November 21, 2020 4:27 am
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) – Federal prosecutors say four men with connections to white supremacists are accused of illegally making firearms and two of them discussed shooting protesters at a Black Lives Matter rally. A news release from the U.S. Department of Justice said Friday that the men have been charged in a superseding indictment with conspiring to make, transport and sell firearms and then hide the sales from the federal government. The indictment also says two of the men indicted discussed on social media shooting protesters at a Black Lives Matter rally in Boise, Idaho, in August. Authorities say one of the four men is currently a Marine and two are former Marines.
November 21, 2020 4:26 am
China is starting mass testing on 3 million people in a section of the northern city of Tianjin and has tested 4,015 others in a hospital in Shanghai after the discovery of a pair of cases there. The National Health Commission recorded seven new domestically transmitted cases Saturday, including five in Tianjin and two in Shanghai. Tianjin on Friday reported community transmission involving four different individuals and another case. In response, local authorities sealed off the residential community where the people lived as well as a hospital and a kindergarten. On Saturday, authorities have starting testing all residents in the Binhai district of Tianjin. Authorities in Shanghai sealed off a hospital after a husband and wife tested positive for COVID-19.
November 21, 2020 4:25 am
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) – The U.S. and Taiwan are stepping up cooperation in a newly created economic dialogue, in another move from the outgoing Trump administration to increase official exchanges with the self-ruled island. The two sides signed a five-year agreement establishing the U.S.-Taiwan Economic Prosperity Partnership Dialogue, which is meant to be held annually. The deal falls short of a long-desired bilateral trade agreement, but is a significant step that increases cooperation between Washington and Taipei. China, which views Taiwan as its own territory to be reunited by force if necessary, has criticized such steps as provocation. Taiwan and the U.S. do not have a free trade agreement. However, Taiwan in August announced the easing of restrictions on imports of American beef and pork.
November 21, 2020 4:24 am
While President Donald Trump vows to press ahead with efforts to overturn the election, judges across the country have consistently swatted down his legal challenges. Trump’s campaign has failed to make any real headway in court without proof of widespread fraud, which experts widely agree doesn’t exist. Experts say Trump won’t succeed in stopping President-elect Joe Biden from taking office in January. But his repetition of baseless claims that the race was rigged is undermining public confidence in the election system while instilling in his supporters the idea that Biden will be an illegitimate president.
November 21, 2020 4:23 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President-elect Joe Biden turned 78 Friday, and he’ll soon take the reins of a politically fractured nation facing the worst public health crisis in a century, high unemployment and a reckoning on racial injustice. As Biden wrestles with those issues, he will be attempting to accomplish another feat: demonstrating to Americans that age is but a number. Biden will enter office as the oldest president in the nation’s history, displacing Ronald Reagan. Reagan left the White House in 1989 when he was 77 years, 349 days old.
November 21, 2020 4:22 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Justice Department has scheduled three more federal executions during the lame-duck period before President-elect Joe Biden takes office, including two just days before his inauguration. The announcement comes a day after the federal Bureau of Prisons carried out the eight federal execution this year after a 17-year hiatus, and it is likely to increase pressure on Biden to take a public stance on whether his administration would continue to schedule executions once he is sworn in. The Justice Department is scheduling the executions of Alfred Bourgeois for Dec. 11 and Cory Johnson and Dustin Higgs for Jan. 14 and 15.
November 21, 2020 4:21 am
WAUWATOSA, Wis. (AP) – Police searched Friday evening for the suspect in a shooting at a suburban Milwaukee mall that left seven adults and a teenager injured. Wauwatosa Police Chief Barry Weber gave no motive for the attack at Mayfair Mall in a brief update about three hours after the 2:50 p.m. attack. He said the extent of the eight victims’ injuries was unknown, but all were alive. He said the shooter was “no longer at the scene.” when authorities arrived. Based on statements from witnesses, Weber said police were seeking a white man in his 20s or 30s and were working to identify him.
November 21, 2020 4:09 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Motorists who register an electric vehicle in Pennsylvania would have to pay an annual fee, under lame-duck session legislation approved by the state’s Republican-controlled House of Representatives. The bill now goes to the Senate for approval. Opponents say it’s a bad idea to impose costs on people who own electric vehicles during the fight against climate change. The fee varies depending on the type of vehicle but would be $75 for a hybrid gas-electric vehicle. Backers of the bill say the fee is only fair since people who fuel their cars with gasoline are paying taxes that build and repair roads. The money would go toward the state’s highway maintenance fund.
November 21, 2020 2:50 am
Pfizer is set to ask U.S. regulators to allow emergency use of its COVID-19 vaccine, starting a process that could bring first shots as early as next month. Friday’s step comes days after Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech announced its vaccine appears 95% protective in a large but not yet finished study. Over the next few weeks, the Food and Drug Administration and its scientific advisers will have to decide if there’s really enough evidence to allow emergency vaccinations. If so, first supplies will be scarce and rationed. Experts warn it likely will be spring before there’s enough for everyone.
November 21, 2020 2:47 am
City of Washington Mayor Scott Putnam announced Friday that due to the rapid spread of the coronavirus, all city facilities will be closed to the public until further notice, beginning on Monday, November 23rd. “We’re seeing cases spread faster now than we did in the spring so the responsible thing to do to protect the public, our employees and mitigate the spread of the virus is to close our buildings for the time being” the Mayor said. Putnam stressed however that there will be no interruption to services to the public. “Our personnel will continue to report for work and handle all city business and we encourage all city residents and anyone who has to conduct business with city government to use our phone system and we will accommodate everyone as best we can,” Putnam stated. For general inquiries, dye tests and building permits, citizens are asked to call 724-223-4200 and follow the prompts. For police inquiries, accident reports, vehicle release forms, and incident verification reports citizens are asked to call 724-223-4226. Closures include city hall, police headquarters, and the park office. The city fire department has been closed to the general public since March and remains closed.
