January 27, 2022 4:12 am
BEIJING (AP) – China is demanding the U.S. end “interference” in the Beijing Winter Olympics, which begin next month. The Foreign Ministry said Minister Wang Yi made the demand in a phone call with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday Beijing time. The U.S. has said it will not send dignitaries to the Games, which begin on Feb. 4, in a protest over China’s detention of more than 1 million Uyghur Muslims in the northwestern region of Xinjiang, along with crackdowns on human rights elsewhere in the country. According to a news release posted on the ministry’s website Thursday, Wang also called for an end to U.S. support for self-governing Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory.
January 27, 2022 4:11 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden has strongly affirmed that he will nominate the first Black woman to the U.S. Supreme Court. He said Thursday that such historic representation is “long overdue” and he’s promising to make his selection by the end of February. In a White House ceremony marking a moment of national transition, Biden praised retiring Justice Stephen Breyer, who will have spent nearly 28 years on the high court before he leaves at the end of the term, as “a model public servant at a time of great division in this country.” And with that, the search for Breyer’s replacement was underway in full.
January 27, 2022 4:05 am
WASHINGTON COUNTY, Pa. — (WPXI) – A man was arrested in Washington County for allegedly sexually assaulting an 11-year-old for more than a year in exchange for in-game currency in the online game Fortnite. According to the criminal complaint, Detective James Jeffrey from South Fayette Police Department was conducting an investigation into Ryan Wolstoncroft, a former resident of South Fayette now living in Cecil. The investigation was regarding a molestation involving two victims from 20 years ago. The complaint stated that Detective Jeffrey interviewed the mother of a recent victim. According to the complaint, when the interviewer asked the victim why he was there, he replied, “someone hurt me in a bad way.” He went on to describe what he explained as a daily occurrence, starting in the living room when Wolstoncroft was tickling him and reached down into his pants. The victim said in the complaint that he tried to make Wolstoncroft stop but he wouldn’t. The victim said he was also told not to tell anyone. The victim said that in exchange for continuing the abuse, Wolstoncroft would buy the victim V-Bucks, the in-game currency for Fortnite.
January 26, 2022 4:56 pm
(AP) – A requirement to get vaccinated against COVID-19 kicks in Thursday for millions of health care workers in about half the states. The mandate is starting first in states that didn’t challenge the rule from the Biden administration. It will take effect later in February for 25 other states that had filed lawsuits. The U.S. Supreme Court earlier this month lifted injunctions that had put the vaccine mandate on hold, The federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services says it won’t immediately resort to penalties for health facilities that have a plan to try to achieve full compliance by their staff. (Photo: AP)
January 26, 2022 3:50 pm
DETROIT (AP) – Nissan is recalling more than 793,000 small SUVs in the U.S. and Canada because water can get into wiring and in rare cases could start a fire. The recall covers Nissan Rogue SUVs from the 2014 through 2016 model years. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says in documents that water and salt can enter a wiring connector in the driver’s foot well, causing corrosion. The corrosion can increase the risk of a fire. Nissan says it’s working on a fix and expects to have one in the spring.
January 26, 2022 2:51 pm
PITTSBURGH (AP) – A man has been charged with aggravated assault and other crimes in a shooting in a Pittsburgh mall parking lot last month. Twenty-one-year-old John Hayden is also charged with child endangerment, reckless endangerment and weapons offenses in the Dec. 14 gunfire at The Waterworks mall near the borough of Aspinwall. Authorities allege that an argument inside the Walmart store was followed by gunfire in the parking lot. No one was injured. A vehicle was damaged and the store was evacuated. Court documents don’t list a defense attorney and a listed number for Hayden couldn’t be found Wednesday.
January 26, 2022 12:39 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – Two sources tell The Associated Press that liberal Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer is retiring, giving President Joe Biden an opening he has pledged to fill by naming the first Black woman to the high court. Breyer has been a pragmatic force on a court that has grown increasingly conservative in recent years, trying to forge majorities with more moderate justices right and left of center. Breyer’s departure won’t change the 6-3 conservative advantage on the court, since his replacement will be nominated and almost certainly confirmed by a Senate where Democrats have the slimmest majority. It also makes conservative Justice Clarence Thomas the oldest member of the court at 73. (Photo: ABC News)
January 26, 2022 12:11 pm
An Amwell Township man faces trial on multiple charges for threatening to bring a gun to a local state representative’s office. Authorities arrested 47-year-old Anthony Burnworth las month following two phone calls that were place to Democrat Pam Snyder’s office in Carmichaels in Greene County. The calls were related to issues he was having with his unemployment benefits. Burnworth is free on fifty-thousand-dollars bond until his formal arraignment, which is scheduled for February 28th. Burnworth’s attorney says they plan to seek an amicable resolution to what he called, “An unfortunate misunderstanding.”
January 26, 2022 4:16 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden’s effort to rally support ahead of a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine is the latest big test of his ability to bridge ideological gaps and balance competing interests to build effective coalitions. His record so far as president suggests it’s no sure thing. Biden is trying to pull off the kind of alliance on the international front that has eluded him on his domestic agenda as he faces defeats on voting rights and his signature domestic and climate spending bill. The pileup of difficult moments goes to the twin pillars of Biden’s 2020 candidacy: that he could get things done competently at home and restore America’s standing in the world.
January 26, 2022 4:12 am
BEIJING (AP) – Repeated COVID-19 testing of millions of Beijing residents is starting to test the patience of some as the city clamps down on the virus ahead of the coming Winter Olympics. A third round of mass testing for the 2 million residents of Fengtai district got underway Wednesday. Residents bundled up against the wind as they waited in line with the daytime high hovering around the freezing point. An official announcement of the testing on social media late Tuesday drew dozens of critical comments. The Chinese capital has stepped up the country’s already strict pandemic response measures ahead of the Olympics, which open Feb. 4.
