December 11, 2020 4:11 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Lawyers for Pennsylvania are responding in the U.S. Supreme Court to Texas’ effort to overturn the election result in four states for President-elect Joe Biden. In a brief filed Thursday, lawyers for Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, are calling it a “seditious abuse” of the courts that rests on conspiracy theories and falsehoods. They also say Texas lacks standing and that its claims are barred by time limits, meritless and dangerous. They say Texas wants to anoint its preferred candidate for president, Donald Trump. The suit from the Texas attorney general demands Electoral College votes in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin be invalidated.
December 10, 2020 3:29 pm
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Ellen DeGeneres says she’s tested positive for COVID-19 but is “feeling fine right now.” The producer of her daytime talk show says taping is on hold until January. DeGeneres said in an Instagram post that anyone who has been in close contact with her has been notified and that she’s following “all proper CDC” guidelines. DeGeneres promised to see her viewers after the holidays and called for them to stay “healthy and safe.” Reruns of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” were to air starting Thursday. When the coronavirus outbreak hit in March, the show shifted to taping without a studio audience. In September, it put fans into seats virtually.
December 10, 2020 3:27 pm
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) – An initially promising U.S. forecast for the northern lights has gone bust. The head of operations at the U.S. government’s space weather prediction center says stargazers in the continental 48 states have essentially zero chance of seeing the northern lights this week. That’s despite an initially promising forecast. Forecasters had thought they would be viewable as far south as Illinois this week. The northern lights are also known as aurora borealis. They are an astronomical phenomenon in which curtains of color are visible against the night sky.
December 10, 2020 9:32 am
State Police are investigating a fatal shooting early this morning in Donora. The Washington County Coroner’s Office says the unidentified victim was shot by a homeowner along 6th Street just after 1:30 a.m. The incident is being investigated as an attempted home invasion. The homeowner called 911. The victim was transported by ambulance to a landing zone near Donora Elementary Center awaiting a medical helicopter, but did not survive. They were pronounced dead in the ambulance just after 3 a.m. The Identity of the victim is pending notification of next of kin.
December 10, 2020 8:57 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The number of people applying for unemployment aid jumped last week to 853,000, the most since September. That is evidence that some companies are cutting more jobs as new virus cases spiral higher. The Labor Department said Thursday that the number of applications increased from 716,000 the previous week. Before the coronavirus paralyzed the economy in March, weekly jobless claims typically numbered only about 225,000.
December 10, 2020 6:24 am
One person is dead following a pedestrian accident Wednesday night in Amwell Township. The Washington County Coroner’s Office says it happened just before 8 p.m. near 773 National Pike. The victim was struck by a vehicle traveling west. The Washington County District Attorney’s Office has announced that an on-duty County detective was involved in the accident and that the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office has been notified and will investigate. The identity of the victim is pending notification of next of kin. A cause and manner of death are also pending. State Police continue to investigate.
December 10, 2020 4:07 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Justice Department is investigating the finances of President-elect Joe Biden’s son, including scrutinizing some of his Chinese business dealings and other transactions. That’s according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke to The Associated Press on Wednesday. The revelations put a renewed spotlight on questions about Hunter Biden’s financial history, which dogged his father’s successful White House campaign and were a frequent target of President Donald Trump and his allies. They also come at a politically delicate time for the president-elect, who is weighing his choice to lead an agency that is actively investigating his son.
December 10, 2020 4:05 am
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – The Minneapolis City Council unanimously approved a budget early Thursday that will shift about $8 million from the police department toward violence prevention and other programs – but will keep the mayor’s targeted staffing levels for sworn officers intact. Mayor Jacob Frey had threatened to veto the entire budget if the council went ahead with its plan to cap police staffing. He said Thursday that the vote was a defining moment for the city, which has experienced soaring crime rates amid calls to defund the police since the May 25 death of George Floyd.
December 10, 2020 4:04 am
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – President Donald Trump’s extraordinary effort to overturn Joe Biden’s win in Wisconsin is returning to the courtroom. Hearings are scheduled Thursday in both his federal and state lawsuits that seek to invalidate hundreds of thousands of ballots and to give the GOP-controlled Legislature the power to name Trump the winner. Trump’s attorneys are urging the courts to act quickly so he can appeal any adverse ruling before members of the Electoral College meet on Monday and cast Wisconsin’s 10 votes for Biden. Attorneys for Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers and the state elections commission say the cases are without merit and should be dismissed.
December 10, 2020 4:03 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Lawmakers are embracing a one-week extension of government funding to buy time for more COVID-19 relief talks. The House on Wednesday easily passed a temporary funding bill that sets a Dec. 18 deadline for Congress to wrap up both a virus relief measure and a $1.4 trillion government spending bill. The Senate is expected to easily pass the bill before midnight Friday to avert a partial government shutdown. Meanwhile, negotiations continue over another round of virus aid. Leaders are in agreement about helping small businesses and preserving extra unemployment benefits, but disagree over the details of the package.
