January 2, 2021 4:20 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Senate has wrapped up a rare New Year’s Day session with Republicans rejecting President Donald Trump’s demand for $2,000 COVID-19 aid checks. They also overrode his veto of a sweeping defense bill. Together, it was an unusual one-two rebuke at the end of a chaotic Congress. Democrats vowed to try again to approve more COVID-19 aid when the new Congress convenes Sunday. Trump lashed out at GOP leaders, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says Congress has provided enough pandemic aid, for now. Smaller $600 checks are being mailed to households.
January 2, 2021 4:15 am
PITTSBURGH (WPXI) — Pittsburgh recorded 27.5 inches of snow last month, making it the second-snowiest December on record. The snowiest December on record goes to 1890, with 41.8 inches of snow. The snowfall this month was 19.2 inches above average and marks the seventh-snowiest month on record for Pittsburgh. The snowiest month ever on record in the city is February 2010, which recorded 48.7 inches of snow. Pittsburgh has seen 28.3 inches of snow so far this season, and has already recorded 68% of its average seasonal snowfall. The 28.3 inches of snow marks the fourth-snowiest period for a season to date (October, November, December). The top spot for a season to date goes to 1950 with 51.3 inches of snow. The entire season, which can run through April, averages 41.4 inches of snow for Pittsburgh.
January 2, 2021 4:12 am
NORTH BRADDOCK, Pa. (WPXI) — A North Braddock police officer has been suspended without pay after he allegedly pulled a gun out and started threatening people at a New Year’s Eve party. According to the police chief, Craig Gibson is the officer at the heart of the investigation. He was not on duty and was not acting in his capacity as police officer at the time of the alleged incident. Witnesses said what Gibson did when he showed up to the party unannounced and uninvited was terrifying. “He was inebriated, not invited to the party. Went in without being invited and put a gun to multiple individuals,” said Pitcairn Police Department Chief Scott Farally. Gibson turned himself in to the Pitcairn police after the incident. Farally said Gibson used to work for him. “It’s very disappointing,” he said. “When you mix alcohol and guns, pretty terrible mixture.” The chief of the North Braddock Police Department said the news came as a shock. “Last thing you want to hear is police being involved in any type of gun-involved incidents while drinking,” Chief Isaac Daniele said. It’s not clear in court documents why Gibson showed up to the party in the first place.
January 2, 2021 3:58 am
PITTSBURGH, Pa. (WPXI) — Officials with Pittsburgh Public Schools said they are delaying the spring return to in-person learning. Superintendent Dr. Anthony Hamlet decided to push the return date back to January 18th instead of January 4th. Hamlet said there could be a hybrid model in place for students by the end of the month. Hamlet said he’s hopeful that things could return to normal in the spring with the introduction of the COVID-19 vaccine. He said right now, in their virtual school model, attendance was more than 90% every day, with 98.5% of active students logging into the online system.
January 1, 2021 4:09 am
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Authorities have arrested a suburban Milwaukee pharmacist suspected of deliberately ruining hundreds of doses of coronavirus vaccine by removing it from refrigeration for two nights. The Grafton Police Department said the former Advocate Aurora Health pharmacist was arrested on suspicion of reckless endangerment, adulterating a prescription drug and criminal damage to property. The department says he’s in jail. Police did not identify the pharmacist, saying he hasn’t been formally charged. Advocate Aurora Health Care Chief Medical Group Officer Jeff Bahr says the pharmacist deliberately removed 57 vials containing hundreds of doses of the Moderna vaccine from refrigeration overnight on Dec. 24, returned them, then left them out again the night of Dec. 25.
January 1, 2021 4:07 am
Tens of thousands of people are walking on the casino-lined Las Vegas Strip on New Year’s Eve in the evening despite a plea from Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak that people reconsider their plans to go out and celebrate. While shopping, gambling, drinking yard-long frozen cocktails and gawking at the sights, most everyone out in Sin City was wearing a face mask, though not all had them covering their mouth and nose. Casinos have abided by state rules by spacing out chairs at slot machines and installing acrylic partitions separating people standing around craps and blackjack tables.
January 1, 2021 4:05 am
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has thanked his people for their trust and support in difficult times and wished them good health in New Year’s Day cards. Kim is expected to skip his usual televised speech and address a ruling party congress this month. State media quoted Kim as saying, “I will work hard to bring earlier the new era in which the ideals and desires of our people will come true.” North Korea is one of the world’s most cloistered countries and it’s virtually impossible to independently confirm whether all its 25 million people received Kim’s cards, the first sent by a leader since 1995. Kim faces the toughest challenges of his nine-year rule due to the pandemic, natural disasters and sanctions.
January 1, 2021 4:04 am
MIAMI (AP) – Health officials say they’ve found evidence in a Florida man of the latest U.S. case of the new and apparently more contagious coronavirus strain first seen in England. The Florida Health Department tweeted a statement late Thursday that the new virus strain was detected in a man in his 20s with no recent travel history. It comes after recent reports of confirmed cases elsewhere, in Colorado and California. The cases have triggered questions about how the COVID-19 strain circulating in England arrived in the U.S., where experts say it probably already is spreading. Florida officials say they’re investigating their case with the Atlanta-based U.S. Centers for Disease Control.
January 1, 2021 4:03 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – California surpassed 25,000 coronavirus deaths since the start of the pandemic and officials disclosed that three more cases involving a mutant variant of the virus have been confirmed in San Diego County. The grim developments came as an ongoing surge swamps hospitals and pushes nurses and doctors to the breaking point as they brace for another likely increase after the holidays. Public health officials continued to plead with residents not to gather for New Year’s Eve celebrations. Hospitals are housing patients in hallways, conference rooms, a cafeteria and gift shops. The state became the third in the U.S. to reach 25,000 deaths, behind New York and Texas.
January 1, 2021 4:03 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Congress is ending a chaotic session with a rare rebuff by Republicans of President Donald Trump. GOP senators are ignoring the outgoing president’s demand to increase the $600 COVID-19 aid checks to $2,000. They are poised to override his veto of a major defense bill. Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina is trying to bridge the divide. He says Congress could try again to approve bigger COVID aid checks after the new session opens Sunday. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says Congress has provided enough pandemic aid, for now. The stalemate is expected to drag into the weekend.
