Santa took photos with about 50 kids before positive covid test, Georgia officials say
A Santa Claus who took photos with dozens of kids was diagnosed with covid-19, Georgia officials say. The man tested positive for the disease after playing the role of Santa at holiday-themed festivities last week, said Robert D. Parker, chairman of the Long County Board of Commissioners. Mrs. Claus, who...
Sen. Bob Casey, North Huntingdon mother highlight need for continued pandemic relief
Victoria Murrell had her ducks in a row last winter. The 32-year-old from North Huntingdon had spent four years waiting tables and attending classes at Seton Hill University on a full academic scholarship. She was on track to graduate with a degree in human resources. Then the covid-19 shutdown hit....
Pa. officials say winter storm won’t hinder vaccine distribution
Severe winter weather Wednesday won’t delay covid-19 vaccine shipments in Pennsylvania, state officials said, as more shipments of the vaccine arrived at hospitals across the commonwealth. “We’re not making changes (to distribution) according to the forecast, but we will make changes if the weather turns out to force us to...
Talks escalate on new covid-19 relief, top lawmakers to meetVideo
WASHINGTON — Talks on a long-delayed covid-19 aid package intensified Tuesday as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi summoned other top congressional leaders for a potentially critical meeting. Pelosi, D-Calif., spoke with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin for more than an hour, her office tweeted, and Mnuchin will join the make-or-break meeting of...
Biden to pick Pete Buttigieg as transportation chiefVideo
WASHINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden is expected to pick former South Bend, Indiana, mayor Pete Buttigieg to head the Transportation Department, according to three people familiar with the plans. Buttigieg, one of Biden’s rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination, was a breakout star of the primaries, sharing victory in the...
Over-the-counter home test for covid-19 gets U.S. green light
WASHINGTON — The first home test for covid-19 that doesn’t require a prescription will soon be on U.S. store shelves. U.S. regulators Tuesday authorized the rapid coronavirus test, which can be done entirely at home. The announcement by the Food and Drug Administration represents another important — though incremental —...
U.S. vaccinations ramp up as 2nd covid-19 shot nears
WASHINGTON — Hundreds more hospitals around the country began dispensing covid-19 shots to their workers in a rapid expansion of the U.S. vaccination drive Tuesday, while a second vaccine moved to the cusp of government authorization. A day after the rollout of Pfizer-BioNTech’s coronavirus shots, the Food and Drug Administration...
Biden to take oath outside Capitol amid virus restrictions
WASHINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will take their oaths of office outside the U.S. Capitol building as inauguration planners seek to craft an event that captures the traditional grandeur of the historic ceremony while complying with covid-19 protocols. Biden’s team released some broad details for...
Excela recognized for efforts focusing on workplace wellness
For the ninth consecutive year, Excela Health has been recognized among the Healthiest Employers in Western Pennsylvania, and for the fifth year in a row named a Healthiest 100 Workplace in America, in an awards program presented by Healthiest Employer. The Healthiest Employer awards program, powered by Springbuk, was created...
Pa. passes 500,000 covid cases
Pennsylvania reported 9,556 new covid cases and 270 new deaths Tuesday, according to the state Department of Health. Total cases and total deaths in the state are now 509,320 and 12,890, respectively. There have been 147,856 covid-19 cases and 2,507 deaths reported in December. With the state passing 500,00 covid-19...
Moderna vaccine found safe, effective ahead of key FDA review
Moderna Inc.’s vaccine is safe and effective for preventing covid-19, U.S. regulators said, clearing the way for a second shot to quickly gain emergency authorization and add to the country’s sprawling immunization effort. The Food and Drug Administration’s staff said in a report on Tuesday that the experimental vaccine is...
GOP leader McConnell finally acknowledges Biden won election
WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell congratulated Democrat Joe Biden as president-elect on Tuesday, saying the Electoral College “has spoken.” The Republican leader’s statement, delivered in a speech on the Senate floor, ends weeks of silence over President Donald Trump’s defeat. It came a day after electors met and...
Where do you fit in line for the coronavirus vaccine?
