January 9, 2022 8:14 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — With the fate of Ukraine and potentially broader post-Cold War European stability at stake, the United States and Russia are holding critical strategic talks that could shape the future of not only their relationship but the relationship between the U.S. and its NATO allies. Prospects are bleak. Though the immediacy of the threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine will top the agenda in a series of high-level meetings that get underway on Monday, there is a litany of festering but largely unrelated disputes, ranging from arms control to cybercrime and diplomatic issues, for Washington and Moscow to overcome if tensions are to ease. And the recent deployment of Russian troops to Kazakhstan may cast a shadow over the entire exercise. With much at risk and both warning of dire consequences of failure, the two sides have been positioning themselves for what will be a nearly unprecedented flurry of activity in Europe this week. Yet the wide divergence in their opening positions bodes ill for any type of speedy resolution, and levels of distrust appear higher than at any point since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
January 9, 2022 8:13 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — In what’s become a familiar scene President Joe Biden lingered after delivering a recent speech on the pandemic as reporters fired a barrage of questions. He bristled at a query about the shortage of COVID-19 rapid tests, answered another about omicron-spurred travel restrictions and sidestepped a third about whether Sen. Joe Manchin failed to keep his word when he torpedoed Biden’s social services and climate spending plan. “I’m not supposed to be having this press conference right now,” Biden said at the end of a meandering response that didn’t directly answer the question about the West Virginia Democrat. Seconds later, Biden turned and walked out of the room, abruptly ending what’s become the president’s preferred method for his limited engagements with the press. As Biden wraps up his first year in the White House, he has held fewer news conferences than any of his five immediate predecessors at the same point in their presidencies, and he has taken part in fewer media interviews than any of his recent predecessors. The dynamic has left the White House facing questions about whether the president, who vowed to have the most transparent administration in the nation’s history, is falling short in pulling back the curtain on how his administration operates and missing opportunities to explain his agenda to Americans.
January 9, 2022 8:02 am
SPRINGHILL TWP, Pa. (WPXI) — One person is dead following a reported mine collapse in Fayette County. According to 911 officials, the call came in just after 3 p.m. Friday for a report of a mine collapse. This happened along Springhill Furnace Road in Springhill Township. According to sources, this was the Laurel Underground Limestone Mine, and initial reports said one man was trapped in the mine. Arcosa is a construction engineering company that owns the Lake Lynn mine. WPXI spoke to a man who previously worked at the mine and is friends with the man who was trapped. He says heavy machinery was driven in and out of the mountainside, and that the roof collapsed approximately 400 feet into the mine, trapping his friend.
January 9, 2022 5:22 am
The Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh has released updated saftey protocols as they relate to Covid-19. Bishop David Zubik announced the updates that became effective January 7 and will be continued until further notice. Some of the protocols are as follows.
* All priests and deacons must wear masks during the celebration of mass at all times.
* Everyone that delivers Holy Communion must wear a mask and sanitize their hands prior to distribution.
* Choir members must be masked
* Shaking hands at the Sign of Peace remains suspended
* Those attending Mass are urgently encouraged to wear masks regardless of vaccination status.
These protocols are based on the dramatic surge in community spread of the Omicron Variant of the Covid-19 virus and will be re-evaluated on an ongoing basis as more information from the CDC and local health care officials becomes available.
January 8, 2022 9:27 am
LAS VEGAS (AP) – The life of former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will be celebrated by two American presidents and other Democratic leaders on Saturday, a testament to his impact on some of the most consequential legislation of the 21st century. President Joe Biden, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer are scheduled to speak during an invitation-only memorial in Los Vegas. Former President Barack Obama, who credits Reid for his rise to the White House, is scheduled to deliver the eulogy. The longtime Senate leader died Dec. 28 at age 82.
January 8, 2022 9:25 am
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – South Korea has dismissed North Korea’s claim to have recently launched a hypersonic missile as an exaggeration, saying it was a normal ballistic missile that could be intercepted. The assessment is certain to anger North Korea. South Korea has previously avoided publicly playing down North Korea’s weapons tests, apparently so as not to aggravate relations. South Korea’s Defense Ministry says it believes North Korea hasn’t acquired the technologies needed to launch a hypersonic weapon. It says North Korea’s claim that the weapon flew 700 kilometers (435 miles) and maneuvered laterally appeared to be an exaggeration aimed at boosting domestic confidence in its missile program.
January 8, 2022 9:23 am
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) – Authorities say a Florida man with homemade explosive devices was arrested near a Tampa Bay area rally in support of a man jailed in connection with last year’s insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri says 22-year-old Garrett James Smith was arrested early Friday morning. To mark the anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, Thursday night’s rally was held outside the Pinellas County Jail was in support a man being held on charges of participating in the riot. Gualtieri says Smith was spotted across the street from the rally. He was initially detained on the loitering charge, and deputies reported finding a pipe bomb when they searched his backpack.
January 8, 2022 9:20 am
LOUISVILLE, Colo. (AP) – President Joe Biden has visited Colorado to comfort residents grappling with rebuilding homes and businesses destroyed last week by a rare winter fire. The blaze burned through a pair of heavily populated suburbs between Denver and Boulder. The president met local officials who have been overseeing the fire aftermath, as well as residents whose homes were turned to rubble. Biden praised the courage of the people made homeless by the fire and pledged the full support of the federal government to help rebuild.
January 8, 2022 4:31 am
BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) – Three white men who chased and killed Ahmaud Arbery have been sentenced to life in prison, with a judge denying any chance of parole for the father and son who armed themselves and initiated the deadly pursuit of the 25-year-old Black man. Greg and Travis McMichael grabbed guns and chased Arbery in a pickup truck after spotting him running in their neighborhood outside the Georgia port city of Brunswick. Neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan joined the pursuit and recorded cellphone video of Travis McMichael blasting Arbery with a shotgun. Bryan was granted a chance of parole, but must first serve at least 30 years in prison. A jury convicted all three defendants of murder, aggravated assault, false imprisonment and attempted false imprisonment in November. (Photo: ABC)
January 8, 2022 4:27 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Supreme Court’s conservative majority appears skeptical of the Biden administration’s authority to impose a vaccine-or-testing requirement on the nation’s large employers. In arguments Friday, the court’s six conservative justices appeared to view the administration’s requirement for businesses with at least 100 employees as overstepping government authority. However, the court seemed more open to a separate vaccine mandate for most health care workers. Seven of the nine justices heard arguments wearing masks for the first time, and an eighth was phoning in. Rulings on legal challenges to the policies from Republican-led states and business groups probably will determine the fate of vaccine requirements affecting more than 80 million people.
