December 19, 2020 9:21 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The U.S. is adding a second COVID-19 vaccine to its arsenal. The Food and Drug Administration authorized emergency use Friday of the vaccine developed by Moderna and the National Institutes of Health. The decision comes days after health workers and nursing home residents began getting a similar coronavirus shot from Pfizer and BioNTech. Extra doses from a second vaccine are urgently needed, as U.S. deaths hit all-time highs and some hospitals are running out of beds. But even with additional candidates in the pipeline, there won’t be enough for the general population until spring, and shots will be rationed in the meantime.
December 19, 2020 3:59 am
Students in the Canon-McMillan School District will now have the option to attend classes mostly in school beginning in January. According to an email sent to parents on Friday, students will be phased in to 4 day a week in school class schedule beginning January 5. On that date students in grades K-4 will be able to begin going to school on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Wednesday will be a remote learning day. Students in the intermediate schools will transition to a 4 day in class schedule beginning January 19. Grades 7-12 will return to the hybrid learning model beginning January 19. Students also have the option of staying with a full time remote learning option. Students will still need to wear masks and practice social distancing while in school and on buses.
December 18, 2020 8:59 am
Rostraver, Pa. – (WPXI) – A woman from Westmoreland County was facing charges after police said she coughed on bottles and employees at a Rostraver liquor store. Leona Warman, 69, of West Newton, walked into the store on Dec. 9, pulled down her mask, and yelled, “I have COVID-19,” according to court documents. She’s accused of then coughing on or near four store employees and touching around 300 bottles. Employees called police, who arrested Warman in the store. The bottles had to be removed from the store, causing a more than $5,000 loss. Warman is facing several charges, including reckless endangerment and violating a state health order aimed at controlling the spread of coronavirus.
December 18, 2020 8:21 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Vice President Mike Pence has received the coronavirus vaccine during a White House event aimed at convincing skeptical Americans that the vaccines are safe. Pence’s wife, Karen, and Surgeon General Jerome Adams also got the vaccine on Friday during the event. The pandemic has killed more than 310,000 in the United States. President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris also are going to be vaccinated in public, but it’s unclear when President Donald Trump will be administered the shot.
December 18, 2020 4:16 am
President-elect Joe Biden says he has chosen North Carolina regulator Michael S. Regan as his nominee to lead the Environmental Protection Agency and New Mexico Rep. Deb Haaland as interior secretary. Biden said Thursday that the selections round out what he said would be an experienced climate team ready from their first day in office to tackle the “undeniable, accelerating, punishing reality of climate change.” The picks also help Biden fulfill his promise to put together a Cabinet that reflects the diversity of America. Regan is Black, while Haaland would be the first Native American Cabinet member in U.S. history.
December 18, 2020 4:13 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The top leaders of the U.S. House and Senate will be receiving the coronavirus vaccine in the next few days, and Congress’ attending physician has informed members that they are all eligible for the shots under “government continuity” guidelines. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell both received the vaccines on Friday. Pelosi, D-Calif., is third in the line of succession for the presidency, after President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence. McConnell, R-Ky., is not in the line of succession, but as majority leader, he is in charge of running the Senate. (Photo: CNN)
December 18, 2020 4:12 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Gov. Gavin Newsom’s dire view of California’s out-of-control surge of coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths is based partly on projection models that he says are becoming alarmingly more accurate. Newsom was referring earlier this week to models that estimate the state’s hospitals could be overflowing with five times the current level of patients and an average of 400 people dying each day in a month. That estimate of hospitalizations is a kind of worst-case scenario if residents don’t change behaviors that can halt spread of COVID-19. The governor’s stay-home order aims to curb the infection, but it could take weeks to have an impact.
December 18, 2020 4:11 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – All fingers are pointing to Russia as the source of a punishing hack of U.S. government agencies. But President Donald Trump, long wary of blaming Moscow for cyberattacks, has so far been silent. The lack of any statement seeking to hold Russia responsible casts doubt on the likelihood of a swift response to the attacks and suggests any retaliation will be left in the hands of President-elect Joe Biden’s incoming administration. The new administration could have a menu of choices to select from in responding. They include criminal charges, sanctions or retaliations in cyberspace. Biden issued a statement Thursday saying cybersecurity would be a top priority.
December 18, 2020 4:10 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The government’s cybersecurity agency is expressing increased alarm about a hack of computer systems in the U.S. and around the globe that officials suspect was carried out by Russia. The cybersecurity unit of the Department of Homeland Security says the hack “poses a grave risk” to the U.S. government and state and local governments as well as critical infrastructure and private business. The hack creates a fresh foreign policy problem for President Donald Trump in his final days in office. President-elect Joe Biden says his new administration “will make dealing with this breach a top priority from the moment we take office.”
December 18, 2020 4:09 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – It’s a hurry up and wait moment on Capitol Hill as congressional negotiators on a must-pass, almost $1 trillion COVID-19 economic relief package struggle through a handful of remaining snags. The holdups mean a weekend session now appears virtually certain, and a top lawmaker warned that a government shutdown this weekend can’t be ruled out. All sides appear hopeful that the wrangling won’t derail the legislation. The central elements of the hard-fought aid compromise appear in place: more than $300 billion in aid to businesses; a $300-per-week bonus federal jobless benefit and renewal of soon-to-expire state benefits; $600 direct payments to individuals; vaccine distribution funds; and money for renters, schools, the Postal Service and people needing food aid.
