February 14, 2021 4:31 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump was acquitted Saturday of inciting the horrific attack on the U.S. Capitol, concluding a historic impeachment trial that spared him the first-ever conviction of a U.S. president but exposed the fragility of America’s democratic traditions and left a divided nation to come to terms with the violence sparked by his defeated presidency. Barely a month since the deadly Jan. 6 riot that stunned the world, the Senate convened for a rare weekend session to deliver its verdict, voting while armed National Guard troops continued to stand their posts outside the iconic building. The quick trial, the nation’s first of a former president, showed how perilously close the invaders had come to destroying the nation’s deep tradition of a peaceful transfer of presidential power after Trump had refused to concede the election. Rallying outside the White House, he unleashed a mob of supporters to “fight like hell” for him at the Capitol just as Congress was certify Democrat Joe Biden’s victory. As hundreds stormed the building, some in tactical gear engaging in bloody combat with police, lawmakers fled for their lives. Five people died. The verdict, on a vote of 57-43, is all but certain to influence not only the former president’s political future but that of the senators sworn to deliver impartial justice as jurors. Seven Republicans joined all Democrats to convict, but it was far from the two-third threshold required.
Trump, unrepentant, welcomed the his second impeachment acquittal and said his movement “has only just begun.” He slammed the trial as “yet another phase of the greatest witch hunt in the history of our Country.”
Though he was acquitted of the sole charge of incitement of insurrection, it was easily the largest number of senators to ever vote to find a president of their own party guilty of an impeachment count of high crimes and misdemeanors.
Voting to find Trump guilty were GOP Sens. Richard Burr of North Carolina, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mitt Romney of Utah, Ben Sasse of Nebraska and Patrick Toomey of Pennsylvania.
February 14, 2021 4:09 am
The Pennsylvania Department of Health says it’s taking steps to improve the state’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout. The Health Department on Friday ordered vaccine providers to get shots into arms more quickly, offer more convenient scheduling and make sure that shots are only going to people currently eligible to receive them. Providers that don’t comply with the order will have their allotments reduced or suspended. The Health Department says it’s taking action in response to widespread frustrations among Pennsylvania residents about how difficult it can be to secure an appointment.
February 14, 2021 4:04 am
The City of Washington Fire Department was called to Central Avenue at 9:18 PM Friday night. When firefighters arrived they found a fully engulfed home at 37 Central Avenue. Firefighters found a victim 75-year-old Karen Elizabeth Campbell trapped in the home. Campbell was pronounced dead at the scene. Washington Fire Chief Gerry Coleman states that her son was her caregiver and lived just a few doors away. He had put her to bed for the night and left for a short shopping trip. He returned home to find the home on fire. The victim’s cause of death is pending an autopsy. City firefighters were assisted by fire departments from North Strabane, South Strabane and Canton Townships. Ambulance and Chair Service was also on the scene. The fire is still under investigation by the Pennsylvania State Police Fire Marshall.
February 13, 2021 9:31 am
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) – Iranian state TV reports that a fuel tanker has exploded at the Islam Qaleh crossing in Afghanistan’s western Herat province on the Iranian border. Several trucks were engulfed in flames after the explosion Saturday, the report said. It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the explosion and there were no immediate reports of casualties. Fire spread to the Dogharoon customs facilities on the Iran side and first responders, including the fire department, the Iranian army and border forces were assisting in extinguishing the blaze.
February 13, 2021 9:23 am
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) – Police say a suicide bomber died and seven civilians were wounded when a vehicle exploded near a checkpoint outside the presidential palace in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu. A police spokesman says the driver defied orders to stop on Saturday morning, and police opened fire as passersby ran for their lives. He says more than a dozen vehicles were destroyed in the blast. The bombing occurred as Somali politicians argue over how to hold a delayed national election once set for Feb. 8. Some argue that the president has overstayed his mandate. The al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab extremist group has threatened to attack the polls.
February 13, 2021 9:22 am
The University of Oxford plans to test its COVID-19 vaccine in children for the first time. The trial announced Saturday seeks to recruit 300 volunteers between the ages of 6 and 17, with up to 240 receiving the COVID-19 vaccine and the remainder a control meningitis vaccine. Andrew Pollard, chief researcher on the Oxford vaccine trial, says that while most children don’t get severely ill from COVID-19, the testing should be done as some children may benefit from vaccination. Regulators in more than 50 countries have authorized use of the Oxford vaccine, which is being produced and distributed by AstraZeneca, for use in people over the age of 18.
February 13, 2021 4:11 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – The state Senate’s ranking member says Pennsylvania may need to postpone its primary election next year because of late-arriving data from the U.S. Census Bureau that’s necessary to redraw legislative and congressional districts. Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman said Friday said it’ll be difficult to redraw district boundaries quickly enough to give would-be candidates time to make decisions about running. Next year’s primary election in Pennsylvania is scheduled for May 17, 2022. The state House and Senate will hold a joint committee hearing Wednesday on the impact of the delay. The U.S. Census Bureau said Friday it won’t deliver the data until the end of September. Officials blamed operational delays caused by the pandemic.
February 12, 2021 4:48 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – With Valentine’s Day coming, romance is in the air. The ongoing pandemic, however, has made dating even harder, leading many to turn to dating apps and websites to find someone special. A Washington County woman recently used a dating site and had more than her heart broken. State troopers said the victim was a victim of “catfishing” and was scammed out of $620,000. “She was talking to some military men online. Met on Facebook. They just took somebody’s picture and posed as them and here they were from Nigeria,” said Nadine Voelker. Voelker also has a friend who was scammed out of her hard earned money, too. Officials with the FBI office in Pittsburgh said last year, more than 5,700 people in western Pennsylvania were affected by romance scams. That’s 2,100 more than the year before. The total losses were about $20 million. The agency is warning people ahead of Valentine’s Day that criminals are using dating sites to build relationships and scam you out of your money. To avoid becoming a victim, the FBI recommends not giving away your financial information and don’t loan money out. Only use well-known dating sites and apps. Research photos and profiles and ask questions because scammers often create fake accounts. If you plan to meet someone in person, meet in a public place and let someone know where you are.
February 12, 2021 4:26 am
(AP) – The nation’s top public health agency says in-person schooling can be done safely with mask use, social distancing and other strategies, but vaccination of teachers, while important, is not a prerequisite for reopening. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday released its long-awaited roadmap for getting students back to classrooms in the middle of a pandemic. But its guidance is just that – the agency cannot force schools to reopen, and agency officials were careful to say they are not calling for a mandate that all U.S. schools be reopened.
February 12, 2021 4:24 am
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ripped into the performance of his Cabinet and fired a senior economic official he appointed a month ago, saying they’d failed to come up with new ideas to salvage an economy in decay. The report by state media on Friday comes during the toughest period of Kim’s nine-year rule. The diplomacy he had hoped would lift U.S.-led sanctions over his nuclear program is stalemated, and pandemic border closures and crop-killing natural disasters last year deepened the damage to an economy broken by decades of policy failures. Some analysts say the current challenges may set up conditions for an economic catastrophe that destabilizes markets and triggers public panic and unrest.
