February 23, 2021 4:19 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden’s pick for health secretary is facing two days of contentious Senate hearings. Republicans are portraying the Californian as unfit. But Democrats are unfazed, accusing the GOP of playing politics despite the pandemic. California’s attorney general, Xavier Becerra, will be grilled by two panels beginning Tuesday. Republicans say he’s a radical, but Democrats shrug that off as “flailing.” If confirmed, Becerra would be the first Latino to head the Department of Health and Human Services. The $1.4 trillion agency carries a broad portfolio that includes health insurance programs, drug safety and approvals, advanced medical research and the welfare of children.
February 23, 2021 4:18 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden will visit Texas on Friday as the state begins its recovery from a devastating winter storm that caused serious damage to homes and businesses across the state and left many without power or clean water for days. The White House announced Tuesday that Biden and his wife, Jill, will travel to Houston on Friday. While there, he’ll meet with local leaders to discuss the ongoing recovery from last week’s winter storm, and will visit a COVID-19 health center where vaccines are being distributed. Millions of Texas residents remain under boil water notices after the freezing temperatures and heavy snowfall caused power outages and burst pipes across the state.
February 23, 2021 4:16 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden’s nominee to head the Interior Department says oil and natural gas will continue to play a major role in America for years to come. But New Mexico Rep. Deb Haaland, Biden’s nominee to be interior secretary, says the United States also must address climate change and recognize that the energy industry is changing. In testimony prepared for her confirmation hearing Tuesday, she said the Interior Department has a role in “harnessing the clean energy potential of our public lands to create jobs” while restoring and conserving federal lands. If confirmed, Haaland would be the first Native American to lead a Cabinet agency.
February 23, 2021 4:14 am
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) – State TV says Iran officially has begun restricting international inspections of its nuclear facilities, a bid to pressure European countries and U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration to lift economic sanctions and restore the 2015 nuclear deal. The report Tuesday gave little detail beyond confirming that Iran had made good on its threat to reduce cooperation with International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors. Iran has said it plans to cease its implementation of the “Additional Protocol,” a confidential agreement between Tehran and the IAEA reached as part of the landmark nuclear accord. It grants the U.N. inspectors enhanced powers to visit nuclear facilities and watch Iran’s program.
February 23, 2021 4:13 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – A Senate hearing examining what went wrong with the law enforcement response to the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection has ended. House Rules Committee Chairwoman Amy Klobuchar said afterward that “it’s clear action needs to be taken” after security officials who were in charge that day described confusion during the attack and intelligence failures that failed to predict the violence. Three of the four security officials, including the Capitol police chief, resigned immediately after the attack. Klobuchar said the next police chief should have “greater ability to make decisions” both leading up to and during a crisis.
February 23, 2021 4:10 am
Nearly 40 minutes of Peters Township Council’s Monday night meeting was devoted to comments made by Council Chairman Dave Ball in an interview with a Pittsburgh television station last week. Township Manager Paul Lauer read 12 emails from residents into the record. The emails were evenly divided, six in support of Ball’s comments and six against. Several of the detractors called for Ball’s resignation as chairman. Ball stood behind his comments indicating that he was quoting Senator Pat Toomey during the interview and that he could have been more clear on what idea he was trying to convey. He also pointed out that there is a difference between his position of Chairman of the Republican Party of Washington County and his role as Chairman of Peters Township Council. He identifies the Party position as a political role but does not recognize his position on Peters Township Council as a political position. Ball stated that in his 16 years on council no decision in his recollection was political. They were made with the best interest of the township in mind. Council Vice-Chairperson Monica Merrell is happy to have the incident behind them stating that Ball did not wish to put Peters Township in a negative perception. Councilman Gary Stiegel indicated that he expected community response to be evenly divided and wants to “move on”.
February 23, 2021 4:04 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Republican Party committee members in Pennsylvania expect to meet Wednesday night to decide whether to censure U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey amid a GOP backlash over his vote to convict Donald Trump during the former president’s second impeachment trial. The state party chairman, Lawrence Tabas, emailed committee members Monday to schedule the meeting. He emailed them on Feb. 13, moments after the Senate vote, telling them to expect a meeting. A censure vote is a symbolic gesture that may have no real effect on Toomey since he isn’t seeking reelection next year. Toomey was one of seven Republicans who voted to convict Trump of “incitement of insurrection.”
February 22, 2021 10:37 am
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Dominion Voting Systems has filed a $1.3 billion defamation lawsuit against the founder and CEO of Minnesota-based MyPillow. The lawsuit alleges that Mike Lindell falsely accused Dominion of rigging the 2020 presidential election. The lawsuit was filed in federal court in the District of Columbia on Monday. It alleges that Lindell ignored repeated warnings from Dominion. The voting technology company has filed similar lawsuits against Donald Trump lawyers Rudolph Giuliani and Sidney Powell. Dominion’s lawsuit accuses Lindell of repeatedly telling what the lawsuit labels the “Big Lie” that the company stole the election. Lindell and MyPillow’s general counsel did not immediately return messages seeking comment.
February 22, 2021 9:42 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – In a significant defeat for former President Donald Trump, the Supreme Court is declining to step in to halt the turnover of his tax records to a New York state prosecutor. The court’s action Monday is the apparent culmination of a lengthy legal battle that had already reached the high court once before. Trump’s tax records are not supposed to become public as part of prosecutors’ investigation, but the high court’s action is a blow to Trump because he has for so long fought to keep his tax records shielded from view. The ongoing investigation the records are part of could also become an issue for Trump in his life after the presidency.
February 22, 2021 4:22 am
CYBERSPACE (AP) – The grocery chain Kroger is acknowledging that it, too, was among the targets of the massive data hack into U.S. corporate and government computers. Kroger says it believes personal data, including Social Security numbers of customers of its pharmacy and clinic may have been swiped. The company says it believes less than 1% of its customers were affected. Also believed to have been compromised: data about some current and former employees. Kroger says it will contact those affected and offer them free credit monitoring services.
