Critics of Electoral College push for popular vote compact
SALEM, Ore. — When the Electoral College meets Monday, its detractors hope it marks the beginning of the end of a system that twice this century has vaulted the loser of the popular vote to the presidency. This year’s presidential race provides the latest motivation for change to supporters of...
In a year dominated by pandemic, many other dramas unfolded
Not since World War II has a single phenomenon dominated the news worldwide as the covid-19 pandemic has in 2020. In the United States, a tumultuous presidential election and a wave of protests over racial injustice also drew relentless coverage. Overshadowed, to an extent, were other dramatic developments. Among them:...
Virgin Galactic makes first flight from New Mexico site
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A Virgin Galactic test flight Saturday ended prematurely when the spacecraft landed safely at Spaceport America in southern New Mexico after its rocket engine failed to ignite high above the Earth. “The ignition sequence for the rocket motor did not complete. Vehicle and crew are in great...
U.S. says covid-19 vaccine to start arriving in states Monday
WASHINGTON — The nation’s first covid-19 vaccine will begin arriving in states Monday morning, U.S. officials said Saturday, after the government gave the final go-ahead to the shots needed to end an outbreak that has killed nearly 300,000 Americans. Trucks will roll out Sunday morning as shipping companies UPS and...
Pennsylvania posts 11,000 new coronavirus cases; 201 new deaths
Pennsylvania on Saturday reported 11,084 new coronavirus cases, as the Keystone State gets closer to accumulating 500,000 cases. The new data bring the total cases to 481,118; a nearly 70,000-case jump from this time last week (411,484). Officials said 40,580 of total cases are considered probable. Health officials define a...
U.S. allows emergency covid-19 vaccine in bid to end pandemic
WASHINGTON — The U.S. gave the final go-ahead Friday to the nation’s first covid-19 vaccine, marking what could be the beginning of the end of an outbreak that has killed nearly 300,000 Americans. Shots for health workers and nursing home residents are expected to begin in the coming days after...
U.S. executes Louisiana truck driver who killed daughter, 2
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — The Trump administration continued its unprecedented series of post-election federal executions Friday by putting to death a Louisiana truck driver who severely abused his 2-year-old daughter for weeks in 2002, then killed her by slamming her head against a truck’s windows and dashboard. Alfred Bourgeois, 56,...
As he rails on election, Trump largely mum on toll of virus
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has been highlighting lots of really big numbers this week: New highs for the stock market. The 100-plus House members backing a lawsuit challenging his election loss. The nearly 75 million people who voted for him. All the while, he’s looked past other staggering and...
AP source: Cuomo among contenders for attorney general pick
WASHINGTON — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is one of several contenders under consideration by President-elect Joe Biden for the role of attorney general, a person with knowledge of the search process said Friday. The other three contenders at the moment include former Alabama Sen. Doug Jones, federal appeals court...
Paper apologizes for endorsing congressman backing overturn
ORLANDO, Fla. — A Florida newspaper apologized Friday for endorsing the reelection of a Republican congressman who supported a lawsuit that tried to have the Supreme Court overthrow the will of the voters in the presidential election. The Orlando Sentinel in an editorial said “to its horror,” U.S. Rep. Michael...
Veterans groups call for Wilkie’s dismissal after scathing audit
WASHINGTON — Three major veterans’ groups on Friday called for the immediate dismissal of Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie following a scathing government audit that found he had acted unprofessionally if not unethically in the handling of a congressional aide’s allegation of sexual assault at a VA hospital. Iraq and...
Supreme Court rejects Republican attack on Biden victory
HOUSTON — The Supreme Court on Friday rejected a lawsuit backed by President Donald Trump to overturn Joe Biden’s election victory, ending a desperate attempt to get legal issues rejected by state and federal judges before the nation’s highest court and subvert the will of voters. The high court’s order...
