December 31, 2020 4:10 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has all but shut the door on President Donald Trump’s push for $2,000 COVID-19 relief checks. The Republican leader says Congress has provided enough pandemic aid and he’s blocked another attempt by Democrats to force a vote. McConnell is unwilling to budge, despite political pressure from Trump and even some fellow GOP senators. Trump wants the recent $600 checks increased threefold. But McConnell is dismissing the idea of “survival checks” in a House-passed bill, saying the money would go to plenty of American households that don’t need it.
December 31, 2020 4:09 am
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) – This New Year’s Eve is being celebrated like no other. Pandemic restrictions are limiting crowds in many places as people bid farewell to a year they’d prefer to forget. Australia is among the first nations to ring in the New Year due to its proximity to the International Date Line. One million people would usually crowd the Sydney Harbor to watch the annual fireworks that center on the Sydney Harbor Bridge. But this year authorities are advising revelers to watch the fireworks on television. New Zealand, Taiwan and other places with successes against the virus are celebrating like usual.
December 31, 2020 4:07 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – The sign above the door at the Crack’d Egg in Brentwood says it all: “We are fighting back.” The Allegheny County Health Department has pulled the restaurant’s permit and is taking the owners to court over defying Gov. Tom Wolf’s shutdown orders. “Until there’s a court order telling us to shut down, we plan on running our business as is our right,” said Sy Lampl, attorney for the restaurant. Several other businesses are also reportedly in the same boat. If they don’t close, they could also face legal action: Piacquadio’s, Castle Shannon, Carbonara’s, Castle Shannon, Tailgater’s, Harmar, Al’s Cafe, Bethel Park, Il Pizzaiolo, Mt. Lebanon, Gianna Via’s, Castle Shannon, David’s Diner, Springdale, Bobby P’s Inn. Dr. Debra Bogen, director of the health department, said every business defying orders is putting the health and safety of their employees, their families and the community at risk. Both sides will be in court on Tuesday.
December 31, 2020 4:02 am
BEDMINSTER, Pa. (AP) – A hunter who fatally shot a man he apparently mistook for an animal at a state park has been charged with homicide and weapons counts. Kenneth Troy Heller made his initial court appearance Wednesday and was jailed after the judge denied him bail. It wasn’t known if the 52-year-0old Warminster man has retained an attorney. The shooting occurred Oct. 24 in Nockamixon State Park, which straddles the towns of Bedminster and Haycock. Bucks County District Attorney Matt Weintraub says he believes Heller thought he was firing at an animal and didn’t intentionally shoot 18-year-old Jason Kutt. The West Rockhill man was shot once in the back of the head while sitting with his girlfriend.
December 31, 2020 2:51 am
A Coal Center man accused of homicide and attempted homicide in two separate incidents faced his preliminary hearing on Wednesday. Dylan Dustyn Lesnik, 28 is accused of trying to kill his pregnant girlfriend in one case and in a second case he is accused of killing a man who lived in his apartment building. District Justice Joshua Kanalis heard testimony from Lesnik’s former girlfriend who recounted the attack on her in their former apartment. The attack caused Cassie King, 30 to be life-flighted to a Pittsburgh hospital to treat stab wounds to her neck that nearly took her life. In a second incident Lesnik is accused of killing Marshall Y. Craig, 27 of Coal Center. Testimony from Pennsylvania State Trooper Robert Schmid described the crime scene at 135 Spring Street in Coal Center and how Lesnik was apprehended in Fayette County. Schmid provided testimony to Lesnik’s confession to both cases involving King and Craig. Kanalis held all charges against Lesnik for court. In a related case, Troy Matthew Chiera had his case continued so he can seek legal counsel. Chiera is accused of being an accomplice in the assault case against Lesnik. Both men are being held without bail in the Washington County Jail.
December 31, 2020 2:09 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Dawn Wells, who played the wholesome Mary Ann on the 1960s sitcom “Gilligan’s Island,” has died. Her publicist says Wells died Wednesday morning in Los Angeles of causes related to COVID-19. Besides TV, film and stage acting credits, her other real-life roles included teacher and motivational speaker. Born in Reno, Nevada, Wells represented her state in the 1959 Miss America pageant and quickly pivoted to an acting career. Her early TV roles came on shows including “77 Sunset Strip,” “Maverick” and “Bonanza.” Then came “Gilligan’s Island,” a goofy, good-natured show that became an unlikely but indelible part of popular culture. Dawn Wells was 82 years old.
December 30, 2020 10:18 am
LONDON (AP) – Britain has authorized an easy-to-handle coronavirus vaccine and decided to stretch out the time between doses to allow more people to get some level of protection faster as infections surge. The first greenlight Wednesday for the shot dubbed the “vaccine for the world” brought a measure of hope that the pandemic could be brought under control. The vaccine developed by Oxford University and drugmaker AstraZeneca is expected to be relied on in many countries because of its low cost and the fact that it can be kept in refrigerators rather than at the ultra-cold or freezer temperatures some other vaccines require.
December 30, 2020 4:17 am
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) – Louisiana’s newest Republican member of the U.S. House, Luke Letlow, has died from complications related to COVID-19 only days before being he would have been sworn into office. He was 41. Letlow spokesman Andrew Bautsch confirmed the congressman-elect’s death Tuesday night. Bautsch said in a statement that the family is asking for privacy. The incoming congressman was elected in a December runoff and was set to take office in January. He was admitted to a Monroe hospital on Dec. 19 after testing positive for the coronavirus disease. He was later transferred to Ochsner-LSU Health Shreveport and placed in intensive care, where he died.
December 30, 2020 4:15 am
DENVER (AP) – The first person in the U.S. reported infected with a new and apparently more contagious variant of the coronavirus has been identified as a Colorado National Guardsman who had been sent to help out at a nursing home struggling with an outbreak. And health officials say a second Guard member may be infected, too. The cases have triggered a host of questions about how the mutant version circulating in England arrived in the U.S. and whether it is too late to stop it now. Some top experts say it is probably already spreading in this country. The discovery has also added urgency to the nation’s vaccination drive.
December 30, 2020 4:13 am
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said direct payments to Americans, which were signed into law by President Donald Trump on Sunday, could be deposited as soon as Tuesday night. These are the $600 payments Trump approved Sunday. Mnuchin added that paper checks could be mailed as soon as today. “Treasury and the IRS are as working with unprecedented speed to issue a second round of Economic Impact Payments to eligible Americans and their families,” Mnuchin said in a statement. In a tweet, Mnuchin said the U.S. Treasury delivered a file to the Federal Reserve for the payments. Mnuchin added that direct deposits could hit some accounts by Tuesday night and will continue into next week. Mnuchin added that paper checks will be mailed beginning Wednesday. Mnuchin’s announcement came after House Democrats on Monday passed a measure to increase the stimulus payments from $600 to $2,000. The $2,000 figure was the amount sought by President Donald Trump, a move that caught many Republicans by surprise. On Tuesday, Democrats attempted to get the measure approved in the Senate, but the first voting attempt was blocked by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