Health care workers on the frontlines battling the coronavirus are getting the covid-19 vaccine first. So will first responders, teachers, other “essential” workers and adults with covid health risks. But, if you aren’t one of those, where do you fit in line? The New York Times developed a tool in...
Germany demands EU agency approve vaccine before Christmas
BERLIN — Germany on Tuesday increased the pressure on European regulators to speed up their review of a coronavirus vaccine, with its health minister, a hospital association and several lawmakers urging that the vaccine be given the stamp of approval by next week. “Our goal is an approval before Christmas,”...
Fire at Russian retirement home kills 11
MOSCOW — A fire in a retirement home in Russia’s southern Urals killed 11 people while three more were hospitalized with injuries, local officials said Tuesday. The fire broke out in the early hours in a wooden, one-story building of a private retirement home in a village in the Bashkiria...
Poor countries face long wait for vaccines despite promises
NEW DELHI — With Americans, Britons and Canadians rolling up their sleeves to receive coronavirus vaccines, the route out of the pandemic now seems clear to many in the West, even if the rollout will take many months. But for poorer countries, the road will be far longer and rougher....
London faces tightest restrictions; sees new covid strainVideo
LONDON — London and its surrounding areas will be placed under Britain’s highest level of coronavirus restrictions beginning Wednesday as infections rise rapidly in the capital, the health secretary said Monday, adding that a new variant of the virus may be to blame for the spread. Health Secretary Matt Hancock...
New Mexico electors support Biden, as GOP sues to invalidate
SANTA FE, N.M. — Democratic electors in New Mexico cast their votes for Joe Biden on Monday as the Democratic president-elect cleared the 270-electoral-vote mark to formalize his presidential victory, amid new local protests and objections by Republicans to the voting process and outcome. Biden won the statewide popular vote...
‘Democracy prevailed’: Biden aims to unify divided nationVideo
WILMINGTON, Del. — President-elect Joe Biden told Americans on Monday that “democracy prevailed” as electors nationwide cast votes affirming his victory in last month’s election, saying the country’s governing principles withstood being “pushed, tested, threatened” by repeated, baseless claims of fraud championed by President Donald Trump. In a speech from...
Fate of new covid relief legislation may hinge on business liability protection
WASHINGTON — Congressional action on coronavirus relief legislation may hinge on a little-known question that turns out to be political dynamite: Should private businesses be immune from lawsuits involving covid-19? Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky, has been advocating for such a shield since spring at the urging of business...
Trump says AG William Barr resigning, will leave before Christmas
WASHINGTON — Attorney General William Barr, one of President Donald Trump’s staunchest allies, is resigning amid lingering tension with the president over the president’s baseless claims of election fraud and the investigation into President-elect Joe Biden’s son. Barr went Monday to the White House, where Trump said the attorney general...
Biden clears 270-vote mark as electors affirm his presidential victory
WASHINGTON — The Electoral College gave Joe Biden a solid majority of its votes Monday, confirming his victory in last month’s election in state-by-state voting that took on added importance this year because of President Donald Trump’s refusal to concede he lost. California’s 55 electoral votes put Biden over the...
Police: Juvenile charged in deaths of 4 in southern West VirginiaVideo
ELKVIEW, W.Va. — Police have charged a juvenile with the murder of four people whose bodies were found Sunday at a home in southern West Virginia. A family member discovered three bodies after going to the home in Elkview, Kanawha County Sheriff Mike Rutherford said. Deputies who responded to the...
Michigan GOP lawmaker punished for not denouncing violenceVideo
LANSING, Mich. — A Republican lawmaker was disciplined Monday for not denouncing potential violence at the Michigan Capitol before Democratic presidential electors were to meet to vote for Joe Biden, who defeated President Donald Trump in the swing state. State Rep. Gary Eisen, of St. Clair Township, told WPHM-AM that...
Supreme Court won’t revive Kansas voter registration ID law
The Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal from Kansas that sought to revive a law requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote. A federal appeals court had declared the law unconstitutional. Kansas had been the only state to require people to show a physical document such as a...
