February 3, 2021 4:19 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden has signed a second spate of orders to undo his predecessor’s immigration policies, demonstrating the powers of the White House and its limitations without support from Congress. His orders on family separation, border security and legal immigration bring to nine the number of executive actions on immigration during his first two weeks in office. With proposed legislation to give legal status and a path to citizenship to all of the estimated 11 million people in the country who don’t have it, Biden has quickly taken aim at many of former President Donald Trump’s sweeping changes to deter immigration, both legal and illegal.
February 3, 2021 4:18 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Jeff Bezos is stepping down later this year as Amazon CEO, a role he’s had since founding the company nearly 30 years ago. Amazon made the announcement Tuesday. Bezos built the company from an online bookstore into a behemoth that sells just about everything. Amazon says Bezos will be replaced in the summer by Andy Jassy, who runs Amazon’s cloud business. Bezos will then become the company’s executive chairman. In a blog post, Bezos said he planned to focus on new products and early initiatives at Amazon. He also expects to have more time for side projects, including his space exploration company Blue Origin and philanthropic initiatives.
February 3, 2021 4:16 am
WUHAN, China (AP) – World Health Organization investigators have visited a research center in the central Chinese city of Wuhan that has been the subject of speculation about the origins of the coronavirus. The Wuhan Institute of Virology has extensive virus samples, leading to unproven allegations that it may have caused the original outbreak by leaking the virus into the surrounding community. China has strongly denied that possibility and has promoted also unproven theories that the virus may have originated elsewhere. Over six days, the WHO team that includes experts from 10 nations has already visited hospitals, research institutes and a traditional wet market tied to the original outbreak.
February 3, 2021 4:16 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden and the first lady are among those who have paid their respects to slain Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick as he lay in honor in the U.S. Capitol. Sicknick’s colleagues and the lawmakers he protected are honoring him for his actions during the violent attack on Congress that cost him his life. The officer was injured Jan. 6 when a mob besieged the Capitol, dying the next day. Following a viewing period overnight for Capitol Police officers, lawmakers are set to to pay tribute at a ceremony Wednesday morning. Sicknick will be interred at Arlington National Cemetery.
February 3, 2021 4:14 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has met with hard-right congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. Their session on Tuesday night came as Republicans wrestled over how to handle a bipartisan outcry over her embrace of outlandish conspiracy theories like suggestions that mass shootings at the nation’s schools were staged. Aides to McCarthy and Greene offered no immediate comment after the two spent around 90 minutes together in his Capitol office. The GOP is facing unrest from opposing ends of the Republican spectrum over Greene and congresswoman Liz Cheney, who voted to impeach President Donald Trump. Both situations underscore GOP fissures as the party seeks its pathway without Trump.
February 3, 2021 4:10 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf on Wednesday, proposed a sweeping new plan to dramatically boost funding for public schools to be supported by an increase in the state’s personal income tax. The Democratic governor, in a taped message, asked the Republican-controlled Legislature for what could approach $2 billion for public schools. The personal income tax increase would take the rate to 4.49% from 3.07%, but increase the exemption for the lowest earners. Republicans say the governor’s plan would raise about $7 billion over a full year, or 50% more. Wolf’s office said it would raise $4 billion, or about 25% more.
February 3, 2021 4:07 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania’s elections chief isn’t saying whether Gov. Tom Wolf asked for her resignation, but she says the buck stops with her. Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar is leaving this week after it surfaced that her agency failed to properly handle an advertising requirement for a proposed constitutional amendment. That mistake means a delay of two years for victims of childhood sexual abuse who want to file otherwise outdated civil lawsuits. Boockvar spent the past year helping counties implement a new law that let anyone vote by mail, along with other changes. She also certified the election results that helped Joe Biden defeat Donald Trump in the presidential contest.
February 3, 2021 2:19 am
Authorities are investigating the cause of a fire and explosion at a truck cleaning facility in Dallas Pike, West Virginia that injured two people. According to reports, an explosion was reported around eight o’clock Monday night and when emergency responders arrived, the facility was engulfed in flames. Officials say two employees suffered burns and were taken to a local hospital. There’s been no word on the severity of their injuries. Authorities say the workers were in the process of cleaning one of the tanker trucks when the the explosion occurred. The driver of the truck was outside the facility and was not hurt.
February 2, 2021 1:59 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Biden administration will begin providing COVID-19 vaccines to U.S. pharmacies, part of its plan to ramp up vaccinations as new and potentially more serious virus strains are starting to appear. White House coronavirus coordinator Jeff Zients said Tuesday the government will initially ship about 1 million doses to some 6,500 pharmacies around the country, starting next week. That’s expected to accelerate as drugmakers increase production. Drug stores have become a mainstay for flu shots and shingles vaccines, and the industry is capable of vaccinating tens of millions of people monthly.
February 2, 2021 7:40 am
PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. (AP) – Punxsutawney Phil has emerged from his burrow to forecast there will be six more weeks of winter. The spectacle that is Groundhog Day at Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, still went on this year despite a winter storm and the coronavirus pandemic. The prognosticator of prognosticators emerged at dawn on Tuesday. Members of his inner circle revealed he had seen his shadow, indicating six more weeks of winter. Phil this year, like many years in the past, gave his forecast during a major snowstorm that hit the entire Northeast.
