September 17, 2021 3:34 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden’s decision to form a strategic Indo-Pacific alliance with Australia and Britain has angered France and the European Union with a go-it-alone move they see as a return to the Trump era. The new security initiative – to counter China – appears to have brought Biden’s summer of love with Europe to an abrupt end. After promising European leaders that “America is back” and that multilateral diplomacy would guide U.S. foreign policy, Biden has alienated allies on key issues. The latest is AUKUS, a project that notably excludes France and the European Union. The French foreign minister expressed “total incomprehension” at the new action and said “it looks a lot like what Trump did.”
September 17, 2021 3:33 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The architect of an upcoming Washington protest that aims to rewrite history about the violent January assault on the U.S. Capitol is hardly a household name. Matt Braynard toiled in obscurity in Republican politics for decades. But his fortunes changed with Donald Trump’s 2020 election defeat. He joined a group of Trump allies trying to stop Joe Biden from becoming president, reaping recognition, lucrative fees and a fundraising windfall. Now Braynard wants to expand his influence. He’s holding a rally on Saturday aimed at recasting those charged with the Jan. 6 attack as “political prisoners.” It’s put law enforcement on edge and prompted stepped-up security measures at the Capitol.
September 17, 2021 3:32 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – A top U.S. general’s calls to China are coming under new scrutiny in Congress. The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection is seeking records related to calls from Gen. Mark Milley to his Chinese counterpart in the turbulent final months of Donald Trump’s presidency. Milley is the the top U.S. military officer. Reps. Bennie Thompson and Liz Cheney said in a statement Thursday that they have asked for records related to the call. Milley’s spokesman has said the calls were intended to convey “reassurance” to the Chinese military and were in line with his responsibilities as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
September 17, 2021 3:31 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – An influential federal advisory panel has overwhelmingly rejected a plan to give Pfizer booster shots against COVID-19 to most Americans, but it approved the extra shots for those who are 65 or older or run a high risk of severe disease. The twin votes Friday represented a heavy blow to the Biden administration’s sweeping effort to shore up nearly all Americans’ protection amid the spread of the highly contagious delta variant. The decision was made by a committee of outside experts who advise the Food and Drug Administration.
September 17, 2021 3:08 am
PITTSBURGH (WPXI) — The man who plotted to blow up a church on Pittsburgh’s North Side in the name of ISIS pleaded guilty Thursday. Mustafa Alowemer, a Syrian refugee, appeared before a judge Thursday morning. Alowemer was 21 at the time of his arrest in 2019. Investigators then charged him with attempting to provide material support and resources for ISIS, and two counts of distributing information relating to an explosive, destructive device or weapon of mass destruction. Alowemer pleaded guilty to one count against him. The other two counts are being withdrawn as part of the plea deal. His immigration status could be impacted if he is convicted. According to the FBI, he planned to bomb a small church on Wilson Avenue in the Perry South neighborhood. He identified the church as Christian and Nigerian, and said he targeted it to “take revenge for our [ISIS] brothers in Nigeria.” Officials said Alowemer recorded a video pledging allegiance to the former ISIS leader, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, before he was hunted down and killed by JSOC 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta, commonly called Delta Force. Alowemer’s sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 26, 2022. The maximum sentence is 20 years.
September 17, 2021 1:47 am
(AP) – Thousands of students are requesting to go mask-free in Pennsylvania schools, claiming a medical exemption amid fierce local opposition to the state’s new face-covering mandate. The order went into effect Sept. 7 and requires students, staff and visitors to wear masks inside school buildings, regardless of vaccination status. But an apparent loophole has made it easier for parents in some districts to request medical exemptions for their children. Those districts are using exemption forms that require nothing more than a parent’s signature. In one district, 30% of the students have requested an exemption.
September 17, 2021 1:24 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania’s state-run liquor system is rationing sales of a few dozen products in response to what it describes as supply shortages beyond its control. The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board notified license holders on Thursday that two-bottles-per-day purchase limits for customers at state stores as well as well for bars, restaurants and other license holders goes into effect Friday and will remain in place indefinitely. The PLCB says “sustained supply chain disruptions and product shortages” are prompting the restrictions on certain types of alcohol. The 43 items on the list of restricted products also will not be available through store-to-store transfers starting Friday. The list of rationed booze contains specific types of champagne, bourbon, tequila, cognac and whiskey.
September 16, 2021 3:03 pm
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) – A prominent South Carolina lawyer surrendered on Thursday to face insurance fraud and other charges in a failed plot to arrange his own death. Alex Murdaugh didn’t speak about the charges at a hearing Thursday where his bond was set at $55,000. State police say Murdaugh tried to arrange his death Sept. 4 so his surviving son could collect a $10 million life insurance policy. The State Law Enforcement Division has now been asked to open six investigations involving the Murdaugh family, including the unsolved June killings of Murdaugh’s wife and son as well as the 2018 death of their housekeeper. (Photo: CNN)
September 16, 2021 3:30 am
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – North Korea said it successfully launched ballistic missiles from a train for the first time and was continuing to bolster its defenses, after the two Koreas test-fired missiles hours apart in dueling displays of military might. Wednesday’s launches underscored a return of the tensions between the rivals amid a prolonged stalemate in U.S.-led talks aimed at stripping North Korea of its nuclear weapons program. State media said the missiles were launched during a drill of a “railway-borne missile regiment” and images showed what appeared to be two different missiles streaking up from rail-car launchers along tracks surrounded by dense forest. A rail-based ballistic system reflects North Korea’s efforts to diversify its launch systems for better mobility.
September 16, 2021 3:29 am
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) – SpaceX’s first private flight has streaked into orbit with two contest winners, a health care worker and their rich sponsor. It was the first time a spacecraft circled Earth with an all-amateur crew and no professional astronauts. SpaceX’s recycled rocket soared Wednesday night from the same Kennedy Space Center pad used by the company’s three previous astronaut flights for NASA. But this time, the Dragon capsule aimed for an unusually high orbit, 100 miles higher than the International Space Station. The Dragon capsule’s two men and two women are looking to spend three days circling the world, before splashing down off the coast of Florida.
