Facebook bans Trump through Biden inauguration, maybe longerVideo
Facebook will bar President Donald Trump from posting on its system at least until the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden. In a post Thursday morning, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said the risk of allowing Trump to use the platform is too great, following his incitement of a mob that later...
Split court tosses Pennsylvania victims’ rights amendment
HARRISBURG — A divided state court on Thursday threw out a victims’ rights state constitutional amendment that voters apparently passed by a wide margin, ruling it bundled too many changes together. Commonwealth Court in a 3-2 decision said state officials may not tabulate the votes for the so-called Marsy’s Law...
Pentagon activates 6,200 National Guard members to secure Biden inauguration
The Defense Department has formally activated roughly 6,200 members of the National Guard from six northeastern states to help support the Capitol Police and other law enforcement in Washington in the wake of the deadly riot Wednesday that rocked the U.S. Capitol. Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller signed orders activating...
1st covid-19 variant case identified in Pennsylvania
The first case of the covid-19 variant initially seen in the United Kingdom last month has been identified in Pennsylvania, Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said Thursday. “Public health experts are still in the early stages of working to better understand this new variant, how it spreads and how...
Late night hosts react with shock, anger to Capitol attack
Late night TV talk show hosts expressed anger and frustration at the violence at the U.S. Capitol, offering somber monologues that pleaded for unity even as some aimed pointed barbs at those they held responsible for the mobs’ actions. “It was a terrible day in the history of this country,”...
Ex-Chief of Staff Mulvaney quits administration in protest of Trump’s incitement of Capitol riot
Mick Mulvaney, a former acting White House chief of staff, resigned Thursday from a diplomatic post in protest of President Trump’s incitement of the rioters who stormed the Capitol. Mulvaney, a staunch Trump loyalist, quit his post as special envoy for Northern Ireland over the president’s shameful handling of the...
How quickly do I need a 2nd covid-19 vaccine shot?
The first covid-19 vaccines in the U.S. require two doses a few weeks apart. People should get some degree of protection within two weeks of the first shot, with the second shot bringing about the vaccine’s full protection. For the vaccine by Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech, the second shot is...
Here’s who objected, supported certification of Pennsylvania’s electors
Members of Congress confirmed Joe Biden’s presidential win early Thursday morning, but not without first deliberating on proposals aimed to discredit the results of the contentious 2020 presidential election. The U.S. Congress voted on proposals that objected electoral votes from Pennsylvania and Arizona, key battleground states. Both proposals were rejected....
Rep. Conor Lamb’s ‘lies’ accusation causes late-night stir in CongressVideo
It’s not what Rep. Conor Lamb had originally planned to say to his fellow U.S. House members. But Lamb’s “the truth hurts” speech early Thursday caused a stir on the House floor, with some Republican congressmen rushing toward the Democrats in a pique of anger.Lamb, a Democrat from Mt. Lebanon,...
Iraq issues arrest warrant for Trump over Soleimani killing
BAGHDAD — An arrest warrant was issued Thursday for outgoing President Donald Trump in connection with the killing of an Iranian general and a powerful Iraqi militia leader last year, Iraq’s judiciary said. The warrant was issued by a judge in Baghdad’s investigative court tasked with probing the Washington-directed drone...
South Africa buys 1.5 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine
JOHANNESBURG — South Africa says it will import 1.5 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to inoculate the country’s health workers. This is South Africa’s first announcement of the purchase of a covid-19 vaccine as cases there soar. The first 1 million doses will be delivered later this month from...
Casey joins Schumer, Pelosi in urging Cabinet to oust Trump over siege on Capitol
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey and several House Democrats from Pennsylvania, including Rep. Mike Doyle of Forest Hills, joined a growing chorus including Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi calling on President Trump’s Cabinet to remove him from office following Wednesday’s violent assault on the Capitol by...
Trump says his term is ending, transition will be orderly
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump for the first time acknowledged his defeat in the Nov. 3 election and announced there would be an “orderly transition on January 20th” after Congress concluded the electoral vote count early Thursday certifying President-elect Joe Biden’s victory. Trump’s acknowledgment came after a day of chaos...
