March 26, 2021 4:23 am
BOULDER, Colo. (AP) – About 2,000 people gathered for a vigil honoring the 10 people killed in the Colorado supermarket shooting Thursday night, just hours after attorneys for the shooting suspect asked during his first court appearance that he receive a mental health evaluation before the case against him proceeds. Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa did not speak during the brief hearing except to say “yes” to a question from the judge. The judge advised him that he is charged with murder in the attack that killed 10 people, including a Boulder police officer. The 21-year-old man entered court in a wheelchair, presumably because of a gunshot wound to the leg that he suffered Monday in a gunbattle with police.
March 26, 2021 4:22 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Former President Donald Trump is defending some of his supporters who rioted at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, saying they posed “zero threat” to the lawmakers who had assembled there to certify the Electoral College vote that confirmed Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential race. Trump complained to Fox News Channel’s Laura Ingraham on Thursday that law enforcement was “persecuting” the Capitol rioters, while “nothing happens” to left-wing protesters. Trump did acknowledge that those who stormed the Capitol “went in and they shouldn’t have done it.” More than 300 people have been charged in connection to the riot.
March 26, 2021 4:20 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden is leaving the door open to backing fundamental changes in Senate procedure to muscle key parts of his agenda past Republican opposition. In his first formal news conference as president, Biden at first backed a modification – but not elimination – of the filibuster, which stands in the way of passing the president’s ambitious agenda in the deadlocked Senate. But he then appeared, at least on certain issues, to suggest he would go further. The 78-year-old president also said for the first time that his “plan is to run for reelection,” adding, “that is my expectation.”
March 26, 2021 4:19 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The U.S. will take steps to more quickly move hundreds of migrant children and teens out of cramped detention facilities along the Southwest border. That from President Joe Biden Thursday as he pushed back against suggestions that his administration’s policies are responsible for the rising number of people seeking to cross into the country. Biden was pressed repeatedly on the situation at the border at his first news conference since taking office. He cited a series of measures such as opening space at a Texas Army base for about 5,000 unaccompanied minors, to address the issue. But he also sought to portray the rise in migrants as little different from seasonal increases in the past.
March 26, 2021 4:18 am
ATLANTA (AP) – Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has drawn protests as he signed into law a sweeping Republican-sponsored overhaul of state elections. The law passed Thursday places new restrictions on voting by mail and greater legislative oversight of elections. Democrats and voting rights groups say the law will disproportionately disenfranchise voters of color. It’s one of a wave of GOP-backed state election bills introduced after former President Donald Trump stoked false claims that fraud led to his 2020 election defeat. President Joe Biden called the GOP efforts “un-American” Thursday. Separately, Georgia authorities said one Black House representative was arrested while she was protesting outside the governor’s bill-signing ceremony and jailed. She has since been released.
March 26, 2021 4:17 am
Tornadoes hatched by early spring “super cell” storms have ripped a path of devastation across Alabama and into Georgia early Friday, leaving at least five people dead. Authorities say one fierce tornado traveled roughly 100 miles and left a long path of damage. The storms knocked out power to tens of thousands in Alabama. They also raised warnings about possible overnight flash floods in parts of Georgia and Tennessee and other severe weather into Kentucky and the Carolinas. First lady Jill Biden has postponed a trip to Birmingham and Jasper, Alabama, that had been planned for Friday.
March 26, 2021 4:13 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – Both United Airlines and Southwest Airlines announced passengers will be able to fly to new destinations from Pittsburgh International Airport. According to airport officials, United announced travelers will be able to fly nonstop to Pensacola, Florida; Portland, Maine; and Charleston and Hilton Head, South Carolina. Several hours later, Southwest announced it was adding a route to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. United officials said these seasonal routes will be offered starting Memorial Day and will operate until Labor Day weekend. They will be served using the new Bombardier CRJ-550 jets. Southwest will begin Saturday nonstop service to Myrtle Beach in late May. It will ramp up to five times weekly starting in early June. Spirit and Allegiant both also offer flights to Myrtle Beach from Pittsburgh.
March 26, 2021 4:10 am
Pennsylvania is ordering vaccine providers to work with agencies that serve older adults to help clear a backlog of people 65 and over who have spent months waiting for COVID-19 shots. The state has speeded up its overall rollout after a series of early stumbles, but only 35% of older people are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. Hundreds of thousands of them still need to be inoculated before Pennsylvania plans to expand eligibility. The state ordered vaccine providers to collaborate with county-level agencies on aging to schedule appointments for people who want them but haven’t able to get them.
March 25, 2021 4:41 pm
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Jessica Walter, who played a scheming matriarch in TV’s “Arrested Development,” has died. She was 80. Walter’s death was confirmed Thursday by her daughter, Brooke Bowman. The actor’s best-known film roles included playing the stalker in Clint Eastwood’s 1971 thriller, “Play Misty for Me.” “Arrested Development” represented a second act for Walter, and earned her admiration from a new generation of fans. Walter’s daughter says the actor will be remembered for her work and for her wit, class and love of life. Walter’s feature debut was in the 1964 film “Lilith,” with Warren Beatty, Jean Seberg and Gene Hackman, who was also on his first film.
March 25, 2021 2:55 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden has opened his first formal news conference with a nod toward the improving picture on battling the coronavirus, but he was immediately pressed on thorny issues, like immigration and voting rights, now testing his administration. Biden doubled his original goal on COVID-19 vaccines by pledging that the nation will administer 200 million doses by the end of his first 100 days in office. The administration had met Biden’s initial goal of 100 million doses earlier this month – before even his 60th day in office – as the president pushes to defeat a pandemic that has killed more than 545,000 Americans and devastated the nation’s economy.
