January 12, 2021 2:50 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – A Republican candidate lost her latest legal challenge after asking a federal judge to effectively overturn a close race for a western Pennsylvania state Senate seat. U.S. District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan was under pressure to settle a fight that spilled onto the floor of the state Senate last week when majority Republicans refused to let state Sen. Jim Brewster of Allegheny County be sworn in. Ranjan rejected the argument by Republican challenger Nicole Ziccarelli that Allegheny County was not justified in counting 311 mail-in ballots without a handwritten date. The county’s decision had been upheld by the state Supreme Court. Those ballots helped deliver a 69-vote victory to Brewster. (Photo: WPXI)
January 11, 2021 2:56 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – The FBI is warning of plans for armed protests at all 50 state capitals and in Washington leading up to President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration. The warning comes just days after the bloodshed during last week’s deadly siege at the U.S. Capitol. An internal FBI bulletin warned that, as of Sunday, the nationwide protests may start later this week and extend through Biden’s Jan. 20 inauguration, Two law enforcement officials read details of the memo to The Associated Press. The officials were not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity. The officials said investigators believe some of the people are members of some extremist groups. (Photo: AP)
January 11, 2021 4:29 am
GENEVA (AP) – The World Health Organization’s chief scientist has warned that even as numerous countries start rolling out vaccination programs to stop COVID-19, herd immunity is highly unlikely this year. At a media briefing on Monday, Dr. Soumya Swaminathan said it was critical countries maintain strict social distancing measures for the foreseeable future. Even as countries including Britain, France, Canada and the U.S. begin vaccinating against COVID-19, Swaminathan said “we’re not going to achieve any levels” of herd immunity this year. WHO said the recent surge in COVID-19 was due largely to people mixing more, not the new variants.
January 11, 2021 4:28 am
Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is comparing the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol to the Nazis. In a video posted Sunday on social media, Schwarzenegger said the mob last week “trampled the very principles on which our country was founded.” But he said America’s Constitution will not be overthrown. The actor-turned-politician also called President Donald Trump a failed leader who “will go down in history as the worst president ever.” Schwarzenegger called for national unity and vowed his support for President-elect Joe Biden.
January 11, 2021 4:24 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump is ordering the U.S. flag to be flown at half-staff at federal buildings for the next several days. It’s a sign of respect for two U.S. Capitol Police officers who have died since last Wednesday’s violent protests at the Capitol, as well as all members of law enforcement across the nation. The proclamation makes no mention of the rioting at the Capitol. Capitol Police Officer Brian D. Sicknick died after being attacked by rioters. The connection of Officer Howard Liebengood’s death to the riots was unclear, and people familiar with the matter say the officer’s death was an apparent suicide.
January 11, 2021 4:23 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser is seeking increased security around President-elect Joe Biden’s Jan. 20 inauguration in the wake of the mob insurrection at the Capitol. Bowser says in a letter to Chad Wolf, the acting secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, that the security around the inauguration needs a different approach given last week’s mob action. She is asking that the security period around the inauguration last from Monday until Jan. 24 and that all permits for demonstrations be denied during that period. Bowser cited “new threats from insurgent acts of domestic terrorists” in her letter. D.C. does not have jurisdiction over the Capitol and other federal property within its borders.
January 11, 2021 4:17 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Impeachment pressure mounting, the House is working swiftly to try to oust President Donald Trump from office. Democrats are pushing the vice president and Cabinet to invoke constitutional authority to remove Trump from office. A resolution calling on Pence to do so was blocked Monday by Republicans. But more votes are expected Tuesday, with an impeachment vote Wednesday. Trump faces a single charge – “incitement of insurrection” – over the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol. That’s according to a draft of the articles obtained by The Associated Press. Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the House will proceed with legislation to impeach Trump if Pence doesn’t help. áTrump is set to leave Jan. 20 when Democrat Joe Biden is inaugurated.
January 11, 2021 4:14 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – A Port Authority bus driver has been placed on probation for three years after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the death of a University of Pittsburgh student struck by the bus she was driving a year ago. Thirty-four-year-old Shavonne James also pleaded guilty Monday in Allegheny County Court to recklessly endangering another person in the death of 20-year-old Barbara Como of Chester Springs. Other charges of reckless driving, failure to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks and operating an improperly equipped vehicle were withdrawn. Authorities said James was driving in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood in January 2020 when she turned and hit Como, a senior studying anthropology and psychology.
January 11, 2021 4:13 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The violent mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol last week was overwhelmingly made up of longtime Trump supporters. The Associated Press reviewed social media posts, voter registrations, court files and other public records for more than 120 people connected to the rioting. They include Republican Party officials, GOP political donors, far-right militants, white supremacists and adherents of the QAnon conspiracy theory. The evidence gives lie to claims that the violence at the Capitol was perpetrated by left-wing antifa thugs rather than supporters of the president. An FBI official says investigators have seen “no indication” antifa activists were disguised as Trump supporters during the Capitol riot.
January 11, 2021 4:11 am
BETHLEHEM, Pa. (AP) – Lehigh University’s board is stripping President Donald Trump of an honorary degree it granted to him more than three decades ago. The executive committee of the private university in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, moved to rescind the 1988 honor a day after a violent mob stormed the U.S. Capitol shortly after Trump made a speech nearby. The Lehigh Board of Trustees affirmed that decision on Friday but didn’t elaborate on its reasoning. Wagner College in Staten Island, New York, said Friday it also rescinded an honorary degree it gave Trump in 2004.
