January 3, 2021 8:10 am
BALTIMORE, M.D. — The COVID-19 death toll in the United States has surpassed 350,000 as experts anticipate another surge in coronavirus cases and deaths stemming from holiday gatherings over Christmas and New Year’s. Data compiled by Johns Hopkins University shows the U.S. passed the threshold early Sunday morning. More than 20 million people in the country have been infected. The U.S. has begun using two coronavirus vaccines to protect health care workers and nursing home residents and staff but the rollout of the inoculation program has been criticized as being slow and chaotic. Multiple states have reported a record number of cases over the past few days, including North Carolina and Arizona. Mortuary owners in hard-hit Southern California say they’re being inundated with bodies. The U.S. by far has reported the most deaths from COVID-19 in the world, followed by Brazil, which has reported more than 195,000 deaths.
January 3, 2021 8:09 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress is preparing to convene for the start of a new session, swearing in lawmakers during a tumultuous period as a relative handful of Republicans work to overturn Joe Biden’s victory over President Donald Trump and the coronavirus surge imposes limits at the Capitol. Democrat Nancy Pelosi is set Sunday to be reelected as House speaker by her party, which retains the majority in the House but with the slimmest margin in 20 years after a November election wipeout. Opening the Senate could be among Mitch McConnell’s final acts at majority leader. Republican control is in question until Tuesday’s runoff elections for two Senate seats in Georgia. The outcome will determine which party holds the chamber. It’s often said that divided government can be a time for legislative compromises, but lawmakers are charging into the 117th Congress with the nation more torn than ever, disputing even basic facts including that Biden won the presidential election. Fraud did not spoil the 2020 presidential election, a fact confirmed by election officials across the country. Before stepping down last month, Attorney General William Barr, a Republican appointed by Trump, said fraud did not affect the election’s outcome. Arizona’s and Georgia’s Republican governors, whose states were crucial to Biden’s victory, have also stated that their election results were accurate.
January 3, 2021 8:08 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Former CNN talk show host Larry King has been hospitalized with COVID-19 for more than a week, the news channel reported Saturday. Citing an unidentified person close to the family, CNN said the 87-year-old King is undergoing treatment at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Hospital protocols have kept King’s family members from visiting him. The Peabody Award-winning broadcaster was among America’s most prominent interviewers of celebrities, presidents and other newsmakers during a half-century career that included 25 years with a nightly show on CNN. He has had medical issues in recent decades, including heart attacks and diagnoses of diabetes and lung cancer. Last year, King lost two of his five children within weeks of each other. Son Andy King died of a heart attack at 65 in August, and daughter Chaia King died from lung cancer at 51 in July, Larry King said then in a statement.
January 3, 2021 2:28 am
(WPXI) – The new COVID-19 mandates that have been in effect in Pennsylvania since the week before Christmas will be allowed to expire next week, Gov. Tom Wolf announced in a virtual press conference on Wednesday. Wolf initially announced the new restrictions on Dec. 10 that most notably prohibited indoor dining at Pa. restaurants for a three-week period. Beginning at 8:01 a.m. the following may resume:
- Child care may open, complying with guidance.
- Schools subject to CDC and commonwealth guidance.
- Telework must continue unless impossible.
- All in-person businesses may operate at 75% occupancy, except where noted
- Self-certified restaurants may open at 50% capacity for indoor dining; Restaurants that have not self-certified are at 25% capacity for indoor dining.
- On-premises alcohol consumption prohibited unless part of a meal; cocktails-to-go and carryout beverages are allowed.
- Serving alcohol for on-site consumption must end at 11 p.m. and all alcoholic beverages must be removed from patrons by midnight.
- Personal care services (including hair salons and barbershops) open at 50% occupancy and by appointment only.
- Indoor recreation and health facilities (such as gyms and spas) open at 50% occupancy with appointments strongly encouraged.
- All entertainment (such as casinos, theaters, and museums) open at 50% occupancy.
- Mask-wearing requirements are still in effect.
January 2, 2021 4:27 am
South Korea is extending stringent distancing rules for two more weeks as authorities seek to suppress a viral resurgence, while confirming its first case of an apparently more contagious coronavirus variant detected in South Africa. Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol said Saturday the second highest level of distancing rules will remain in place for the Seoul region until Jan. 17. He says the third highest level of restrictions will stay in other areas. The curbs include bans on social gatherings of more than five people and in-person religious services. The government will require foreigners entering South Korea to submit negative virus test results starting Jan. 8. Officials say the first confirmed case of the South Africa variant is a person who arrived from that country Dec. 26.
January 2, 2021 4:25 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Congress has overridden President Donald Trump’s veto of a defense policy bill, a first by lawmakers since he took office nearly four years ago. In an extraordinary New Year’s Day session, the Republican-controlled Senate easily turned aside the veto, ensuring that the measure becomes law. Lawmakers dismissed Trump’s objections to the $740 billion bill and handed the president a stinging rebuke weeks before his term ends. Trump rejected the defense measure last week, saying it failed to limit social media companies he claimed were biased against him. Trump also opposed language that allows for the renaming of military bases that honor Confederate leaders.
January 2, 2021 4:24 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – A federal judge has dismissed a last-gasp lawsuit led by a House Republican that seeks to give Vice President Mike Pence the power to overturn the results of the presidential election won by Joe Biden when Congress formally counts the Electoral College votes next week. Pence, as president of the Senate, will oversee the Wednesday session and declare the winner of the White House race. The Electoral College this month cemented Biden’s 306-232 victory, and multiple legal efforts by President Donald Trump’s campaign to challenge the results have failed. The suit named Pence as the defendant and asked the court to throw out the 1887 law that spells out how Congress handles the vote counting.
January 2, 2021 4:22 am
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – Iran says it plans to enrich uranium up to 20% at its underground Fordo nuclear facility “as soon as possible.” That’s according to Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of Iran’s civilian nuclear program. The International Atomic Energy Agency says Iran also informed its inspectors of the decision, which it said came after parliament mandated the move. Iran’s decision to begin enriching to 20% a decade ago nearly brought an Israeli strike targeting its nuclear facilities, tensions that only abated with the 2015 atomic deal. Tensions are already high as Sunday is the first anniversary of a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad that killed a top Iranian general.
January 2, 2021 4:21 am
UNDATED (AP) – The U.S. Coast Guard has suspended its search for a boat with about 20 people on board that was three days overdue to arrive in Florida after leaving the Bahamas. Officials say the Coast Guard and others searched more than 17,000 square miles for about 84 hours before suspending the search around noon on Friday. Officials have not released information about who was on the 29-foot Mako Cuddy Cabin vessel. It left Bimini, Bahamas, on Monday and was supposed to arrive in Lake Worth, Florida, on Tuesday.
January 2, 2021 4:20 am
ATLANTA (AP) – Georgia Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler are appealing to the most conservative factions of a diversifying Georgia electorate as they try to win Tuesday runoffs that will determine control of the U.S. Senate. Perdue’s and Loeffler’s unceasing embrace of President Donald Trump and their caricatures of their Democratic challengers may not seem like the right approach in a state that opted narrowly for President-elect Joe Biden in November after years of steady Democratic gains. The strategy, though, reflects the realities of the Trump era: Republicans’ path to victory starts with a GOP base motivated by allegiance to the president and fear of Democrats.
