November 25, 2020 9:48 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The number of a Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose last week to 778,000, evidence that the U.S. economy and job market remain under strain as coronavirus cases surge and colder weather heighten the risks. The Labor Department’s report Thursday said jobless claims climbed from 748,000 the week before. Before the virus struck hard in mid-March, weekly claims typically amounted to roughly 225,000. They shot up to 6.9 million during one week in March before dropping yet remain historically high more than eight months later, with many businesses unable to fully reopen.
November 25, 2020 4:08 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Fox News has reached a settlement with the parents of Seth Rich, a former Democratic National Committee employee who was killed in 2016. Authorities have concluded that he died in a botched robbery attempt, but a Fox story later falsely suggested that Seth Rich had leaked DNC emails to WikiLeaks during the 2016 presidential campaign. There was a false Internet conspiracy theory that suggested that leaked emails had something to do with Rich’s death. Joel and Mary Rich had accused Fox of exploiting their son’s death and subjecting them to emotional distress. They said they hoped the media will take more caution in the future. Neither the Riches nor Fox would disclose terms of the deal.
November 25, 2020 4:07 am
Tennessee’s governor says that once coronavirus vaccines become available, they will be optional in the state’s K-12 public schools. Gov. Bill Lee said Tuesday that vaccines will be very important for Tennessee to “ultimately really be able to handle” the pandemic. But he says he doesn’t foresee vaccine mandates for school districts in Tennessee. In his words, “Vaccines are a choice and people have the choice and will have the choice in this state as to whether or not they should take that vaccine.” The state’s health commissioner says the first doses could arrive in Tennessee around Dec. 15. The first wave will be reserved for frontline health care workers and first responders. She says widespread availability would likely be in late spring or early summer.
November 25, 2020 4:05 am
SAN ANTONIO (AP) – Federal authorities say a South Carolina man has pleaded guilty to a terror charge for plotting to bomb or shoot up sites including the White House and Trump Tower in New York City in attacks inspired by the Islamic State group. Kristopher Sean Matthews pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge to provide material support to IS during a court hearing in San Antonio on Tuesday. Matthews admitted he conspired with 22-year-old Jaylyn Christopher Molina of Texas to share bomb-making information for the purposes of domestic and foreign attacks on behalf of IS. Matthews faces up to 20 years in federal prison when he is sentenced March 4.
November 25, 2020 4:04 am
BIG RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) – A science professor at a Michigan university is being investigated and has been placed on a administrative leave after denying the severity of the coronavirus and using racist, anti-Semitic and homophobic slurs on Twitter. Ferris State University President David Eisler said Monday in a statement that Thomas Brennan was placed on leave Thursday for his remarks. The university’s student-run newspaper, The Torch, first reported last week about the professor’s tweets. Eisler says the university “strongly rejects” and condemns the professor’s remarks. Brennan says his is not racist or anti-Semitic.
November 25, 2020 4:02 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – California’s health secretary urged people to say “no” to family and friends who want to gather for Thanksgiving, joining other officials in issuing dire warnings about the spread of the coronavirus. Dr. Mark Ghaly said Tuesday that it’s not too late to cancel or change plans to limit celebrations. The warning came as the pandemic forced four more counties with surging cases to be placed under the most restrictive rules for business operations and as Los Angeles was poised to issue the first stay-home order since spring.
November 25, 2020 3:59 am
North Strabane Supervisors met Tuesday night and the largest action item on the agenda was the adoption of a preliminary 2021 budget. Township Manager Andrew Walz presented the $30,170,570 budget that does include a .5 mil tax increase to residents. That tax is divided between two categories. The fire department will receive .35 mil of that tax increase, parks and recreation will receive the remaining .15 mil. Both of those departments have been running deficits for over 5 years, this tax increase is designed to halt that practice. Walz states that the township has not had a tax increase since 1992 and in fact has had two tax cuts in the last ten years. The budget passed on a 3-2 margin with supervisors Harold Close and Marcus Staley dissenting. Close agrees with the tax increase for the fire department but does not agree a tax increase is needed for parks and recreation. He believes the department can be funded in other ways. The budget will be formally adopted in December.
November 25, 2020 3:57 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Fifteen alleged members and associates of the south Philadelphia and southern New Jersey organized crime family face federal racketeering and related charges. According to a superseding indictment unsealed Monday, the defendants engaged in racketeering conspiracy, illegal gambling, loansharking, extortion and drug trafficking. Federal prosecutors allege the crime family sought to use its “reputation and influence to exercise control over criminal rackets, like bookmaking and loansharking, in Philadelphia and southern New Jersey, particularly Atlantic City.” Ten of the defendants are accused of engaging in racketeering and collecting unlawful debts. The remaining five are accused of running an illegal gambling business and other charges.
November 25, 2020 3:08 am
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) – Americans got their first look at President-elect Joe Biden’s proposed national security team. He brought his intended nominees forward Tuesday in Wilmington, Delaware. Among those on the team: former Secretary of State John Kerry, who’s to take the lead on climate change. Altogether, Biden’s picks signal a shift from President Donald Trump’s “America First” policy and a return to global engagement. Some are veterans of the Obama administration. The incoming president will nominate longtime adviser Antony Blinken to be secretary of state, lawyer Alejandro Mayorkas to be homeland security secretary, Linda Thomas-Greenfield to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and Jake Sullivan as national security adviser. (Photo: CNN)
November 25, 2020 2:38 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania officials say Democrat Joe Biden has been certified as the winner of the presidential vote in the state. Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf first disclosed in a tweet Tuesday that the Pennsylvania Department of State had certified the vote count for president and vice president. The Pennsylvania results show Biden with 3.46 million votes, Trump with 3.38 million and Libertarian Jo Jorgensen with 79,000. The certification culminates three weeks of vote counting and a string of failed legal challenges by President Donald Trump. Biden has collected 306 overall electoral votes to Trump’s 232.
