November 23, 2020 4:18 am
LONDON (AP) – AstraZeneca says late stage trials of its COVID-19 vaccine developed with Oxford University were “highly effective” in preventing disease. The results are based on interim analysis of trials in the U.K. and Brazil of the vaccine developed by Oxford University and manufactured by AstraZeneca. No hospitalizations or severe cases of COVID-19 were reported, AstraZeneca said. Dr. Andrew Pollard said “these findings show that we have an effective vaccine that will save many lives.” He said if people were given a half dose followed by a full dose, rather than two full doses, protection rose to about 90%. Two other drugmakers, Pfizer and Moderna, last week reported preliminary results showing that their COVID-19 vaccines were almost 95% effective.
November 23, 2020 4:13 am
Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly is leading a suit filed Saturday in Pennsylvania challenging the use of mail-in ballots predominately cast by Democrats in lifting Joe Biden to victory in the presidential race in the state and seeking to block certification of the election results. The plaintiffs contend that the Legislature never followed the proper constitutional procedures to expand exceptions to in-person voting to institute a system of universal mail-in voting and are asking the court to throw out non-absentee mail-in ballots. Democratic Attorney General Josh Shapiro said in a Twitter post that the elected officials and candidates who joined the suit “should be ashamed of themselves.”
November 23, 2020 4:11 am
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (AP) – Authorities say a police K-9 officer in Pennsylvania died in a fall down an elevator shaft while assisting police in a search for burglary suspects. Just after 4 a.m. Sunday, officers in Johnstown were dispatched to a burglary at the old Goodwill warehouse and quickly apprehended two of five suspects. K-9 Titan was helping to search the five-story building but fell through an unsecured open elevator shaft on the fourth floor. All five suspects were eventually taken into custody. Police said K-9 Titan had “served honorably” with the Johnstown Police Department since 2014 and died “in the line of duty.”
November 23, 2020 4:11 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – President Donald Trump is appealing a federal judge’s dismissal of his campaign’s effort to block the certification of votes in Pennsylvania. The president and other plaintiffs filed notice of appeal Sunday, a day after the judge issued a scathing order shooting down claims of widespread irregularities with mail-in ballots. U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Brann wrote in his order that Trump had asked the court to disenfranchise almost 7 million voters. In seeking such a “startling outcome,” he said, a plaintiff could be expected to provide compelling legal arguments and “factual proof of rampant corruption” – but “That has not happened.”
November 23, 2020 1:13 am
WASHINGTON, Pa- Freedom Transit has been informed by its subcontractor that a fixed route driver has tested positive for COVID-19. The driver worked on the afternoon Local B route on November 12 and 13 and started showing symptoms on November 14. Freedom Transit advises any rider who has concerns about potential exposure to follow the CDC guidelines and self-monitor for symptoms. Anyone who begins to exhibit symptoms should contact their health care provider. The company been working to ensure all drivers are taking necessary precautions in safely transporting passengers. This includes face masks being worn while on the buses for both riders and drivers. Buses are being sanitized daily and during operation to help stop the spread of the illness, and seats have been blocked off on board the vehicles to help distance riders from each other.
November 22, 2020 7:56 am
MOSCOW (AP) — When Yekaterina Kobzeva, a nurse at a preschool in Russia’s Ural Mountains, began having trouble breathing, she called an ambulance. It was four days before she managed to find a free hospital bed. The ambulance first took her to get a scan — which showed damage from pneumonia to 50% of her lungs, an indication she had coronavirus. The paramedics then drove her around the city of Perm and its surroundings for hours as seven hospitals, one by one, turned her down, saying they didn’t have any beds available. At dawn, she went home. The journey took her through “circles of hell,” Kobzeva, 60, recalled in an interview with The Associated Press by phone from a hospital, where doctors confirmed she had the virus. She was only admitted there days after her first attempt — and after her story made local headlines. Russia’s health care system, vast yet underfunded, has been under significant strains in recent weeks, as the pandemic surges again and daily infections and virus death regularly break records.
November 22, 2020 7:54 am
KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — An Illinois 17-year-old accused of killing two people during a protest in Wisconsin was seen smiling in a photo with his lawyer and “Silver Spoons” actor Ricky Schroder after being released from custody by posting a $2 million bond. Kyle Rittenhouse is accused of fatally shooting Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber and wounding Gaige Grosskreutz during a demonstration Aug. 25 that followed the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha. He posted bond through his attorney at about 2 p.m. Friday.
November 22, 2020 7:51 am
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Mortar shells slammed into a residential area of Afghanistan’s capital and killed eight people Saturday, hours before outgoing U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo held what are likely his last meetings with the Taliban and Afghan government negotiators trying to hammer out a peace deal. The attack in Kabul, claimed by Islamic State militants, also wounded 31 people. The assault came as peace talks were underway in Qatar, where Pompeo told Afghan government negotiators that the U.S. will “sit on the side and help where we can” in the negotiations with Taliban militants. Meanwhile, the U.S. military announced a sudden visit to the Mideast by long-range, nuclear-capable B-52H bombers, underlining America’s continuing presence in the region.
November 22, 2020 7:49 am
LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson plans to end an England-wide lockdown as scheduled on Dec. 2 and will announce a return to regional restrictions as statistics show that coronavirus infections have stabilized. Johnson’s office also confirmed plans to begin a nationwide COVID-19 vaccination program next month, assuming regulators approve a vaccine against the virus. The government also will increase mass testing in an effort to suppress the virus until vaccines can be rolled out. Johnson’s office said late Saturday that the government plans to return to using a three-tiered system of localized restrictions in England, with areas facing different lockdown measures based on the severity of their outbreaks. More communities are expected to be placed in the two highest virus alert categories, it said.
November 22, 2020 7:47 am
President Donald Trump’s campaign requested a recount of votes in the Georgia presidential race on Saturday, a day after state officials certified results showing Democrat Joe Biden won the state, as his legal team presses forward with attacks alleging widespread fraud without proof. Georgia’s results showed Biden beating Trump by 12,670 votes out of about 5 million cast, or 0.25%. State law allows a candidate to request a recount if the margin is less than 0.5%. Republican Gov. Brian Kemp formalized the state’s slate of 16 presidential electors. The Trump campaign sent a hand-delivered letter to the secretary of state’s office requesting the recount in an election that has been fraught with unfounded accusations of fraud by Trump and his supporters.
