Cuomo signs voter registration, facial recognition bills for New York
ALBANY, N.Y. — New York is set to launch automatic voter registration and prohibit the use of facial recognition in schools under bills the governor signed Tuesday. Lawmakers who have largely met virtually this year passed those bills this summer. Several bills that lawmakers have passed are still in limbo...
U.S. hospitals facing worrisome shortage of nurses, doctors
SAN FRANCISCO — With so many states seeing a flood of coronavirus patients, U.S. hospitals are again worried about finding enough medical workers to meet demand just as infections from the holiday season threaten to add to the burden on American health care. California, which is enduring by far its...
City of Flint joins $641M deal to settle lawsuits over lead in water
FLINT, Mich. — The Flint City Council on Tuesday signed off on its portion of a $641 million settlement with residents of the poor, majority-Black city who were exposed to lead-tainted water. The city’s insurer would kick in $20 million as part of a sweeping deal to settle lawsuits against...
Writing off more of that ‘3-martini lunch’ is causing a stirVideo
WASHINGTON — Stuffed into the new emergency relief package is a morsel that President Donald Trump has long had on the buffet of his economic wish list: restoring full tax breaks for restaurant business meals. But experts say it’s scant immediate help for an industry reeling from the pandemic, while...
North Carolina boy dies from accidental BB gun shooting
STONY POINT, N.C. — Police in North Carolina say that an 8-year-old child has died after being struck in the chest by “a single shot from a BB or pellet gun.” The Hickory Daily Record reports that the incident occurred Sunday near a family’s home in Stony Point. The Alexander...
White House covid coordinator Deborah Birx says she will retire
WASHINGTON — Dr. Deborah Birx, coordinator of the White House coronavirus response, said Tuesday she plans to retire, but is willing to first help President-elect Joe Biden’s team with its coronavirus response as needed. Birx, in an interview with the news site Newsy, did not give a specific timetable on...
Biden addresses covid bill, holiday pandemic precautionsVideo
WILMINGTON, Del. — President-elect Joe Biden on Tuesday expressed empathy with struggling families and applauded Congress for passing the coronavirus relief bill as the nation deals with a covid-19 surge that’s casting a shadow over the Christmas holiday. He called out to frontline workers, scientists, researchers, clinical trial participants and...
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster tests positive for the coronavirus
COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster has tested positive for the coronavirus and was slated to receive outpatient antibody treatment for “mild symptoms,” his office said Tuesday. McMaster, 73, learned he had tested positive late Monday following a test “due to coming into close contact with the covid-19...
Feds sue Walmart over role in opioid crisis
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department is suing Walmart, alleging the company unlawfully dispensed controlled substances through its pharmacies, helping to fuel the opioid crisis in America. The civil complaint being filed Tuesday points to the role Walmart’s pharmacies may have played in the crisis by filling opioid prescriptions and by...
West Virginia’s 42 covid deaths is new single day record
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia reported a single-day record of 42 deaths linked to the coronavirus on Tuesday, with victims ranging in ages from 48 to 100. The state reported 787 confirmed coronavirus cases, down from a high of 1,257 last week. There are 22,864 active cases in the state....
One lucky NYC family gets to spend night at FAO Schwarz
NEW YORK — It’s like getting a peek at Santa’s workshop. A New York City family had a most unusual holiday experience — spending the night at the FAO Schwarz toy store in midtown Manhattan, overlooking the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree. The special night came from a collaboration between the...
Pa. Supreme Court alters police rules for warrantless vehicle searches
HARRISBURG — Police must have probable cause as well as “exigent circumstances” in order to legally search a vehicle without a warrant, a divided Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Tuesday. The 4-3 decision said the state constitution’s privacy protections are greater than the U.S. Constitution’s and that those protections extend to...
U.S. population growth smallest in at least 120 years
The U.S. population grew by the smallest rate in at least 120 years from 2019 to 2020, according to figures released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau — a trend that demographers say provides a glimpse of the coronavirus pandemic’s toll. Population growth in the U.S. already was stagnant over...
