February 19, 2021 4:15 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – White House officials say Joe Biden will use his first big presidential moment on the global stage at Friday’s Group of Seven meeting to announce that the U.S. will soon begin releasing $4 billion for an international effort to bolster the purchase and distribution of coronavirus vaccine for poor nations. Former President Donald Trump declined to participate in the COVAX initiative because of its ties to the World Health Organization. Trump had accused the Geneva-based health organization of covering up China’s missteps in handling the virus. The meeting of the G-7 is being held virtually.
February 19, 2021 4:13 am
UNDATED (AP) – The United States is once again part of the Paris climate accord. World leaders are applauding today’s formal return to the mostly voluntary 2015 agreement, saying it is symbolic and important. They say they expect the United States to show leadership in the fight against warming by setting strong targets for carbon pollution cuts by 2030. The Trump administration had announced the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris accord in 2019 but it didn’t take effect until Nov. 4, 2020. American cities, states and businesses still worked to reduce heat-trapping gases, but without the federal government.
February 19, 2021 4:13 am
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – Many Texans finally have electricity back after a deadly blast of winter this week overwhelmed the electrical grid and left millions shivering in the cold for days. But the crisis is far from over, with 7 million in the state ordered to boil their water before consuming it. And in Jackson, Mississippi, nearly everyone in the city of about 180,000 lost water service. About 325,000 homes and businesses in Texas still had no electricity on Thursday, down from about 3 million a day earlier. Utility officials say there could be more limited rolling blackouts. The extreme weather has been blamed for the deaths of at least 56 people.
February 19, 2021 2:35 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania’s Department of Transportation is naming nine bridges on six interstates that need upgrades and that it will consider for tolling to help generate the cash. PennDOT said Thursday the work on the nine bridges would be costly, needing billions of dollars. Tolling would be electronic and collected through E-ZPass or license-plate billing. The bridges are I-78’s Lenhartsville Bridge in Berks County; I-79’s bridges over State Route 50 in Allegheny County; I-80’s bridges across Canoe Creek in Clarion County, Nescopeck Creek in Luzerne County, North Fork in Jefferson County and the Lehigh River; I-81 over the Susquehanna River; I-83 over the Susquehanna River; and I-95’s Girard Point Bridge in Philadelphia.
February 19, 2021 2:19 am
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice is ordering the loosening of pandemic restrictions on businesses after a decline in coronavirus deaths and cases. He also wants the State Board of Education to return all elementary and middle school students back to in-person learning. The governor on Friday said small businesses and grocery stores can double their reduced capacity and the limit on social gatherings will go up from 25 to 75. Bars and restaurants can allow 75% of seating capacity, up from 50%, if social distancing is possible. He says restrictions will return if there’s a surge in cases.
February 18, 2021 12:32 pm
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) – Former longtime Sen. Bob Dole has announced that he has been diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. Dole, who is 97, said in a short statement that he was diagnosed recently and would begin treatment on Monday. He said: “While I certainly have some hurdles ahead, I also know that I join millions of Americans who face significant health challenges of their own.” Dole, a Republican, represented Kansas in Congress for almost 36 years, serving twice as majority leader. He resigned from the Senate in 1996 when he became the Republican presidential nominee. He lost to incumbent President Bill Clinton. (Photo: CNN)
February 18, 2021 4:25 am
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) – A NASA rover has landed on Mars in an epic quest to bring back rocks that could answer whether life ever existed on the red planet. The space agency says the six-wheeled Perseverance hurtled through the thin, orange atmosphere and settled onto the surface Thursday in the mission’s riskiest maneuver yet. Mars has long been a deathtrap for incoming spacecraft. Perseverance will collect geological samples that will be brought back to Earth in about a decade to be analyzed for signs of ancient microscopic life.
February 18, 2021 4:18 am
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) – New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo faces mounting challenges to his leadership on the coronavirus pandemic as state lawmakers threaten to strip him of the power to issue emergency orders and federal investigators scrutinize his administration’s handling of nursing home data. The U.S. Justice Department has been examining the governor’s coronavirus task force and trying to determine whether the state intentionally manipulated data regarding deaths in nursing homes. That’s according to two people familiar with the matter who weren’t authorized to discuss the investigation and spoke to The AP on condition of anonymity. A spokesperson for the governor said the administration was cooperating with the investigation.
February 18, 2021 4:17 am
(AP) – A new report finds that life expectancy in the United States dropped a staggering one year during the first half of 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic caused its first wave of deaths. Minorities suffered the biggest impact, with Black people losing nearly three years and Hispanics, nearly two years. The estimates were released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Health officials say the nation has not seen such a big decline since World War II. They expect the trend to worsen once numbers for the full year are available.
February 18, 2021 4:16 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – White House officials say Joe Biden will use his first big presidential moment on the global stage at Friday’s Group of Seven meeting to announce that the U.S. will soon begin releasing $4 billion for an international effort to bolster the purchase and distribution of coronavirus vaccine for poor nations. Former President Donald Trump declined to participate in the COVAX initiative because of its ties to the World Health Organization. Trump had accused the Geneva-based health organization of covering up China’s missteps in handling the virus. The meeting of the G-7 is being held virtually.
