Doctors Save Baby After Pregnant Woman Shot

November 12, 2020 2:14 am

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Philadelphia police say a woman who was nine months pregnant is in critical condition after she was shot, but doctors managed to save her baby. The shooting happened Wednesday in the city’s Kensington section. Family members told police the 39-year-old was standing in the front doorway when a gunshot rang out. Chief Inspector Scott Small says the woman suffered a single gunshot wound to her abdomen. She was taken to Temple University Hospital, where an emergency caesarean section was performed. Small says the baby survived. Small says the woman may have been hit by a stray bullet.

Vatican Report Leaves Many Shocked & Angry

November 11, 2020 3:41 pm

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) – Men who have made allegations of abuse by former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick expressed shock, outrage and anger after an internal Vatican report revealed the scale of what was known about the clergyman’s behavior and what was ignored. The internal investigation, released Tuesday, found that bishops, cardinals and popes downplayed or dismissed multiple reports of sexual misconduct by the now-90-year-old McCarrick. The men who say McCarrick abused them are demanding that the Vatican institute changes to ensure that nothing like what was described in the report can happen again. Groups that advocate for survivors of clergy sex abuse joined the calls for broader reforms.

Trump Declared Winner In Alaska

November 11, 2020 3:37 pm

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump has won the state of Alaska. The Republican nominee was awarded the state’s three electoral votes, pushing his Electoral College tally to 217. His Democratic opponent, Joe Biden, was declared the winner of the presidential election on Nov. 7 after flipping Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. Trump won those states in 2016. Biden has 290 electoral votes. The Associated Press has not called Georgia and North Carolina. Control of the Senate won’t be decided until the new year after Republicans won a seat in Alaska on Wednesday. Incumbent Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan defeated Al Gross, an independent running as a Democrat. Neither party can lock the Senate majority until January runoffs in Georgia.

Charleroi Council Taking Heat Over ‘Virtual’ Celebration

November 11, 2020 4:34 am

Officials in Charleroi Borough have taken some heat after their “Virtual Community Days” celebration featured a band that displayed a Confederate Flag on stage. At Tuesday’s council meeting, David Hunter, president of the Mon Valley NAACP, addressed council after he said residents contacted them about the event that took place on borough property and in the presence of borough officials back in October. Hunter said, “it sends a very bad message because that flag is a symbol of the Confederacy, slavery, and discrimination.” Council President, Mark Alterici, offered an apology on behalf of council and said the videos have since been removed from social media. It is estimated that 10-15 thousand viewers watched the virtual concerts due to the pandemic. The band, Six Gun Sally, is a local Southern/Classic Rock band. Both council and the NAACP say they want to work together to prevent issues like these from happening again and to address the lack of diversity among borough employees and regional police officers.

Biden Vows To ‘Get Right To Work’

November 11, 2020 4:08 am

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) – President-elect Joe Biden is promising that “we’re going to get right to work” and is downplaying concerns that President Donald Trump’s refusal to acknowledge his victory could undermine national security. Trump has blocked his Democratic rival from receiving the intelligence briefings traditionally shared with incoming presidents, according to someone with knowledge of the situation but not authorized to disclose private conversations. Asked Tuesday about the Republican resistance, Biden says it “does not change the dynamic at all in what we’re able to do.” He says additional intelligence briefings “would be useful,” but “we don’t see anything slowing us down.”

U.S Hits Record COVID-19 Hospitalizations Amid Surge

November 11, 2020 4:06 am

NEW YORK (AP) – The U.S. has hit a record number of coronavirus hospitalizations and surpassed 1 million new confirmed cases in just the first 10 days of November. The grim milestones Tuesday come amid a nationwide surge of infections that shows no signs of slowing. The new wave appears bigger and more widespread than the surges that happened in the spring and summer – and threatens to be worse. Deaths are climbing again, reaching an average of more than 930 a day. However, experts say medical and testing advances give them reason to believe the nation is better able to deal with the virus this time.

 

Democrats House Majority Likely To Shrink

November 11, 2020 4:04 am

WASHINGTON (AP) – Democrats have clinched two more years of controlling the House. But they’ll do it with a potentially razor-thin majority. That would mean a bittersweet finale to last week’s elections that’s leaving them divided and with scant margin for error for advancing their agenda. The Associated Press has determined that Democrats have now nailed down at least 218 seats in the 435-member chamber. They could still win several others when more votes are counted. But while they will control the House, they had expected to win perhaps 15 new seats until they were blindsided by a surge of Republican voters in districts around the country.

Trump’s Pleas For Money Are Misleading

November 11, 2020 4:03 am

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump’s campaign has been blasting out emails and text messages to supporters, raising money for an “election defense fund” to contest the outcome of last week’s election. But a close read of the fine print reveals the messages are misleading. Much of the money has instead paid down Trump’s campaign debt, replenished the Republican National Committee and, more recently, helped get Save America, a new political action committee Trump founded, off the ground. The unusual way the Trump campaign is divvying up the contributions has drawn scrutiny from election watchdogs, who say Trump and his family could financially benefit from the arrangement.

States Cite Smooth Election, Despite Trump’s Claims

November 11, 2020 4:02 am

ATLANTA (AP) – State officials and election experts say the 2020 election unfolded smoothly across the country and without any widespread irregularities. That’s a stark contrast to the baseless claims of fraud being leveled by President Donald Trump following his defeat. Election experts say the large increase in advance voting helped take pressure off Election Day operations. There were also no incidents of violence at the polls or voter intimidation. Trump has made numerous claims of fraud, though he has not provided evidence to back up those claims.

Postal Worker Admits Lying About Ballots

November 11, 2020 3:59 am

WASHINGTON, D.C. — (WPXI) -A postal worker, who acknowledged issues with Pennsylvania’s mail-in voting system, has admitted that he lied to U.S. Postal Service investigators. In an article published by The Washington Post, three officials briefed on the investigation say the postal employee, Richard Hopkins, fabricated his story. Hopkins claimed that the Erie postmaster instructed employees to backdate ballots mailed after Election Day. This claim was cited in an official letter to the Justice Department by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) as he was asking for a federal investigation into Tuesday’s election results. But, according to The Washington Post, Hopkins told the U.S. Postal Service’s inspector general that the story was not true and signed an affidavit — reversing his claims. Hopkins did post a video on YouTube saying he did not recant his statement. Erie’s postmaster has denied Hopkins’ allegations and cited the employee’s disciplinary record as a reason for his statement. According to the article, Hopkins was walked out of the post office on Monday and told not to come back until the investigation was complete.