With virus drop, North Dakota bars can resume normal hours
BISMARCK, N.D. — Gov. Doug Burgum signed an amended executive order that paved the way for bars and restaurants in North Dakota to return to regular hours of operation on Tuesday, as the active number of covid-19 cases and hospitalizations have declined in the state. The food service establishments had...
Pa. reports 7,962 new covid cases; 36% of total cases have come in December
Pennsylvania reported 7,962 new covid cases and 231 new deaths Tuesday, according to the state Department of Health. After the new numbers, total cases in the state are now 571,551 and total deaths are 14,212. In December, there have been 210,087 cases and 3,829 deaths reported, which are about 36%...
Pair of passengers exit NYC flight via slide before takeoff
NEW YORK — A Delta flight out of New York City was halted after a Florida couple traveling with a Great Dane puppy fled the aircraft with the pet using an emergency slide, an airline spokesman and authorities said Tuesday. The incident involving Antonio Murdock and Brianna Greco occurred on...
Congress takes steps to curb unexpected medical bills
Most Americans tell pollsters they’re worried about being able to afford an unexpected medical bill. Late Monday, Congress passed a bill to allay some of those fears. The measure is included in a nearly 5,600-page package providing coronavirus economic relief and government funding for the rest of the fiscal year....
Can employers make covid-19 vaccination mandatory?
Can employers make covid-19 vaccination mandatory? Yes, with some exceptions. Experts say employers can require employees to take safety measures, including vaccination. That doesn’t necessarily mean you would get fired if you refuse, but you might need to sign a waiver or agree to work under specific conditions to limit...
Britain finds itself isolated and uncertain ahead of Brexit
LONDON — Hundreds of stranded truck drivers hoped to get the green light to leave Britain on Tuesday as the country found itself increasingly isolated and its trade bottled up, cut off by neighbors afraid of a new strain of the coronavirus circulating in England. More than 1,500 trucks snaked...
Christmas in the ICU: Decorations, lights and many tears
OPELIKA, Ala. — A Christmas tree stands outside the intensive care room where a man stricken by covid-19 lies unconscious, a machine breathing for him. A few feet away, a plastic snowman adorns the door of another patient whose face is barely visible behind ventilator tubes. The decorations are “a...
High court opening tops Pennsylvania’s 2021 judicial races
HARRISBURG — Statewide judicial races will be among Pennsylvania’s most closely watched election contests in the coming year, with lawyers and judges around the state already lining up supporters and trying to figure out if they can raise enough money to win. The marquee race will be for Supreme Court,...
2 killed when plane crashes along Texas service road
GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas — Two people were killed when a small plane crashed along a highway service road in North Texas shortly after taking off, authorities said. The Federal Aviation Administration said the single-engine Wheeler Express CT crashed Monday afternoon about 1 mile west of the Grand Prairie Municipal Airport,...
Biden to address covid bill, holiday pandemic precautions
WILMINGTON, Del. — President-elect Joe Biden will speak Tuesday as the nation deals with a covid-19 surge that’s casting a shadow over the Christmas holiday this week. Biden will deliver remarks in Wilmington, Delaware on Tuesday afternoon, where he’s expected to speak on the $900 billion coronavirus aid bill passed...
Senator says Treasury Dept. email accounts compromised in hack
WASHINGTON — Dozens of email accounts at the Treasury Department were compromised in a massive breach of U.S. government agencies being blamed on Russia, with hackers breaking into systems used by the department’s highest-ranking officials. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., provided new details of the hack following a briefing to Senate...
Air Force says Black people more often investigated, punished
WASHINGTON — Black service members in the Air Force are far more likely to be investigated, arrested, face disciplinary actions and be discharged for misconduct, according to a new report that looked at racial disparities across the service. The report by the Air Force inspector general, released Monday, said Black...
