November 28, 2020 4:02 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Gov. Tom Wolf is rejecting bills on firearms during the pandemic or other emergencies and about the regulation and plugging of conventional oil and gas wells. All three bills had passed the politically split General Assembly with mostly Republican support and mostly Democratic opposition. Wolf announced his vetoes on Wednesday. Two of the vetoed bills would have allowed people to carry guns during an emergency proclamation and to keep open gun and ammunition related businesses during an emergency. Wolf also signed a couple dozen bills into law, including measures on organ donation, parole of violent offenders, recycling and broadband.
November 28, 2020 3:58 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – A federal appeals court in Philadelphia has rejected President Donald Trump’s latest effort to challenge the election results in a case expected to reach the U.S. Supreme Court if Trump appeals. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals echoed a string of other courts in finding his campaign offered no evidence of any election fraud. Instead, the court said “the campaign’s claims have no merit.” Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani called the election process fraudulent during oral arguments in a lower court last week, but offered no proof. Circuit Judge Stephanos Bibas, a Trump appointee, wrote Friday that “calling an election unfair does not make it so.”
November 28, 2020 1:54 am
A group of Pennsylvania lawmakers Friday introduced a resolution disputing the 2020 General Election Statewide Contest Results. Locally, Republican State Rep. Bud Cook, who represents the 49th District, is one of the co-sponsors of the resolution. He told WJPA NEWS that the members of the General Assembly issued the following statement: “A number of compromises of Pennsylvania’s election laws took place during the 2020 General Election. The documented irregularities and improprieties associated with mail-in balloting, pre-canvassing, and canvassing has undermined our elector process and as a result we cannot accept certification of the results in statewide races.” Cook said the members also added, “It is absolutely imperative that we take these steps if we are to ensure public trust in our electoral system. Faith in government begins with faith in the elections which select that government.”
November 27, 2020 1:11 pm
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – A federal appeals court in Philadelphia has rejected President Donald Trump’s latest effort to challenge the election results in a case that could reach the U.S. Supreme Court if Trump appeals. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals echoed a string of other courts in finding his campaign offered no evidence of any election fraud. Instead, the court said “the campaign’s claims have no merit.” Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani called the election process fraudulent during oral arguments in a lower court last week, but offered no proof. U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann said the case had been “haphazardly stitched together” like “Frankenstein’s Monster.
November 27, 2020 9:35 am
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – Iranian state television is reporting that a scientist that Israel has alleged led a military nuclear program in early 2000s has been “assassinated.” The state TV report Friday cited sources confirming the death of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh. It said it would offer more information shortly. Fakhrizadeh led Iran’s so-called “Amad,” or “Hope” program. Israel and the West have alleged it was a military operation looking at the feasibility of building a nuclear weapon in Iran. Tehran long has maintained its nuclear program is peaceful. The International Atomic Energy Agency says that “Amad” program ended in the early 2000s. Its inspectors now monitor Iranian nuclear sites.
November 27, 2020 4:22 am
NEW YORK (AP) – More Missouri counties in the region around St. Louis are imposing mandates requiring the use of face masks as coronavirus cases and hospitalizations surge. The move comes amid an unsuccessful campaign by health officials in that area to get Gov. Mike Parson to require masks statewide. Jefferson County, just south of St. Louis, is the latest to adopt a mask mandate. Neighboring Franklin County passed a mask order last week, and Boone County adopted a similar requirement earlier this week. Also this week, St. Charles County officials ordered an 11 p.m. closing time for bars and restaurants. On Thursday, state officials reported 4,471 new confirmed cases, bringing the total to 287,263. Since the pandemic started, 3,808 people have died of COVID-19.
November 27, 2020 4:20 am
Japanese Emperor Naruhito and his family will not offer their New Year greetings from the palace balcony due to concerns over the country’s struggles with a resurgence of coronavirus infections. The Imperial Household Agency said in a statement Friday that the annual greetings on Jan. 2 will not be held. The event traditionally draws tens of thousands of well-wishers to the palace garden. The greeting was last canceled in 1990 following the death of Naruhito’s grandfather. Emperor Naruhito and his family have rarely made public appearances since the pandemic began, due to cancelation of palace events. Experts have urged the government to reduce social and business activity before the holiday season because of a rise in serious coronavirus cases.
November 27, 2020 4:19 am
LONDON (AP) – Julian Assange’s partner, Stella Moris, has tweeted President Donald Trump on Thanksgiving, appealing to him to pardon the WikiLeaks founder. Moris posted a photo of their two young children on Twitter Thursday and wrote: “These are Julian’s sons Max and Gabriel. They need their father. Our family needs to be whole again.” She added: “I beg you, please bring him home for Christmas.” Assange, 49, remains in a British prison cell as he awaits a judge’s decision about whether he can be sent to the U.S. to face espionage charges. He attended four weeks of an extradition hearing at London’s Central Criminal Court in September and October. The judge overseeing the case said she would deliver her decision on Jan.4.
November 27, 2020 4:17 am
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) – Defense lawyers for six American oil executives held for three years in Venezuela say a judge has found them guilty of corruption charges and immediately sentenced them to prison. The judge’s ruling Thursday came with sentences of more than eight years for each. The verdicts dashed the hopes of relatives for a quick release that would send the men home to the United States. The so-called Citgo 6 had been lured to Venezuela for three years ago for a business meeting and arrested. They are employees of the Houston-based Citgo refining company, which is owned by Venezuela’s state oil company, PDVSA.
November 27, 2020 4:16 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump on Thursday renewed baseless claims that “massive fraud” and crooked local officials in battleground states led to his election defeat, and said he’ll go to Georgia for a rally to boost two Republican candidates facing runoff elections that will determine control of the Senate. Trump spoke to reporters at the White House after a Thanksgiving conversation with U.S. military members overseas. It was his first time taking questions since the election. Trump insisted the election has a “long way to go,” even though he lost to President-elect Joe Biden and his campaign have failed to produce evidence of the mass voter fraud it alleges.
