Georgia Aquarium’s largest female whale shark dies
ATLANTA — The largest female whale shark at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta has died. Trixie, who had been at the aquarium since 2006, died Friday, the aquarium said in a statement on its Facebook page. “She was having difficulty navigating the habitat earlier in the day and then her...
Los Angeles issues stay-home order as coronavirus surges
LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles County announced a new stay-home order Friday as coronavirus cases surged out of control in the nation’s most populous county. The three-week order takes effect Monday. It came as the county of 10 million residents confirmed 24 new deaths and 4,544 new confirmed cases of...
Brooklyn bishop hails ruling, says diocese in line with pope
NEW YORK — The longtime head of the Roman Catholic Church in Brooklyn said Friday that a ruling by the Supreme Court that barred New York from enforcing certain restrictions on religious services in areas hit hard by the coronavirus is a “good decision” that guarantees constitutional protections for the...
Pa. senator accuses Twitter of censorship; Trump defends him
A Pennsylvania senator cried foul on Friday saying that his personal Twitter account was censored, while the social media platform claimed it was an error. President Donald J. Trump was quick to back state Sen. Doug Mastriano, R-Franklin, who Trump said has done “a great job of leading a hearing...
Japan spacecraft carrying asteroid soil samples nears home
A Japanese spacecraft is nearing Earth after a yearlong journey home from a distant asteroid with soil samples and data that could provide clues to the origins of the solar system, a space agency official said Friday. The Hayabusa2 spacecraft left the asteroid Ryugu, about 180 million miles from Earth,...
Danish Mayfly named 2021 insect of the year
BERLIN — The Danish Mayfly was selected Friday by an international group of entomologists and others as the Insect of the Year for 2021, but it won’t have long to celebrate its 15 minutes of fame. The insect, whose scientific name is Ephemera danica, only has a few days to...
Ohio elections chief certifies 2020 general election results
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio’s elections chief certified results on Friday of a 2020 election that he said was almost flawlessly executed despite the pandemic, raising concern that President Donald Trump’s allegations of widespread fraud could be undercutting voter confidence in the process. Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s certification delivered...
Temporary U.S. Pentagon chief makes rare visit to Somalia
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon’s acting defense secretary has made a rare visit to Somalia, a conflict-plagued nation in the Horn of Africa where American forces have been assisting in the fight against al-Qaida affiliate al-Shabab. In a brief statement, the Pentagon said Christopher Miller, who was installed as acting defense...
CDC: U.S. covid-19 death toll could reach 321,000 by mid-December
ATLANTA — A new report issued this week by the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the coronavirus death toll could reach up to 321,000 by the middle of December. According to the CDC’s “COVID-19 Forecasts: Deaths,” models are predicting the number of coronavirus deaths will likely increase...
Trump administration moves ahead on gutting bird protections
The Trump administration moved forward Friday on gutting a longstanding federal protection for the nation’s birds, over objections from former federal officials and many scientists that billions more birds will likely perish as a result. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published its take on the proposed rollback in the...
Belarus president plans to leave job under new constitution
KYIV, Ukraine — The president of Belarus said Friday that he would not remain in the post he has held for more than 26 years if his country adopts a new constitution. However, President Alexander Lukashenko did not describe the amendments he is seeking or give a timeline for when...
U.S. Circuit Court rejects Trump appeal over Pennsylvania votes
President Donald Trump’s legal team suffered yet another defeat in court Friday as a federal appeals court in Philadelphia roundly rejected its latest effort to challenge the state’s election results. Trump’s lawyers vowed to appeal to the Supreme Court despite the judge’s assessment that the “campaign’s claims have no merit.”...
Pennsylvania reports 2 days of record new covid-19 cases
Pennsylvania on Friday reported a record number of new covid-19 infections for the past two days. The number of new cases reported surged to 8,425 on Thursday, a record, before backing off slightly on Friday with 7,360 cases, the second highest ever reported in the state. The state’s seven-day average...
6th Arizona state lawmaker tests positive for covid
PHOENIX — A sixth member of the Arizona Legislature has confirmed he tested positive for covid-19. Rep. Andrés Cano, a Democrat, announced on social media Wednesday that he is not symptomatic and is in isolation. “Covid-19 cases are spiking throughout our Nation, and nobody is immune — even when precautions...
Trump may be coming to terms with loss he won’t acknowledge
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump still won’t bring himself to concede the election he decisively lost to President-elect Joe Biden. But he’s now acknowledging he will leave the White House if Biden’s win is affirmed by the Electoral College, which is firmly on track to do just that in a...
Ohio elections chief certifies 2020 general election results
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio’s state elections chief certified the results of the November general election on Friday, awarding the state’s 18 electoral votes to President Donald Trump. Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose said the state produced an extraordinary level of access for voters, setting records with nearly 6 million...
Northern Ireland police to pay damages to journalists over arrests
LONDON — Police in Northern Ireland have agreed to pay damages to two journalists who were arrested on suspicion of stealing confidential documents after working on a documentary about an unsolved mass killing, lawyers said Friday. Trevor Birney and Barry McCaffrey worked on “No Stone Unturned,” a 2017 documentary by...
Ohio’s oldest death-row inmate likely died from Coronavirus
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The oldest inmate on Ohio’s death row has died, and a prison spokeswoman said it was likely due to the coronavirus. James Frazier, 79, died Nov. 19 at the prison system’s Franklin Medical Center in Columbus, according to Cleveland.com. In recent months, his attorneys had sought to...
Top California air, climate regulator hopes to run Biden EPA
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Over four decades, Mary Nichols has been the regulator behind some of the nation’s most ambitious climate policies and, in recent years, she’s been their staunchest defender against President Donald Trump’s effort to dismantle them. With Joe Biden heading to the White House, Nichols hopes she is...
New cardinals quarantine in pope’s hotel ahead of ceremony
ROME — The Vatican’s Santa Marta hotel was built to sequester cardinals during papal elections. It’s now sequestering soon-to-be cardinals in town for this weekend’s ceremony to get their red hats: A handful are in protective coronavirus quarantine, confined to their rooms on Vatican orders and getting meals delivered to...
Minnesota tribes file to halt pipeline approval due to virus
ST. PAUL, Minn — Two Native American tribes in northern Minnesota are asking state regulators to stop the imminent construction of Enbridge Energy’s Line 3 crude oil pipeline replacement, saying it would increase the risk of coronavirus infections spreading. The Red Lake and White Earth Bands of Chippewa filed a...
U.S. colleges mull new virus protocols for students’ return
COLCHESTER, Vt. — St. Michael’s College managed to keep coronavirus cases at bay for almost two months this fall with students tested upon arrival and once every three weeks. But in mid-October, cases at the small Vermont school started to climb. The outbreak was linked to an ice rink more...
Iran scientist linked to military nuclear program killed
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — An Iranian scientist named by Israel as the leader of the Islamic Republic’s disbanded military nuclear program was killed Friday in an ambush on the outskirts of Tehran, authorities said. Iran’s foreign minister alleged the killing of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh bore “serious indications” of an Israeli...
Putin foe Navalny urges EU to be ready for Russian election
BRUSSELS — Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny urged the European Union to reject the results of Russia’s parliamentary election next year if any candidates are blocked from taking part and he called Friday on the EU to impose sanctions on oligarchs close to President Vladimir Putin. Navalny, a corruption investigator...
Indonesian police move transgender celebrity to private cell
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesian police have moved a female transgender Instagram celebrity, Millen Cyrus, to a special cell following public outrage over her initial placement in a male detention cell after she was arrested as a suspect in a drug case. “As for her status on her ID, she is...
