitol last week was put under house arrest Friday as he awaits trial. U.S. Magistrate Judge Erin Wiedemann set a $5,000 bond for Richard Barnett, and...
Governors complain over pace of covid-19 vaccine shipments
Governors bitterly accused the Trump administration Friday of deceiving the states about the amount of covid-19 vaccine they can expect to receive as they ramp up vaccinations for senior citizens and others. But the government attributed the anger to confusion and misguided expectations on the part of the states. Meanwhile,...
N.Y. prosecutors interview Michael Cohen about Trump finances
NEW YORK — New York prosecutors conducted an hourslong interview Thursday of Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney, asking a range of questions about Trump’s business dealings, according to three people familiar with the meeting. The interview focused in part on Trump’s relationship with Deutsche Bank, his biggest...
Biden picks geneticist as science adviser, puts in Cabinet
President-elect Joe Biden announced Friday that he has chosen a pioneer in mapping the human genome — the so-called “book of life” — to be his chief science adviser and is elevating the top science job to a Cabinet position. Biden nominated Eric Lander, founding director of the Broad Institute...
Vaccines to stimulus checks: Here’s what’s in Biden plan
WILMINGTON, Del. — President-elect Joe Biden is proposing a $1.9 trillion plan to expand coronavirus vaccinations, help individuals and jump-start the economy. The plan, which would require congressional approval, is packed with proposals on health care, education, labor and cybersecurity. On Friday, he outlined a five-step approach to getting the...
Mormon leaders condemn ‘lawless behavior’ at U.S. Capitol
SALT LAKE CITY — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints condemned “lawless behavior” and the violence of rioters who broke into the U.S. Capitol in a statement Friday that marked the faith’s first public comments since the Jan. 6 attack by pro-Trump loyalists. Top leaders from the Utah-based...
NRA declares bankruptcy, plans to incorporate in Texas
AUSTIN, Texas — The National Rifle Association announced Friday it has filed for bankruptcy protection and will to incorporate the nation’s most politically influential gun-rights group in Texas instead of New York, where a state lawsuit is trying to put the organization out of business. The announcement came months after...
Official: No ‘direct evidence’ of plot to kill at Capitol
PHOENIX — Federal prosecutors said there was “strong evidence” the pro-Trump mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol last week aimed to “capture and assassinate elected officials,” but the head of the investigation cautioned Friday that the probe is still in its early stages and there was no “direct evidence” of...
MTA: New York City bus driver refuses drug test after careening off bridge
NEW YORK — A bus dramatically plunged off a bridge in New York City late Thursday, leaving its front half hanging over a highway ramp, its fall broken only by the road below. The 55-year-old driver broke his jaw in the crash and refused to submit to a drug and...
Giant Eagle, Rite Aid tapped as covid vaccine providers
Giant Eagle pharmacies will be part of the effort to get more covid-19 vaccine to the public as more and more doses become available, Pennsylvania health officials announced this week. TopCo Associates, which runs Giant Eagle’s pharmacies, was tapped by the Department of Health, along with Rite Aid, to provide...
Mike Pence calls Kamala Harris to offer congratulations
WASHINGTON — Vice President Mike Pence has called his soon-to-be successor Kamala Harris to offer his congratulations, according to two people familiar with the conversation. It’s the first known contact between the elected members of the outgoing and incoming administrations. President Donald Trump has not reached out to President-elect Joe...
Global coronavirus death toll hits 2 millionVideo
MEXICO CITY — The global death toll from covid-19 topped 2 million Friday, crossing the threshold amid a vaccine rollout so immense but so uneven that in some countries there is real hope of vanquishing the outbreak, while in other, less-developed parts of the world, it seems a far-off dream....
Trump to leave Washington on morning of Biden’s inauguration
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump will leave Washington next Wednesday morning, just before President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, to begin his post-presidential life in Florida. He will be sent off with a departure ceremony at Joint Base Andrews, according to a person familiar with the planning who spoke on condition of...
Pennsylvania reports 6,047 new covid cases, 215 deaths
Pennsylvania on Friday reported a slightly lower 6,047 additional cases of covid-19 compared to the previous three days, which were each above 7,000. After seeing two days in January that added more than 10,000 cases each, the state has had daily case reports below 8,000 for six consecutive days, according...
