Sen. Pat Toomey: Trump claims ‘very disturbing,’ no sign of widespread election fraud
Republican Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania criticized President Donald Trump’s baseless allegations of election fraud in an interview with “CBS This Morning” on Friday, saying that there is no evidence of widespread wrongdoing in his state. “The president’s speech last night was very disturbing to me because he made very,...
Trump predicts ‘lot of litigation’ in fight to keep his job
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is looking at a political map in which he might have to persuade the Supreme Court to set aside votes in two or more states to prevent Joe Biden from becoming president. That’s a substantially different scenario than in the contested presidential election of 2000,...
Russia under stain as it sets new virus record
MOSCOW — Russia’s daily number of new coronavirus infections topped 20,000 Friday, setting a new record since the beginning of the pandemic. Russia’s tally of confirmed coronavirus cases — currently the fourth largest in the world — has exceeded 1.7 million following a quick spread of contagion since September. The...
Spain: Former king is target of 3rd corruption investigation
MADRID — Spanish Supreme Court prosecutors have opened a third corruption investigation involving former monarch Juan Carlos I of Spain, officials said Friday. Attorney General Dolores Delgado and top anti-corruption prosecutor Alejandro Luzón told reporters the probe is still at an “embryonic” stage, private news agency Europa Press reported. They...
2 Wisconsin officers shot, wounded in exchange of gunfire
DELAFIELD, Wis. — Two officers were shot and wounded early Friday after confronting a hit-and-run suspect in Wisconsin, police said. Delafield Police Chief Erik Kehl said that one of his officers and another from nearby Hartland confronted a man suspected in the hit-and-run crash outside a Holiday Inn at Interstate...
Networks cut away from Trump’s White House address
NEW YORK — ABC, CBS and NBC all cut away from President Donald Trump on Thursday as he spoke from the White House to make an unfounded accusation that the presidential election was being stolen from him. Trump had tried to commandeer the nation’s airwaves at a time when the...
Armed men arrested near Philadelphia vote counting location
PHILADELPHIA — Two men armed with loaded handguns were arrested Thursday near the Philadelphia convention center where an ongoing vote count could decide the presidential election, police said. Joshua Macias, 42, and Antonio LaMotta, 61, traveled from the Virginia Beach, Virginia, area in a Hummer and did not have permits...
A more conservative court hears same-sex foster parent case
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday seemed likely to side with a Catholic social services agency in a dispute with Philadelphia over the agency’s refusal to work with same-sex couples as foster parents. The case is a big test of religious rights on a more conservative court. Catholic Social...
Election officials worried by threats and protesters
Election officials in several states said Thursday they are worried about the safety of their staffs amid a stream of threats and gatherings of angry protesters outside their doors, drawn by President Donald Trump’s baseless claims of widespread fraud in the race for the White House. “I can tell you...
Federal judge denies Trump campaign bid to halt vote count in Philadelphia
A bid by the Trump campaign to stop the vote count in Philadelphia over observer access has been denied by a federal judge. According to the Associated Press, U.S. District Judge Paul S. Diamond has urged the sides to develop an agreement that allows the final ballots to be tallied...
Trump steps to podium, lets loose on integrity of election
WASHINGTON — For 40 hours, President Donald Trump fumed in private and tweeted his grievances in all caps. When he at last emerged, it was to stand behind the presidential seal in the White House and deliver a diatribe most notable for his litany of false statements about the election...
Counties with worst virus surges overwhelmingly voted Trump
U.S. voters went to the polls starkly divided on how they see President Donald Trump’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. But in places where the virus is most rampant now, Trump enjoyed enormous support. An Associated Press analysis reveals that in 376 counties with the highest number of new cases...
Shapiro takes lead in tight race in attorney general race; contenders still battling for treasurer; DeFoor wins auditor general
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro was poised to claim a second term in office Friday morning as the mail-in ballot count continued, while Timothy DeFoor of Dauphin County became the first Republican to serve as state auditor general in more than 20 years. Shapiro, 47, a Democrat from Montgomery County,...
