May 3, 2021 4:27 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The United States and Iran are in active talks over the release of prisoners, but Washington is denying a report by Iranian state-run television that deals had been struck. Prisoner swaps between the U.S. and Iran are not uncommon and both countries in recent years have routinely sought the release of detainees. But any movement between the two countries is particularly sensitive as the Biden administration looks to restart nuclear talks. The issue burst into public view with a report in Iran of a deal for the Islamic Republic to release U.S. and British prisoners in exchange for Tehran receiving billions of dollars.
May 3, 2021 4:26 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden is formally raising the nation’s cap on refugee admissions to 62,500 this year. The move comes weeks after Biden faced bipartisan blowback for his delay in replacing the record-low ceiling of 15,000 set by former President Donald Trump. Biden last month moved to expand the eligibility criteria for resettlements, removing one roadblock to refugees entering the U.S., but he initially stopped short of lifting the annual cap. But Biden faced sharp pushback and swiftly reversed course. Biden says the previous limit “did not reflect America’s values as a nation that welcomes and supports refugees.”
May 3, 2021 4:23 am
ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. (AP) – The funeral for Andrew Brown Jr., a Black man shot and killed by deputies in North Carolina, brought calls for justice from the Rev. Al Sharpton and attorneys for the family. Sharpton delivered a fiery eulogy that likened delays in the release of law enforcement footage to a con job done on the public at the service Monday in a church in Elizabeth City. Other speakers included civil rights attorney Ben Crump and the Rev. William Barber II, who leads the Poor People’s campaign. The 42-year-old Brown was shot and killed on April 21 by deputies attempting to serve drug-related search and arrest warrants. His death sparked days of protests in the city in rural northeastern North Carolina. (Photo: CNN)
May 3, 2021 4:22 am
SAN RAMON, Calif. (AP) – Apple’s lucrative app store was alternately portrayed as a price-gouging monopoly and a hub of world-changing innovation during the preamble to a trial that may reshape the technological landscape. The contrasting portraits were drawn on Monday as lawyers for Apple and its foe, Epic Games, outlined their cases in an Oakland, California, federal court. While Apple depicted its app store as an invaluable service beloved by consumers and developers alike, Epic Games attacked it as a breakthrough idea that has morphed into an instrument of financial exploitation that illegally locks out competition. The trial revolves around the 15% to 30% commission that Apple collects on in-app purchases.
May 3, 2021 4:19 am
PITTSBURGH — You can now go into any Rite Aid store in Pennsylvania and get a Covid-19 vaccination. Rite Aid is expanding Covid-19 vaccines to all 2,500 stores in 17 states, including Pennsylvania. Pharmacists are administering the Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. Scheduling an appointment in advance is recommended to reduce wait time, however, walk-in vaccinations are available on a limited basis in every store. If you’d like to schedule an appointment— you can do that on the Rite Aid website.
May 3, 2021 4:14 am
(AP) – Republican state lawmakers say Pennsylvania should immediately terminate the no-bid state contract of a company that performed COVID-19 contact tracing and exposed the private medical information of tens of thousands of residents. GOP leaders on Monday also called for state and federal probes into the Atlanta-based contractor’s mishandling of the data, and what they said was the slow response by the Wolf administration. Employees of Insight Global used unauthorized Google accounts to store names, phone numbers, email addresses, COVID-19 exposure status, sexual orientations and other information about residents who had been reached for contact tracing. The company’s contract with the state required it safeguard people’s data.
May 3, 2021 4:13 am
CLAIRTON, Pa. — (WPXI) – A Clairton family is searching for answers after their step-father was trying to deliver pizza Saturday night. Steve Linn, 64, is in the hospital after being beaten. His step-son Keith says he was helping out and was taking a while to get back to the pizza shop. So they tried to call him and eventually they got a call back from first responders saying there was a crime scene on North Third in Clairton. Keith rushed over, and after seeing his dad, he’s convinced this wasn’t just a robbery. Keith said that his step-dad is now on life support. He says his step-dad was driving a red sedan at the time of the attack. “Right now he’s in a coma, he’s not responding, he has breathing tubes, we’re hoping he makes it through,” Keith explained. The family said that they’re offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.
May 2, 2021 7:46 am
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea on Sunday warned the United States will face “a very grave situation” because President Joe Biden “made a big blunder” in his recent speech by calling the North a security threat and revealing his intent to maintain a hostile policy against it. Last week, Biden, in his first address to Congress, called North Korea and Iran’s nuclear programs “serious threats” to American and world security and said he’ll work with allies to address those problems through diplomacy and stern deterrence. “His statement clearly reflects his intent to keep enforcing the hostile policy toward the DPRK as it had been done by the U.S. for over half a century,” Kwon Jong Gun, a senior North Korean Foreign Ministry official, said in a statement. DPRK stands for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the North’s official name. “It is certain that the U.S. chief executive made a big blunder in the light of the present-day viewpoint,” Kwon said. “Now that the keynote of the U.S. new DPRK policy has become clear, we will be compelled to press for corresponding measures, and with time the U.S. will find itself in a very grave situation.” Kwon still didn’t specify what steps North Korea would take, and his statement could be seen as an effort to apply pressure on the Biden administration as it’s shaping up its North Korea policy.
May 2, 2021 7:43 am
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Republican Susan Wright of Texas, the widow of the first member of Congress to die after contracting COVID-19, advanced to a U.S. House runoff for her late husband’s seat Saturday night. But who she will face remained too early to call. With nearly all votes counted, Republican Jake Ellzey led Democrat Jana Lynne Sanchez by 354 votes in the race for the second runoff spot in Texas’ 6th Congressional District, which has long been GOP territory. Ellzey is a state lawmaker who narrowly lost the GOP nomination for the seat in 2018 and carried the backing of former Texas Gov. Rick Perry. It is the second time Sanchez has run for the seat after losing to Ron Wright in 2018. The date of the runoff has not yet been announced. Just weeks into his second term, Rep. Ron Wright died in February after being diagnosed with COVID-19. He was 67 and had also been battling lung cancer. Susan Wright, a GOP activist, was quickly seen as a favorite after entering the race and was endorsed by former President Donald Trump days before the election. She led with more than 19% of the vote.
May 2, 2021 7:41 am
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah Republicans booed Sen. Mitt Romney but ultimately rejected a motion to censure him Saturday for his votes at President Donald Trump’s impeachment trials. The measure narrowly failed, 798 to 711, in a vote by delegates to the state GOP convention, The Salt Lake Tribune reported. Romney drew heavy boos when he came to the podium earlier in the day. Davis County delegate Don Guymon, who authored the resolution, said Romney’s votes to remove Trump from office “hurt the Constitution and hurt the party.” “This was a process driven by Democrats who hated Trump,” Guymon said. “Romney’s vote in the first impeachment emboldened Democrats who continued to harass Trump.” The proposal, among several platform changes debated Saturday, also sought to praise the other members of Utah’s congressional delegation for their support of the former president.
