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...
American imprisoned in Russia complains of sleep deprivation
MOSCOW — The brother of an American convicted of espionage in Russia said Thursday that his imprisoned sibling is suffering sleep deprivation at a prison colony where he is serving a 16-year sentence. David Whelan said his brother, Paul, complained that he was being woken up at approximately 2-hour intervals...
Officials name new road in Florida after Trayvon Martin
MIAMI — A section of road that leads to the South Florida high school that Trayvon Martin attended now bears the name of the Black teenager whose 2012 death sparked a movement for social justice. The road became Trayvon Martin Avenue during a brief ceremony on Thursday morning near Dr....
Missouri election judge worked despite covid-19 diagnosis, then died
O’FALLON, Mo. — A suburban St. Louis election official who worked at a polling place on Election Day despite a positive test for the coronavirus has now died, raising concerns for the nearly 2,000 people who voted there. St. Charles County, Missouri, spokeswoman Mary Enger said in a news release...
Danish farmers lament decision to cull all Denmark’s minks
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Danish fur farmers say they’ve been dealt a major blow after the world’s largest mink fur exporter decided to cull all 15 million minks in Denmark’s farms, to minimize the risk of them re-transmitting the coronavirus to humans — a decision that has also raised eyebrows among...
Judges in Michigan, Georgia dismiss Trump campaign lawsuits
WASHINGTON — Judges in Georgia and Michigan quickly dismissed Trump campaign lawsuits Thursday, undercutting a campaign legal strategy to attack the integrity of the voting process in states where the result could mean President Donald Trump’s defeat. The rulings came as Democrat Joe Biden inched closer to the 270 Electoral...
Pennsylvania sees 2,900 new coronavirus cases, highest daily increase since pandemic began
Pennsylvania’s Department of Health reported 2,900 new positive cases of coronavirus on Thursday, following a day where the state saw over 2,700 cases. There were also 47 new deaths announced. The first days of November are continuing a spike in coronavirus cases that started in October. The state has seen...
Officials clarify military role in coronavirus vaccination amid wariness
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has often touted the role of the military in distributing a covid-19 vaccine, but health officials close to the process who are concerned about public distrust are taking pains to say the federal government won’t actually be handling vaccines. The president said at the final...
California’s Prop. 22 passed — big win for Uber, Lyft, DoorDash. What’s next?
Facing mounting legal pressure for classifying their vast workforces as contractors rather than employees, gig economy companies put forth what they argued was a better solution — one that would provide some benefits to workers without forcing them to alter their business model. On Tuesday, gig economy companies got their...
France reinforcing its border controls following attacks
PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday that France is reinforcing its border controls after a series of attacks that hit the country in recent weeks. Macron said the number of police and troops in charge of border controls will double from 2,400 now to 4,800. They will...
Waiting for Pa.: Biden closing quickly on Trump as counting continues
HARRISBURG — Joe Biden is closing quickly in Pennsylvania. The former vice president and Democratic challenger pulled to within about 22,000 votes of President Donald Trump as of 6 a.m. Friday. Trump leads 3,285,048 (49.6%) to 3,262,575 (49.26%), but the lead precipitously dropped throughout the day Thursday as mail ballots...
Alaska search for 7 missing boaters indefinitely postponed
BETHEL, Alaska — Searchers in western Alaska have indefinitely postponed their effort to find seven missing seal hunters. Quinhagak Tribal Police Chief John Peter said he put the search on hold last Saturday for the missing and the boat they were traveling on, KYUK-AM reported Wednesday. “Due to the cold,...
UK extends wage support scheme until March amid new lockdown
LONDON — The British government and the Bank of England joined forces Thursday to provide further support to an economy that is set for a difficult winter following the imposition of new coronavirus lockdown measures. Hours after the central bank increased its monetary stimulus by a bigger than anticipated $195...
