December 29, 2020 4:05 am
DENVER (AP) – The first reported U.S. case of the COVID-19 variant that’s been seen in the United Kingdom has been discovered in Colorado. Gov. Jared Polis and state health officials announced Tuesday that the case was found in a man in his 20s who’s in isolation and has no travel history. British scientists believe the new virus variant is more contagious than previously identified strains. Colorado health officials say the vaccines being given now are thought to be effective against this variant. Public health officials are investigating other potential cases and doing contract tracing to determine the variant’s spread in Colorado.
December 29, 2020 4:04 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The stage is set for the first veto override of Donald Trump’s presidency. The House voted 322-87 on Monday to override Trump’s veto of the defense policy bill, a margin well above the two-thirds required. The Senate is expected to consider overriding the veto sometime this week. Trump says the bill fails to limit social media companies he claims were biased against him during his failed reelection campaign. And he opposes language that allows for the renaming of military bases that honor Confederate leaders. The defense bill authorizes more than $740 billion in military programs and construction, and it affirms 3% pay raises for U.S. troops.
December 29, 2020 4:04 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has blocked Democrats’ push to immediately bring President Donald Trump’s demand for bigger $2,000 COVID-19 relief checks up for a vote. The GOP leader said the Senate would “begin a process” to address the issue. But the next steps are highly uncertain. Trump has been pushing to more than triple the $600 payments approved by Congress. The House approved the larger checks, but the issue divides Republicans. On Tuesday, two Georgia Republican senators, David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, said they support Trump’s plan. They are in the fights of their political lives in runoff elections Jan. 5 that will determine which party controls the Senate.
December 29, 2020 3:58 am
LAWRENCE CO., Pa. — (WPXI) – Pennsylvania State Police have cancelled an alert for a 77-year-old woman who went missing after visiting from Ohio over Christmas weekend. Ruby Hopson — who lives in Youngstown, Oh. — has been found safe. No other details were immediately released. She was in western Pennsylvania this weekend visiting family and was headed back to Ohio Sunday around 11 p.m. on Interstate 70, but troopers said she never made it home. Investigators feared Hopson was “at special risk of harm or injury and may be confused.”
December 29, 2020 2:57 am
Washington County residents will be entering a new year without fear of a tax increase. County Commissioners on Monday, unanimously approved a new 104-point-seven-million dollar budget that holds the line on taxes. Commission Chairperson (R) Diana Irey-Vaughan says it was not easy to balance the budget and as they look to the future, admits that a close review of all departments is already underway. The lone Democrat on the board, Larry Maggi, voted in favor of the spending plan, but admitted he has concerns regarding the use of ten-million-dollars in the fund balance to pay for the new Crossroads Building in downtown Washington. He says he also has concerns regarding some two-point-five-million-dollars that will be used for the expansion of the county’s Human Services Department.
December 29, 2020 2:28 am
A Donora man charged with homicide in what is described as a suspected home invasion waived all charges to court. Bryan Harris, 23 of Donora is charged with homicide in the shooting death of Brandon Harrison, 34 of Masontown. Harris allegedly shot Harrison as he was trying to break into Harris’ home on December 9. Harrison was pronounced dead in an ambulance on its way to a medical helicopter. Pennsylvania State Police obtained a search warrant for Harris’ home and found 1000 packets of suspected heroin, firearms and ammunition. In addition to the homicide charge, Harris was charged with heroin possession and evidence tampering. Harris admitted to police his attempt to hide the gun and empty shell casings associated with Harrison’s killing. In his preliminary hearing in front of District Justice Mark Wilson, the District Attorney added charges of reckless endangerment and endangering the welfare of children.
December 28, 2020 3:36 pm
DALLAS (AP) – Southwest Airlines says it’s not going to furlough workers in 2021 after all. The airline’s CEO says that with Washington’s approval of $15 billion in new federal aid to airlines, furloughs or pay cuts aren’t needed. American and United Airlines, which together furloughed 32,000 employees in October, said Monday they will bring those workers back temporarily. This is the second round of federal aid for the nation’s airlines. Back in March they got $25 billion to cover payrolls for six months and up to another $25 billion in low-interest loans. But with travel still weak, airlines lobbied Washington for more money, and they have been rewarded.
December 28, 2020 2:41 pm
(WPXI) – A 52-year-old man died in a house fire in Bell Township on Monday morning. According to the Westmoreland County Coroner, the victim is Frank Zanavich, 52. Firefighters were called to the house fire on Route 286 shortly before 9:30 a.m. Two people were also hurt and a landing zone was set up at the Kiski School in Saltsburg for two medical helicopters to transport them to the hospital. The fire was initially reported by a passerby who saw smoke coming from the structure, according to dispatch reports.
December 28, 2020 1:44 pm
(AP) – “Full House” actor Lori Loughlin has been released from prison after spending two months behind bars for paying half a million dollars in bribes to get her two daughters into college. Loughlin was released Monday from the federal lockup in Dublin, California, where she had been serving her sentence for her role in the college admissions bribery scheme. Her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, is serving his five-month sentence at a prison in Lompoc near Santa Barbara, California. Loughlin and Giannulli were among the highest-profile defendants charged in the scheme, which revealed the lengths to which some wealthy parents will go to get their children into elite universities. (Photo: CNN)
December 28, 2020 4:16 am
A strong earthquake has struck off the coast of southern Chile on Sunday, causing shaking felt in several cities but without any reports of damage. The U.S. Geological Survey says Sunday’s quake had a preliminary magnitude of 6.8. Its epicenter was 10 kilometers (six miles) beneath the surface and about 140 kilometers (87.5 miles) west of the town of Corral. Chile’s navy says the quake did not have the characteristics required to generate a tsunami. Chile’s National Emergency Office says that there have been no reports of injuries or damage and that basic services are functioning normally.