Republican Sean Parnell won’t concede in 17th District, criticizes Conor Lamb for declaring victory in tight race
Republican candidate Sean Parnell said Thursday he will not concede in the 17th Congressional District race against incumbent U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb until all eligible votes have been reported and a clear winner is verified. As of Friday morning, Lamb, 36, a Mt. Lebanon Democrat, led Parnell, 39, a Trump-backed...
Guatemala president says 37 dead in landslides caused by Eta
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — Guatemala President Alejandro Giammattei said Thursday that a water-soaked mountainside in the central part of the country had slid onto the town of San Cristobal Verapaz, burying homes and leaving at least 25 dead. Two other slides in Huehuetenango had killed at least 12 more, he said....
Covid vaccine will not be a panacea, says Pa. health secretary
Pennsylvania’s top health official said Thursday the state is ready to distribute a covid-19 vaccine in a manner that prioritizes health care workers and vulnerable populations but stressed that a vaccine – whenever one becomes available – will not be a panacea. There are six drug manufacturers working on covid-19...
Joe Biden pulls with 42,000 votes of President Donald Trump
Joe Biden is closing quickly in Pennsylvania. The former vice president and Democratic challenger pulled to within 42,000 votes of President Trump as of 9:35 p.m. Thursday. Trump led 3,277,521 (49.74%) to 3,235,482 (49.11%), but the lead consistently dropped throughout the day as mail ballots continued to be tallied. As of...
Missing girl, 14, found hidden in closet; authorities uncover trapdoor in California home
A weeklong search to find a missing 14-year-old in Northern California’s Calaveras County has ended after authorities discovered a trapdoor leading to a makeshift sleeping area under a home where the girl had gone to spend the night and found the teen hiding in a closet, sheriff’s officials said. Three...
Kosovo’s president resigns to face war crimes charges
The president of Kosovo, who served as a guerrilla leader during Kosovo’s war for independence from Serbia in the late 1990s, resigned Thursday and was sent to a special court in The Hague where he will face charges for war crimes and crimes against humanity. President Hashim Thaci said he...
Counties with worst virus surges overwhelmingly voted Trump
U.S. voters went to the polls starkly divided on how they see President Donald Trump’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, with a surprising twist: In places where the virus is most rampant now, Trump enjoyed enormous support. An Associated Press analysis reveals that in 376 counties with the highest number...
Explainer: How much misinformation is kicking around?
They go together all too closely these days: momentous events — and bad information that tells an inaccurate story about how they’re happening. The two days since Election Day, predictably, demonstrate this to be true. Karen Mahabir, fact check and misinformation editor for The Associated Press, says her team of...
Poll watchers emerge as a flashpoint in battle over ballots
Election officials in key battleground states pushed back on claims by the Trump campaign that Republican poll watchers were being improperly denied access to observe the counting of ballots, saying Thursday that rules were being followed and they were committed to transparency. Tasked this year with monitoring a record number...
Judge rejects moving trial of ex-officers in George Floyd’s death
MINNEAPOLIS — A judge on Thursday rejected defense requests to move the trial of four former Minneapolis police officers charged in George Floyd’s death, and also ordered that all four will be tried together instead of separately. Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill ruled after defense attorneys had argued that pretrial...
Voters in Jersey Shore town of Margate reject a boardwalk
Not everyone at the Jersey Shore loves boardwalks. Voters in Margate, a well-to-do seaside community near Atlantic City, overwhelmingly rejected a proposal to build a boardwalk along its beachfront. In incomplete tallies released by the Atlantic County Clerk’s office, a non-binding referendum on whether Margate should study the feasibility of...
Fed signals readiness to do more for economy as virus rages
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve kept its benchmark interest rate at a record low near zero Thursday and signaled its readiness to do more if needed to support an economy under threat from a worsening coronavirus pandemic. The Fed announced no new actions after its latest policy meeting but left...
