September 25, 2021 4:39 am
DEL RIO, Texas (AP) – Federal and local officials say an encampment in a Texas border town where thousands of Haitian migrants gathered in recent days is now empty. It’s a stark departure from crowded conditions just days earlier, when almost 15,000 people huddled in makeshift shelters hoping for the chance to seek asylum. The Department of Homeland Security plans to continue flights to Haiti throughout the weekend, ignoring criticism from Democratic lawmakers and human rights groups who say Haitian migrants are being sent back to a troubled country that some left more than a decade ago.
September 25, 2021 4:38 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Two Canadians detained in China have been released from prison. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced their release Friday night, hours after the U.S. Justice Department resolved criminal charges against a top executive of Chinese communications giant Huawei. áCanadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor were arrested in China shortly after Canada had arrested Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou in response to a U.S. extradition request. The deal with Meng calls for the Justice Department to dismiss fraud charges late next year. Kovrig and Spavor have spent more than 1,000 days in prison.
September 25, 2021 4:37 am
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – California will strike the word “alien” from its state laws. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law on Friday that removes the word from various sections of the state code. The word will be replaced with terms like “noncitizen” or “immigrant.” Assemblywoman Luz Rivas authored the legislation and said the word “alien” has been weaponized and used in place of explicitly racial slurs to dehumanize immigrants. The change is California’s latest effort to update the language of its laws. Newsom signed a law earlier this year to insert gender neutral language in laws governing statewide elected officials.
September 25, 2021 4:37 am
MIAMI (AP) – Hurricane Sam has strengthened into a Category 2 hurricane in the Atlantic Ocean on Friday night and is expected to quickly develop into a major storm over the weekend. No coastal watches or warnings were in effect for Sam, which was about 1,215 miles southeast of the northern Leeward Islands in the Caribbean Sea late Friday. It was moving west-northwest at 14 mph. The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami says Sam has maximum sustained winds of 100 mph. It’s expected to become a Category 3 storm Saturday and then a Category 4 hurricane Sunday with winds of up to 140 mph.
September 25, 2021 4:10 am
PITTSBURGH (WPXI) — Dr. Freddie Fu Ho-Keung, a world-renowned UPMC doctor who is credited with saving the career of former Manchester United superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic and served as team physician for Pitt’s Department of Athletics and the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, died Friday, Sept. 24 surrounded by his loving family. Dr. Fu was one of the most recognized and beloved physicians in Pittsburgh and is acclaimed worldwide for his innovative research and teaching, leading to many clinical advancements in sports medicine and orthopedic care, particularly in treating knee injuries. Throughout his life and career, Dr. Fu worked passionately to always set the bar higher for his local, national and international medical/surgical colleagues, thousands of medical students, surgical residents and fellows who came to Pittsburgh to learn from the best. He set the bar higher most of all for his tens of thousands of patients – elite, professional, Olympic and amateur athletes from around the globe as well as non-athletes from around the corner who sought clinical care from the best. As an ardent proponent and supporter of diversity in medicine, Dr. Fu developed one of the most ethnically and gender-diverse academic and clinical departments in the country. He also is known for his enormous impact on the entire Pittsburgh region as a deeply devoted and enthusiastic community ambassador, actively serving for more than 30 years on the boards of numerous non-profit organizations and life-enriching initiatives. Fu, 70, a native of Hong Kong who came to the states in the 1970s for college and lived in Pittsburgh for nearly 50 years. Dr. Fu is survived by his wife of 47 years, Hilda Pang Fu, who shares her husband’s enduring community commitment, often witnessed partnering with him as well as leading her own projects.
September 24, 2021 12:55 pm
PHOENIX (AP) – A draft of the review of the vote count in Arizona’s largest county finds that President Joe Biden did win the county and state. The partisan review was conducted by supporters of former President Donald Trump who were hired by Arizona Senate Republicans. The full report is scheduled to be released Friday afternoon. The finding is the climax of the Senate GOP’s bizarre quest to find evidence supporting Trump’s false claim that he lost in Arizona because of fraud. Nearly every allegation made by the review team so far has crumbled under scrutiny. It’s still significant that the team’s own hand recount found Biden won.
September 24, 2021 4:17 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Legislation passed by the House on Friday would guarantee a woman’s right to an abortion. But it’s a largely symbolic gesture because Republican opposition will doom the measure in the Senate. The House vote is part of an effort by Democrats to circumvent a new Texas law that has placed that access under threat. Democrats say they’ll do all they can to codify the Supreme Court’s landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. They say abortion rights are under threat after the Supreme Court allowed a Texas law that would ban most abortions in the state to take effect.
September 24, 2021 4:16 am
DEL RIO, Texas (AP) – Federal and local officials say an encampment in a Texas border town where thousands of Haitian migrants gathered in recent days is now empty. Del Rio Mayor Bruno Lozano said at a news conference Friday that it was “phenomenal news” that all of the migrants had been moved. The number peaked Saturday as migrants driven by confusion over the Biden administration’s policies and misinformation on social media converged at the border crossing trying to seek asylum. Many face expulsion to their home country.
September 24, 2021 4:15 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – A House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol has subpoenaed four advisers and associates to former President Donald Trump who were in contact with him as hundreds of his followers violently broke into the building and tried to overturn his defeat. The subpoenas are for former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, former White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications Dan Scavino, former Defense Department official Kashyap Patel and former Trump adviser Stephen Bannon. The four men are among Trump’s most loyal aides.
September 24, 2021 4:14 am
UNDATED (AP) – Data from the CDC on the new K-12 school year bolster the agency’s recommendation for masks in schools and in-person classes. One study in two Arizona counties found coronavirus outbreaks were almost four times more common at public schools without mask mandates on the first day than at those that re-opened with a masking requirement. Another study found case rates in children and teens increased more in U.S. counties where public schools had no mask mandates than in those where schools had that requirement. These studies lacked data on other measures that could have influenced the results. A third study counted 1,801 coronavirus-related school closures through mid-September, most of them in the South. Still, 96% of U.S. public schools have remained open with in-person classes.
