December 26, 2020 4:25 am
ROME (AP) – The coronavirus upended Christmas traditions, but determination and imagination kept the day special for many. Intimate gatherings that didn’t require travel replaced large family reunions. Churches moved services online to avoid big crowds. With economies reeling around the world, it wasn’t a year for lavish gifts. In his Christmas Day message, Pope Francis appealed to world leaders to make sure the most vulnerable and needy are first in line to get coronavirus vaccines. Border closures and bottlenecks foiled plans for some.
December 26, 2020 4:22 am
MEXICO CITY (AP) – Authorities say four people have been arrested in connection with the 2018 crash of a helicopter that killed a central Mexican governor and her husband – who had preceded her as governor. The Agusta 109 helicopter crashed in flames 10 minutes after takeoff on Dec. 24 that year while carrying newly installed Puebla Gov. Martha Erika Alonso and former Gov. Rafael Moreno Valle, as well as three other people. The Puebla state prosecutor’s office said Friday the suspects worked for a company “related to the functioning of the aircraft,” It said the suspects were accused of culpable homicide, damage to another’s property and false testimony.
December 26, 2020 4:21 am
BEIJING (AP) – Beijing has urged residents not to leave the city during the upcoming Lunar New Year holidays, implementing fresh restrictions after several coronavirus infections last week. Two domestic cases were reported on Friday, a convenience store worker and a Hewlett Packard Enterprise employee. Another two asymptomatic cases were discovered earlier. Beijing is conducting testing on a limited scale in the neighborhoods and workplaces where the cases were found. It canceled big gatherings such as sports events and temple fairs. Venues such as cinemas, libraries and museums have to operate at 75% capacity. Officials in the northeastern port city of Dalian say they’ve tested over 4.75 million people after 24 confirmed infections this month. South Korea has reported another 1,132 cases.
December 26, 2020 4:20 am
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – A recreational vehicle parked in the deserted streets of downtown Nashville exploded early Christmas morning, causing widespread communications outages that took down police emergency systems and grounded flights at the city’s airport. Police believe the blast was intentional but don’t yet know a motive or target. Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake noted that officials had not received any threats before the explosion. The chief said investigators have found tissue at the scene that they believe could be remains. Mayor John Cooper ásaid three people taken to area hospitals for treatment were in stable condition Friday evening.
December 26, 2020 4:17 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – A federal judge in Pennsylvania has rejected a bid to block one of Gov. Tom Wolf’s latest orders to try to stem the spread of the coronavirus. Wolf has gone to court to sue 22 restaurants defying a three-week shutdown of indoor dining at restaurants through Jan. 4. The court action came Wednesday as Wolf asks state lawmakers to approve $145 million for hard-hit businesses. A growing number of restaurants are defying Wolf’s shutdown order and are being cited for it. The daily totals of new reported infections in Pennsylvania have leveled off in the past couple weeks. But hospitalizations continue to climb.
December 26, 2020 4:05 am
PITTSBURGH, Pa. (WPXI) — Crews continue to treat the interstates, routes, highways and other roads in western Pa. following the snowstorm and icy conditions on Christmas. PennDOT crews have been working for nearly 24 hours already, and that work is expected to continue through the early hours Saturday to make sure roadways are safe for drivers this weekend. According to PennDOT officials, this storm was a tough scenario right from the start. Rain switched to freezing rain Thursday evening, and then when wind chills plummeted even more, the snow started to fall — creating very slick conditions outside. The biggest challenge for crews has been the nonstop snowfall. Pittsburgh set a record Friday for the most snow recorded on Christmas Day with about four inches, but the White Christmas made things difficult for plows and salt trucks. All PennDOT trucks have been out treating and plowing roads, but the drifting snow and icy spots created some dangerous conditions.
December 25, 2020 7:10 am
PARIS (AP) — Wearing hard hats and protective suits, members of the choir of Notre Dame Cathedral sang inside the medieval Paris landmark for the first time since last year’s devastating fire for a special Christmas Eve concert. Accompanied by an acclaimed cellist and a rented organ, the singers performed beneath the cathedral’s stained-glass windows amid the darkened church, which is transitioning from being a precarious hazardous clean-up operation to becoming a massive reconstruction site. The choir initially planned to bring in 20 singers but for safety reasons they were limited to eight. The choir members stood socially distanced to be able to take off their masks — which is required indoors in France to stem the spread of the virus — and sing. The concert — including “Silent Night” in English and French, “The Hymn of the Angels,” and even “Jingle Bells” — was recorded earlier this month and broadcast just before midnight Thursday. The public was not allowed and isn’t expected to see the insides of Notre Dame until at least 2024.
December 25, 2020 7:07 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s sudden demand for $2,000 checks for most Americans was swiftly rejected by House Republicans as his haphazard actions have thrown a massive COVIDrelief and government funding bill into chaos. The rare Christmas Eve session of the House lasted just minutes, with help for millions of Americans awaiting Trump’s signature on the bill. Unemployment benefits, eviction protections and other emergency aid, including smaller $600 checks, are at risk. Trump’s refusal of the $900 billion package, which is linked to $1.4 trillion government funds bill, could spark a federal shutdown at midnight Monday. “We’re not going to let the government shut down, nor are we going to let the American people down,” said Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., the majority leader. The optics appear terrible for Republicans, and the outgoing president, as the nation suffers through the worst holiday season many can remember. Families are isolated under COVID precautions and millions of American households are devastated without adequate income, food or shelter. The virus death toll of 327,000-plus is rising.
December 25, 2020 7:05 am
ATLANTA (AP) — The United States will require airline passengers from Britain to get a negative COVID-19 test before their flight, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced late Thursday. The U.S. is the latest country to announce new travel restrictions because of a new variant of the coronavirus that is spreading in Britain and elsewhere. Airline passengers from the United Kingdom will need to get negative COVID-19 tests within three days of their trip and provide the results to the airline, the CDC said in a statement. The agency said the order will be signed Friday and go into effect on Monday. “If a passenger chooses not to take a test, the airline must deny boarding to the passenger,” the CDC said in its statement. The agency said because of travel restrictions in place since March, air travel to the U.S. from the U.K. is already down by 90%.
December 25, 2020 7:04 am
ROME (AP) — Curfews, quarantines and even border closings complicated Christmas celebrations Friday for countless people around the globe, but ingenuity, determination and imagination helped keep the day special for many. In Beijing, official churches abruptly cancelled Mass on Christmas Day in a last-minute move, after China’s capital was put on high alert following the confirmation of two confirmed COVID-19 cases last week, and two new asymptomatic cases were reported on Friday. One of several notices was posted at Beijing’s St. Josephs’ Church, which was built originally by Jesuit missionaries in the 17th century. Border crossing closures kept thousands of migrants from economically devastated Venezuela who live in Colombia from going home for Christmas. Colombia’s government shut down the crossings in a bid to slow down the spread of COVID-19 infections. Those trying to return home for the holidays this year had to turn to smugglers.
