January 18, 2021 4:24 am
BEIJING (AP) – Chinese state media say 12 out of 22 workers trapped for a week after an explosion in a gold mine are alive. The Xinhua News Agency said a note passed through a rescue shaft Sunday night said the fate of the other ten remains unknown. The handwritten note said four of the workers were injured and that the condition of others was deteriorating because of a lack of fresh air and an influx of water. The mine in Shandong province had been under construction at the time of the blast on Jan. 10. Managers of the mine were detained after they failed to report the accident for more than a day in violation of safety regulations.
January 18, 2021 4:23 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. defense officials say they are worried about an insider attack or other threat from service members involved in securing President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration. That concern is prompting the FBI to vet all 25,000 National Guard troops coming into Washington for the event. The massive undertaking reflects the extraordinary security concerns that have gripped Washington following the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol by pro-Trump rioters. And it underscores fears that some of the very people assigned to protect the city over the next several days could present a threat to the incoming president and other VIPs in attendance.
January 18, 2021 4:17 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – A federal prosecutors says no criminal charges will be filed against a temporary elections worker authorities have said mistakenly discarded nine military ballots ahead of the November presidential election. Officials have previously blamed the decision to toss out the ballots on an unidentified and improperly trained contract worker. The ballots were later retrieved from the trash and were counted with other mailed ballots after the Nov. 3 election. President Donald Trump repeatedly brought up the nine ballots as he pressed groundless claims of election fraud.
January 18, 2021 4:16 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania is doubling the number of National Guard members it’s sending to help secure Washington after the violent riot last week in which angry supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol. Gov. Tom Wolf announced Friday he’s sending about 1,000 more to help with the inauguration of Democrat Joe Biden on Wednesday. He’s previously deployed about 1,000 to Washington. Wolf has also called up about 450 Guard members to protect the Pennsylvania Capitol in Harrisburg and other possible targets of unrest. The FBI has warned of the potential for armed Trump supporters to cause trouble at state capitols.
January 18, 2021 4:15 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – A Pennsylvania state senator stricken with brain cancer has died. Republican Sen. Dave Arnold of Lebanon County died Sunday at home with his wife and daughter by his side, his family said in a statement. Arnold was 49. After serving 14 years as Lebanon County’s district attorney, Arnold ran for and won the state Senate seat in a special election in January 2020. During the campaign, he announced that he had undergone surgery to remove a brain tumor.
January 17, 2021 8:08 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) — True to form, Betty White has something impish to say about her birthday Sunday. “Since I am turning 99, I can stay up as late as I want without asking permission!” she told The Associated Press in an email. White’s low-key plans include feeding a pair of ducks that regularly visit her Los Angeles-area home. Her birthday meal will be a hot dog and French fries brought in — along with a bouquet of roses — by her longtime friend and agent, Jeff Witjas. The actor’s TV credits stretch from 1949’s “Hollywood on Television” to a 2019 voice role in “Forky Asks a Question,” with “The Golden Girls” and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” among the enduring highlights. In January alone, White is on screen in reruns including “The Golden Girls” and “Hot in Cleveland”; the 2009 Sandra Bullock movie “The Proposal,” and the 2018 documentary “Betty White: First Lady of Television,” about her life and career.
January 17, 2021 8:06 am
Police have arrested a man with a handgun and 500 rounds of ammunition at a checkpoint in Washington set up ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration. Wesley Allen Beeler of Front Royal, Virginia, was charged with carrying a pistol without a license after being stopped at the checkpoint near the U.S. Capitol on Friday. Court documents say Beeler approached the checkpoint but did not have a valid credential for that area. Separately, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press he had a valid credential for inaugural events, though it was not issued by the government and was not recognized by the officers. The official was not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. Court documents say an officer noticed Beeler had “firearms-related stickers” on his vehicle and asked him if he had any weapons inside. The papers say Beeler told the officers he had a handgun under the armrest and police detained him at the scene. They searched Beeler’s car and found a high-capacity magazine in the 9mm handgun, along with more than 500 rounds of ammunition in the vehicle. Authorities said he didn’t have a license to carry the gun in Washington.
January 17, 2021 8:03 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — In his first hours as president, Joe Biden plans to take executive action to roll back some of the most controversial decisions of his predecessor and to address the raging coronavirus pandemic, his incoming chief of staff said Saturday. The opening salvo would herald a 10-day blitz of executive actions as Biden seeks to act swiftly to redirect the country in the wake of Donald Trump’s presidency without waiting for Congress. On Wednesday, following his inauguration, Biden will end Trump’s restriction on immigration to the U.S. from some Muslim-majority countries, move to rejoin the Paris climate accord and mandate mask-wearing on federal property and during interstate travel. Those are among roughly a dozen actions Biden will take on his first day in the White House, his incoming chief of staff, Ron Klain, said in a memo to senior staff. Other actions include extending the pause on student loan payments and actions meant to prevent evictions and foreclosures for those struggling during the pandemic.
January 17, 2021 8:01 am
The threat of extremist groups descending on state capitals in a series of demonstrations Sunday prompted governors to roll out a massive show of force and implement tight security measures at statehouses across the country. Fencing, boarded-up windows and lines of police and National Guard troops have transformed statehouse grounds ahead of expected demonstrations leading up to President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on Wednesday. The stepped-up security measures were intended to safeguard seats of government from the type of violence that occurred at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, when a mob supporting President Donald Trump overran the building while Congress was certifying the Electoral College vote. The FBI has warned of the potential for armed protests at the nation’s Capitol and all 50 state capitol buildings beginning this weekend. Some social media messages had targeted Sunday for demonstrations, though it remained unclear how many people might show up.
January 17, 2021 7:55 am
ROSTRAVER TOWNSHIP, Pa. (WPXI) — Crews from more than six departments rushed to put out a fire at a vacant home in Rostraver Township. When firefighters arrived, they found flames coming from the windows and through the roof. No injuries were reported. The crews were on the scene for about three hours getting the fire under control. The cause is still under investigation.
