December 1, 2020 10:47 am
BERLIN (AP) – German officials say two people have been killed and 15 others seriously injured in the southwestern German city of Trier when a car drove into a pedestrian zone. Trier police tweeted that the driver, a 51-year-old man from the area, had been arrested and the vehicle impounded. Police and rescue crews were on the scene and authorities told people to avoid the city center. Mayor Wolfram Leibe told the SWR broadcaster that in addition to the two dead, 15 people had suffered serious injuries. No details were available on the cause of Tuesday’s crash and police didn’t answer their phones or email. Trier is about 120 miles west of Frankfurt, near the border with Luxembourg.
December 1, 2020 9:32 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – An appeals court has questioned whether Bill Cosby’s alleged history of intoxicating and sexually assaulting young women amounted to a “signature” crime pattern. The court on Tuesday cited studies that show as many as half of sexual assaults involve drugs or alcohol. The 83-year-old Cosby hopes to overturn his 2018 sex assault conviction because the judge let prosecutors call five other accusers to testify. The defense says their testimony prejudiced the jury against the actor and comedian. Cosby has spent more than two years at a state prison near Philadelphia. The jury convicted him of drugging and molesting a woman in 2004.
December 1, 2020 4:26 am
ATLANTA (AP) – Georgia’s top elections official says his office is investigating potential election law violations by groups working to register voters ahead of January’s Senate runoffs. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger also is punching back at claims that fraud has tainted the state’s presidential election. Raffensperger said dishonest actors are exploiting the emotions of many Trump supporters with fantastic claims and apparently misleading the president as well. He said during a news conference Monday that his office has 23 investigators probing 250 open cases alleging some kind of election law violation, but none of them cast doubt on the integrity of the state’s election results.
December 1, 2020 4:25 am
Two battleground states, Wisconsin and Arizona, certified their presidential election tallies Monday in favor of Joe Biden, even as President Donald Trump’s legal team continues to dispute the results. Biden’s victory in Wisconsin was certified following a partial recount that only added to his 20,600-vote margin over Trump, who has promised to file a lawsuit seeking to undo the results. Arizona officials certified Biden’s narrow 10,400-vote victory in that state. Election challenges brought by the Trump campaign or his backers in key battleground states have largely been unsuccessful as Trump continues to allege voter fraud while refusing to concede. There is no evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 election.
December 1, 2020 4:24 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President-elect Joe Biden says his economic team is “first rate” and will help build an economy that works for all Americans. Biden introduced key members of the team Tuesday in Delaware, including former Fed chair Janet Yellen to become Treasury secretary. Biden described Yellen as one of the “most important economic thinkers of our time.” She would be the first female Treasury secretary if confirmed by the Senate. Biden also introduced Neera Tanden as his choice to run the White House budget office. Tanden’s nomination, however, has encountered early disapproval from some Senate Republicans, who will vote on her nomination. Biden also named his chair and members of the Council of Economic Advisers. He says the CEA chair will serve in the Cabinet. Biden also named a deputy for Yellen.
December 1, 2020 4:23 am
New research shows students have fallen behind in math since the pandemic disrupted school, while most are progressing at a normal pace in reading. The findings released Tuesday by the not-for-profit NWEA show that, compared to last year, students in grades 3-8 scored considerably lower on standardized math tests this fall. áEnglish language arts scores were largely the same. But the researchers caution they may be underestimating the pandemic’s impact on minority and economically disadvantaged students. That is because a sizable number of those students were missing this fall when the standardized testing was done.
December 1, 2020 4:22 am
ATLANTA (AP) – Some establishment Republicans are sounding alarms that President Donald Trump’s conspiratorial denials of his own defeat could threaten the party’s ability to win a Senate majority and counter President-elect Joe Biden’s administration. The concerns come ahead of Trump’s planned Saturday visit to Georgia to campaign alongside Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler. They face strong Democratic challengers in Jan. 5 runoffs that will determine which party controls the Senate. Republicans uniformly acknowledge Trump as the GOP’s biggest turnout driver. But some Republicans worry of potential fallout should Trump use the platform to amplify his baseless allegations of widespread voter fraud.
December 1, 2020 4:20 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Dr. Scott Atlas, a science adviser to President Donald Trump who was skeptical of measures to control the coronavirus outbreak, is leaving his White House post. A White House official confirmed that the Stanford University neuroradiologist, who had no formal experience in public health or infectious diseases, resigned at the end of his temporary government assignment. Atlas confirmed the news in a Monday evening tweet. Atlas joined the White House this summer, where he clashed with top government scientists, including Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Deborah Birx, as he resisted stronger efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic that has killed more than 267,000 Americans.
December 1, 2020 4:18 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania’s governor is rejecting a bill that would have made it harder to sue schools, health care providers and other businesses for coronavirus-related claims. Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf vetoed the measure Monday. Wolf argues its liability protections were so broad the legislation would have invited “the potential for carelessness and a disregard for public safety.” The bill passed both chambers with mostly Republican support and Democratic opposition. It would have applied to cases of exposure to the coronavirus during a governor-declared disaster emergency. Supporters argued the pandemic should not impose on businesses and others expensive or even ruinous litigation.
December 1, 2020 4:14 am
PITTSBURGH — Snow will impact your travel plans through the day Tuesday. A winter weather advisory went into effect at 1 a.m. Tuesday and will continue until 7 a.m. Wednesday. Gusty winds will make it feel even colder, with wind chills in the teens to low 20s throughout the day. Periods of snow will continue at times Tuesday, with a steady round of snow possible during the afternoon and evening commute. If you are headed out, allow extra time, and give road crews plenty of distance as they battle to get roads treated. Temperatures will fall below freezing again Tuesday night into early Wednesday causing melted snow to refreeze if not treated. Washington County 9-1-1 dispatchers reported numerous accidents, mostly minor, throughout the county during the morning rush. State Police also reported several minor accidents on both Interstates 70 and 79. One crash did close a portion of Route 40 after a vehicle struck a utility pole at Beatty Lane in Beallsville. Two schools did close their buildings for the day; the McGuffey School District and Faith Christian School.
