March 20, 2021 9:22 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Biden administration is facing growing questions about why it wasn’t more prepared for an influx of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. The administration is scrambling to build up capacity to care for 14,000 young undocumented migrants now in federal custody, and more are likely on the way. Immigration experts say the predicament was predictable. Biden administration officials blame the Trump administration for making a mess of the immigration system. Border patrol officials have encountered more than 29,000 unaccompanied minors since Oct. 1, nearly the same number of youths taken into custody for all of the previous budget year.
March 20, 2021 4:51 am
Four men described by prosecutors as leaders of the far-right Proud Boys have been indicted on charges that they planned and carried out a coordinated attack on the U.S. Capitol to stop Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s electoral victory. A federal indictment ordered unsealed Friday presents new evidence of how federal officials believe group members planned and carried out the Jan. 6 attack. It says more than 60 people used an encrypted messaging channel to communicate when they joined the mob that attacked the Capitol. With the new indictment, at least 19 Proud Boys leaders, members or associates have been charged with federal offenses related to the riots.
March 20, 2021 4:49 am
ATLANTA (AP) – President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are offering solace to Asian Americans and a reeling nation as they visit Atlanta just days after a white gunman killed eight people, most of them Asian American women. Biden and Harris addressed the nation after a roughly 80-minute meeting with Asian American state legislators and other leaders. The president says it was “heart-wrenching” to listen to their stories of the fear among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders amid what he called a “skyrocketing spike” of harassment and violence against them. The visit had added resonance with the presence of Harris, the first person of South Asian descent to hold national office.
March 20, 2021 4:48 am
BERGAMO, Italy (AP) – While Italy is better managing its latest coronavirus surge, one thing that hasn’t changed is that those who are dying are predominantly elderly. Promises to vaccinate all Italians over 80 by the end of March have fallen woefully short, amid well-documented interruptions of vaccine supplies and organizational shortfalls. Just one third of Italy’s 7.3 million vaccine doses administered so far have gone to those over 80, with more than half of them still waiting for the first jab. The new government of Premier Mario Draghi has pledged to accelerate the vaccination campaign. It is aiming to vaccinate 80% of the population by September.
March 20, 2021 4:45 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Lou Barletta, the former congressman who unsuccessfully challenged U.S. Sen. Bob Casey in 2018, says he’ll make a decision in the next few weeks on whether to seek the Republican nomination for governor of Pennsylvania in 2022. Barletta said Friday that he felt the pull of running for office again during the pandemic and seeing the hardship of business owners and people losing their jobs. Meanwhile, a spokesperson says a second-term Republican state senator from Erie County, Dan Laughlin, is also considering running. The office is open since Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf is term-limited. Attorney General Josh Shapiro is widely expected to seek the Democratic nomination.
March 20, 2021 4:43 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – This past autumn, the lights went out for good at The Rex Theater, one of Pittsburgh’s most-beloved rock clubs. Like many independent venues across the United States, the South Side stage fell silent earlier in 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic shuttered the live music industry without warning. But on Sept. 22, The Rex announced it would not reopen, joining other sites that have shut their doors for good. The coronavirus pandemic has hit the live music scene hard nationwide, and for musicians, the choices have been to either take an extended break or innovate.
March 20, 2021 4:40 am
UNDATED (AP) – U.S. health officials are relaxing social distancing recommendations for schools, saying students can sit as close as 3 feet apart in classrooms. The CDC guidelines signal the agency’s turn away from the 6-foot distancing recommendation. The new guidelines advise at least 3 feet of space between desks in elementary schools, even in towns and cities where community spread is high, so long as students and teachers wear masks and take other precautions. It recommends 3 feet in middle and high schools, so long as there’s not a high level of spread in the community. If there is, spacing should be at least 6 feet. The CDC says 6 feet should still be maintained in common areas, such as school lobbies, and when masks can’t be worn, such as when eating.
March 19, 2021 9:50 am
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – A judge has denied a defense request to delay or move the trial of a former Minneapolis police officer charged in George Floyd’s death after a $27 million settlement for Floyd’s family raised concern about a tainted jury. Jury selection was halfway complete last week in former officer Derek Chauvin’s trial when the city of Minneapolis unanimously approved the payout to settle a civil lawsuit over Floyd’s death. Chauvin’s attorney, Eric Nelson, called the timing of the settlement deeply disturbing and unfair, and said it jeopardized Chauvin’s chance for a fair trial. Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill had called the timing “unfortunate” but declined to delay the trial.
March 19, 2021 4:18 am
A new mother and an Army veteran who installed security systems are among eight people killed by a gunman who opened fire at three massage parlors in the Atlanta area. Family members say 33-year-old Delaina Yaun went to Youngs Asian Massage Parlor on Tuesday to get a rare break from caring for her 8-month-old daughter. A brother of 54-year-old Paul Michels says he was considering a change of careers after doing electrical work for more than 25 years. John Michels says his brother was considering opening a spa of his own. Police have not released the names of all the victims.
March 19, 2021 4:17 am
McALLEN, Texas (AP) – A former camp for oil field workers that is now housing immigrant teenagers has emerged as a trouble spot in the Biden administration’s response to growing numbers of children arriving at the border. The U.S. government has stopped taking immigrant teenagers to the converted camp amid questions about the safety of emergency sites it is setting up in border states. The Associated Press has learned that the converted camp has been plagued by multiple issues just five days after the Biden administration opened it amid a scramble to find space for immigrant children.