Lawmakers vow to investigate police after Capitol breachVideo
WASHINGTON — Lawmakers are vowing an investigation into how Capitol police handled Wednesday’s violent breach at the Capitol, questioning whether a lack of preparedness allowed the mob to occupy and vandalize the building. Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., chairwoman of the House Administration Committee, said the breach “raises grave security concerns,″...
30 people arrested for violating D.C. curfewVideo
WASHINGTON — Police have arrested 30 people for violating a curfew imposed in Washington, D.C., after rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol. Officials say the 30 people were arrested Wednesday evening after being found on the streets after the 6 p.m. deadline. The curfew had been imposed after scores of supporters...
Facebook removes Trump’s video on Capitol chaos; Twitter locks his account
Twitter and Facebook on Wednesday removed a video posted by President Donald Trump in which he falsely claimed that the November election was stolen from him and asked rioters who breached the U.S. Capitol to go home even as he praised them. In the video, Trump said that he won...
West Virginia delegate records himself storming U.S. CapitolVideo
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A West Virginia lawmaker took video of himself and other supporters of President Trump rushing Wednesday into the U.S. Capitol. In the video by Republican Del. Derrick Evans, later deleted from his social media page, he is shown wearing a helmet and clamoring at the door to...
Capitol has seen violence over 220 years, but not like this
In more than 220 years, the U.S. Capitol had seen nothing like it: a roiling mob, forcing its way past its majestic marble columns, disrupting the passage of power, desecrating the seat of the world’s greatest democracy. But this was far from the first time the Capitol has been scarred...
Former presidents Bush, Obama ‘appalled’ and sickened by mayhem at Capitol
Former President George W. Bush said he and his wife, Laura, are sickened and heartbroken over the “mayhem” in Washington, D.C., and have watched in “disbelief and dismay” as events unfolded. Bush said the “assault” on the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday and the disruption of a constitutionally mandated meeting to...
World leaders express shock at storming of U.S. Capitol
Leaders around the world condemned the storming of the U.S. Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump on Wednesday, expressing shock at the chaos unfolding in a country they once relied upon for global leadership. “Disgraceful scenes in US Congress,” tweeted Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain, a staunch ally...
Trump supporters stage protests nationwide
From Oklahoma to Kansas to Utah, supporters of President Donald Trump staged protests nationwide Wednesday. In Oklahoma City, Okla., close to 1,000 Trump supporters gathered at the Oklahoma Capitol as a joint session of Congress convened in Washington to confirm the Electoral College vote won by Joe Biden. Protesters held...
Pa. Senate Majority Leader Kim Ward defends election questions as U.S. Capitol stormed
State Senate Majority Leader Kim Ward on Wednesday refused to budge from her position questioning the integrity of Nov. 3 election in Pennsylvania, even as an angry crowd of Trump supporters breached the U.S. Capitol and Gov. Tom Wolf called out state Republicans for fomenting a “shameful lie.” Ward of...
Biden calls on protesters to ‘pull back,’ urges restoring decency
WILMINGTON, Del. — President-elect Joe Biden called Wednesday for the restoration of “just simple decency” as a mob incited by his predecessor stormed the U.S. Capitol and delayed Congress from certifying the results of November’s election in which Biden won the White House. Biden had planned to deliver a speech...
Woman shot inside Capitol during riot diesVideo
WASHINGTON — A woman who was shot inside the U.S. Capitol during the violent pro-Trump protest has died. That’s according to two officials familiar with the matter who spoke to The Associated Press on Wednesday on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly. The Metropolitan Police Department...
Trump to protesters: ‘We love you. You’re very special … but go home’
President Donald Trump issued a recorded statement via Twitter about 4:20 p.m. Wednesday telling protesters who stormed the U.S. Capitol to “go home.” And then he doubled down about two hours later. “I know you’re pain. I know you’re hurt,” Trump said in his statement. “We had an election that...
