January 5, 2022 9:39 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – A year after thousands of pro-Trump rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol, hundreds of people who assaulted officers and committed other crimes still haven’t been caught. The investigation into last January’s insurrection has been a massive undertaking for federal law enforcement officials. More than 700 people have been charged with federal crimes stemming from the Jan. 6 attack. Arrests are still being made regularly. But 250 people seen on video assaulting police at the Capitol still haven’t been fully identified and apprehended by the FBI. Another 100 are being sought for other crimes tied to the riot. For FBI agents working the cases, the job is far from over.
January 5, 2022 9:37 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – As more children are being hospitalized nationwide with COVID-19, UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh has taken a precautionary step. Trying to stay ahead of coronavirus infections, Children’s Hospital has opened up a second unit for COVID-19 patients so it’s available if needed. Officials said this is not a reason to panic. “UPMC Children’s Hospital has opened up a second unit to expand care capability for COVID-19 patients at the hospital. The hospital is safe, operating normally, and ready to provide care for patients and their families,” a statement from UPMC said. The expansion comes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported an increase in pediatric hospitalizations nationwide as the omicron variant spreads. During the week that ended Sunday, an average of 672 children nationwide were admitted to hospitals every day with COVID-19, according to the CDC, which said that’s the highest number since the pandemic began.
January 5, 2022 8:57 am
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) – West Virginia University is returning to a policy of requiring masks to be worn indoors on campus. The university also has ordered students, faculty and staff to verify their vaccination status due to a surge in coronavirus cases statewide. The university says masks will are required for anyone regardless of vaccination status in all WVU buildings and facilities through at least Feb. 1, when public health conditions will be reevaluated. The spring semester starts next Monday. Students, faculty and staff must verify their vaccine status by Jan. 28. WVU says to be considered fully vaccinated, an individual must have their primary shots and booster dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
January 5, 2022 4:19 am
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – The South Korean and Japanese militaries say North Korea has fired a suspected ballistic missile into the sea, in its first public weapons launch in about two months and a signal that Pyongyang isn’t interested in rejoining denuclearization talks anytime soon and would rather focus on boosting its weapons arsenal. The latest launch Wednesday came after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to further boost his military capability at a high-profile ruling party conference last week. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement North Korea fired a suspected ballistic missile toward its eastern waters on Wednesday morning. It said South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities were trying to analyze more information about the launch.
January 5, 2022 4:17 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden is urging concern but not alarm as the United States set records for daily reported COVID-19 cases and his administration struggles to ease concerns about testing shortages. Biden spoke from the White House about the omicron variant Tuesday before a meeting with his COVID-19 response team. He wants to convey his administration’s urgency and convince wary Americans that the current situation bears little resemblance to the onset of the pandemic or last year’s deadly winter. Biden is emphasizing that vaccines, booster shots and therapeutic drugs have lessened the danger for the overwhelming majority of Americans who are fully vaccinated.
January 5, 2022 4:15 am
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) – Virginia officials are defending their response to the snowy gridlock that resulted on Interstate 95 after a winter storm dumped nearly 11 inches of snow. Officials noted the storm that started as rain, meaning roads couldn’t be pretreated. It was followed by an unusually heavy snowfall and plunging temperatures. That created poor conditions that resulted in the stranding of hundreds of motorists overnight Monday into Tuesday along a stretch of one of the nation’s biggest interstate highways. Many motorists sent out pleas for help on social media and criticized the response from Gov. Ralph Northam’s administration.
January 5, 2022 4:14 am
CHICAGO (AP) – Chicago schools have canceled classes Wednesday after the teachers union voted to switch to remote learning due to record COVID-19 levels. The move comes amid an escalating battle over safety protocols in schools. Officials in the nation’s third-largest school district say they won’t switch back to online instruction districtwide, as it was devastating for children’s learning and mental health. But the union says the district’s safety protocols are lacking and both teachers and students are vulnerable. Both sides are negotiating metrics that would trigger school closures, among other things. School officials say buildings would remain open for administrators and staff and essential services like meals for students. The status of class the rest of the week was unknown.
January 5, 2022 4:06 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – The Democratic Party’s presumed nominee for governor this year is endorsing a Pittsburgh-area state lawmaker to be his running mate and lieutenant governor. Attorney General Josh Shapiro on Tuesday endorsed 32-year-old Austin Davis, who’s in his third term in the state House of Representatives and has connections to Allegheny County’s party leaders. If elected, Davis would be the state’s first Black lieutenant governor. Also seeking the party’s nomination for lieutenant governor is five-term state Rep. Brian Sims of Philadelphia. Sims made history in 2012 when he became Pennsylvania’s first openly gay candidate to be elected to the Legislature. The primary election is May 17.
January 4, 2022 9:17 am
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) – Hundreds of motorists are waiting desperately for help after being stranded all night in freezing temperatures along a 50-mile stretch of highway south of the nation’s capital. Police say that part of Interstate 95 became impassable when tractor-trailers jackknifed in a winter storm. The disabled trucks triggered a chain reaction as other vehicles lost control and blocked lanes in both directions of the main north-south highway along the East Coast. As hours passed and night fell, motorists posted messages on social media about running out of fuel, food and water. By Tuesday morning, a single lane of traffic was creeping forward between many stalled trucks and cars in one direction.
January 4, 2022 4:20 am
Some school systems around the U.S. have extended their holiday break or switched back to online instruction because of the explosion in COVID-19 cases. Others are pressing ahead with in-person classes amid a seemingly growing sense that Americans will have to learn to co-exist with the virus. School districts in cities such as Milwaukee, New York, Detroit and beyond found themselves in a difficult position at the start of the second half of the academic year because of the super-contagious omicron variant. Many parents want their children back in school, while some teachers fear infection.
