November 19, 2020 8:45 am
DETROIT (AP) – Two Michigan Republicans who initially blocked certification of election results for the county that includes Detroit despite no evidence of fraud before approving them now say they want to rescind their certification. Monica Palmer and William Hartmann, the two Republican canvassers in Wayne County, said in a statement late Wednesday that they only voted to certify the results after “hours of sustained pressure.” Palmer and Hartmann initially voted against certification Tuesday, leaving the Wayne County Board of Canvassers deadlocked at 2-2 along party lines. The canvassers later voted again and certified the results, 4-0. Unofficial results say Biden crushed Trump in Wayne County, a Democratic stronghold, by a more than 2-1 margin on his way to winning Michigan by 146,000 votes.
November 19, 2020 4:12 am
Five Florida mayors are expressing concern about the rising number of coronavirus cases in the state, and are urging Gov. Ron DeSantis to change his approach to the pandemic. Following a months-long decline from a huge summer spike in coronavirus infections, Florida has seen a mid-autumn climb in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. Still, the governor has resisted a return to statewide restrictions in place earlier in the year. The mayors of Miami Beach, Hialeah, Miami Shores Village, Sunrise and St. Petersburg called Wednesday for consistency in statewide regulations, implementation of a mask mandate and restoration of state testing sites to full capacity.
November 19, 2020 4:08 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Although a growing number of Republicans have quietly acknowledged that Joe Biden won the election, few are publicly challenging President Donald Trump. The GOP’s public silence on the reality of Biden’s victory amounts to tacit approval of Trump’s baseless claims of election fraud. That has significant repercussions, delaying the transition during a deadly pandemic, sowing public doubt and endangering Biden’s ability to lead the portion of the country that may question his legitimacy. Republicans are closing the Trump era much the way they started it: by joining the president in shattering civic norms and sowing uncertainty in institutions.
November 19, 2020 4:06 am
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – Texas is sending medical staff to overworked hospitals by the thousands amid as a worsening surge of cases across the state. State health officials say more than 5,400 extra medical personnel have been deployed across Texas, the highest levels since the pandemic began. That doesn’t capture the waves of extra help surging into Texas, as the military and volunteer outfits have also dispatched extra hands to America’s second-biggest state. Over the past two weeks, the rolling average number of daily new cases has increased by nearly 3,300, an increase of more than 50%.
November 19, 2020 3:59 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Republicans in the state House are pushing forward a proposal for a review of election procedures in Pennsylvania. GOP members of the State Government Committee all voted for the measure Wednesday and all Democrats were opposed. Democrats say any “confusion” over voting procedures – which is the basis for the resolution – were caused by the committee itself not acting ahead of time to make vote counting go more smoothly. The measure’s Republican sponsor insists he accepts the results of the election and isn’t trying to overturn them. The resolution needs a House floor vote but doesn’t require approval by the Senate or governor.
November 19, 2020 3:58 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania’s state Supreme Court will take up challenges to more than 8,000 ballots in Philadelphia filed by President Donald Trump’s campaign. They’re among the many lawsuits launched by the Republican and his allies amid President-elect Joe Biden’s victory. The high court’s five-member Democratic majority agreed Wednesday to take up the case. It involves the question of whether state law requires counties to disqualify mail-in or absentee ballots where a voter didn’t write certain information on the outer envelope. The court’s two Republican justices dissented. A Philadelphia judge upheld the city election commission’s decision to count the votes, and the Trump campaign appealed. Biden won Pennsylvania by more than 80,000 votes.
November 19, 2020 3:57 am
Pennsylvania’s contact tracing system is under strain as the explosion of new COVID-19 cases overtakes health workers’ ability to keep up. Public health experts say it’s important to interview people who have tested positive for the virus as soon as possible so their “close contacts,” or the people they exposed, can be identified and quarantined. The state Health Department’s goal is to contact each new COVID-19 patient within 24 hours of a positive test. That’s become virtually impossible as infections surge out of control, even with the addition of hundreds of contact tracers.
November 19, 2020 2:25 am
A stay-at-home and stop social gatherings advisory has been issued for Allegheny County as COVID-19 cases continue to rise. Allegheny County Health Department Director Dr. Debra Bogen is asking people to stay home unless they are going to work, school or need essentials, like groceries or medical care. She is also asking residents to not have guests in their home, unless they are essential workers like childcare or home healthcare workers, and to cancel any Thanksgiving plans they have with people outside of their household. “For the past few weeks, I’ve asked people to follow the rules, curtail gatherings and parties, stay home except for essentials, and wear masks. I’m done asking and today, I’m telling you that these are things we must all do to bring down the level of spread and keep our community safe,” Bogen said. Bogen said if cases increase, she can issue an order.
November 18, 2020 5:37 pm
(AP) – Conditions inside the nation’s hospitals are deteriorating by the day as the coronavirus rages through the country at an unrelenting pace. Hospitals have converted parking garages, chapels, cafeterias waiting rooms into patient rooms, and fatigue is setting in among a beleaguered workforce of medical workers. The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in the U.S. has doubled in the past month and set new records every day this week. As of Tuesday, more than 76,000 people were hospitalized with the virus.
November 18, 2020 3:10 pm
NEW YORK (AP) – New York City’s mayor says he’s shuttering schools to try to stop the renewed spread of the coronavirus. It’s a painful about-face for one of the first big U.S. school systems to bring students back to classrooms this fall. The mayor and schools chancellor announced Wednesday that school buildings will close Thursday. The city had said since summer that school buildings would close if 3% of all the coronavirus tests performed citywide over a seven-day period came back positive. The mayor tweeted that the city has now hit that mark.
