December 23, 2020 4:06 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump is threatening to torpedo Congress’ massive pandemic relief package in the midst of a raging pandemic and deep economic uncertainty. He’s suddenly demanding changes fellow Republicans have opposed, like a huge jump in the $600 payments planned for most Americans. Trump assailed the bipartisan $900 billion package in a video he tweeted out Tuesday night, and suggested he may not sign it. He said the bill would deliver too much money to foreign countries, but not enough to Americans. The House and Senate cleared the package by lopsided votes, enough to override a veto should Trump decide to take that step.
December 23, 2020 4:03 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Gov. Tom Wolf is giving a mixed review of Congress’ newly passed pandemic relief package, as Philadelphia extended its coronavirus restrictions affecting indoor dining, in-person instruction at colleges and other activities. Also Tuesday, the state Department of Health reported 231 new deaths caused by the coronavirus, as hospitalizations continue to rise. Wolf says the $900 billion in federal aid will provide vital support for people, small businesses and efforts to combat the virus. But, he says it lacks direct aid to state and local governments trying to prop up crucial services, while more aid is needed for a hard-hit service industry and for individuals and families.
December 23, 2020 4:02 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court says police must have probable cause as well as “exigent circumstances” in order to legally search a vehicle without a warrant. The divided court ruling Tuesday was based on an analysis that the state constitution’s privacy protections are greater than the U.S. Constitution’s. The court overruled its own 2014 decision that probable cause alone was sufficient, given that vehicles are inherently mobile. Four Democrats voted for the more rigorous search standard, while the court’s two Republicans and one Democrat dissented. The dissenters argued the 2014 ruling should remain in place.
December 23, 2020 4:00 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – Police are investigating a scene in Brighton Heights where a man’s body was found wrapped in plastic on the front steps of a duplex. Officers were at the home on California Avenue in connection with a missing person’s case. When they got there, they discovered the body. “When officers arrive to the door they noticed an object wrapped in plastic near the front door,” said Pittsburgh Public Safety Public Information Officer Maurice Matthews. “Officers looked and discovered it was a deceased body. Officers then did a protective sweep inside of the house where they found a woman hiding in the basement.” The woman was taken into custody for questioning. Police would not say which missing person case led them to the home on California Avenue, or if they think the body was brought to the home after the man died or was wrapped in plastic at the home. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office is investigating.
December 23, 2020 2:45 am
The Washington Health System received their first shipment of the Pfizer corona virus vaccine on Monday. At 7 a.m. Tuesday they administered their first dose. The first person to receive the vaccine was Joseph (J.T.) Sciascia. He is the nurse manager of the Washington Hospital Emergency Department. As of 2 p.m. J.T. said he was feeling great. He also said that “it is an honor to be a small part of history and experience the advances of modern medicine first hand.”
December 22, 2020 9:25 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Two election technology companies whose names have come up in the Trump campaign’s false charges of widespread voter fraud in the presidential election are fighting back – and that has prompted unusual public statements from Fox News and Newsmax. The statements aired over the weekend and Monday, after Smartmatic and Dominion raised the prospect of legal action for reporting what they said was false information about them. Both companies were referenced in the campaign’s suggestion that vote counts in swing states were manipulated to the advantage of President-elect Joe Biden, although no evidence was offered to support the charges.
December 22, 2020 4:17 am
TORONTO (AP) – Ontario is announcing a province-wide shutdown because of a second wave of COVID-19 in Canada’s most populous province. The lockdown will be put in place for southern Ontario from Dec. 26 until Jan. 23, but will lift for northern Ontario on Jan. 9. Health officials are criticizing the delay, with top one infectious disease doctor saying it is ridiculous to wait wait until the day after Christmas to shut down. Ontario has had seven straight days of more than 2,000 cases a day. All high schools in Ontario will now be closed for in person learning until Jan. 25. Elementary schools will be closed until Jan. 11.
December 22, 2020 4:15 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump continues to focus on futile efforts to overturn the results of the Nov. 3 election, playing host Monday to the most conservative flank of his Republican supporters in the House. Trump met with the lawmakers to discuss their strategy for the key date of Jan. 6. That’s the day when Congress takes the final step in reaffirming Joe Biden’s presidential victory. An Alabama Republican, congressman Mo Brooks, says he organized the session with about a dozen House Republicans willing to challenge the results in several key states. Despite their efforts, Biden will be sworn in as president on Jan. 20.
December 22, 2020 4:14 am
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – California is desperately searching for nurses, doctors and other medical staff, perhaps from as far away as Australia, as the coronavirus surge pushes hospitals to the breaking point. With many of the state’s hospitals running out of capacity to treat the severest cases, the state has brought in and deployed more than 500 temporary medical staff members, but it needs a total of 3,000. The staffing shortage in California comes as a surge of COVID-19 cases across the U.S. has led to a nationwide demand for contracted medical workers, particularly nurses with critical care expertise.
December 22, 2020 4:12 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Dozens of email accounts at the Treasury Department were compromised in the massive breach of U.S. government agencies being blamed on Russia. That’s according to an Oregon Democrat, Sen. Ron Wyden, who says hackers broke into systems used by the department’s highest-ranking officials. Wyden issued a statement Monday after he and other members of the Senate Finance Committee were briefed by the IRS and the Treasury Department. Wyden says that though there is no indication that taxpayer data was compromised, the hack “appears to be significant.”
