December 6, 2021 5:17 pm
CHICAGO (AP) – Former “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett has denied that he staged an anti-gay, racist attack on himself, testifying at his trial that “there was no hoax.” Smollett is facing charges that he lied to Chicago police about the January 2019 attack downtown Chicago. He is refuting testimony from two brothers who said last week Smollett, who is gay and Black, orchestrated the assault and paid them $3,500 to carry it out. Smollett says the money was for meal plans and training because he wanted to get more toned. Asked by his attorney if he was planning a hoax, Smollett said no.
December 6, 2021 1:30 pm
OXFORD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) – The prosecutor overseeing the case against the student accused in last week’s deadly Michigan school shooting and who took took the rare step of charging his parents has left open the possibility that school officials could also face charges. Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said Monday on ABC’s “Good Morning America” that the investigation into Tuesday’s attack at Oxford High School will determine whether school officials will face charges. She noted that three hours before 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley opened fire, killing four students and wounding six others and a teacher, he was sent back to class after his parents and school counselors met about a drawing a teacher found on his desk showing a bullet and the words “blood everywhere.”
December 6, 2021 10:17 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Mayor Bill de Blasio says all New York City employers will have to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations for their workers by Dec. 27. De Blasio said Monday that the new mandate is aimed at preventing a spike in coronavirus infections during the holiday season and the colder months. He called it a “preemptive strike” to “stop the further growth of COVID.” Vaccinations are already required for city employees including teachers, police officers and firefighters, and a vaccination mandate for employees of private and religious schools was announced last week. De Blasio said he expects the new mandate to survive any legal challenges.
December 6, 2021 4:30 am
U.S. health officials say that while the omicron variant of the coronavirus is rapidly spreading in the country, early indications suggest it may be less dangerous than delta, which continues to drive a surge of hospitalizations. President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, Dr. Anthony Fauci, told CNN’s “State of the Union” scientists need more information before drawing conclusions about omicron’s severity. But reports from South Africa, where it emerged and is becoming the dominant strain, suggest hospitalization rates have not increased alarmingly. Omicron had been detected in about a third of U.S. states by Sunday. Fauci said the Biden administration is considering lifting travel restrictions against non-citizens entering the United States from several African countries.
December 6, 2021 4:26 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The body of the late Sen. Bob Dole of Kansas will lie in state in the U.S. Capitol on Thursday as congressional leaders honor the former Republican presidential candidate and World War II veteran. He served in Congress for 36 years. Dole died Sunday at the age of 98. He was a leader known for his caustic wit, which he often turned on himself but didn’t hesitate to turn on others, too. He shaped tax and foreign policy and worked vigorously to help the disabled, enshrining protections against discrimination in employment, education and public services in the Americans with Disabilities Act.
December 6, 2021 4:25 am
(AP) – Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit has collapsed and died after a workout at Santa Anita. The 3-year-old colt trained by Bob Baffert had just completed five furlongs in his second workout since finishing second in the Breeders’ Cup Classic a month ago at Del Mar. Baffert’s attorney, Craig Robertson, and Santa Anita spokesman Mike Willman confirmed the colt’s death. Medina Spirit will undergo a full necropsy, which is required by the California Horse Racing Board. (Photo: ABC News)
December 6, 2021 4:23 am
(AP) – A religious group based in Ohio has announced that a violent gang in Haiti has released three more hostages, while another 12 remain abducted. The statement Monday from Christian Aid Ministries said the people were released on Sunday in Haiti and are “safe and seem to be in good spirits.” The group provided no further details. On Nov. 21, the religious organization announced that the 400 Mawozo gang had released the first two hostages of a group of 17 kidnapped in mid-October. There are 12 adults and five children in the group of 16 U.S. citizens and one Canadian, including an 8-month-old.
December 6, 2021 4:21 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Authorities say a shooting in a Philadelphia neighborhood has left two men dead and a third hospitalized. The shooting in the city’s Kensington section neighborhood occurred early Sunday. The gunfire erupted near an after-hours club, but it’s not clear if the shooting stemmed from an incident there or if the men had been in the club. The three were taken to a hospital where two were pronounced dead a short time later. One of the deceased victims had been shot four times – twice in the chest and twice in the face – while the other was shot twice in the chest and once to the back. The wounded man was shot in the face, back and stomach.
December 6, 2021 4:18 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Health officials are reporting the first confirmed case of the omicron variant in Pennsylvania, a man in his 30s from Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Department of Public Health announced the case in a news release Friday. No other details were immediately available, including whether the man was vaccinated against COVID-19 or if he had been traveling. Health officials say contact tracing is underway. People in at least five other states have tested positive for omicron. Scientists are still learning about the new variant, including whether it is more contagious, as some suspect, and whether it can thwart vaccines.
December 6, 2021 4:13 am
HOPEWELL TWP, Pa. — (WPXI) – Timothy Baclit, 41, was pronounced dead after he fell from an overpass on Interstate 376 when he stopped to assist a motorist, police said. The incident happened around 1:10 a.m. on Dec. 5 on I-376 westbound at Bryson Road in Hopewell Township. A car crashed into the guide rail and two drivers stopped to check on the driver who crashed, police said. Baclit suffered critical injuries and was pronounced dead when police found him at the bottom of the hillside. The incident is still under investigation.