Gov. Wolf twice tests negative for covid
Gov. Tom Wolf said Friday he tested negative for covid-19 for the second time since he received his diagnosis on Wednesday. Wolf said he’s tested for the virus each Tuesday, and he tested positive during the routine test this week. Subsequent tests on Wednesday and Thursday evenings came back negative,...
White House threatens FDA chief’s job over vaccine approval
WASHINGTON — White House chief of staff Mark Meadows on Friday pressed Food and Drug Administration chief Stephen Hahn to grant an emergency use authorization for Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine by the end of the day or face possible firing, two administration officials said. The vaccine produced by Pfizer Inc. and...
Demoralized health workers struggle as virus numbers surge
Doctors and nurses around the U.S. are becoming exhausted and demoralized as they struggle to cope with a record-breaking surge of covid-19 patients that is overwhelming hospitals and prompting governors to clamp back down to contain the virus. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Friday banned indoor dining in New...
Senate sends Trump defense bill he has vowed to veto
WASHINGTON — The Senate on Friday approved a wide-ranging defense policy bill, sending it to President Donald Trump, despite his threat to veto the bill because it does not clamp down on big tech companies he claims were biased during the election. The final vote was 84-13, mirroring a similarly...
Visa, Mastercard won’t allow charges for services on Pornhub
Mastercard and Visa said Thursday they would block their customers from using the credit cards to make purchases on Pornhub following accusations the pornographic website showed videos of rape and underage sex. They reacted following an investigation by opinion columnist Nicholas Kristof of The New York Times that also alleged...
5 years on, signs that Paris climate accord is working
The forecast for global warming is looking a little less bleak in the long term, but not so rosy in the short term. With numerous countries pledging to clean up their act and projected temperature rises now smaller than they once were, scientists and diplomats say the outlook for mid-to-late...
Viral spread: Americans paying the price for Thanksgiving
With some Americans now paying the price for what they did over Thanksgiving and falling sick with COVID-19, health officials are warning people — begging them, even — not to make the same mistake during the Christmas and New Year’s season. “It’s a surge above the existing surge,” said Ali...
Utah senator blocks national museums for Latinos, women
A lone senator from Utah has singlehandedly blocked the bipartisan approval of two new national museums to honor American Latinos and women, arguing that “last thing we need is to further divide an already divided nation.” Republican Sen. Mike Lee objected Thursday to the creation of the two proposed Smithsonian...
Pennsylvania reports 12,745 new covid cases; 23% of total cases have come in December
Pennsylvania reported 12,745 new covid-19 cases Friday, according to the state Department of Health. The new cases mark the sixth time that new reported cases have been over 10,000, all of these instances coming in December. Total cases in the state are now 470,034 and will likely hit 500,000 by...
GSK, Sanofi say their covid-19 vaccine won’t be ready until late 2021
Drugmakers GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi said Friday that their potential covid-19 vaccine won’t be ready until late next year because they need to improve the shot’s effectiveness in older people. The companies said early trials showed the vaccine produced an “insufficient” immune response in people over 60 because it didn’t contain...
Biden, Harris named Time magazine’s ‘Person of the Year’
President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris were named Time magazine’s Person of the Year on Thursday night, besting President Donald Trump, front-line health care workers and racial justice protesters as the year’s most influential newsmakers. Time picked Biden and Harris over three other finalists — President Trump, front-line...
Obama reunion? Joe Biden fills Cabinet with former White House leaders
President-elect Joe Biden is getting the old gang back together. Increasingly deep into the process of selecting Cabinet members and other senior staff, the incoming Biden administration has a distinctly Obama feel. There’s Denis McDonough, former President Barack Obama’s chief of staff who Biden announced on Thursday would be nominated...
Pollstar: Live events industry lost $30B because of pandemic
NEW YORK — Because of the global coronavirus pandemic, concert trade publication Pollstar puts the total lost revenue for the live events industry in 2020 at more than $30 billion. Pollstar on Friday said the live events industry should have hit a record-setting $12.2 billion this year, but instead it...
