January 21, 2021 4:21 am
BEIJING (AP) – Chinese state media say a worker trapped in a gold mine for more than a week has died as rescuers are trying to clear debris and improve ventilation to save 21 others. Cages, skips and other debris blocked the mine’s main shaft after the explosion. Rescuers are drilling other shafts for communication, ventilation and possibly to lift trapped workers to the surface. Rescuers have been in contact with 11 workers trapped in one chamber and have delivered food. The worker who died had a head injury, and two others in that chamber are in poor health. Another worker was reportedly alive in a nearby chamber, but the fate of another 10 is unknown.
January 21, 2021 4:18 am
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – California says it’s safe to resume using a batch of coronavirus vaccine after some people fell ill and a halt to injections was recommended. Wednesday’s decision frees up more than 300,000 doses to counties, cities and hospitals struggling to obtain supplies. The state Department of Public Health on Sunday urged a pause in using a specific lot of the Moderna vaccine. That came after fewer than 10 people had possible allergic reactions after receiving shots at a San Diego vaccination site. But the state’s epidemiologist says a safety review found “no scientific basis to continue the pause” and shots can resume immediately.
January 21, 2021 4:16 am
MENDON, N.Y. (AP) – Three National Guard members on a routine training flight have been killed in a helicopter crash in a western New York town. The craft, a UH-60 Black Hawk medical evacuation helicopter, crashed around 6:30 p.m. Wednesday in Mendon, New York, a rural town south of Rochester. Eric Durr, public affairs director of the New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs, says it flew out of the Army Aviation Support Facility at Rochester International Airport, and was assigned to C Company of the 1st Battalion, 171st General Support Aviation Battalion. The circumstances were under investigation.
January 21, 2021 4:15 am
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Police say a group of about 150 protesters carrying anti-Biden and anti-police signs marched in Portland streets and damaged the headquarters of the Democratic Party of Oregon. The group smashed windows and spray-painted anarchist symbols Wednesday at the political party building and police say eight arrests were made. Police say it was one of four groups gathering in the city on Inauguration Day. A group of about 150 people also marched in Seattle, where police say windows at a federal courthouse were broken and three people were arrested.
January 21, 2021 4:14 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden is putting the United States back into the worldwide fight to slow global warming as one of his first acts in office. Biden signed an order returning the United States to the Paris climate accord within hours of his oath-taking Wednesday. Biden in his inaugural address said the need for climate action couldn’t be “any more desperate or any more clear.” Biden signed other orders launching a series of climate-friendly efforts that could transform how Americans drive and get their power. That includes a moratorium on new oil and gas leasing in the Arctic wilderness.
January 21, 2021 4:13 am
SAN DIEGO (AP) – President Joe Biden’s Inauguration Day announcements on immigration are far-reaching. A raft of executive orders undoes many of his predecessor’s hallmark initiatives, such as halting work on a border wall with Mexico and lifting a travel ban from several predominantly Muslim countries. Proposed legislation would give a path to citizenship to anyone in the United States before Jan. 1, 2021 – an estimated 11 million people. The bill faces an enormous test in Congress. The Homeland Security Department announced a 100-day deportation moratorium and halt to returning asylum-seekers to Mexico to wait for hearings in U.S. immigration court.
January 21, 2021 4:11 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Three new Democratic senators have been sworn into office, giving Democrats the majority in the Senate. In a first vote, the Senate has confirmed President Joe Biden’s nominee for Director of National Intelligence, Avril Haines. The Senate is now split 50-50, with Vice President Kamala Harris as a potential tie-breaking vote. That’s alongside Democratic control of the House and White House – unified government to tackle the new president’s agenda. Harris delivered the oath of office to Democrats Jon Ossoff, Raphael Warnock and Alex Padilla. But Republican leader Mitch McConnell is refusing to enter a power-sharing agreement with Senate Democrats unless they meet his demands. (Photo: CNN)
January 21, 2021 4:05 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – A federal judge has decided to release a Pennsylvania woman while she faces charges that she helped steal a laptop from the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi during the attack on the U.S. Capitol. U.S. Magistrate Judge Martin Carlson released Riley June Williams on Thursday into the custody of her mother, with travel restrictions, and instructed her to appear Monday in federal court in Washington to continue her case. The 22-year-old Harrisburg resident, is accused of theft, obstruction and trespassing, as well as violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. Williams surrendered to face charges on Monday and has been locked up in the county jail in Harrisburg.
January 21, 2021 2:42 am
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine says the state will spend $50 million in federal pandemic aid dollars to buy 2 million coronavirus tests for at-home testing. The governor announced a partnership between the state, digital health company eMed and medical device company Abbott Laboratories. DeWine said Thursday that users can administer the BinaxNow rapid antigen tests at home with results available in about 15 minutes. The governor said the test results will be recorded by the Ohio Department of Health. Ohio’s seven-day rolling average of daily new cases dropped to 6,113 new cases per day on Jan. 20.
January 21, 2021 2:35 am
The Pennsylvania Department of Health opened a free Covid-19 testing site at the Washington County Fairgrounds of Wednesday morning. According to Department of Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine, elevated positive cases of Covid-19 prompted the decision to offer the free testing service. The operation is drive through and patients do not need to leave their car. It is a nasal swab test and results could be returned in as little as 48 hours depending on the volume of testing being performed. WJPA’s Joe Jasek volunteered for the test and he states that it takes about 5 minutes from registration until the test is complete. It is painless and quick. Officials are looking for anyone to come in and be tested. A patient does not need to feel symptoms. One of their objectives is to identify those who are asymptomatic. The site is available from 8:30 AM until 6:00 PM beginning on Wednesday and running through Sunday. Patients will be notified by email and telephone if they are found to be infected. They will receive an email only if they test negative.
