December 3, 2020 4:16 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump has delivered a 46-minute diatribe against the election results that produced a win for Democrat Joe Biden, unspooling one misstatement after another to back his baseless claim that he really won. Trump’s address was released only on social media Wednesday and delivered in front of no audience. He called it perhaps “the most important speech” of his presidency. But it was largely a recycling of the same litany of misinformation and unsubstantiated allegations of voter fraud that he has been making for the past month. Trump’s remarks raised fresh questions about how far the president may be willing to go in his campaign to overturn Biden’s win.
December 3, 2020 4:13 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Optimism about delivering long-sought COVID-19 relief is building on Capitol Hill after additional rank-and-file lawmakers voiced support for a bipartisan, middle-of-the-road plan taking shape in the Senate. Also, top congressional leaders connected on the topic for the first time in months. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell – frequent rivals but proven dealmakers – spoke on the phone Thursday. Their conversation came the day after Pelosi signaled a willingness to make major concessions in search of a COVID rescue package in the $1 trillion range. Some conservatives, including Republicans from COVID hotspots like North Dakota and Iowa, said they were comfortable with an aid package carrying the almost $1 trillion price tag.
December 3, 2020 4:11 am
Washington County Commissioner voted Wednesday to abandon several bridges throughout the county. The Hawkins Bridge in Deemston, the Elliot Bridge in Smith Township will be taken over by individual property owners. The Nathan and Noble Bridges in Blaine Township will be taken over by the Pennsylvania Game Commission. The county will be responsible for the removal and disposal of the main girders and superstructures of those bridges before the Game Commission assumes ownership. Those costs will be covered by Act 44 funds. Commissioner Chairwoman Diana Irey-Vaughn calls the moves merely a bookkeeping measure. The bridges have limited use to the county and the property owners were willing to assume all responsibilities.
December 3, 2020 4:10 am
A Hanover Township man in jail because he allegedly shot and killed his father during an argument had a bail modification hearing Wednesday before Judge Valarie Costanzo. Joseph Robert Warrick, Jr., 23 is charged with criminal homicide and is detained in the Washington County Jail without bond. Warrick’s attorney Christopher Blackwell argued that his client does deserve to be offered bail because of the nature of the shooting. First degree and second degree murder charges do not allow bail. Blackwell argued that testimony and evidence so far do not meet the criteria for those charges. Charges of third degree murder and voluntary or involuntary manslaughter do allow a defendant bail and Blackwell believes that those are the more appropriate charges. Costanzo gave attorneys 20 days to file briefs and will then make her decision. The next hearing will be December 22.
December 3, 2020 4:06 am
EAST DEER, Pa. (AP) – Authorities say an infant remains hospitalized after she overdosed on heroin that she ingested while a woman who was supposed to be caring for her slept. Thirty-two-year-old Sara Tate told authorities that she left her 12-year-old daughter and 10-year-old sister-in-law to watch the 9-month-old girl while she took a nap Tuesday. A short time later, the girls removed a stamp bag from the infant’s mouth and took it to Tate, who confirmed it had heroin in it before she flushed it down a toilet. Emergency responders gave the baby Narcan, an opioid overdose reversal drug. The child remains in stable condition. Tate was charged with aggravated assault, child endangerment, tampering with evidence and drug possession.
December 2, 2020 5:26 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – Arizona Democrat and former astronaut Mark Kelly has been sworn into the Senate. Kelly defeated Republican Sen. Martha McSally in last month’s election. By taking office, Kelly has narrowed GOP control of the Senate to a 52-48 advantage. That won’t do much to weaken Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s control of the chamber. But it does set the stage for the two runoff Senate elections in Georgia in January. If Democrats win both of those races, they will control the 50-50 chamber because Vice President-elect Kamala Harris would cast tie-breaking votes. (Photo: CNN)
December 2, 2020 4:27 pm
LOS ANGELES (AP) – People magazine has named George Clooney, Dr. Anthony Fauci (FOW’-chee), Selena Gomez and Regina King as the “2020 People of the Year.” The magazine revealed its list Wednesday as part of a year-end double issue with four covers. The four will be celebrated for their positive impact in the world during a challenging 2020. Clooney, Fauci, Gomez and King will be separately featured on the magazine covers of the issue, which is out Friday. Clooney is lauded for his advocacy work. Fauci for the fight against COVID-19, Gomez for aiding mental health initiatives and King for her support of marginalized communities.
December 2, 2020 3:53 pm
UNDATED (AP) – U.S. health officials say staying home for the upcoming winter holidays is the best way to stay safe and protect others. But for those who ignore that advice, COVID-19 testing before and after trips is an option. Many Americans didn’t follow CDC guidance against traveling over Thanksgiving so the agency announced the testing option during a Wednesday briefing. The health agency also announced new guidelines that shorten recommended quarantines after close contact with someone infected with coronavirus. Now people can resume normal activity after 10 days, or seven days if they receive a negative test result. That’s down from the 14-day period recommended since the pandemic began.
December 2, 2020 4:13 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Attorney General William Barr said Tuesday that the Justice Department has not uncovered evidence of widespread voter fraud and has seen nothing that would change the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. In an interview with The Associated Press, Barr said U.S. attorneys and FBI agents have been working to follow up on specific complaints and information they’ve received, but they’ve uncovered no evidence that would affect the final results. Trump’s attorney and presidential campaign scoffed that they hadn’t seen “any semblance” of an investigation of his complaints by his attorney general’s department.
December 2, 2020 4:09 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Justice Department is investigating a secret scheme to lobby White House officials for a pardon as well as a related plot to offer a hefty political contribution in exchange for clemency. That’s according to a court document unsealed Tuesday. Most of the information in the 18-page court order is redacted, including the identity of the people whom prosecutors are investigating and whom the proposed pardon might be intended for. But the document from August does reveal that people are suspected of having acted to secretly lobby White House officials to secure a pardon and that, in a related scheme, a political contribution was floated in exchange for a pardon.
